Part-time wrestler, Joe Cowley, wrote an article in today’s Sun-Times with this lede:

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen knew the e-mail box would fill up when the announcement was made Monday.

So when the club recalled Carlos Quentin from his rehab assignment with Class AAA Charlotte and Brian Anderson was sent down over Dewayne Wise, sure enough, the ”Ozzie is a racist” comments were fired.

Guillen follows by saying if he didn’t like Anderson, the center fielder would have been out a long time ago, because he is almighty and powerful and can boot guys on a whim like that. He continued to reiterate the entire organization does indeed like Anderson. Fair enough. There’s been plenty of rumblings over the years that Anderson is perpetually in Guillen’s doghouse, but he’s still around, so I suppose that does counts for something. Nick Swisher, if you remember, was not liked, and was gone after one year.

But the bottom line is this: Brian Anderson and DeWayne Wise are not everyday MLB players. Neither of them has proven that over the course of their careers. So Guillen went with what’s going to suit him off the bench: Wise has more speed, and he’s been a more effective fielder by UZR. That’s what you want off your bench in the late innings: a pinch runner and a defensive replacement. Neither of these guys can really hit, so if Wise happens to add that too, all the better.

Keep reading →

And that member of the Sox would be Brian Anderson. Here’s why: With Wise out until June with a separated shoulder, this, in theory, gives Brian Anderson six weeks to prove himself at the plate. His defense has never been an issue. His batting has. If Anderson can just be a .250-.260  hitter, I don’t see why the center field job can’t be his for the season.

Jerry Owens is coming up from Triple-A as another option, but it doesn’t seem like Ozzie Guillen is too enthused about playing him much. Brent Lillibridge might get some starts out there too, but B.A. is going to get the majority of the time in center.

He doesn’t need to bat leadoff; That’s Chris Getz’s job once he gets back from his small injury, until further notice. He just needs to be an average hitter down in the eighth or ninth spot in the order.

Anderson has never proven he can do that. But, here’s his chance. I like B.A.; I’m rooting for him. And if he doesn’t capitalize on it? Expect the Sox to at least try and upgrade in center come the trade deadline.

UPDATE: The Sox signed Scott Podsednik to a minor-league deal today. Oy. Maybe Anderson will be in a platoon role soon enough …

Heading into Spring Training, there were pretty much three candidates for the White Sox’s starting center-fielder gig: Jerry Owens, Dewayne Wise and Brian Anderson.

No one has emerged as the leader. Wise sort of did, but he hasn’t hit worth a lick lately. I feel like Ozzie would really want Owens to be there Opening Day because he has all the intangibles for a leadoff hitter, namely speed. The only problem is, Owens is hitting even worse than Wise. Really, he probably doesn’t belong on an MLB roster; He’s not very good. And then there’s Anderson, who Ozzie just doesn’t really like.

As such and according to the Sun-Times today, Ozzie Guillen and Kenny Williams are racking their brains trying to figure out what to do here. Problem is, there is no better available option out there. Juan Pierre is no better than any of these guys, no matter what Bill Plaschke will breathlessly write in the L.A. Times. Kenny Lofton is too old. The Sox didn’t score Chone Figgins, Brian Roberts or Coco Crisp this offseason. Basically, out of house right now, there is no deal that can be done to immediately improve at the center-field spot.

The best option right now is this: start Brian Anderson. And here’s why: The Sox’s team defense this season is not going to be very good. Ozzie already realizes this. Josh Fields is still learning at third. Alexei Ramirez is playing shortstop for the first time and Chris Getz is new at second. Paul Konerko is slow at first, A.J. Pierzynski is another year older, as is Jermaine Dye, who isn’t that great in right. Brian Anderson is a solid defensive center fielder. He’s not much of a hitter, so bat him ninth and hope he can eek out a .245 average or something.

Keep reading →

A little over a week ago, Baseball Prospectus released its 2009 MLB season projections, and I briefly wrote about them. BP has the White Sox finishing last, while the Cubs were going-away winners in the NL Central. At the time, I thought of a few things hurting the Sox heading into Spring Training:

1) Jim Thome, Jermaine Dye, Paul Konerko and A.J. Pierzynski are another year older.

2) A very shaky Bartolo Colon is the fourth starter. The fifth starter is yet to be determined. John Danks and Gavin Floyd were good last year, but they are still young and somewhat unproven.

Yesterday, Christina Kahrl of Baseball Prospectus wrote a column digging deeper into the Sox’s projection. (You can read the first part of that article, the rest is only for subscribers.) A few other things that are currently hurting the Sox — besides vets getting older and the starting rotation — include a whole bunch of question marks, really.

Keep reading →

A solid $23 million just got peaced off the White Sox payroll yesterday as they sent The Guy Who Couldn’t Pitch In Big Games At The End Of Season (Javier Vasquez) to the Braves (along with Boone Logan) in exchange for catching prospect Tyler Flowers — who lit up the Arizona League this fall with 12 homers — and a bunch of minor-league dudes.

At first glance, it’s a classic case of dumping salary for youth, something I thought the Sox would have been wise to do last offseason. With both Nick Swisher and Javier Vasquez now gone, that’s some sizable salary out the door for prospects. Couple that with Jermaine Dye being rumored in a deal to Cincinnati for Homer Bailey, and that’s even more salary going out the door.

But as South Side Sox points out, there’s also another force at work here:

The simple answer is dumping payroll, getting younger. But closer inspection–hell, it doesn’t even take close inspection–reveals another force is at work, a winter cleaning of Ozzie Guillen’s doghouse.

In two trades the Sox have purged themselves of three players in whom Guillen no longer had confidence. Nick Swisher played his way out of town with a pouting act and a .197 second-half batting average. Vazquez chartered his flight with a 13.22 ERA in his final 4 starts as a member of the White Sox, taking Boone Logan and his 38 baserunners in his final 10 IP along with him as a carry-on.

If I’m Brian Anderson right now, I’m running for cover.

If there is one overriding theme of the White Sox’s offseason so far — besides “we couldn’t wait to get Nick Swisher out of here fast enough” — it’s that they’re going young. Well, not so much that they’re completely retooling the roster to cut costs and start anew. It’s more they are going to instill more trust in the likes of some of their guys that have only seen sporadic playing time the last few years. (Or haven’t been on the team at all yet.)  I’ll let Ozzie explain:

What about starting Josh Fields at third, Chris Getz or Jayson Nix at second and Jerry Owens or Brian Anderson in center?

I love it. For two reasons: I think we have the [veteran] people [and] we can still compete; and we have to say to the minor-league coaches, instructors and scouts [that] those kids deserve it. They have enough credentials to play here. … They have to play good enough in spring training to convince me they can play in the big leagues. We’re not going to do this just to go young, go cheaper. We want to give those kids a shot. If they don’t take [advantage], they’re not going to get in.

Keep reading →