Hitting coach Greg Walker said that he feels as if struggling first baseman Paul Konerko can still turn his season around, but hearing Konerko get booed by the home crowd this week isn't sitting well with Walker.
"I'm not concerned because I know Paul is a professional," Walker said. "But it does kind of hurt because I care so much about the guy and he's scuffling. At the same time, I don't feel sorry for him either, because he gets paid a lot of money to produce, and he knew it when he signed on with the White Sox. The one thing, the people that were booing -- they have a right to boo -- but when they walk into this ballpark and take a look at that statue (the Championship Moments Monument) out there, they better realize he's a big reason that statue is even standing and we're walking around here with rings on our hands.
"I would tell them that if they asked me what I thought, 'You better be grateful this guy played here, and one day you will be.'"
Walker, as well as Konerko, heard the boos directed at the first baseman in Tuesday's win over Texas, as Konerko went 1-for-4 but left five on base.
"It comes with the territory," Konerko said before the series finale with Texas. "It's not the first time."
Walker was a bit more outspoken about it than the team captain.
"The thing is that his legacy is still in front of him here," Walker said. "If he comes on strong the rest of the way when it really counts. ... I mean, I know his teammates have picked him up this year, but he could do the same thing for them down the stretch and make something special happen. That's the way I'm looking at Paul.
"I do hate to see some negative people that are totally down on him and all that. But ultimately the only person that can get Paul Konerko going is Paul Konerko, and he understands that, too. I always tell people that the game doesn't feel sorry for you. If you start feeling sorry for yourself, then it will just pile on."
Walker said that he talks to Konerko almost every day, and he continues to remind him that this season is still very salvageable for him.
WHITE SOX 10, RANGERS 8: The White Sox got two home runs from Carlos Quentin, including what proved to be the game-winner in the eighth inning. But it was who it came off of that made the win even sweeter.
After Nick Swisher walked in the eighth, in came Texas closer C.J. Wilson. The same C.J. Wilson that got into a back-and-forth with Sox manager Ozzie Guillen last week, after the fifth-year skipper thought Wilson was showing his hitters up in the July 13 loss in Texas. With two on and the Sox down one, Quentin took Wilson's first-pitch offering over the wall for the lead, and the eventual curtain call. And while nearly everyone was politically correct when asked if there was satisfaction on getting the last laugh on Wilson, Guillen didn't bite his tongue.
"I'm a professional and I've been in this game a little longer to respect people," Guillen said. "But I think for the team, yes (there was satisfaction). They might not say it, but they should. The baseball gods, they come back and are always out. Be careful what you do and what you say in this game because he's going to get you back."
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