Guillen loaded with options
Last season, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen's options with his regular players were severely limited.
Season-ending injuries to Joe Crede (back) and Pablo Ozuna (broken leg) were crippling obstacles, as were frequent trips to the disabled list by outfielders Scott Podsednik and Darin Erstad.
"When you have injuries like that, it's hard to fix,'' Guillen admitted at SoxFest on Saturday.
As the 2008 season nears, Guillen is dealing with a completely different problem, not that he's complaining. The White Sox head into spring training with a wealth of depth.
They have Jermaine Dye, Nick Swisher, Carlos Quentin and Jerry Owens in the outfield.
In the infield, Paul Konerko is back at first base and Orlando Cabrera is the Sox' new starting shortstop.
Second base shapes up as a battle between Danny Richar, Alexei Ramirez, Ozuna and Juan Uribe, assuming he's not traded. Uribe might also be in the mix at third base with Josh Fields and Crede, assuming he's not traded.
Ramirez (center) and Ozuna (left) can also play in the outfield, although Guillen said he'd leave Ozuna in the infield as a result of his serious leg injury. Swisher can also play first base.
"We have a lot of flexibility,'' Guillen said. "I can move guys around and I think that's why we were going to be better.''
Out of line: So, what's the White Sox' lineup going to look like this season? Manager Ozzie Guillen said it's too early to tell.
"A lot of it depends on how (Jerry) Owens does,'' Guillen said.
As a rookie last season, Owens came up from Class AAA Charlotte in early July after Darin Erstad went down with another ankle sprain. While he had a low on-base percentage (.324), Owens batted .267 and stole 32 bases in 40 attempts while showing promise as a leadoff hitter.
If Owens holds on to his starting job in center field, he'll stay at the top of the order. Orlando Cabrera would hit second, followed by Paul Konerko, Jim Thome, Jermaine Dye, Nick Swisher, Josh Fields, A.J. Pierzynski and Danny Richar/Alexei Ramirez.
"Pierzynski hitting eighth, that's a pretty good lineup if we do that,'' Guillen said.
If Owens doesn't win the starting job, Cabrera moves to the leadoff spot, followed by Swisher.
While Cabrera, 33, doesn't have Owens' young legs, he did steal 20 bases with the Angels last season. More important, Cabrera batted .301 and had a .345 on-base percentage.
"A lot of people say if you fly, you're a good leadoff hitter,'' Guillen said. "That's a plus, but we need a leadoff hitter that can get on base. That was our problem last year.''
Staying put: White Sox GM Kenny Williams threw the final shovel of dirt on the Paul Konerko trade rumors on Saturday.
In December, the Los Angeles Daily News reported Konerko was headed to the Angels in a trade.
"I woke up and to my surprise, I read where we were having discussions with the Angels,'' Williams said. "I sent (Konerko) a text message to let him know it was all talk.''