But if Dewayne Wise ends up becoming the White Sox everyday centerfielder, you can bet that more losers bloggers like me will be trying to come up with creative puns using Dewayne’s last name. We can only hope that the puns are descriptive, and not ironic; because if Dewayne Wise is the choice in centerfield, the White Sox need it to work out.

Based on his track record, however, Dewayne Wise has not proven that he can be an everyday Major League player — let alone the leadoff man in a high-powered offense. And at 31, can we really expect a career renaissance from a player who has never had more than 162 ABs in a season?

Look, I don’t want to be the proverbial turd in the punch bowl here because Dewayne is having a great spring and I really like the value he brings to the 25-man roster. And I have gone on record numerous occasions stating that I think Ken Williams is awesome and that I wouldn’t want any other GM on the South Side. But the one critique I would offer is that Ken Williams has not filled our gaping holes in center field and at the top of the order that have been consistent over the last few years.. Last year, we overcame it to win the AL Central.

Do we want to roll the dice that we can do it again?

This spring, Dewayne Wise is competing with Jerry Owens and Brian Anderson for centerfield slot. Let’s take a look at each’s career numbers and their numbers this spring. I’m only listing a few numbers here, but you can use the links to see their full statistics.

Dewayne Wise (31 on Opening Day)

• Minor League Career: 3,555 AB, 90 HR, 186 SB, .259 BA, .310 OBP, .422 SLG
• Major League Career: 468 AB, 15 HR, 21 SB, .214 BA, .254 OBP, .450 SLG
• Spring Training 2009: 23 AB, 1 HR, 1 SB, .391 BA, .375 OBP, .652 SLG (through 3/14)

Jerry Owens (28 on Opening Day)

• Minor League Career: 1,970 AB, 11 HR, 162 SB, .291 BA, .359 OBP, .359 SLG
• Major League Career: 381 AB, 1 HR, 35 SB, .268 BA, .321 OBP, .312 SLG
• Spring Training 2009: 35 AB, 0 HR, 0 SB, 3 CS, .200 BA, .310 OBP, .200 SLG

Brian Anderson (27 on Opening Day)

• Minor League Career: 1,136 AB, 38 HR, 23 SB, .293 BA, .361 OBP, .474 SLG
• Major League Career: 597 AB, 18 HR, 10 SB, .221 BA, .277 OBP, .379 SLG
• Spring Traning 2009: 30 AB, 1 HR, 0 SB, .200 BA, .306 OBP, .300 SLG

I have never been one to put a lot of stock in Spring Training numbers. The sample sizes are small and there are too many variables that make it hard to compare numbers between players and project in-season success for the coming year.

When I look at the battle between Dewayne Wise, Jerry Owens, and Brian Anderson, there are a few criteria that look at for who I think should be the starter in center:

1. Who gets on base more?
2. Who has speed to make something happen on the basepaths?
3. Who projects as the best leadoff hitter?
4. Who can cover the most ground in the outfield?

Who gets on base more?

Obviously Dewayne Wise’s numbers dwarf those of Jerry Owens and Brian Anderson this spring. But look at the career numbers. Wise’s .254 OBP as a Major Leaguer is not encouraging, nor is his .310 OBP in the minors. Brian Anderson actually has a .361 OBP in the minors, but that drops to .277 as a Major Leaguer. Jerry Owens, on the other hand, while not setting any records, has a .359 OBP in 1,970 minor league ABs and a .321 OBP as a Major Leaguer.

I don’t think we can expect any of these three guys to play significantly above or below their career averages, and Owens has proven himself to be the more consistent of three in getting on base, despite his struggles through 35 ABs this spring.

Who has more speed to make something happen on the basepaths?

Yes, Jerry Owens has not stolen a base this spring. And yes, he has actually been caught stealing 3 times. But Owens has a SB success rate of greater than 70% during his minor league and major league career, and he already has a season in the majors in which he has stolen 32 bases. Dewayne Wise can steal bases, but certainly not in the quantity that Jerry Owens can. We basically have no other source of top-of-the-order speed, and Jerry Owens is one of the few players in the organization who can help us evolve from the station-to-station baseball we have been playing over the past few years.

Who projects as the best leadoff hitter?

Well, if Jerry Owens has had the most success getting on base in his career, and of he is the most prolific base stealer, I think that qualifies him as the best leadoff hitter out of Dewayne Wise and Brian Anderson. Wise and Anderson are much more suited to bottom-of-the-order spots in the lineup, but we have Josh Fields and whoever keeps 2B warm for Gordon Beckham to hit at the bottom of the order. We need someone to set the table and make things happen at the top of the order. That’s Jerry Owens.

Who can cover the most ground in the outfield?

All three of these guys are competent CFs defensively. Brian Anderson is probably the best defensive player overall, which makes him a solid bench player and late-inning defensive sub. Dewayne Wise can play some defense too, and his speed and range are comparable to that of Owens. Wise has made 4 errors in 240 major league games, while Owens has made 2 in 94 major league games. I don’t think Anderson and Wise are appreciably better than Owens in the outfield, at least not enough to overcome the offensive advantage that I think Owens provides.

At the end of the day, Dewayne Wise is having the best spring (as you can see from the links below) and Brian Anderson has the most Major League experience. And both have better power potential and higher SLG prowess than Jerry Owens.

But do we need more power and slugging in our lineup?

I don’t think so. We need more diversity and a greater variety of ways to score and put pressure on opposing pitching staffs and defenses. Jerry Owens is by no means a perfect choice to be an everyday CF and leadoff hitter, but he is the best the White Sox have right now. I do think that both Wise and Anderson should be on the Major League roster, and serve as a solid #4 and #5 OFs for purposes of depth, bats off the bench, and defensive replacements.

But the White Sox want a more dynamic offense, and one that has a chance to score runs without hitting home runs, I think Jerry Owens needs to get the first crack at CF and the leadoff spot when Opening Day rolls around.

What do you think?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Dewayne Wise photo credit: AP Photo/M. Spencer Green

And now your roundup of White Sox links for the weekend:

Wise moving to front in center — (Joe Cowley, Sun-Times)

White Sox Friday Recap – Wise the leader at the leadoff spot — (Mark Gonzales, Tribune)

Dewayne Wise makes strides as Chicago White Sox leadoff man — (Mark Gonzales, Tribune)

White Sox searching for leadoff man — (South Side Sox)

Contreras, Colon, make me go hmmm — (Sox Machine)

Six-run fourth seals victory for White Sox — (Chisox.com)

Thursday’s White Sox Roundup — (Scott Merkin MLBlog: Being Ozzie Guillen)

Projected Batting Order from Whitesox.com :

1. CF Jerry Owens:
.276 BA, .346 OBP, 30 SB at AAA Charlotte in 2008 (2007 MLB: 356 AB, .267 BA, .324 OBP, 32 SB, )
2. C A.J. Pierzynski:
.281 BA, 13 HR, 60 RBI in 2008
3. LF Carlos Quentin:
.288 BA, 36 HR, 100 RBI, .394 OBP, .571 SLG in 2008
4. DH Jim Thome:
.245 BA, 34 HR, 90 RBI, .362 OBP, .503 SLG in 2008
5. RF Jermaine Dye:
.292 BA, 34 HR, 96 RBI, 41 2B, .541 SLG in 2008
6. 1B Paul Konerko:
.240 BA, 22 HR, 62 RBI in 2008
7. SS Alexei Ramirez:
.290 BA, 21 HR, 77 RBI, 13 SB in 2008
8. 3B Josh Fields:
.246 BA, 10 HR, 35 RBI for Charlotte in 2008 (2007 MLB: 373 AB, .244 BA, 23 HR, 67 RBI, .958 FPCT)
9. 2B Chris Getz:
.302 BA, 11 HR, 52 RBI, 11 SB for Charlotte in 2008

There is nothing wrong with this projection. Center Field and Second Base are the only positions up in the air and will be decided by Ozzie during spring training. The only other CF options are veterans Brian Anderson with Dewayne Wise being the underdog and fan favorite. One of the two will make the team regardless.

At 2B the options are young or experienced. Besides Getz, Wilson Betemit will get a look as he came from the Yankees in the Swisher trade. In this Baseball-Reference.com link Betemit’s seven year career stats are compared to that of Joe Crede (he gone) who was missing from the lineup more than half of the games in 07 and 08. This also opened the door for Josh Fields getting a solid 100 of major league experience in 2007. But back to Betemit specifically, he could easily get a lot of time if the inexperienced Getz doesn’t impress Ozzie. Though there is a lot of confidence verbally from Ozzie already. Whoever has the better glove in spring training will start the season.

Projected rotation from WhiteSox.com :

1. Mark Buehrle, 15-12, 3.79 ERA in 2008
2. Gavin Floyd, 17-8, 3.84 ERA in 2008
3. John Danks, 12-9, 3.32 ERA in 2008
4. Bartolo Colon, 4-2, 3.92 ERA with Red Sox in 2008
5. Clayton Richard, 2-5, 6.04 ERA in 2008

The pitching staff is closer to being in order after the Bartolo Colon signing by GM Ken Williams. Mark Buerhle is still the number one and has been for some time. Gavin “Pretty Boy” Floyd and John Danks look to improve on stellar 2008 campaigns. Both youngsters were the main reasons “The Good Guys” even made the playoffs last year.

The fifth position with Clayton Richard could be good enough if the former Michigan quarterback can get more strikeouts and give up less base hits. If that doesn’t hold to be true in his first full season in the majors you might see Jose Contreras be the man if his ruptured achilles is healed by the All-Star break.

Aaron Poreda is one of the challengers if Richard doesn’t impress in spring training or catches the injury bug. Poreda is looked at as one of the best pitching prospects in the organization and also the biggest ( 6’6″ 240 lbs). He just turned 22 years old in October and has a dominant stat line after a short 2007 in rookie league and a 2008 season in single and double A: 2.69 ERA 1.09 WHIP 207.1 IP 166 K and only 7 home runs given up in that span.

Pitchers and catchers will report Sunday February 15th so the season is fast approaching. I would say I have the White Sox finishing in first place this year but that wouldn’t be different then any other year. GO GO WHITE SOX!

Griffey’s short stint didn’t leave a lot of memories at the plate but neither did the team as a whole (besides what it took to even make it to the playoffs in the first place). I will always remember that we had him during the 2008 playoff push, and his incredible home plate gun-down in the Minnesota play-in game that helped preserve our 1-0 victory. That was an awesome game. I love Junior Griffey and I wish the first ballot hall of Famer the best.

Losing in the first round of the playoffs to the Tampa Bay Rays 3-1 wasn’t a major disappointment considering the White Sox ended their season with tough injuries that sidelined Team MVP and Almost AL MVP Carlos Quentin. as well as the playoff perfectionist Jose Contreras. We assuredly could have used Jose Contreras down the stretch when our 4 man rotation was limited to 3 days rest the final weeks of the season.

Word is Contreras’ ruptured 36 year-old achilles tendon will keep him out until the 2009 All-Star break, in which case he would finish the season coming out of the bullpen. That is only early speculation at this point but it is known that Contreras is already working hard to come back as early and healthy as possible.

There is now the starting position opening in CF for the Southside Good Guys and there are a lot of options (in no particular order):

1. Brian Anderson – Brian showed a lot of potential off the bench last year (finally) and was a superb late inning defensive replacement. But the White Sox probably want to find that everyday guy that could possibly be a lead off man in the order. Which Brian is not. I expect the same role out of Brian next year but who knows until after spring training which I believe will be the big question mark entering the 2009 regular season.

2. Nick Swisher – We all know and love Swisher’s presence on the field and in the locker room. Nick had some great power last year but struggled in the batting average department reducing his role to a 7-8-9 guy. He also seemed to be a liability covering ground in CF and his arm is not anything to brag about. Swisher Sweet can take this spot with a more efficient bat but he still won’t be a prototypical lead off guy.

3. Jerry Owens – The young speedster and lead off hitter hit hard times in spring training with an injury and couldn’t find a spot on the major league roster until the 40 man call ups. Owens has a lot of upside and has incredible base stealing abilities being really fast and having a high success ratio, 35 for 44 in his short career. With Orlando Cabrera most likely taking a long term deal somewhere else this could be the opening for Jerry to start in CF and be the more efficient lead off hitter for Kenny and Ozzie.

4. Dewayne Wise – Wise was pretty phenomenal late last season and some would argue that this is his job to lose. The career minor leaguer got his shot late 2008 and took full advantage especially in September and the playoffs.  He may be good trade bait this offseason because I could see the southpaw giving a NL team some much needed experience in a platoon.

5. Bobby Jenks – Hey can’t we double switch this guy in the ninth inning during save opportunities? And I really wanna see the fat boy slide around on his belly in the outfield before I die. I am pretty sure Jenks would throw out EVERY tag up fly ball runner as long as it was hit right to him. The offseason is for dreaming right?

In all seriousness the solution in CF is again within the organization. The four options now are solid and dependent on spring training performance and the direction Ozzie wants his batting order to progress in. Free agency will be used to primarily to fill needs in the bullpen, a replacement for Orlando Cabrera, and even perhaps Joe Crede’s replacement if the health of his back is still an issue. GO GOOD GUYS!

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[tags]chicago white sox, ken griffey jr., mlb[/tags]