Tuesday was a tough day for every member of the White Sox organization. It was they day they laid to rest spring training special instructor Kevin Hickey.

The whole team attended Hickey’s funeral in the morning. I still can’t believe that I am saying that. I know they are professional ballplayers, but they are people first, so the game at night took a back seat to what went on in the morning.

The Twins ripped the Sox, 9-2, beating up Gavin Floyd to the tune of 9 earned runs in just over 3 innings of work.

One guy who continues to pitch great against the Twins is Zach Stewart. Stewart, who came within 6 outs of pitching a perfect game against Minnesota last year, threw another 3 shut out innings on Monday. He did allow one hit though.

Tuesday saw the introduction of the O-Dog, Orlando Hudson. The Sox signed the former all-star 2nd baseman after placing Brent Morel on the disabled list.

Hudson acclimated himself quite nicely. Starting at the hot corner, Hudson made a real nice play on a slow chopper. He did alright with the bat too, stroking his first ever hit as a member of the South Siders. Nice that it came against one of his former teams.

I’ve never met Hudson, but I have heard he is a great teammate, and a even better clubhouse presence.

My one question: What happens when Morel returns? Could/should Beckham start looking over his shoulder?

Chris Sale may not weigh much, but he sure can sling it. 7 innings, 2 hits and no runs allowed for Sale, who is now 5-2 as a starter.

The best thing was his pitch count. Sale only threw 97 pitches to get through the 7 innings. Las week during his post game comments, he made a point of saying he’ll improve in that area. If I remember correctly, he threw 102 pitches in 6 innings against the Angels. So he changed things in 1 start? That is the sign of a mature pitcher. I just hope he has a healthy career.

Nice to see the forced time off didn’t effect Paul Konerko one bit. In two games, Konerko is 5-8, with a home run and 2 RBI. His bomb in the 7th was mashed. Konerko is beating father time by hitting .381.

Alex Rios also hit a home run. He is quietly looking like the guy of 2 years ago.

Sox are still at .500, and trail the Indians by 3.5 games. However, they lead everyone’s preseason pick, Detroit, by 1.5 games.

Sox wrap up their series against the Twins tomorrow before getting the Tribe over the weekend.