Uribe in position to win 2B job
PHOENIX -- The White Sox break camp March 27, and manager Ozzie Guillen said the 25-man roster would be set before the team charter flies out of Arizona.
As for the starting lineup, some big decisions have yet to be rectified.
The Sox still are carrying two starting third basemen -- Joe Crede and Josh Fields. And they still are waiting for Jerry Owens to show he has completely recovered from a nagging groin injury before anointing him the starter in center field.
Second base also is up in the air, but it's looking more and more like former shortstop Juan Uribe is going to man the position on a regular basis.
Uribe was forced to find a new home after the White Sox acquired Orlando Cabrera from the Los Angeles Angels in an off-season trade.
"I don't know,'' Uribe said when asked about his status. "I don't have control over that decision. That's a decision for the team and that's a decision for the manager. I like to play and I want to play.''
While Pablo Ozuna, Danny Richar and intriguing newcomer Alexei Ramirez still are in the crowded picture at second base, Uribe has played well enough this spring to claim the spot.
"Uribe is playing unbelievable,'' Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "He's swinging the bat well. I don't worry about his defense. He's good at defense and swinging the bat extremely well. My question is, can Uribe carry this for a season? That's the most important thing, but it's going to be fun to watch those guys compete for a position.''
Uribe is batting .333 (10-for-30) in 11 Cactus League games, but that's not quite enough to overcome his .234 average and equally dismal .284 on-base percentage from 2007.
"He's still swinging from his heels no matter what the situation is,'' a major-league scout said Sunday. "He can play second base, there's no doubt about it. He's not an all-star out there, but he's good enough to get the job done for the White Sox. But that swing is going to be a problem.''
Uribe has looked very good on defense, but he said switching from shortstop to second base isn't as easy as it looks.
"I feel good there,'' said Uribe, who made 70 starts at second for the Sox in 2004. "The only difference between second base and shortstop is sometimes you have to be in different places for groundballs.
"When there would be a double play and I would be at shortstop, I knew where to be. At second base, sometimes you have to be here, or here, or here. You can't see the runner a lot of the times, and that can make it hard.''
Uribe signed a one-year, $4.5 million contract Nov. 7. Less than two weeks later, the Sox traded for Cabrera.
That set up a potentially stormy spring for the 29-year-old infielder, but Uribe has been a positive camper since arriving from his home in the Dominican Republic.
"I'm happy to be here with the White Sox and I'm happy to have a contract,'' Uribe said. "I like to play. I want to play every day. But if there are other guys that are going to play some of the time, that's OK with me, too. Helping the team is all I want to do.''