Guillen heats up in Uribe's defense

A day after calmly defending his decision to stick with Juan Uribe at second base, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was a lot more animated Thursday about persistent questions concerning Uribe's fit in the lineup.

When it was pointed out that Alexei Ramirez got the start at second in Thursday's series finale against the Yankees, that set Guillen off.

''Ozzie has got to be Ozzie,'' he said. ''No, I just benched Uribe to make the fans real happy about it, all the media in Chicago, make sure I listen to them. I guarantee all you guys are saying, 'You see, we put too much pressure on Ozzie, and finally he benched Uribe.' No, it's not a day off. I wanted to get some at-bats to Ramirez, and [Thursday] is the right day to do it.

''I'm going to tell people out there that I will play Uribe as long as I want to play him, not when they want me to play him. I'm the manager of this ballclub, and I will put the guys out there that I think are the best for the club, not the ones they want to see.''

Guillen again defended the decision to keep Uribe and his .167 batting average in the lineup because of what he deems stellar defense.

''That's a shame,'' Guillen said. ''I mean, this kid, if Uribe was here for two months, then I would talk about Uribe. Uribe's been here for five years, and people forget how ... I'm not saying he's having an incredible year, but he's playing well. The one thing that hit me is we have a few guys hitting .190 like Uribe does, and no one says anything about it.

''We are where we are because of Uribe's defense. Uribe deserves and earned to be playing right now.''

HEATING UP

Outfielder Jerry Owens said last week that he hoped his play at Class AAA Charlotte would show the Sox he was ready to return to the big-league roster, and it has.

Owens went 2-for-3 with a double and three runs scored in the Knights' victory Wednesday, raising his batting average to .325 with a .426 on-base percentage and five stolen bases in 10 games.

But the continued message from Guillen is, ''Not yet.''

''I don't see any reason why we should bring him up now,'' Guillen said. ''Is Owens going to give me five hits every night and score 10 runs every night? He'd be here. He doesn't

guarantee me anything.''

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ON DECK

ORIOLES AT WHITE SOX

Tonight: 7:11, CSN Plus, 670-AM. Brian Burres (2-1, 3.63 ERA) vs. Mark Buehrle (1-2, 5.96).

Saturday: 6:05 p.m., Ch. 9, 670-AM. Steve Trachsel (1-3, 5.23) vs. John Danks (2-1, 3.04).

Sunday: 1:05 p.m., CSN, 670-AM. Jeremy Guthrie (0-2, 4.18) vs. Jose Contreras (1-2, 4.68).

Monday: 1:05 p.m., CSN, 670-AM. Daniel Cabrera (2-0, 4.40) vs. Javier Vazquez (3-2, 4.40).

The story line: The teams split a two-game series last week in Baltimore, with the Sox dropping an ugly one courtesy of a bullpen meltdown. While they have turned the page, the South Siders haven't forgotten. Now they get four games to try to exact revenge on an Orioles team that has been a surprise this season.

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