After a forgettable Spring Training, the White Sox first baseman has homered in each of the season's first two games, drove in five runs and drawn three walks.
His two-run blast in the third inning Wednesday night staked starter Jake Peavy to a 3-0 lead, which soon evaporated in the damp, chilly U.S. Cellular Field air as Cleveland stormed back for a 5-3 victory. Konerko became the first White Sox player to homer in the first two games of the season since Jim Thome accomplished the feat in 2006.
His secret?
Not letting the pressure of getting off to a good start steer him away from his simple approach at the plate.
"I feel pretty good up there," Konerko said. "I'm just trying to swing at good pitches, and sometimes when you face sinkerball guys like we've faced Opening Day, tonight and tomorrow, you just really try to lock in because you can give a lot of cheap strikes away on balls out of the zone.
"I'm just trying to see it as best I can and make good decisions and not do too much, not put too much expectation on it. Whatever situation is in front of me, [I] just try to be in that one -- and that's it."
The 34-year-old veteran is still slotted in the cleanup position for manager Ozzie Guillen, who is counting on the stalwart to pick up some of the run production lost with the departure of Jermaine Dye.
"We expect a lot of him this year," Guillen said. "He's batting fourth for a reason. Hopefully he'll continue. It's a marathon and hopefully he'll stay hot as long as he can."
While Konerko seems to have the staying-hot thing down on the field this young season, he ran into a problem warming up after the game.
For some reason, there was no hot water in the Sox' showers -- an inopportune development considering the game-time temperature of 43 degrees and icy winds gusting up to 23 miles per hour.
Konerko laughed off the bad news.
"That's the word on the street," he joked. "It's the big leagues, you know. I don't know what's going on. I don't know whose fault it is, but we'll just blame it on our clubhouse guy. Usually you do it to the visiting side, not the home side. The joke is on us."
Levity aside, Konerko must be a vital part of a Sox offense that promises to be less long ball and more Ozzie Ball. The team's 22 home runs in spring training were the lowest total since moving to the Cactus League. It will be up to the pop in the lineup, such as Konerko, to clear the table once it's set.
Two games in, he's doing just that.
One situation at a time.
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