"Alexei Ramirez is off to one of his typical slow starts.

But his recent lack of production isn't the reason why Ramirez wasn't in the White Sox's lineup Wednesday night.

In fact, manager Ozzie Guillen said he has noticed improvement in Ramirez's disposition after his struggles at the plate, unlike last season when Guillen said Ramirez would dwell on a poor at-bat and let it affect his defense.

"He wasn't playing shortstop the way he should," Guillen said of Ramirez's defense last year, when he committed 20 errors. "Right now, he has been playing great shortstop since spring training, and I'm happy about that.''

Guillen said he expects to put Ramirez back in the lineup Thursday night against Toronto's soft-throwing left-hander Dana Eveland."