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06-15-2002, 08:36 AM
By Paul Sullivan
Tribune staff reporter
June 14, 2002, 10:51 PM CDT
Kenny Lofton aggravated his strained right hamstring Friday and will sit out the final two games of the White Sox-Cubs series.
"If he's not running like he was early on, and he's hampered by it, it's not fair to him [to play]," manager Jerry Manuel said. "It's not that severe an injury. It's more weakness than pain."
Lofton went 0-for-3 on Friday and saw his average drop to a season-low .283.
He was hitting .398 on April 25 and was a major catalyst in the Sox offense when the team jumped to a 15-7 start. But he batted .258 in May and has five hits over his last 29 at-bats, a .172 average.
As Lofton has slumped, so have the Sox, who have lost 13 of their last 18 games.
Aaron Rowand is the likely center fielder for the next two games. Manuel said before Friday's game that Frank Thomas would probably play first base Saturday, but he changed his mind after Paul Konerko belted a pair of two-run homers in the Sox's 8-4 loss.
"It's nice to be considered starting," Konerko said. "Because in the last few years, it's been a no-brainer. I'd sit, and that was it."
Thomas said he doesn't mind sitting, especially after Konerko hit a couple bombs Friday.
"It's not even an issue," Thomas said.
Thomas came up as a pinch-hitter against Matt Clement with a man on in the seventh inning and struck out on a 3-2 slider.
"I only had one pitch close to the plate that at-bat," Thomas said.
"That last pitch was a ball, but I was being aggressive. You've got to take chances. I came up there to hit."
Though the Sox may miss Thomas' bat, Konerko said it was no excuse.
"We still have enough offense," he said. "We can live with today's loss because they beat us. We didn't give it away."
Tribune staff reporter
June 14, 2002, 10:51 PM CDT
Kenny Lofton aggravated his strained right hamstring Friday and will sit out the final two games of the White Sox-Cubs series.
"If he's not running like he was early on, and he's hampered by it, it's not fair to him [to play]," manager Jerry Manuel said. "It's not that severe an injury. It's more weakness than pain."
Lofton went 0-for-3 on Friday and saw his average drop to a season-low .283.
He was hitting .398 on April 25 and was a major catalyst in the Sox offense when the team jumped to a 15-7 start. But he batted .258 in May and has five hits over his last 29 at-bats, a .172 average.
As Lofton has slumped, so have the Sox, who have lost 13 of their last 18 games.
Aaron Rowand is the likely center fielder for the next two games. Manuel said before Friday's game that Frank Thomas would probably play first base Saturday, but he changed his mind after Paul Konerko belted a pair of two-run homers in the Sox's 8-4 loss.
"It's nice to be considered starting," Konerko said. "Because in the last few years, it's been a no-brainer. I'd sit, and that was it."
Thomas said he doesn't mind sitting, especially after Konerko hit a couple bombs Friday.
"It's not even an issue," Thomas said.
Thomas came up as a pinch-hitter against Matt Clement with a man on in the seventh inning and struck out on a 3-2 slider.
"I only had one pitch close to the plate that at-bat," Thomas said.
"That last pitch was a ball, but I was being aggressive. You've got to take chances. I came up there to hit."
Though the Sox may miss Thomas' bat, Konerko said it was no excuse.
"We still have enough offense," he said. "We can live with today's loss because they beat us. We didn't give it away."