CHICAGO -- If Jake Peavy and/or Gavin Floyd were hurt, then White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen would have numerous sleepless nights concerning their ERAs sitting well above the 6.00 range in early June. After all, starting pitching stands as the backbone of any good team and serves as the cornerstone upon which the 2010 White Sox were built.

Peavy reiterated to MLB.com on Friday how, physically, he feels great. But in regard to purely his arm, the intense competitor finds himself in a period where things aren't perfect.

"It's been one of those dead-arm phases, where the arm doesn't feel great as far as life on the ball," Peavy said. "So, you just go out and grind it out and push through these periods."

In his past three starts, Peavy has a 1-2 record, allowing 17 earned runs on 26 hits over 17 1/3 innings. He has fanned 18 and walked only three over that same period, so the stuff appears to be there for a pitcher projected at the top of the White Sox rotation.

His problem is not one of pitching through an injury, which could cause Guillen consternation. Instead, Peavy is waiting for his arm to come back to life.

"An extra day [of rest] should help, and having the extra day going into the Cubs game [on June 11], as well, will help me push through soreness and the dead arm and be ready to go," Peavy said. "But I expect to win [on Saturday against Cleveland] 150 percent."

"Expectations for us, not just from me, were very high for the pitchers, not because we're crazy, but because we think they're good enough to do that," Guillen said. "They're healthy, yes. They just haven't pitched well. They can prove me wrong. I expect a lot."

Teahen's surgery goes as planned

CHICAGO -- After raising his average to .255 and getting into a groove with the bat, a significant injury was the last thing Mark Teahen needed at this point of the 2010 campaign. A fracture of the middle finger on his right hand, suffered while fielding an Evan Longoria ground ball on Sunday against the Rays, certainly isn't season-ending for the third baseman.

That injury will keep Teahen out of action for no fewer than six weeks.

"For me, the most frustrating part is there's nothing I can do to speed up the healing process too much," said Teahen on Friday, joining his teammates for Friday's series opener against the Indians. "I'll do all I can do to make sure I'm ready to get back in there as soon as it's healed.

"Right now, I just have to wait. It's aggravating, but what can you do?"

Teahen had pins inserted in the injured finger and said there was nothing out of the ordinary found during the surgery in relation to the injury.

"Yeah, it wasn't like they saw anything that made it a lot better, but nothing made it worse," Teahen said. "For the most part, it was what they thought. Now, it's just about waiting."

Pierzynski's performance at plate improves

CHICAGO -- As a .286 career hitter, White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski wouldn't usually celebrate holding a .225 average in June. But with five multi-hit performances over his previous 12 games, Pierzynski has gradually worked his way back into the area of offensive expertise the club has grown to know and expect from the durable catcher.

Pierzynski, who has felt good all year at the plate, labels better luck as a reason for this change in hitting fortune.

"I'm hitting balls they are not catching for once," Pierzynski said. "I said for a long time, 'It feels like there are 65 guys out there.' Finally, the balls are starting to fall in.

"Look at guys like Carlos [Quentin] and Gordon [Beckham]. It's not like any of us are going up there and are completely out of it. We are trying to have good at-bats, fight through it and find a way to get hits. It's what this game is about, result-oriented."

Having the team struggle while he has been struggling has made things "50 times worse" for Pierzynski, one of the White Sox leaders.

"You could be hitting .500, and if the team is losing, it's going to be miserable," Pierzynski said. "And when you are not doing well, and the team is struggling, it's doubly miserable. It's a bad feeling to be out there when the team is losing, and you are not hitting, not contributing, not doing something to help the team win. It's a double whammy."

Konerko gets night off

CHICAGO -- White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko got the night off on Friday, with right-hander Justin Masterson on the mound for the Indians. Mark Kotsay took over at first base, with Andruw Jones at designated hitter.

"This guy's tough on righties," Guillen said of Masterson. "PK has been swinging good. Yesterday, he was a little off and I don't want him to have back-to-back days."

Konerko is 4-for-10 on the current homestand, with two home runs, six RBIs and three walks.

Garcia thriving for White Sox

CHICAGO -- Entering Friday's series opener with the Indians, Freddy Garcia topped the White Sox much ballyhooed starting rotation with five victories over 10 starts. Not a bad overall effort, especially for a fifth starter whom the White Sox probably forecasted in the 10-win range before the season started.

Garcia had his $1 million option picked up for the 2010 season. With his guile and innate ability to pick up his performance to shut down top opposing teams, the right-hander could be the target of a playoff contender if the White Sox deem themselves out of contention.

Those sorts of worries don't concern Garcia in the present and especially not when he's asked about how he sees his future playing out in 2011 and beyond.

"Whatever happens, happens," Garcia said. "If it's here, it's here. If not, there are 30 teams in baseball. If you do your job and throw innings, and they know you are 100 percent, you will find some job somewhere else.

"I would like to be here. But if it doesn't happen, what can you do?"

Garcia left the White Sox via trade after the 2006 season but made just 23 big league starts from that point until 2010, including nine with the White Sox last season. Even at age 33, those three years of inactivity give Garcia extended future time in the Majors in his mind.

"Now, I'm feeling good," said Garcia, whose ERA would be 3.23 if not for two monstrously bad starts against Toronto and Florida, where he allowed 14 runs over 5 1/3 innings combined.

Third to first

The White Sox slipped on Friday to a dismal 4-19 in games played after a victory, including 14 losses in their past 15 attempts. The team has won back-to-back games just once since completing the three-game sweep of Seattle on April 25 ... Gordon Beckham has gone 99 at-bats without an extra-base hit and 153 without a home run ... The White Sox game against Washington on June 19 has been picked up by FOX with a 3:10 p.m. CT start time. The game was originally scheduled to air on Comcast SportsNet at 6:05 p.m. CT, but rookie phenom Steven Strasburg could be pitching in this game for the Nationals ... Here's Ozzie Guillen humorously explaining his second team meeting this season, taking place after Wednesday's loss to Texas: "Like I always say: Good teams win games. Bad teams have meetings. Very bad teams have two meetings."