A new idea to address the Chi-Sox centerfield woes, courtesy of Jim Callis (Baseball America): Carlos Quentin moves to centerfield around mid-season, making way for Dayan Viciedo in left. Certainly beats the upside of the current Brian Anderson/Brent Lillibridge CF platoon (Dewayne Wise, labrum: 6-8 wks, expected to still be terrible following healing period). Plus, Scotty Podds is back on the 40-man roster, and no Palehose fan in their right mind wants to see him (or Jerry Owens) manning a starting outfield spot in 2009.
Assuming Dayan isn't ready by midseason, I'm prepared with another solution, involving top prospect Gordon Beckham. Now, assuming Beckham's readiness may be an exercise in futile optimism, nevertheless, the comparisons to Evan Longoria are as astute as they are inevitable. (So long as they are tempered; unfortunately, they rest on the eye-test criteria..."that guy just looks like a ballplayer," but I digress...). Gordon Beckham is a competent defensive shortstop--once deemed ready, he can and should slot into that position immediately. Unfortunately, that leaves the second base clusterfuck intact, with Chris Getz, Brent Lillibridge and Jayson Nix duking it out for one starting gig. I'll make the (generous) assumption that at least one of these players displays mild competency, providing a stop-gap for the remainder of 2009. Center field is thus open for Alexei Ramirez. In fact, this option may be preferable, as talent evaluators believe the Cuban Missile would make a Gold-Glove caliber outfielder (think B.J. Upton lite). True, the Gold Glove award has become comparable to the Grammy, that is, an unabashed popularity concert rewarding largely shitty performances (see: McClouth, Jeter, Evanescence, Stadium Arcadium, etc.), regardless, the central point stands...Viciedo/Beckham > Wise/Anderson/Podsednik, and it ain't even close, folks.
