NEW YORK — When the White Sox try to steal a base, nearly half the time they appear stuck in mud.
And when opponents attempt to steal, the express lanes are open.
Those are lingering problems facing the Sox.
“We don’t have good leads,” manager Ozzie Guillen said of why the Sox had been successful on only 16 of their first 30 steal attempts. “We don’t have that many people on base, so we forgot how to run the bases. The leads we’re taking at first base are very bad.”
And opponents had been successful on 19 of 21 tries, but Guillen defended his catchers.
“If they don’t want them to run, keep them off the bases,” Guillen said. “But pitchers have to pay a little more attention.”
More action on Jackson: Edwin Jackson has allowed 23 hits in his last 12 2/3 innings, a problem he attributed the lack of an effective slider that had helped him strike out 13 against the Rays on April 7.
But pitching coach Don Cooper believes Jackson merely needs to simplify his approach as Gavin Floyd did Tuesday night against the Yankees.
“I don’t care who is at the plate,” Cooper said. “Babe Ruth could be up there. It’s a matter of throwing to the glove and getting ahead on the count. It’s as simple as that.”
Extra innings: Jake Peavy is going to Triple-A Charlotte, where he plans to play catch Thursday before resuming his minor league rehab Friday against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. … Omar Vizquel, 44, became the oldest player to appear at third base since the Mets’ Julio Franco was 48 years and 282 days old when he played against the Diamondbacks on June 1, 2007.
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