--OF Nick Swisher was on the bench Friday for what might possibly last until Sunday. No surprise, considering the switch-hitter, who started the year so well, has fallen on hard times. "Don't worry about at-bats and get back and start over again," Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said of Swisher. "I think this break has to be more mental than physical. He's going through a tough time right now, but that's everybody else, too. It's important for him to get back on his game." Swisher was hitting just .143 over his last 18 games, mired in a 10-for-70 rut. He had already lost the leadoff spot to Orlando Cabrera last week, with the hope that going down in the order would take some pressure off of him, but his struggles have continued. The move also allowed Guillen to get reserve Brian Anderson some much-needed at-bats, as he got the nod in center field for Swisher.

--Guillen admitted that they have been talking about moving OF Jermaine Dye up to either the No. 3 or cleanup spot of the order, and further failings in Seattle will push those talks forward. "Maybe the next couple of days will dictate what we're going to do," Guillen said. "We might even move A.J. (Pierzynski) up a little bit just for a couple of games to get those guys back on track. We did it with Dye when Dye was struggling; we moved him back one slot and it was a good result. We're going to see what happens the next couple of games. We did think about that. We'd talk to them before we made a move and tell them why. I don't want one of my players to feel like, because they struggle, all of the sudden they're not being treated the same way. Hopefully, I don't have to do it."

--For all the Jerry Owens talk that had been going on privately and publicly with the organization the last 10 days, it is starting to get very quiet. The outfielder is all of a sudden in a nasty slump, as his average has dropped from .300 less than two weeks ago to .235 after Friday's loss for Class AAA Charlotte. Sox general manager Ken Williams is on this 10-day road trip with the team, and word is he is evaluating everyone and everything.

--Pitching coach Don Cooper likes the way the starting rotation falls into order right now, not that they would have an opportunity to change it anyway, with no off day until May 19. Even when the off day does come, Cooper isn't sure they will mix things up for a third time. The only way that changes is if it messes with Javier Vazquez's routine too much.

--SS Orlando Cabrera, 3B Joe Crede, C Toby Hall, 1B Paul Konerko, INF Pablo Ozuna, C A.J. Pierzynski, INF Alexei Ramirez, OF Nick Swisher, DH Jim Thome and 2B Juan Uribe have all committed to using pink bats on Sunday, in support of Major League Baseball's Mother's Day initiative.

BY THE NUMBERS
April 3 -- The last time the Sox had been below the .500 mark this season. They returned there on May 4, after a loss to Toronto made them 14-15.

QUOTE TO NOTE
"Greg Walker was the best hitting coach in April. Now he's the worst hitting coach in May. That's our job, take the heat for the bad things and we never get credit for the good things. But just get people to be patient. Whoever does their thing there, if they think they can do a better job than Greg Walker, make sure and let me know. I'll hire him. People out there say we should do that, tell them to talk to me and I'll tell Kenny Williams and we'll hire him. Hopefully, help us to get out of this." -- Manager Ozzie Guillen, on the criticism that hitting coach Greg Walker has been getting.

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