FanHouse GustavoMolina

Just about every team that isn't the Chicago White Sox hates A.J. Pierzynski. When the Sox are on the road, Pierzynski is greeted with boos everywhere he goes. He's probably the second most booed player in baseball behind Barry Bonds.

"Everywhere we go A.J. is booed," said Ozzie Guillen. "We'd have to play on his mother's patio to get people to cheer for him."

The thing is, the majority of fans from around the country have no reason to boo him. They just do because it seems like the cool thing to do. This odd social phenomenon does not apply to fans of the Los Angeles Angels. They have reasons for hating Pierzynski so.

After all, it was A.J. who stole first base in Game 2 of the 2005 ALCS that allowed the Sox to win that game and send them on to a World Series championship.

On Sunday, A.J. made sure Angels fans will continue to boo him, and he did it on his day off.

Gustavo Molina started Sunday afternoon's game for the White Sox and brought with him his .000 batting average. Well, the Angels had a 3-0 lead going into the 8th inning, but after Bartolo Colon got himself in trouble he was replaced by Scot Shields. The Sox made it 3-1 before it was Molina's turn at bat.

In our latest chapter of The Amazing Adventures of Toby Hall and The Labrum of Doom we find out that the White Sox' backup catcher may not have to miss the season after all.

The Sox are planning on trying to rehab Halls shoulder without surgery to see if he can recover from the torn labrum in time to return in May. As the Sox point out, there is only about a 50/50 chance Hall will return this season.

''If he has surgery right now, he's going to miss the whole year,'' Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. ''There's a 50-50 chance to recover from rehab. That's why they're going to try to rehab him through April, then at the end of April, we're going to make the decision to have the surgery or not. Why not take the 50-50 chance and see what happens?''

There was also a bit of a surprise when it came to announcing Hall's replacement. Most folks (re:me) thought that Wiki Gonzalez would take the place, but instead the Sox have decided to go with the youngster Gustavo Molina. No, he's not related to The Holy Trinity of the Catching Molina Brothers.

The Sox really like what they see in Molina's ability to throw out baserunners, and the way they handle baserunners. Ozzie Guillen did have a talk with Molina to tell him he needs to be more aggressive.

''I like people who are more aggressive,'' Guillen said.

You don't say?

Previously at the Fanhouse:

Toby Hall Has A Torn Labrum

The Backup Plan Needs A Backup Plan