White Sox weirdness

Only Ozzie Guillen would demote a pitcher for inducing the only batter he faced to ground out.

Texas starter Vicente Padilla hit Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski twice, which prompted a warning to both sides from home plate umpire Phil Cuzzi in the fourth inning.

Suspicions of retaliation surfaced in the seventh when Sox rookie reliever Sean Tracey moved Texas cleanup hitter Hank Blalock off the plate with a high-and-tight first pitch.

Blalock took a big hack and missed at the next pitch before Tracey moved Blalock off the plate with a low, inside pitch.

The sequence ended when Blalock grounded out to second, but manager Ozzie Guillen immediately pulled Tracey in favor of fellow rookie Agustin Montero, who had been warming up as Tracey entered the game.

Television cameras caught Guillen yelling at Tracey in the dugout.

Tracey buried his head in his hands before covering his face with his jersey, and Guillen was shown spiking a bottle of water.

Guillen declined to elaborate on the incident after taking the blame for not having Montero ready to start the inning, adding Tracey "is one of our prospects." Guillen said he didn't want to make comments that could result in a suspension.

Tracey, who packed his bag after the game in an apparent demotion to Triple-A Charlotte, declined to comment.

I got no problem with a pitcher defending his backstop after he's hit by a pitch. I got a real problem with the manager telling the pitcher to throw at a batter. Especially egregious when the pitcher's a rookie. Some guys just aren't comfortable throwing high and tight.

Meanwhile, liveblogging today's Yankee game against the Native Americans: Melky Cabrera just hit his first Major League H.R.