White Sox manager Jerry Manuel was singing as he breezed through the clubhouse Tuesday.
He chatted with visitors while signing baseballs and later observed a card game, joking with participants Willie Harris and Jose Valentin.
With speculation rife that a subpar road trip could cost him his job, Manuel remains unfazed. He’s secure in his abilities and not about to change for critics who say his easygoing demeanor won’t help his struggling team.
“I’ve been this way all my life,” Manuel said. “I know what I do inside the clubhouse. People aren’t inside the clubhouse or aren’t involved in the one-on-one conversations. That’s OK. That’s the way this job is.”
Before watching his team get blanked 6-0 by the Athletics on Tuesday night, Manuel said he’s willing to be the scapegoat.
“It’s a silver lining that it’s about me and not about a particular guy who would need to go for someone else to validate themselves,” he said.
“I don’t need validation. I’ve been a manager in the big leagues for a while. My first year, I might have been out there saying, `Hey, man, you think I can manage? Do I know what I’m doing?'”
Manuel said he’s certain the Sox can rebound.
“Adversity is something your team has to go through to be worthy of a champion,” he said. “You’ve got to spill some blood. Championships aren’t easy. You’re going to have some casualties in a war.”
After having lost 10 of their last 14 games, the Sox tried to stop the bleeding in Oakland, where they had lost nine straight games. Make it 10.
The Sox’s defeat lasted just 1 hour 49 minutes, their shortest game since a 1-0 loss to Kansas City in 1984.
Lefty Mark Mulder, a South Holland native, dominated the Sox again. Six days after giving up one run in a complete-game victory, Mulder fired a five-hit shutout.
Mulder got all the support he needed in the first inning, when the A’s took a 3-0 lead in incredible fashion.
With two outs and the bases loaded, Mark Buehrle was poised to escape the jam when Ramon Hernandez popped up a 3-2 pitch.
But second baseman D’Angelo Jimenez barely got a glove on the wind-swept ball. Then he kicked it. By the time Magglio Ordonez could retrieve it, three runs had scored.
“We have to make that play,” Manuel said. “There’s really no excuse for it.”
Said Jimenez: “The ball started carrying back, back, back. But it’s my fault. You have to catch the ball. That was big-time for the game.”
Buehrle allowed just two earned runs but fell to 2-5.
“With the offense struggling, you have to have your `A’ game to give this team a chance,” Buehrle said.
The Sox, who are averaging 2.3 runs over their last eight games, face Oakland twice more before heading to Seattle, where they’re 2-7 over the last two seasons.
“This is a tough week,” Frank Thomas said. “If we mess around and get our butts kicked, we could be in a hole for the rest of the season. It’s no fun to play catch-up. We have to turn it around now.”
As for Manuel, he said he has not asked general manager Ken Williams whether he needs to be concerned about all the talk. Williams has remained publicly supportive of Manuel and his coaching staff.
“We’ve had conversations,” Manuel said. “But we haven’t had conversations about where I stand. I didn’t think it was necessary. [The speculation] has taken on a life outside, but it’s not something that’s inside the organization.
“The thing you hope is that it doesn’t permeate within. When it does, I’m sure I’ll be the first to know. And when I know, I’ll let you know. `Cause I’ll head onto the hills and [you can say], `We got ol’ Jerry. He was tough, but we got ol’ Jerry. He hung in there for six years.'”
Manuel smiled after that one. The Sacramento native was later asked if any of his family members planned to attend any games.
“My mom’s coming [Wednesday],” he said. “I told her I’ll be here.”
No luck with Mulder
The Sox have faced Mark Mulder four times in his career. Tuesday night at Oakland, they were just 5-of-29 against him. Overall they are hitting just .190 against the left-hander. Here is how current Sox players have fared against Mulder:
Magglio Ordonez 5-for-13, HR, 3 RBIs
Carlos Lee 4-for-14, HR, 2 RBIs
Tony Graffanino 3-for-10
D’Angelo Jimenez 1-for-4
Jose Valentin 1-for-4
Sandy Alomar 1-for-4
Joe Crede 1-for-6
Paul Konerko 0-for-10, RBI
Frank Thomas 0-for-6
Willie Harris 0-for-3
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