Something great Ozzie has done, maybe the only thing...

[caulfield12]

Last spring it was Gordon Beckham getting the rookie star treatment, the top White Sox prospect called up in early June to energize the team and perhaps validate the standing of the organization's talent pool.

 

With only a year of minor-league experience, the Georgia product made good on expectations, his rookie season earning him honors from The Sporting News, the Players Choice AL Outstanding Rookie award and a fifth-place finish in rookie of the year voting.

 

But even then, manager Ozzie Guillen frowned on the attention showered over Beckham, cautioning about expecting too much and saddling a young player with undue pressures.

 

Now, after making the decision to sit the struggling sophomore second baseman for a few days, Guillen is the one voicing the strongest support for Beckham and doing something to reset the youngster's course.

 

''He won't be sent down to the minor leagues because he's struggling,'' Guillen said of Beckham, whose average is down to .198 but has been only .157 in the last 14 games. ''He will be sent down [for] attitude and the feeling sorry for himself, putting his head down, I guarantee you that. That will happen. To have a bad game, he's not going to be sent down for that. Not right now.''

 

Right now is time to sit and watch and recharge, with Guillen coming to the decision as much because he saw Beckham's frustrated gestures as his futile swings.

 

''I had a problem last year with [shortstop Alexei] Ramirez about a certain way, and I just told him the right way -- I said, 'You are too good to put your head down and look like you don't belong here.' I can deal with struggles and errors. The only thing I can't deal with is long faces and feeling sorry for themselves. I told him he's too good, and you are around a lot of good players to be doing that. The bad habit's not going to happen with me.

 

''You see him put his hands on his hips. Come on, that's not baseball. Shaking his head every time he made an out. I don't say he's not playing hard. He does. He brings his bat to the field sometimes. And I see him throwing stuff and being upset down at the end of the dugout -- stuff I never saw before.'' (here I think Ozzie has shifted to talk about BECKHAM and NOT Alexei still...)

 

It's because Beckham never struggled like this last season, even though the history of the game says every player will struggle at some time -- and perhaps many times.

 

''You always have to make adjustments, day in, day out,'' Beckham said. ''I figured I would have to. I was hoping it wasn't going to be this bad, but it's all a mind-set, and I kind of got away from that. I just need to remind myself that I can play the game and go out and do it.

 

''I reminded myself last night about something that I've always told myself and I just haven't even thought about this year, and it's to just go out there and be fun to watch. That's a little different than just saying go out there and have some fun. What I mean by that is just play the game the right way. People respect people that go out there and bust their butt just because they have to. That's one thing I want to make sure I do: Go out there and just be fun to watch; get a bat, run around and just have some fun.

 

''It's no fun struggling, but it's not different. It's just another battle. Mentally, I've got to get over it. I think I can, and I think I will. It's nice to have guys like Ozzie and teammates that reach out. Everybody's behind me, and they want me to do well as much as I want to do well.''

 

Guillen hopes a few days will help Beckham relax and regroup.

 

''This game can put you down on your knees in a heartbeat,'' Guillen said. ''That's why you have to be strong enough mentally. It's my job to make him a better professional. I don't want him to get down on himself.''

 

from an actual reporter, Ginetti, not Cowlick

 

 

Guillen doesn't doubt Beckham's effort, but he wants Beckham to be the best player he can be and used Andruw Jones as an example.

 

"I saw (Andruw) one day not hustle on a ball against the Cubs, and I see (Braves manager) Bobby Cox get him out off the field because he wasn't playing the way he should. Every manager has to have enough guts to treat the players like that. Respect the game, play out there and have fun. You are here for a reason. Everybody struggles. Don't put yourself down when you struggle.

 

"He's not going to be sent down for having bad games, but he will get sent down for feeling sorry for himself. I guarantee you that."

 

Beckham realizes his struggles and admits they are self-inflicted.

 

"It's a baseball game," he said. "Sometimes I tend to forget that because of how well I want to do.

dailyherald.com

Edited May 8, 2010 by caulfield12