KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Rick White looks a little like David Wells, so maybe somebody should do a study on the effects of a shaved head and a goatee on proper brain functions.

 

It was Wells who took it upon himself to diagnose Frank Thomas' health problem as a courage problem two years ago, only to find out a few days later that Thomas actually had a torn triceps. Oops.

 

Now the White Sox are dealing with White's public criticism of the way manager Jerry Manuel uses the bullpen. It's bad enough that a middle reliever with a 6.13 earned-run average would pop off about pitchers' roles on the team. But it's absolutely stunning that a struggling veteran would pop off after the Sox had won nine of their last 10 games and before they started arguably their most important series of the season to date.

 

Possible name change: White's Sox.

 

A little controversy can be good for a team, can make it stronger, and perhaps that's what was at work Tuesday night, when the Sox beat Kansas City 9-6 to pull within three games of the first-place Royals in the AL Central.

 

But White's ill-timed comments caused various levels of indignation and indigestion in the clubhouse, depending on the person and the stomach.

 

Before Tuesday's game, White tried to backpedal from comments he made to the Daily Southtown on Sunday that Manuel burns out some of his pitchers, but it was too late.

 

"Now's the time basically we need everybody to just be quiet and go play and pitch and get the job done," said pitching coach Don Cooper, clearly frustrated. "We don't need anything like that. … Believe me, as far as I'm concerned, we have to know where it comes from and move on. We can't let anything distract us, and this won't.

 

"It comes from a guy who seems to be a little angry. The reason why a lot of pitchers haven't been used is simply because the starters have been giving us the bulk of the work. End of story right there."

 

We'll have to wait for White's analysis of the Sox's trade Tuesday. They sent reliever Gary Glover and two minor-leaguers to Anaheim for reliever Scott Schoeneweis and a Triple-A pitcher. As Cooper said, if any pitcher had a right to complain about his role with the Sox, it was Glover, who kept his mouth shut.

 

Relief pitchers are there to serve. That's it. They do what is necessary. A middle reliever complaining about odd working conditions is like a robot complaining about repetitive-motion syndrome.

 

"I know he's going to hear about it," Cooper said. "I know that someone in this clubhouse is going to be saying, 'Hey, pipe down."'

 

This is going to give general manager Ken Williams, Mr. Chilling Effect himself, more reason to tell his team not to utter a discouraging word publicly. And this time he will be right.

 

But try telling that to White.

 

"I was just [saying] what I thought needed to be done to get us over that little step to get us to the playoffs," he said. "When I was saying that the bullpen needs to be run different, I was saying that we need to get Flash [Tom Gordon] and [Damaso] Marte some more time off in between outings so we can have those guys fresh and instead of on the DL come playoff time."

 

The explanation doesn't sound any less incriminating than the original comments. He's criticizing his manager in public, and Manuel, for all his faults, deserves better.

 

Manuel seemed genuinely hurt by White's comments, not because he didn't like the criticism, but because the whole business seemed to be the antithesis of "team." Here the Sox are making a move, and one of his players is starting a grease fire.

 

The Sox looked strong again Tuesday, and the addition of Schoeneweis, who is murder on left-handed hitters, was more good news. It's now 10 victories in the last 11 games for the Sox. The one loss in that span? Brought to you by White, who gave up five earned runs in 21/3 innings against Tampa Bay on Saturday.

 

He gave up a three-run homer to Angel Berroa in the eighth inning Tuesday, and if you believe in cosmic paybacks, then this was one of them.

 

You wondered what White was thinking about as Manuel pulled him. Mostly, you wondered what White had been thinking in the first place.

 

"I have no idea," Cooper said. "Maybe he's honing his skills to be a manager some day."

 

He needs work.

And I agree with him 100%.

the funny part was what coop said.

Gotta like Coop......if the sox fall apart and Jerry is canned. I hope the new manager allows coop to stay on as P-C

Gotta like Coop......if the sox fall apart and Jerry is canned. I hope the new manager allows coop to stay on as P-C

how that last sentence from coop on white.

 

 

i laugh sooo hard. gotta love his quick sense of humor.

thought this article would be of interest on white

Rick White, leader of men.

Relief pitchers are there to serve. That's it. They do what is necessary. A middle reliever complaining about odd working conditions is like a robot complaining about repetitive-motion syndrome.

 

The best comment in the entire story. (Besides Cooper's)

"Now's the time basically we need everybody to just be quiet and go play and pitch and get the job done," said pitching coach Don Cooper, clearly frustrated. "We don't need anything like that. … Believe me, as far as I'm concerned, we have to know where it comes from and move on. We can't let anything distract us, and this won't.

 

"It comes from a guy who seems to be a little angry. The reason why a lot of pitchers haven't been used is simply because the starters have been giving us the bulk of the work. End of story right there."

 

Did any of you hear the clip of Cooper saying this? He was loud and very close to screaming. He sounded pissed off...big time!