Nice hair. Doesn't steal bases though.

swisher works the count,it's an a's trait. didn't soriono leadoff as well???

This team may steal a combined 60 bases this season.

So, Swisher is going to lead off and play center...and then B.A. or Ramirez is going to play center? Stupid Rumor.

I like Swisher leading off against left handers, his doubles and walks will more than make up for his lack of speed.He will get RBI in his next at bats.

This guy is a gamer...leading off might not be the best spot but it's a long season, and things are going to get moved around many times before it's all said and done. Watch out, though...with this guy and Pierzynski in the same line up...we're going to see some fights this year, and some rough and tumble play, and we're going to see some quality baseball. We'll CERTAINLY see more offense than last year, and if they can get some pitching (why in the WORLD would KW trade Garland?) the Sox will be tough.

This is the first step in helping them keep the Royals in last.

What's the scoop with Brian Anderson? I thought he was their best defensive outfielder and experienced centerfielder. I'm getting the impression Oz and his staff don't like him and are holding his antics from before against him. Certainly, his Spring records should give him the opportunity to see if he can continue that into the regular season.

First of all, Jon Garland (with the exception of 2005 when everything was clicking) is an average starting pitcher who gets a lot of run support. Secondly, They traded him to get a veteran SS who gets on base, unlike Juan Uribe. They have to turn to young guys sooner or later, so why not give Danny Richar a chance? He's got some experience under his belt from last year. I do agree that their pitching is lacking on paper though. We'll see if Contreras can bounce back to 2005 form and if the young guys (Danks and Floyd) can fill out that rotation. The bullpen has improved tremendously as well with Dotel and Linebrink.

" Second baseman Pablo Ozuna will remain the leadoff batter for Monday's opener at Cleveland because of his success against starter C.C. Sabathia, with either Alexei Ramirez or Brian Anderson starting in center field."
Does this mean Swisher will DH and Thome sit?

I can strike out Swisher with a hot dog on my other hand. The hot dog won't last in my hand too long though. Luckily I don't pay what the fans pay, if not my whole salary would go towards hot dogs. Oh wait, it almost does already!

The worst bullpen in the majors in 07 somehow managed to get worse for 08, signing Dotel & Linebrink were two of the worst moves this team has made in the last 5 years. Dotel has been worthless for 4 years and Linebrinks numbers have gone backwards for 3 years while playing in the biggest park in the majors, and now he's in the smallest park in the majors,ouch. The Garland domino's will kill this team early and often, trading 200+ innings and the bottom 3 of this staff will log more innings for a very poor pen than even a good pen could handle.
So, if Swisher bats 1st or 9th I don't think it will matter. But, for the record, a slow .250 hitter who strikes out better than 25% of the time makes little sense.

It's a shame because Swisher is a good player, but he's not a leadoff guy and not a centerfielder. They're not using him properly, they're asking him to do things that are not his strength. That's stupid but speaks of desperation.

This is just in response to people saying Brian Anderson has a candy arm. You can say all you want about his embarassing offensive year when he was given his shot, but the way he's been raking this year you've got to give him a shot because he's solid defensively and has a cannon when he gets under the ball. Case in point: I attended a game in Toronto and was staying in the Skydome hotel looking down over Right Field. During practice the White Sox players gathered under my window so my cousin and I (Both early 20's) started screaming for them to try and reach us with a ball. They all tried (Buehrle, Garland, Uribe, Jenks, etc.), though Buehrle and Garland stopped early (As starting pitchers on my fav. team I was fine with this). Anderson was standing in CF and one of the guys screamed for him to give it a shot. I thought no way. Then he uncorked one that slammed into the wall above our heads with such velocity that it shook our window frame. From CF!!!! If you've ever seen the Skydome hotel rooms you know how high up they are...I'm sorry that's impressive.
Oh yea and Uribe almost killed us with those laser beams, but everyone already knows he's got a rocket launcher.

This is just in response to people saying Brian Anderson has a candy arm. You can say all you want about his embarassing offensive year when he was given his shot, but the way he's been raking this year you've got to give him a shot because he's solid defensively and has a cannon when he gets under the ball. Case in point: I attended a game in Toronto and was staying in the Skydome hotel looking down over Right Field. During practice the White Sox players gathered under my window so my cousin and I (Both early 20's) started screaming for them to try and reach us with a ball. They all tried (Buehrle, Garland, Uribe, Jenks, etc.), though Buehrle and Garland stopped early (As starting pitchers on my fav. team I was fine with this). Anderson was standing in CF and one of the guys screamed for him to give it a shot. I thought no way. Then he uncorked one that slammed into the wall above our heads with such velocity that it shook our window frame. From CF!!!! If you've ever seen the Skydome hotel rooms you know how high up they are...I'm sorry that's impressive.
Oh yea and Uribe almost killed us with those laser beams, but everyone already knows he's got a rocket launcher.