Worth noting

• The White Sox travel party was something of a skeleton crew heading into Minneapolis. Not only are pitching coach Don Cooper (vertigo) and bench coach Mark Parent (family reasons) expected to miss the entire series, but longtime play-by-play man Ken "Hawk" Harrelson is in Cooperstown, N.Y., this weekend as part of the White Sox contingent honoring former Sox slugger Frank Thomas and manager Tony La Russa as they enter the Hall of Fame on Sunday.

When asked if Cooper was feeling any better on Thursday, Ventura said, "He wasn't yesterday. I haven't talked to him today. It's tough. I know he wants to be here and do what he does, but he's not able to get up. I don't know -- it doesn't look like he's getting any better."