One of the reasons manager Ozzie Guillen loved the idea of adding the veteran presence of Orlando Cabrera to his roster in the winter was that the shortstop is not afraid to speak his mind.

That was evident with his homecoming in Anaheim on Monday.

Cabrera, acquired from the Angels for right-handed pitcher Jon Garland last November, said his three seasons of wearing the halo were the biggest learning experience of his 12 years in the big leagues, mainly because he feels he learned from the best in the game.

"With all due respect to managers around the game, I think that (Angels manager Mike) Scioscia is on another level, I mean that with all respect," Cabrera said. "But this guy, he dominates the opponent, the thinking, all the things that they do, the scouting reports, he has an advantage. I think he's the smartest guy in the game right now, no doubt.

"I always thought that if you got the most ability or the most strength, you could win ballgames. I learned there that you can out-smart your opponents and you can beat them that way."

That's why he had no hard feelings about seeing his former organization Monday evening. It didn't hurt that he received a video tribute before the game and was awarded his 2007 Gold Glove.

According to Cabrera, his trade was not a shock. The Angels had youth coming up at the shortstop position and his time was done.

"The way I look at it is my whole career I was brought into places when they have something to fix and once the problem is fixed, they move me on because someone else requires my service," Cabrera said.

Asked what he feels needs fixing with the Sox, he also pulled no punches.

"Most of all, I think it's the leadership," Cabrera said. "I think these guys last year, they didn't handle it well because of all the talent they have here. It was just a matter of putting it all together and know how to win ballgames without having to score a lot of runs."

ANGELS 10, WHITE SOX 7: Following up his last start in which he took a bat to the dugout heating unit, Mark Buehrle's season-long struggles continued as he allowed eight runs (six earned) on 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings pitched against the Angels. It was the third consecutive loss for Buehrle, dropping his record to 1-5 and raising his ERA to 5.81. In the bigger picture, it dropped the Sox (18-19) a game under .500 and was their second consecutive loss on the current 10-game road trip after they started off so well in Seattle.

The Sox did make some noise early, jumping to a three-run lead in the second inning off rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart (1-0). Juan Uribe supplied the big blow with a two-run single. Buehrle, however, gave two runs back in the bottom of that inning, and further damage came in the fifth when Vladimir Guerrero smacked a three-run home run.

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