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Picking his poison

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen didn't have to be reminded that the Red Sox boast a fearsome duo in the middle of their order.

David Ortiz (.300, 47 homers, league-leading 148 RBI) and Manny Ramirez (45 homers, 144 RBI) are hard to miss.

Often, the opposition has to choose which slugger to face in a key spot. Pitch around Ortiz to get to Manny, or pitch to Ortiz rather than face Manny.

Guillen said Monday morning that his battle plan at the outset of the first two games will depend on his starter. Tuesday it will be right-hander Jose Contreras and Wednesday it nwill be left-hander Mark Buehrle.

``With Jose pitching, I don't want Ortiz to beat him. I'll take the chance with Manny,'' said Guillen. ``If Buehrle's pitching, I don't want Manny to beat me.''

Overall this season, the White Sox had more success pitching to ramirez than they did pitching to Ortiz. Ramirez batted only .240 with two homers and five RBI in 25 at-bats. Ortiz batted .321 with three homers and eight RBI in 28 at-bats.

Of course, the White Sox were careful with each of them. Ramirez drew seven walks and Ortiz had five.

Posted by   at 3:19 PM | Permalink