Lineups big issue as White Sox visit Cubs
MESA, Ariz. -- Who'd have thought?
Things were more tranquil Saturday with White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen than with Cubs boss Lou Piniella, at least as far as the starting lineups were concerned.
On Friday, Piniella caused another stir by saying he'd move right fielder Kosuke Fukudome up from fifth to second and move Alfonso Soriano from second to third.
But when Saturday's Cubs-White Sox game rolled around, Fukudome was still hitting fifth, and Soriano was still second.
The game ended in an 8-8 tie with each team scoring a run in the ninth and 3 more in the 10th before they agreed to halt play.
"We did nothing," Piniella said before the lineups were posted. "I thought about it last night. I think right now, the way we are situated, I think Fukudome offers the best protection for (Aramis) Ramirez. I know that probably the 2-hole is more suitable for the young man, but right now, the way we're put together, I just feel that Ramirez, out of the 4-hole, will get more protection with Fukudome hitting behind him.
"I talked to my coaches, and they feel the same way. So we're going to stay that way. Unless a deal is made, we're just going to continue on that course and see what happens."
Over on the other side, Guillen joked with Cubs fans and talked leisurely about his lineup. He made no commitment beyond Opening Day, when the Cleveland Indians will throw big lefty C.C. Sabathia at the Sox in Cleveland.
"Right now, I've got to sit down and talk to the coaching staff about what's the ideal lineup, who can help us the best," Guillen said. "If we're starting tomorrow, I think my second baseman is going to be (Pablo) Ozuna because of the way he plays against C.C.
"Maybe tomorrow, I'll change my mind. We've got two guys, Uribe and the Cuban Missile (Alexei Ramirez) in that position because I don't think Pablo can play every day at the big-league level."
The only other issue for the Sox seems to be where to bat Nick Swisher. Guillen said he'd hit Swisher third or sixth, with Jim Thome hitting third against righties and perhaps dropping down against lefties.
"I want people on base for the big boys," Guillen said. "I have not made the decision yet who will be the third hitter. I'm leaning to bat Thome up there and see how the lineup projects the next couple weeks. I'd like to hit Thome lower against lefties. I have to respect the man. He's a Hall of Famer for a reason.
"I'll talk to him about against lefties, him batting fifth. I don't have any problems because when you have 500 home runs and have a career like that, you hit lefties, too."
However it turns out, Guillen said he likes his offense.
"If those guys go up there and do what they're supposed to do, we should score a lot of runs. We should. I don't know if we will. We should."
The Cubs fielded most of their regular lineup, with the exception of Mike Fontenot playing shortstop instead of Ryan Theriot.
Piniella also trotted out his refrain of staying "constant" with a lineup, even though he trotted out 125 different looks last year.
"We're going to be more prone to a set lineup," he said. "I said that. I said that we'd fool around with it in spring training because this is the time to really look at things and assess them, but once the season starts, believe me, the more constant, the better.
"You can see that once we found something that worked last year, we didn't deviate from it at all. We used it. The problem is, if something's not working, I get paid to find solutions. Then, you've got to tinker some. I would prefer to stay as constant as possible, and that's what I think we'll do."