White Sox ready to test Guillen's plan of attack

Posted April 04, 2010 11:00 pm

Scot Gregor

The White Sox embark on the 162-game quest Monday afternoon with a 1:05 p.m. game against the Cleveland Indians at U.S. Cellular Field.

They have yet to take the field, but an internal battle line has already been drawn by Sox fans, the media, burgeoning baseball bloggers and even the players themselves.

On one side, some believe scoring runs is going to much more difficult for the White Sox this season because they no longer have power hitters Jim Thome and Jermaine Dye in the middle of the lineup, and manager Ozzie Guillen's unorthodox plan to rotate his designated hitters is doomed to fail.

"It's a very different style of team from most American League ballclubs," starting pitcher Jake Peavy said. "We don't have the huge power, so to speak, in the middle."

On the other side, there are believers -

"We have a lot of pop in the lineup," cleanup hitter Paul Konerko said. "Enough to hit home runs and doubles. Whether it translates out to hitting 200 some-odd home runs, I don't know. Home runs at times can be a bit overrated.

"They're always good, you definitely need to hit some to win in the American League, but I think we have a pretty good mindset at just winning games or trying to win games however that can happen.

"We're not married to the home run; we're not married to anything, really. We just want to go out and play a game that day and whatever it dictates to us, that's what we do. We have enough pieces to mix and match."

The Sox have several new pieces in this year's lineup, starting with Juan Pierre.

The 32-year-old leadoff man is being counted on to set the tone for the revamped offense, and Pierre is baseball's active leader in stolen bases (459) and bunt hits (165).

On the other side, again, Pierre played sparingly for the Dodgers the past two seasons and drew only 49 walks in 755 combined at-bats. His on-base percentage with L.A. was .327 in 2008 and a decent .365 last year.

Gordon Beckham is the White Sox' No. 2 hitter, followed by Carlos Quentin, Konerko, Mark Kotsay (vs. right-handers, newcomer Andrew Jones vs. LHP), Alex Rios, A.J. Pierzynski, newcomer Mark Teahen and Alexei Ramirez.

"Offensively, I think we can do some more things," Pierzynski said. "It's not just home runs; we have guys that can hit home runs - Carlos, Andruw, Paul. Beckham's going to hit some home runs.

"We also have guys that can run the bases, take the extra base, put pressure on the other team and that's what you're always trying to do."

Guillen is the driving force behind the Sox' change in offensive approach, but he's not seeing a lineup full of slap hitters.

"I think the way the game's going right now - we'd rather have guys that hit the ball out of the ballpark," Guillen said. "We have P.K., we have Carlos, we have Rios. We have two guys that aren't going to hit that many home runs, Juan Pierre and A.J. Everybody else I think has a chance to hit a few home runs.

"I'd rather have six guys in the lineup with 20 or 30 home runs than have two guys with 50."

Sox scouting report

White Sox vs. Cleveland Indians at U.S. Cellular Field

TV: Comcast SportsNet, ESPN2 Monday; Channel 9 Wednesday; Comcast Sportsnet Plus Thursday.

Radio: WSCR 670-AM

Pitching matchups: The Sox' Mark Buehrle (13-10, 3.84 ERA in 2009) vs. Jake Westbrook (0-0) today at 1:05 p.m.; Jake Peavy (3-0, 1.35) vs. Fausto Carmona (5-12, 6.32) Wednesday at 7:10 p.m.; Gavin Floyd (11-11, 4.06) vs. Justin Masterson (4-10, 4.52) Thursday at 7:10 p.m.

At a glance: Buehrle sets a franchise record when he makes his eighth Opening Day start for the White Sox. The 31-year-old lefty is 2-1 with a 3.99 ERA in 7 season openers. Indians DH Travis Hafner is a career .208 hitter (11-for-53) vs. Buehrle. Conversely, Shin-Soo Choo is 5-for-12 (.417). Westbrook last started a game on May 28, 2008. He's been out following Tommy John surgery. The Sox have won five of their last six home openers. They were 10-8 vs. Cleveland last season (4-5 at home).

Next: Minnesota Twins, Friday-Sunday at U.S. Cellular Field

Probable Sox lineup

Juan Pierre, LF

Gordon Beckham, 2B

Carlos Quentin, RF

Paul Konerko, 1B

Mark Kotsay, DH

Alex Rios, CF

A.J. Pierzynski, C

Mark Teahen, 3B

Alexei Ramirez, SS

Mark Buehrle, P