--3B Josh Fields, at least for now, knows he will be a permanent fixture in the No. 9 hole of the White Sox batting order, so without letting the media know, he surprised everyone with a new aspect to his game. Fields laid down a perfectly placed bunt single to lead off the eighth inning Tuesday, eventually leading to a three-run homer by Jim Thome that gave the White Sox a victory. Fields explained that opposing teams might want to be prepared for him playing some small ball this season when needed. "I knew I was going to be in the seventh, eighth or ninth hole, so while we were on the back fields this spring, I figured I might as well work on my sacrifice bunting," Fields said. "Late in the game when a tough righty comes in, I can give myself almost a better chance by doing something like that."
--Manager Ozzie Guillen has been touting the balance of this year's team since midway through spring camp, and he let it be known that he plans to be more aggressive with the 2009 version of the White Sox than he was last season. "No doubt, I got more tools on the field," Guillen said. "When you got (Dewayne) Wise, (Chris) Getz, (Carlos) Quentin, and then go to A.J. (Pierzynski), (Josh) Fields and (Alexei) Ramirez, you got more ability to do more stuff. I don't have to wait for (Paul) Konerko, (Jermaine) Dye, (Jim) Thome to get hot to score some runs. We can create some things and do a little more stufff, and I'm excited about it. --Hitting coach Greg Walker knows that there are numerous question marks surrounding the likes of youngsters Josh Fields and Chris Getz as well as starting CF Dewayne Wise, but Walker said those three showed last year and especially in spring camp that they could be better than people are expecting. "What I liked to see was not only did they win jobs, but they played at as high a level as anyone in camp," Walker said. "We're excited about them. We feel like what they do mechanically holds up and they are mentally strong kids, so they should be just fine."
BY THE NUMBERS: .412 -- The batting average for opposing hitters the third time through the lineup for Clayton Richard in 2008. Hitters hit .226 the first time through, then .351 the second time.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "Defense is my game. If we don't play defense, we won't go anywhere. Only one reason, defense makes good pitching. If you make those plays, they're going to be better. You give outs away, instead of 27 outs, you'll make 30 outs." -- Manager Ozzie Guillen on the importance of his young infield playing good defense this season.
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