ChiSox Look For Answers In Center

By most measures, acquiring Nick Swisher from the A’s this offseason was a great deal, even if it did gut the organization of most of their top prospects. Swisher is monster at the plate; his patience-power approach will be refreshing to see on the Sox, even if it's for a manager who thinks the key to winning baseball games is bunting. Please, someone give Ozzie a copy of Moneyball, it would save us all from more headaches. One problem with Swisher though: while his versatility is a plus, he really isn’t a true centerfielder, which is kind of where the Sox need him.

If Carlos Quentin is healthy and ready to go, it seems like putting Swisher in center is the way to go. While the defense would be less than stellar, Swisher and Quentin (another patience-power guy) would make an already dynamic White Sox lineup that much better. Unfortunately, Quentin has been slowed by a shoulder injury in spring training, so he may not even start the season on the opening day roster.

Without Quentin, Swisher moves to left field, and the Sox will trot out one of three young, more natural defenders in center.

If it was up to the Sun-Times’ Joe Cowley, the job would probably go to Jerry Owens.

If speed kills, Owens is a serial killer. He is a true leadoff hitter, with Kenny Lofton-like potential. Besides adding 10 pounds of muscle during the offseason, his confidence is sky-high. A tweaked groin has slowed him down a bit, but he should be fine.

As the fine gentlemen at South Side Sox point out, the Lofton comparison is quite absurd. But I’m not sure a constant ripping of Owens is fair. Look, we get Owens has no power, as his .700 OPS will show. But if Owens wins the centerfield job, he’ll surely be batting leadoff, and he’s not all that terrible at doing what leadoff hitters need to do: get on-base. If he gets on at the .361 clip he did in AAA last season, then the Sox should be alright. Of course, Owens posted that number in the minors as a 26-year old, so maybe it’s hard to see how much improvement he can gain in the majors.

For his part, Owens is talking like he could get the job, but he’s facing surprisingly stiff competition from Brian Anderson and Cuban newcomer Alexei Ramirez.

Cowley points out that Anderson is bashing at an all-time high this spring, and it’s worth nothing that BA always been a TUP favorite. But remember people, Brian Anderson always does well in spring. We’ll see if it translates to the games that count, or if Ozzie will even give it the opportunity to.

Ramirez is the dark horse for the job and is quickly becoming the golden boy for the coaches. While his long term future may be at second base, Ramirez played centerfield for Cuba in the World Baseball Classic, and he impressed there in his first start earlier today.

"Every time we play this kid at any position, he goes out there and looks better than what we thought," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "He talked to me about it and said he'd like to play center field. He's a good center fielder. Before spring training is over, you will see him a couple more times to see how he feels."

To me, it would seem like the ideal situation is still an outfield of Quentin-Swisher-Dye. Swisher won’t be Rob Mackowiak Bad back there, and that outfield should be productive and is fairly young. If Quentin can’t go, I wouldn’t be opposed to giving Owens a chance. Owens hitting leadoff pushes Swisher back from the two-hole to hitting sixth or seventh. Ramirez should probably start in the minors, though, as Ken Rosenthal points out, the Sox would be uniquely equipped to handle him on the major league roster (even in a utility role) because of Contreras and Ozzie. As for Anderson, well, as soon as his first 0-4 game comes, Ozzie is just going to put Pablo in there anyways, so, really, what’s the point?

Note 1: Because the bubonic plague is sweeping through Bartlett at the moment, the p-cast is pushed back another week or two…

Rickhouse covers the White Sox, Bulls, Bears, Blackhawks and future stars of professional sports on his blog Tremendous Upside Potential. He also writes for the Chicago Sun Times' Full Court Press blog, and Top Ten Chicago Sports.
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