(almost certainly not a photograph of Toby Hall)

“White Sox players have gone to great lengths to keep a loose atmosphere on the team,” writes the Chicago Tribune’s Mark Gonzalez, “from their celebratory leaping off each other in the dugout after home runs to Nick Swisher getting a mock ovation from the dugout before his first at-bat Friday in Oakland.” None of those incidents, however, caused catcher Toby Hall to miss playing time.

On Friday, Hall’s attempt at giving the traditional shaving cream pie to the postgame guest on the Comcast SportsNet telecast was blocked by teammate Jermaine Dye.

Hall, who suffered a right shoulder separation in March 2007 that cut into his playing time for most of that season, grabbed his arm and walked away.

But Hall insisted before Tuesday night’s game against Seattle that he merely was feeling the lingering effects of a foul tip that he’d taken near his right shoulder Saturday in Oakland.

“I like to have fun as long as they don’t get hurt,” Guillen said. “Last night someone told me it was Toby and something was going on. I just let them do what they do as long as they respect each other and as long as they don’t get mad when it happens.”

Guillen expressed amazement that some players are interviewed despite not having exceptional performances.

“You might be 1-for-5 and they put you on TV after the game,” he said.