CLEVELAND - Gavin Floyd's job remains safe ... for now.
Following his latest five-inning, eight runs allowed gem against the Tribe, the 17-game winner from 2008 is now 0-2 with a 9.74 ERA over his last four starts.
The Sox (14-17) have shipped out pitchers with better numbers than that in recent years, but then again, none of them signed four-year, $15.5 million contracts late this spring.
So while manager Ozzie Guillen insisted afterward that while Floyd needs to improve, the links aren't being taken out of the chain leash just yet.
"No,'' Guillen responded, when asked if Floyd was in danger of losing his job. "We talked to him about it. It something that we're working on, and right now we expect better from him. The stuff is there, but command of strikes is the important thing.
"Gavin has obviously been more consistent than Jose, but it's not consistent enough. He's going through a tough time. Like I always say, in the big leagues if you don't throw strikes I don't care how good you are, you're going to get killed. Real bad command. He's not getting ahead in the count. You don't throw strikes, it's going to be hard for you to win games. In the game of baseball, if your starting pitcher throws well you have a chance to be in the game. We're not doing that right now.''