Sox to have DH by committee

Russell Branyan. Hank Blalock. Garret Anderson. Jason Giambi. Even Jim Thome.

They are left-handed sluggers, and they're all still on the free-agent market looking for work.

General manager Kenny Williams had all of their names, plus a few more, on a piece of paper in his pocket at SoxFest on Friday, and his cell phone was close by.

For now, Williams said, he won't be making any calls at the behest of manager Ozzie Guillen.

"I'm resigned to the feeling that Ozzie is sold on wanting to do it this way," Williams said of using as many as five players at designated hitter this season. "Is it a little different for me not to have that left-handed power guy in the middle of the lineup? Yeah.

"However, when I hear his plan, and how he plans to match up, he's talked to me about it a lot and it's interesting to me."

Guillen said Mark Kotsay, Andruw Jones, Paul Konerko, Carlos Quentin and even 42-year-old Omar Vizquel can handle sharing designated hitter duties.

"Ozzie keeps telling me how much he likes the club and he'd like to stand pat," Williams said. "I'm inclined to do that."

Guillen is a huge fan of Thome's, who was the White Sox' designated hitter the past four seasons, but he's looking for more versatility out of the position.

"You know who's going to be the DH?" Guillen said. "Whoever's the DH that day. We're going to rotate people around."

Thome update: He wants to return to the Sox, but Jim Thome appears to be leaning toward signing with the rival Minnesota Twins.

"He wants to stay with the White Sox," a source said. "But he wants to play, and he doesn't need the money. He's talked to the Twins and Tampa Bay, but he wants to stay in the Midwest and he likes the way the Twins play the game and he likes the manager (Ron Gardenhire)."

Opening up: When asked who will start the April 5 season opener against the Indians at U.S. Cellular Field, manager Ozzie Guillen offered a classic response.

"If I go with my heart, I go with (Mark) Buehrle," Guillen said. "If I go with my brains ... I go with (Jake) Peavy."

Buehrle has made seven opening-day starts, matching Billy Pierce's franchise record. Guillen is going to take that into consideration before setting his rotation.

"Buehrle, he's done a lot for this organization. He's earned the love," Guillen said. "We've talked about it. Whatever decision we make, it won't be tough."

Dressing down: GM Kenny Williams took a shot at Jake Peavy for wearing a pair of well-worn blue jeans and a San Diego Chargers T-shirt during Friday's media gathering at SoxFest.

"He gets the first fine of the season for those holes he has in his jeans. Like he can't afford to fill a few holes," Williams said.

"Hey, I'm comfortable," Peavy replied. "Nobody told me this was a black-tie event."