White Sox are one of the favorites to win the World Series this year according to some Sportsbook odds. Their manager Ozzie Guillen, went on the attack Monday in the wake of comments made by Cubs closer Ryan Dempster and comments not made by him. "All of a sudden, he's saying coaches shouldn't be out there, coaches shouldn't be involved in fights," Guillen said of comments made by Dempster on a local Chicago radio show Monday morning. "Good thing he's thought about it, because if he keeps pitching like that, he might be coaching pretty soon."
Guillen was also under the impression that during that radio interview Dempster not only was accusing Sox third base coach Joey Cora of biting the ankle of Jacque Jones during Saturday's bench-clearing brawl between the two teams, but that Dempster said that Guillen's kids were on the field for the fight.
Dempster never really said either in the interview, and then came out Monday afternoon and told Cubs writers that he never said Cora bit Jones; a fact that Jones also backed up. That didn't keep Guillen from making Dempster just the latest casualty of his wrath.
"Well, when you name names you have to be 100 percent right, and he's not," Guillen said. "He said my kid was on the field, my kids know the rules maybe better than he did. My kid (Ozzie Jr.) has more years in the big league than Dempster does.'
The Indians had a scheduled off day Monday, one of two off days in the next four days, after completing a so-so 5-4 homes stand. The Indians will begin a five-game trip to Minnesota and Detroit on Tuesday, with the start of a brief two-game series with the Twins.
The trip is an important one for the Indians, because all five games will be played against division rivals. The importance of those games and the continued slump of No. 5 starter Jason Johnson appear to be the main reasons why Johnson probably won't make a start on the trip.
Although manager Eric Wedge hasn't said so officially, the way the pitching is being lined up for the trip, it's apparent that the Indians will use the off days Monday and Thursday to let them skip Johnson's turn in the rotation.
The 32-year-old right-hander signed a one-year, $4 million contract with the Indians as a free agent during the off-season. But he has been a disappointment thus far.
Johnson started the season with three good starts, but since his last win on April 18, he is 0-4 with a 9.73 ERA. His last start came Saturday, in an 8-6 loss to lowly Pittsburgh. Johnson was hammered for eight runs on 10 hits in the game.
Following the game, Wedge said Johnson would remain in the rotation "for now", but Wedge hasn't yet indicated when Johnson will get his next start.