The White Sox have brought back the player who manned left field for their 2005 world champion squad, according to a published report. Scott Podsednik, the 33-year-old speedster was with the White Sox from 2005 to 2007, and played for the Colorado Rockies last season. He went unsigned in the offseason, but now he has a job.
After losing Dewayne Wise, their current center fielder, to a separated shoulder, the White Sox have brought "Pods" back to the Windy City in the form of a minor-league contract. The other options for the White Sox in center at this point are Brian Anderson and Jerry Owens.
The battle for the White Sox starting center field job this spring wasn't exactly epic, but when the dust had finally settled, it was minor-league journeyman Dewayne Wise who had emerged victorious against Brian Anderson and Jerry Owens. And when I say victorious, I mean least harmful.
Wise also won the leadoff job in Ozzie Guillen's lineup, but that role only lasted for two games before Guillen replaced Wise with rookie Chris Getz, which seemed to be working well for Wise. Which is why it's too bad that he's going to miss the next four to six weeks after suffering a Grade 3 seperation of his shoulder while making a diving catch during the fifth inning on Monday.
It took three stolen bases and a total of 18 hits, including four doubles, three triples and two home runs this spring for Dewayne Wise to prove to the White Sox that he was the man to bat leadoff and play center field in 2009 for the Chicago White Sox.
The White Sox on Monday reportedly placed Jerry Owens on waivers, clearing the way for the 31-year-old Wise to take over as their starting center fielder and hit out of the leadoff spot. "(Manager) Ozzie (Guillen) came to me, told me congratulations," Wise told whitesox.com. "He told me he was going to put me in that leadoff spot, see what happens. He told me he was proud of the way I played this spring and best of luck to me.
Although he only hit .248 last season, Wise did steal nine bases in 129 at-bats. With that kind of speed and if his springs numbers foretell of a hitting resurgence, Wise could be a very nice free agent acquisition or late-round AL-only flier if your league hasn't drafted yet.
The biggest competition in White Sox camp this spring was the same one it's been the last few seasons: the battle for center field and the leadoff spot. The three candidates were Brian Anderson, Jerry Owens, and Dewayne Wise, with Owens starting camp as the favorite. Well, now Owens will be leaving camp without being able to say he's even a member of the White Sox organization.
On Monday the White Sox placed Owens on waivers, which means that Dewayne Wise will be the team's starting center fielder and leadoff hitter.
Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2009.
The White Sox enter this offseason at once pleased with the way 2008 ended and also wondering what might have been. And sure, you can say that for any team that makes the playoffs and falls short of the ulimate prize, but it's particularly so for the Pale Hose, who lost their best hitter by a country mile, Carlos Quentin, for the season in early September.
Would things have gone differently had Quentin been in Chicago's lineup for the ALDS? We'll never know. What we do know is that the South Siders aren't about to rest on their laurels after winning the AL Central.
No one will ever accuse general manager Kenny Williams of being timid or cautious as he attempts to reshape his roster -- that's why many consider him one of the better executives in the game -- and he's already begun to do just that this winter.
Every four years, Major League Baseball's postseason intersects with a presidential election. This is one of those years. In the spirit of the season, we here at MLB FanHouse have divided the playoff teams up for a series of debates. Tom Fornelli and Eamonn Brennan discuss the ALDS between the Rays and White Sox.
Eamonn and I took a look at this series and broke it down into six key areas: Starting rotation, Bullpen, Defense, Lineup, Bench, and Manager. Then for good measure we throw in our five-star lock of the week predictions, because we're psychic mediums in our spare time.
Let me start this letter off by saying that I'm a fan. I don't always agree with the moves you make, or the things you say and do, but for the most part I think you're very good at doing your job. Still, that doesn't mean there isn't one thing you do constantly that could end up costing your team a division title this season.
It nearly did last night.
In the second game of your doubleheader against the Tigers last night, your boys had jumped out to a 7-0 lead so you decided to pull starter John Danks early and go to the bullpen. I have no problem with this, and thought it was a smart move, but shortly afterward you nearly killed your team. After the Tigers had made it 7-3 in the eighth inning, you brought in Octavio Dotel with a four run lead.
I knew right then that you guys were going to blow the lead. How did I know this? Well, Ozzie, that's because every time you bring in Dotel with a comfortable lead, he blows it. Maybe you haven't noticed the 500 previous times it's happened this season, but it has. Sure enough, a few pitches later, Marcus Thames was launching a grand slam into the left field bleachers and the game was tied at seven.
He's one of the most hated players around the league, and I understand the the thought process behind every fan that boos him when he steps to the plate or is introduced to the crowd. He is A.J. Pierzynski and he may have just saved the White Sox season on Sunday afternoon.
The Sox were on the verge of being swept at home for the first time this season and possibly falling even further behind the Twins when some heads up thinking by Pierzynski saved the day. After Paul Konerko singled home Brian Anderson with two outs in the ninth inning and sent the game into extra innings, A.J. led off the bottom of the tenth with a single.
That's when the odyssey of A.J. began. First he showed once again that he's the smartest base runner the White Sox have by tagging up from first on a deep fly to center by Carlos Quentin, and getting into scoring position with one out. Then a few seconds later he became the dumbest base runner in the world when he took off for third on a Jermaine Dye grounder to short.
A.J. was quickly caught in a rundown when the gears in his brain began grinding. There's no way a slow-footed catcher was going to be able to outrun a bunch of middle infielders, so he needed a new plan.
So the White Sox have lost their last three games, and are in danger of losing their spot on top of the AL Central if they lose to the Minnesota Twins tonight. You know what that means don't you? Yep, it's time for another Ozzie Guillen rant complaining about something.
This time Ozzie is getting tired of hearing about Paul Konerko, and to respond he pulled the "your critics" and "don't understand" and "diapers" cards out of his Rant Hat (patent pending), and here's what we ended up with.
"I don't understand the people out there," Guillen said Tuesday night. "I don't get it. I sit with [general manager] Kenny Williams and we try to do stuff, and we get pounded like we don't try or don't care or do good for the fans or for us.
"And I don't get it. I trust my players. I think they're good talent and will play hard for us.
"And hopefully the result will be the right one. Because if we win this thing, Billy Martin, Earl Weaver, all those guys will be in diapers with what I'm going to say, because I'm going to rip a lot of people apart if we win this year, because enough is enough. What are we going to do to satisfy people?"
There's been some talk from White Sox players and members of the organization this spring that the 2008 season is setting up a lot like the 2005 season that ended in a World Series title. Obviously, these thoughts can be attributed to a lot of time out in the hot Arizona sun the last few weeks. Still, the team believes it, and they were hoping that outfielder Jerry Owens would be able to fill the role that Scott Podsednik played in that 2005 season and tear up the basepaths.
After the game against Colorado on Tuesday, the Sox announced that Owens -- the projected starting center fielder and leadoff hitter -- has a small tear in his right adductor and will be placed on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to last Sunday.
A team spokesman said Owens needs seven to 10 days of rest, then can return to the lineup. Both Brian Anderson and Carlos Quentin likely have made the roster, rather than one or the other.
Adductor injuries are the exact same thing that sidelined Podsednik over the last two seasons, and now that he's gone, they've decided to attack Jerry Owens instead. The Sox are hoping that Owens will be in the lineup by April 7th, but if Owens' injuries are the same as Podsednik's the team is already aware that adductor injuries have a tendency to be the nagging type.
For the most part the Sox have had a healthy spring, but this first big blow could turn out to be a huge one.
The White Sox have brought back the player who manned left field for their 2005 world champion squad, according to a published report. Scott Podsednik, the 33-year-old speedster was with the White Sox from 2005 to 2007, and played for the Colorado Rockies last season. He went unsigned in the offseason, but now he has a job. 
The battle for the White Sox starting center field job this spring wasn't exactly epic, but when the dust had finally settled, it was minor-league journeyman 
It took three stolen bases and a total of 18 hits, including four doubles, three triples and two home runs this spring for 
The biggest competition in White Sox camp this spring was the same one it's been the last few seasons: the battle for center field and the leadoff spot. The three candidates were 
Footprints in the Snow
Dear Ozzie,
He's one of the most hated players around the league, and I understand the the thought process behind every fan that boos him when he steps to the plate or is introduced to the crowd. He is 
So the White Sox have lost their last three games, and are in danger of losing their spot on top of the AL Central if they lose to the Minnesota Twins tonight. You know what that means don't you? Yep, it's time for another 
There's been some talk from White Sox players and members of the organization this spring that the 2008 season is setting up a lot like the 2005 season that ended in a World Series title. Obviously, these thoughts can be attributed to a lot of time out in the hot Arizona sun the last few weeks. Still, the team believes it, and they were hoping that outfielder 
