Anderson making it tough for White Sox to ignore him
TUCSON, Ariz. -- The White Sox had their one spring off-day Thursday, and no one deserved a breather more than Brian Anderson.
Not only is Anderson batting .381 in the Cactus League, he leads the Sox in home runs (3) and on-base percentage (.480), and he also has played the best defense of any outfielder.
Based solely on performance, Anderson deserves a spot on the White Sox' 25-man roster, maybe even as a starter.
But up until Wednesday, when the 26-year-old outfielder hit a solo home run off Colorado starter Kip Wells and threw out Yorvit Torrealba at the plate, Anderson was getting very little love from the coaching staff.
Ideally, the White Sox want to open the season with Nick Swisher in left field, Jerry Owens in center, Jermaine Dye in right and Carlos Quentin in the reserve role.
Quite simply, Anderson entered camp buried deep in the White Sox' doghouse. He played very well last spring, hitting .308, but he was optioned to Class AAA Charlotte in late April after batting .118.
In 2006, Anderson was tabbed to replace Aaron Rowand in center field, but he batted just .225.
While he has accomplished next to nothing when given a chance, Anderson has an extremely loyal fan base in Chicago.
Is the former first-round draft pick going to get another chance this season to prove he can play?
A lot depends on the health of Owens (groin) and Quentin (shoulder), but Anderson is making the final decision much more difficult than expected.
For openers: Don't believe those reports that Javier Vazquez will start on Opening Day for the White Sox.
Manager Ozzie Guillen on Wednesday said he's considering going with Vazquez over Mark Buehrle, only because he thinks Gavin Floyd is throwing the ball better than John Danks.
The Sox' rotation is either going to be Vazquez, Buehrle, Floyd, Jose Contreras and Danks, or Buehrle, Vazquez, Danks, Contreras and Floyd.
If it were my call, I'd start Buehrle in the opener.
Floyd (5.14 ERA) has shown some flashes of brilliance this spring, but Danks (2.00 ERA) has added an effective cutter, and the left-hander figures to be much better after taking some second-half lumps as a rookie last season.
Joe vs. Josh: Third baseman Josh Fields is preparing to open the season at Class AAA Charlotte if Joe Crede isn't traded before the end of camp.
Why not send Crede to Charlotte for a while? Crede missed the last four months of the 2007 season after having back surgery, and he has looked rusty this spring while batting .080 (2-for-25).
Considering he has missed so much time, Crede could do a rehab assignment at Charlotte, giving Sox general manager Kenny Williams additional time before he has to make a difficult decision.
Swinging to all fields: The more you see Nick Swisher, both on and off the field, the more you can just tell he is going to be a smash on the South Side. … The White Sox still aren't quite sure what they have in Alexei Ramirez. But the Cuban defector looks like he's going to be a special player, especially if he adds 10-15 pounds of needed muscle. … In Wednesday's exhibition victory over the Colorado Rockies, Scott Linebrink pitched a scoreless inning and Octavio Dotel and Bobby Jenks followed suit. If the trio can just repeat that performance 40 or 50 times during the regular season, the Sox will be contenders.