“I’m looking forward to seeing him,” Guillen said.

“If you are asking me if he came back [to the White Sox], would I have had a problem? Absolutely not,” said White Sox first baseman and team captain Paul Konerko. “He’s a quiet guy, and not your typical guy who shows up a bunch of hours early and stays around after the game. He just went about his business and did a good job of getting himself ready to play.”

…

“Some guys had problems with him showing up late for certain stuff and not showing up as early as everyone else, but guys have their own routines,” White Sox starter Mark Buehrle said. “I liked having the guy behind me. He came out and played hard, and that’s all that matters on the field.”

http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090321&content_id=4042624&vkey=news_cws&fext=.jsp&c_id=cws

Jeter is a beacon for the entire WBC

LOS ANGELES – Whether you like the WBC or haven’t given it any thought at all, whether you view it as the intergalactic baseball championship or little more than puffed-up batting practice, any standing it does have in this country is a reflection of Derek Jeter.

He’s going on 35 and is splitting time with Jimmy Rollins. Indeed, when team management decided late Thursday to start Roy Oswalt – and not Jake Peavy – against Japan on Sunday night, revealing it really, really wants to win this thing, then by rights it also must start Rollins – and not Jeter – at shortstop.

Those are insignificant details, however. What matters broadly is Jeter believed in this tournament in 2006, when Team USA was constructed poorly and played worse and, it turned out, needed his imperial baseball aura. Three years later, when U.S. baseball needed to clean up after ’06 and come out and play a capable game or two, Jeter was again out front, leading the effort, if not necessarily the outcome.

"The captain is the beacon and people follow the captain," U.S. coach and former shortstop Barry Larkin said. "That’s what Derek Jeter does. There’s a face of baseball, and Derek is that face."

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ti-jeterwbc032009

http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/?p=2775

Jeff Marquez is virtually out of the running for a spot in the rotation and will start the regular season in a relief role.

The Sox rearranged their pitching schedule so Marquez will pitch in relief Sunday against Oakland at Phoenix. Marquez pitched two-plus innings Friday before tweaking his right hamstring but said he is fine.

Marquez, who was groomed to start in the event Jose Contreras or Bartolo Colon aren’t ready by the start of the regular season, is scheduled to follow Contreras when the Sox play the Athletics on Wednesday at Camelback Ranch.

The switch leaves Clayton Richard as the primary candidate to start the regular season in the rotation if Colon fails to regain his velocity and command enough to convince the Sox staff he will be ready to April 11.

Colon will make his next start Wednesday in a minor-league game.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/whitesox/chi-22-white-sox-bits-chicago-mar22,0,552086.story

is everything I’ve read. Any one know anything about the (alleged) trade of Miranda a few days ago?

We’re told the Sox are announcing news at 12:30 pm PT. Maybe coaching contract extensions? Or a trade? Maybe neither. Life on the beat.

per Cowley on Twitter.