ARLINGTON, Texas - Gordon Beckham thinks he's close.
Some extra work in the batting cage before Wednesday's game gave the second-year infielder that feel-good indication.
His manager, however, was wondering exactly what he's close to? If he thinks he's close to hitting well, that's fine with Ozzie Guillen. If Beckham's close to returning to trying to be the face of the organization, that's where Guillen has a problem. A big one at that.
Guillen sat Beckham for the second game of the Texas series, due in large part to four hits in his last 33 at-bats (.121). As far as Guillen was concerned, Beckham resembled a player that was pressing.
"It looks that way, I feel that way, but in the meanwhile, like I keep saying every day, you cannot come here and think you're carrying this ballclub,'' Guillen explained. "This is about 25 guys, this is not about one. I think if anyone out there thinks they're going to carry this ballclub they're wrong. I'm not going to say it's because they're not that good, but baseball is too tough to do that every day, day in and day out.
"I think [Beckham] is trying to do too much, I think he's desperate to try and do good. This game is a marathon, it's not a sprint, and a lot of people in Chicago think Gordon is the man of this ballclub. That's a bunch of crap. He's not. This kid has a long way to go. Couple of years ago he was playing college, and I think we did something that I don't think we should have been doing, which is put this kid like he's the savior of the White Sox for the next 30 years. It's not easy to handle that, and I hope that he's struggling right now and it doesn't carry on to him to be the man.
"He's not the man, and he never will be the man. As long as I manage this ballclub, nobody is the man. There are 25 men out there, not just one. Because it will take 25 guys to win this thing, not one or a couple to win it. I think this kid has potential to be a great one. But when you're struggling you've got to sit back and relax, don't forget where you come from and do the same thing you've been doing your whole life.''
The last thing on Beckham's mind was sitting back to relax. That's why he arrived to the ballpark early on Wednesday, hoping to figure a few things out.
"Not mechanical. It's more my mind,'' Beckham explained. "I'm not taking my BP into the game. When I'm getting in the game I feel like I'm a little rushed, I feel like my head is moving a little faster than it should. As opposed to being calm and just sitting in the box and let the ball come to me.
"I'm going to spread out a little bit, eliminate the lower half a little bit, and that's going to keep me locked in, a little quieter. Hopefully, that will help me be more accurate with the ball and make better decisions on pitches that are close and not close. I think that should help. I just have to do it in the games. It's all there.''
Guillen did say that Beckham would play in the series finale this afternoon, so it was obviously just a rest, not a punishment.
And as far as if the club did put too much on Beckham's shoulders and could be ruining him, Guillen didn't think that was the case.
"No, I think this kid mentally is pretty tough about it, and he grew up with the right people around him,'' Guillen said. "I don't want him thinking about, 'I'm the man here, I gotta do this, hit .350, I gotta do this, I gotta be the MVP.' No, he's got to go out and play his game the way he did when he was a little kid.''