Guillen might be wise to consider Ramirez at top
Even Ozzie Guillen wasn't posting an over-under on how long he'd have Dewayne Wise leading off.
At this moment, the White Sox manager sees no other option, but it doesn't mean he has stopped looking.
Makes you wonder if, or how much, he has thought about Alexei Ramirez at the top of the order.
Laugh if you must, and we can understand why because he's certainly not the prototype, but if the Sox had a typical leadoff hitter, Wise wouldn't be there, either.
And Ramirez does offer some serious Rickey Henderson-type potential in giving you a 1-0 advantage every time he leads off a game.
The other positives are that he's very fast, he can go from first to third with anyone, and he's going to hit. What he doesn't do, at least so far, is steal bases as well as Ken Henderson, let alone Rickey Henderson.
You'd also lose the potential for a big RBI number from Ramirez by having him at the top, unless of course there's some consistent on-base guys at the bottom of the order.
Wise's on-base percentage and batting average aren't historically better than those of Ramirez, but one thing Wise can do well is swipe a base. He was 9-for-9 in only 129 at-bats last season, while Ramirez was 13-for-22 in 480 ABs, despite being the much faster player.
While both find walks to be simply offensive, Wise struck out once every 4 ABs to Ramirez's once every 8 at-bats.
But this isn't really about comparing the two. Guillen knows it's a longshot that Wise works out, but he can't justify in his mind a different selection at this moment.
In three weeks he may have no choice but to think about Chris Getz or even Ramirez. It's not something Guillen would want to do, but he may look around - again - and fail to see a better alternative.
You can be certain that if he tries Ramirez, it will at least be exciting, if not altogether productive.
The infield
Speaking of Ramirez, he covers so much ground at short that it allows Josh Fields to cheat toward the line at third, something he must do with his limited range.
You gotta believe Guillen's been on the phone back to Chicago already, telling Roger Bossard to put some fertilizer on the infield grass, begging him not to cut it until August.
On the other side, Chris Getz looks to be cheating a bit up the middle, apparently not his best direction. That's going to leave a gap for pops behind Paul Konerko and in front of Jermaine Dye.
The good news is Fields is going to hit and Getz is a real nice player, and the Sox' offense ought to be pretty strong this year.
It better be to make up for what could be a shaky infield defense.
The outfield
With Carlos Quentin in left and Jermaine Dye in right, look for Brian Anderson to be entering games sooner than your average late-inning replacement on the days he doesn't start.
Wise, Quentin and Dye will catch what's hit to them, but not a whole bunch more than that.
The pick
The White Sox have plenty of holes, including on their pitching staff, but so does every other team in the AL Central, so I'm again picking the Sox to win the division with fewer than 90 victories.
The good guys
Congrats to St. Francis High senior Kimberly Neary, named by the Wolves on Sunday as this year's Tim Breslin Memorial Scholarship winner.
Neary, with a 4.96 GPA, is a member of her high school volleyball team, math team, National Honor Society and student ministry team. She also worked as a volunteer aide at Carol Stream Public Library and captained a Relay for Life team in honor of her late mother, who succumbed to cancer.
Cog Hill holiday
For one day only, golf fans will have an opportunity to purchase 2009 BMW Championship tickets at 2006 prices, the Western Golf Association announced Tuesday.
The offer will be available from midnight to midnight on April 15 for the Sept. 7-13 tourney, which returns to a renovated Cog Hill this year.
Any-Day tickets will be $37 (instead of $45) and Weekly Badges will go for $100 (instead of $150). Visit BMWChampionshipUSA.com on April 15, or call (847)-724-4600.
Last time Cog Hill hosted the BMW in 2007, Tiger Woods roared home on the back nine on Sunday, on one of his favorite courses, to capture the victory at 22-under, en route to winning the inaugural FedEx Cup.
Ivan Boldirev-ing
Christian Hanson, son of Dave from "Slap Shot'' fame, signed Tuesday with Toronto as an undrafted free agent out of Notre Dame.
Hanson is a 6-foot-4, 228-pound center. Any surprise Leafs GM Brian Burke went for him first?
Central issue
Houston manager Cecil Cooper said he expects the Astros to win 90 games. He meant over two seasons, right?
And finally -
Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel, on whether Florida's Billy Donovan ever pondered the Kentucky job: "At UF, Donovan has job security for life. At UK, he has job security until the next booster-club meeting."
brozner@dailyherald.com