Third to first

• Double-A Birmingham was named the Southern League Organization of the Year and general manager Jonathan Nelson was named Southern League Executive of the Year, giving him a second such honor.

The organization award is presented to the club that exemplifies the most complete baseball franchise in the Southern League. The Barons topped the Southern League in total attendance (396,820) and average per game (5,669) at new Regions Field.

• September has become an evaluation time for the White Sox in regard to their young prospects, but with 13 losses in their last 15 games entering Saturday, it also has the potential for those same young players to develop bad habits or the wrong attitude. Ventura believes the approach of the coaching staff and the approach of the players won't allow those negatives to occur.

"It's their future. If they want come up and waste it, that's on them and you move on and go to something else," Ventura said. "This is the big leagues and it's about how you do and how you go about your business.

"If you're going to do something to make us better in the future, that's how you evaluate it. I think a lot of guys that have played a long time, they've been on good teams, they've been on teams that were bad, they've been on teams that were not going to be in the hunt. The year doesn't change how you play the game.

"There are things that are going to be different now because we're playing some young guys," Ventura said. "But you go out and play hard and the effort still has to be there."

• David Purcey has a 0.44 ERA over his last 19 outings and has not allowed an earned run in his last 10 appearances. Opponents are 13-for-80 against him and 2-for-28 with runners in scoring position.

• Saturday marked the popular Halfway to St. Patrick's Day promotion, with the White Sox wearing green in their uniforms.