FanHouse DeWayneWise

Dewayne Wise had -- arguably anyway -- the best catch of the baseball season so far when he made an over-the-wall snag to save Mark Buehrle's perfect game. The circumstances surrounding the catch made it just ridiculous. But not as ridiculous as the following snag (H/T Men's Fitness, via Digg, natch) which wasn't even ruled a catch on Monday. As you can see in this Comcast replay, it most certainly was a catch, and it most certainly was awesome. So, downside: replay still sucks. Upside: I could watch this all day.

Each year the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox play six times. Six. Out of 162 total games. Those games aren't any more relevant than six games between the Twins and Cubs or Brewers and White Sox. Of course, there are millions of misguided fans who believe there's a rivalry between the two teams, a notion that is only perpetuated when our President talks about how the White Sox play "real baseball." FanHouse's resident Cubs fan (Matt Snyder) and resident White Sox fan (Tom Fornelli) got together to discuss the aura surrounding what shouldn't be a rivalry.

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.

MLB Power Rankings: Where we care what you've done for us lately when we break down the who's who and the what's what in the baseball world each week.

We're almost there. You can smell it in the air, can't you? That's right ... the NHL playoffs! Ha. I kid, of course. No one actually watches hockey (if it even exists). But people do get amped up for baseball, and the season is upon us. So, in that vein, we've got our final installment of preseason power rankings ready for your digestion. Play ball.

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.

Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through every major player on each team. Fantasy FanHouse is here to help with a quick once-over.

Meet the ...
Team who loves to mash the ball. The 2008 White Sox led Major League Baseball in home runs with 235. Even though the team lost Nick Swisher, there are still six hitters in this lineup with 25-plus home run potential; three that could easily amass 30-plus. The infield is all shook up headed into the new season. Only Paul Konerko is back in his position from 2008 at first base. Josh Fields will be given the reigns at third base to see if he can finally live up to his potential. Alexei Ramirez will be shifting from second base to shortstop to fill the spot vacated by Orlando Cabrera. The pitching staff lost Javier Vazquez to Atlanta but still has three credible front-line starters. Gavin Floyd and John Danks exploded onto the scene in '08 and Mark Buehrle is as consistent as they come. The White Sox won their division in 2008 and still have the talent to compete again in 2009.

From now until the regular season begins, Fantasy Flings is where you'll find interesting story lines about your favorite teams from Spring Training. If there is a position battle, a nagging injury, a comeback story or a youngster making a surge for the "big club" we'll let you know the fantasy implications.

Chicago White Sox
The buzz around White Sox camp is position battles. Up for grabs is the third base position, center field and second base. Josh Fields and Dayan Viciedo are fighting for third and Fields has the leg up. Both hitters can mash the ball and both play suspect defense; although Fields is improving. Fields worked extensively this off-season at Camp Cora and Cora mentioned that everyone would be shocked with what they see out of Fields this year. He has three hits in six at-bats with two doubles so far this spring. Jayson Nix and his four hits in six at-bats with two doubles seem to be taking over as front-runner for the second base job thought to belong to Chris Getz. DeWayne Wise is being called the "best player this spring" and may be taking the center field job from injured Jerry Owens.

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.