By Mark Gonzales
Manager Ozzie Guillen is fully aware that there are four months left until the White Sox's 2010 regular season opener against Cleveland, so he was careful about any thought of selecting rookie sensation Gordon Beckham as his leadoff hitter.
"A lot of people are saying that," Guillen said Saturday night at the Fairmont Hotel, where he was participating in the Easter Seals of Metropolitan Chicago (ESMC) Holiday Gala. "He's the one in the lineup I have right now. Is he ideal? That's the only (one) have.
"But I really like to have someone else out there. Bekcham is a very, very good RBI man. And I don't want to take the bat away from him, and hoepfully we find someone to take his spot."
Manager Ozzie Guillen is fully aware that there are four months left until the White Sox's 2010 regular season opener against Cleveland, so he was careful about any thought of selecting rookie sensation Gordon Beckham as his leadoff hitter.
"A lot of people are saying that," Guillen said Saturday night at the Fairmont Hotel, where he was participating in the Easter Seals of Metropolitan Chicago (ESMC) Holiday Gala. "He's the one in the lineup I have right now. Is he ideal? That's the only (one) have.
"But I really like to have someone else out there. Bekcham is a very, very good RBI man. And I don't want to take the bat away from him, and hoepfully we find someone to take his spot."
Guillen is aware that general manager Ken Williams is searching for a leadoff batter.
"We tried to find one," Guillen said. "It's not easy. We tried looking for one, the one out there is very expensive, and the one is not there, we have to make big trades.
"We got from now until April to figure out. We got 2 1/2 months until (spring training) starts. Hopefully we find a true leadoff hitter. If not, we'll see what we can do."
Guillen would prefer to place Beckham in the sixth or seventh spot, where he and Alexei Ramirez have a chance to drive in more runs. Guillen envisions a lineup with a mix of left and right-handed hitters, possibly keeping A.J. Pierzynski in the second spot while adding that newly-acquired Mark Teahen, a left-handed hitter, can hit anywhere in the lineup.
Guillen was happy that the rotation is set, adding that projected No. 5 starter Freddy Garcia has kept his right shoulder in shape.
"He knows what kind of challenge he has," Guillen said. "He knows he has to work for the rest of his life if he wants to continue to pitch. We want him healthy for us and to win for the White Sox."
Meanwhile, Guillen was delighted to be involved in the charity gala, in which White Sox Charities made the largest contribution to the ESMC's new Therapeutic School and Center for Autism Research.
"I think these people, since the first day I walked into their facilities, show me how much they care, how much they care about the community," Guillen said. "They worked very, they're very tied in together. This is my second year. I think it's a great cause. We do a lot of things for the kids."
"It was very quick for me to fall in love with this organization."
"We tried to find one," Guillen said. "It's not easy. We tried looking for one, the one out there is very expensive, and the one is not there, we have to make big trades.
"We got from now until April to figure out. We got 2 1/2 months until (spring training) starts. Hopefully we find a true leadoff hitter. If not, we'll see what we can do."
Guillen would prefer to place Beckham in the sixth or seventh spot, where he and Alexei Ramirez have a chance to drive in more runs. Guillen envisions a lineup with a mix of left and right-handed hitters, possibly keeping A.J. Pierzynski in the second spot while adding that newly-acquired Mark Teahen, a left-handed hitter, can hit anywhere in the lineup.
Guillen was happy that the rotation is set, adding that projected No. 5 starter Freddy Garcia has kept his right shoulder in shape.
"He knows what kind of challenge he has," Guillen said. "He knows he has to work for the rest of his life if he wants to continue to pitch. We want him healthy for us and to win for the White Sox."
Meanwhile, Guillen was delighted to be involved in the charity gala, in which White Sox Charities made the largest contribution to the ESMC's new Therapeutic School and Center for Autism Research.
"I think these people, since the first day I walked into their facilities, show me how much they care, how much they care about the community," Guillen said. "They worked very, they're very tied in together. This is my second year. I think it's a great cause. We do a lot of things for the kids."
"It was very quick for me to fall in love with this organization."
Get our updates on 
I really don't think that you should say floyd and danks are not solid starters. Floyd has been amazing and so has danks. The only problem with danks is that he takes about 1 or 2 innings to get settled. now back to the article. Beckham would not be a fit for the leadoff man AT ALL. Beckham is a potential 25 hr guy and 100 RBI guy. Sure Beckham is an outstanding hitter and has about B+ speed, he is a guy that belongs in the 5th spot.
While we all play general manager and write like only we have real Insight to baseball. The Angles, Rangers, Boston, Yankees,Tampa Bay, Twins,and even Kansas City are out building real teams that will really compete.
The Sox have 3 and half solid starting pitchers, [We can never count on back to back solid starts from Danks, and Floyd] and a fifth very questionable starter. Our bullpen has two relieable pitchers. We have right now one relieablle Infielder that can hit. We have one relieable out fielder that can catch the ball but hasn't shown he can hit, and two other guys that might hit but can't catch the ball. All this followed by a catcher who can't stop or even slow a running game.
Then of course we have an owner who tells us year after year. "I just can't afford to spend the money to compete"!
Xavier Nady??? You're dreaming.
Frank Zic on Gordon Beckham
Beckham is not a leadoff man. Who came up with that one?
Why is Williams dallying around Scott Podsednik? Give him a
2yr deal and start looking for some relief pitchers. If he
waits any longer, he is going to lose him. Beckham should be hitting third. Pods is the perfect answer to lead off. He is good at taking a lot of pitches and has the speed to make a pitcher nervous when he gets on.
I hope that Ozzie takes into account that for whatever reason Teahen is a lifetime .312 hitter out of the 5 hole which is far better than in any other lineup slot. Beckham will likely be the #3 hitter in this lineup because there is simply nobody better and they will pick up someone to lead off, be it Pods , Randy Winn or Xavier Nady .