* Gordon Beckham played primarily shortstop at Double-A, but moved to third base for his final game there and stayed at the hot corner last night in his Triple-A debut.

I've been assuming that the White Sox view Beckham as the long-term answer at second base and they've gotten the AL's third-worst production from the position, but perhaps they're more interested in ditching third baseman Josh Fields, who's hitting .229/.293/.314 with poor defense.

* Chris Davis is striking out more often than any player in baseball history and he's hitting just .203/.259/.456 in the process, so the Rangers are running out of patience. Davis is batting .368 with 12 homers in 87 at-bats when he makes contact, but he's whiffed in an amazing 41.7 percent of his plate appearances.

* Cecil Cooper's job might be safe for a while longer, but the Denver Post reports that Rockies manager Clint Hurdle is "on borrowed time."

* In case you haven't heard, the Matt Wieters Era begins tonight in Baltimore. Based on the hype, he should have the Orioles in first place by Monday.

* After being part of umpire Todd Tichenor's ejection-fest yesterday afternoon, Red Sox manager Terry Francona "was examined by emergency medical technicans to check on his blood pressure."

_