White Sox fans, we're about halfway through Spring Training 2009, and it appears as if the Center Field job appears to be DeWayne Wise's job to lose. At second base, it appears as if Chris Getz has the inside track, but Gordon Beckham has been tearing the cover off the ball in the Cactus League to a point where he may possibly travel north & east with the big club. Here's the real question...Who will be the leadoff hitter come Opening Day vs. the Royals April 6th at U.S. Cellular Field? If Jerry Owens can't find a way to get on base more often with 2 weeks and counting remaining in these warmup games, who will bat first? It was a real problem last season, and a constant question Sox fans peppered Chris "The Ranger" Rongey with on a number of postgame shows on 670 "The SCORE" & the White Sox Radio Network. It's still a big question that remains unanswered.

The answer seems apparent to me. Chris Getz has had a nice OBP at every level he has played. He did a good job in limited action when called up last year. He has now met the challenge against two other competitors for the second base job.

This would solve all the hand wringing over the CF job. Consider it a defensive position and let Anderson play every day.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Exactly.

I've always been in the "Play BA" camp. If the guy could even hit .240, he'd start 130+ games.

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Anderson's defense should make him the front-runner. Unfortunately, they seem to be trying to force somebody else - first Owens, now Wise, into that spot.

Wise as the "everyday" CF will not help the White Sox. He's a nice guy to start once a week or be a pinch runner, but there is a reason he's 30, and his .290something career on base % has been in the minor leagues for years.

BA has also been hitting the cover off the ball this spring, as he did last year.

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I wouldn't be opposed to Alexei hitting leadoff to start the season. I read where Ozzie is hesitant to leadoff Getz because he doesn't want to put that much pressure on a rookie. Alexei is not an ideal leadoff man but he can do it for the first month until Getz feels more comfortable to hit at the top of the order.

Alexi drives in runs, and is too much of a free swinger to leadoff.

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I agree but it's just a temporary solution. I don't want him hitting there all season.

I'd think Ozzie is right if I hadn't seen enough instances where Getz stepped up when pressure was put on him.

When you think about it, there is very little pressure. This team is going to score runs whether the first hitter gets on or not.

I don't like Alexei hitting leadoff. He really is the big RBI man in the bottom half of the lineup.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

He is the south side version of Soriano.

Getz has never batted leadoff at any level of baseball.
The last time the Sox tried to convert a high OBP guy into a leadoff man was all the way back in April of 2008 - and how did you all enjoy the Nick Swisher leadoff era???

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“Mmmm. Move over, eggs. Bacon just got a new best friend - fudge.”

That's what "Murph" suggested, but what the hell does that Cub fan know? DeWayne Wise is believed to be the leading candidate not just for centerfield, but for the leadoff spot as well. Brian "The Whipping Boy" Paruch went over Wise's career stats the other day in "Murph's" time slot, and he mentioned something about a career on-base percentage of about .293. That's not the most ideal of stats for any leadoff hitter, and Ozzie seems a little skittish about starting second baseman Chris Getz in the #1 spot either. I thought Alexei started one game at the top of the batting order, and I believe he went 4-for-5 in a game last summer in Baltimore. While there are questions about #10 being a free swinger at the plate, there wouldn't be any question about his ability to get on base with his speed. At this point, I don't think the Sox have anything to lose if Ramirez was the leadoff hitter from the getgo...

They don't have a leadoff man on the roster. In 06 they handed BA the job and that didn't pan out. Once biten twice shy. The lack off depth on this team means it's just a couple injuries of making a last place finish a reality.

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I'm going to bounce from the spot for awhile but I will be back at some point to argue with you about this hoops stuff again. Playoffs have been great this season. See ya up the road.

I'm out.

Yeah, Alexi sucks in the field just like Aldolfo

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Guys, Alexei is NOT Alfonso Soriano. He's not making nearly enough $$$$ as Soriano...

Frank, what's the title of the thread???
But since you brought up defense, if you find any proof that Alexei was anything other than a below average second baseman, please feel free to share with the class.
Come to think of it, Soriano was a below average second baseman back in his Yankee days too.

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“Mmmm. Move over, eggs. Bacon just got a new best friend - fudge.”

This from The Daily Herald

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. _ Is Kenny Lofton still available? Hey, what about Tony Phillips?
OK, that’s pushing it a little, but don’t doubt GM Kenny Williams is looking at every available option right now as he tries to solve the leadoff problem that is threatening to drive the White Sox into the ground.
Kenny has made trades in spring training before, most recently picking up Matt Thornton and Timo Perez, and he’s probably close to making another deal for a center fielder/No. 1 hitter.
Forget about Juan Pierre _ he is way overpriced and Kenny has never been a big fan.
Forget Jim Edmonds, too. His best days are long gone.
It’s going to be tough to find a reliable guy at this late date, but Kenny has been known to find them.
There has been a lot of talk about the Sox not having a legit leadoff man since Scott Podsednik.
Yes, Podsednik is injury prone, and he’s having a so-so camp with the Colorado Rockies (.259), but he’s probably still a lot better than Jerry Owens or Dewayne Wise.
No matter what, Kenny needs to make a move. Soon.

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2009 CSFMB Fantasy Basketball Champion-
2009 CSFMB Pro Football Pick'em Champion-
2011 NAS Replacement League Football-

Overall Defensively, Alexi > Soriano in a landslide. And now that Alexi will be playing his true position of shortstop, we will really see what he can do. If you want to take Soriano's glove at 2nd or in LF over Alexi, you can have it. Like "JAWS" said, Alexi may not ever be a gold glove caliber defender, but Soriano is among the worst defensive players in the league.

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a) The Yankees got rid of Soriano to get A-Rod, you know the best player in the game, not because he was a poor 2nd baseman. They were willing to live with his poor defense, but he pissed off Tore with his lack of plate discipline and low OBP from the leadoff spot.

b) Comparing Soriano's first full season at 2b to Alexei's last season, each had fielding percentage below the league average. Soriano (.008), Ramirez (.006). Which makes my point that both were below average at 2b a fact, not an opinion.

c) I didn't say anything about capabilities or potential. My point was based on actual performance.

Try responding to what I said, not to what you imagined I said.

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“Mmmm. Move over, eggs. Bacon just got a new best friend - fudge.”

Again,
Please try responding to what I said/wrote, not to the imaginary post you must have read.

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“Mmmm. Move over, eggs. Bacon just got a new best friend - fudge.”

There's an article in the Trib today about Ozzie trying Anderson and Fields in the leadoff spot against lefties. I think that would be a huge mistake and would set those two up for failure. Just hit Alexei there. He obviously has the mentality to handle it and the team will still be able to score plenty of runs to win games.

The Sun-Times' Chris DeLuca wrote the same article about Brian Anderson & Josh Fields possibly leading off vs. tough lefties. I think it's a mistake, and until I see otherwise, B.A. is a one-dimensional ballplayer who sucks as a hitter. As far as Alexei Ramirez possibly leading off, in very limited action at the top of the lineup, #10 hit .417 (5 for 12), 3 runs scored & and an on-base percentage of .417. I don't think Ozzie has anything to lose if the fastest guy on the roster leads off everyday. As for DeWayne Wise, the rumored front runner in center field hit just .083 (1 for 12) with only 1 run scored and a dreadful .154 OBP in the #1 spot. And he might be leading off vs. Kansas City April 6th at U.S. Cellular Field? You've got to be kidding me! Last but not least, Jerry Owens seems closer to getting his walking papers than leading off, hitting just .222 in spring training and went 0-for-2 in a 6-4 Cactus League loss to San Francisco yesterday.

I'd send Getz back down to AAA to lead off, and reach out to Ray Ray and Grudzy and see if either one can still play. They have a couple weeks of spring to get into shape, and if Getz does well on the farm call him up mid-season.

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“Mmmm. Move over, eggs. Bacon just got a new best friend - fudge.”

That's an interesting question you ask about the leadoff spot, and so I'm going to answer it in the longest way possible.

There are a number of guys that could possibly work in the leadoff spot. Ozzie could think about putting Alexei in the front of the lineup, but he doesn't quite have the on base percentage you're looking for in a leadoff hitter. In fact, I think you could count his walks on one hand. Maybe a young kid like Getz gets the chance, but you never know if you want to put that much pressure on a young kid. No matter which player Ozzie Guillen chooses, I'm sure he'll make a good decision and oh, by the way, Ozzie Guillen and Kenny Williams have been good at finding guys to fill in that leadoff spot. Remember a kid named Scott Podsednik that did pretty well for himself a few years ago, and I think that turned out OK.

Mustang, Ray Durham has all but retired, while "Grudzy" was mentioned briefly during the offseason but I thought he hurt his knee late in Kansas City's season. Chris Getz will be the starting second baseman Opening Day, regardless of how good Gordon Beckham has hit the ball in Spring Training, come April 6th at "The Cell". I'm surprised the Sox took a pass on Orlando Hudson, now with the Dodgers, in the offseason. He would've provided solid defense and he would've filled the gaping hole at the top of the White Sox batting order.

I don't blame Kenny for not going after a second baseman, I blame him for putting all his eggs in DeWayne Wise/Jerry Owen's baskets.

Ozzie has Anderson leading off today against Barry Zito.