"I never considered myself a closer," Foulke said. "I've always been [just] a bullpen guy. Sometimes pitching in the seventh inning is more valuable than pitching in the ninth."

"I'm getting back to being Ozzie. I'm going to have fun and smile with the players, but if I have to scream at someone, I'm going to do it. I don't [care] if I'm going to be on every TV and people hate me for that. I get paid to win. Last year, I backed off a little bit. I thought players were getting tired of 'There goes Ozzie again.' But if they get tired, good, that's the way I'm going to handle stuff. You want to be a good guy? Be a good guy off the field. I expect my players this year to be mean. You want to take someone under your wing? Take them to the restaurant or something. You see something you don't like, then get on [them]. Don't let me be the bad guy. We need players helping each other, and we have those guys here. It's not an important spring for me. It's important for the team because we don't want to suffer the way we did last year."

"Last year was my fault because I laid back a little too much. I have to be back to being Ozzie -- smile with players, have fun, just get back to what I was. I don't give a [expletive] if everyone hates me. I'm paid to win. ... I just want them to feel -- I'm not going to say the heat -- I'm going to say feel the game, from the beginning. In the past, we had success and we just let it go. I'm not doing this because [of] how bad we played last year. I'm doing this because this is how I like it, even as a player. Mentally and physically, we haven't been ready for the games. We just went about our business and got our work in. ... It's not fun when you have to watch something you don't want to see. We're going to get beat, we're going to have real bad games in spring training. But if I see quality at-bats, quality outings ... I'm not going to come in here and talk to you guys and say, 'Well, he gave up 14 runs, but he got his 55 pitches in. If you don't do your job, I'm going to let you know. You put every inch of what you have to get ready. Hopefully, we can compete and play the game the way we're supposed to play."

"But if we win this year, I will be cocky. I was taking things low-key, and this is my job. But if we win this year, I might run naked down Michigan Avenue like people expect me to do. I suffered a lot last year. My family says that when I win, 'Take advantage, because when you lose, you are going to take the blame.'"

The strength of the draft varies from year to year. The 2005 draft, the best this decade, featured an outstanding group of high school outfielders and multitooled college position players. In 2006, college pitchers stood out among a weak crop. Last year, prepsters outclassed the college talent, especially with everyday players.

Scouts are enthused about the 2008 draft, which will begin on June 5 with the Rays making the first pick, because of the diverse talent available. The consensus is that there are more quality college bats--not in terms of athleticism but just sheer offensive firepower--than in any year in recent memory.

Vanderbilt third baseman Pedro Alvarez, South Carolina first baseman Justin Smoak and Miami first baseman Yonder Alonso headline that group. Alvarez is the consensus No. 1 overall prospect entering the season, while Smoak and Alonso project as the first first basemen to go in the top 10 picks since the Brewers drafted Prince Fielder seventh overall in 2002.

... Four players clearly stand above the rest at this point: Alvarez, San Diego lefthander Brian Matusz, Missouri righthander Aaron Crow and Griffin (Ga.) High shortstop Tim Beckham. Alvarez is the best hitter for both power and average in the draft. Matusz is a tall, lean southpaw who could have three plus pitches, while Crow is a more compact righty with a deadly fastball-slider combination. None of the three should require much time in the minors.

Beckham is a five-tool athlete and sticks out even more because there's no comparable player in the college ranks. Holt High (Wentzville, Mo.) righthander Tim Melville has separated himself from the rest of the high school pitchers with his plus fastball, projectable body and advanced feel for his secondary pitches and command.

The Chicago Tribune has a story about the White Sox new third base coach, former A’s "slugger" Jeff Cox. The White Sox want to "get back to" doing what they supposedly were doing in 2005. I find it interesting that a team that finished dead last in the Majors in On Base Percentage (despite having a DH with a .400+ OBP as opposed to a pitcher) feels that the problems stem from what happened to guys after they reached base, rather than the more obvious problem of a severe lack of guys on the basepaths to begin with.

There is nothing wrong with good baserunning, proper bunting technique, hitting cutoff men, etc. The thing is there’s a reason why they call them the ‘little things.’ All of it can get canceled out by a three run homer in a hurry. When it comes to ‘doing the little things,’ being able to do the ‘big things’ probably needs to come first.

Guillen's focus will be on finding a leadoff hitter. Center fielder Jerry Owens seems to be general manager Ken Williams' favorite. Guillen seems to prefer [Orlando] Cabrera. Neither are proven in the top spot. Will this be Guillen's biggest headache?

"Yeah," he said without hesitation. "If Jerry Owens plays the way we think he can play ... I like the way he played last year.

Cabrera can be a leadoff hitter. Believe me, I want my leadoff hitter to get on base. I don't want a leadoff hitter to steal bases. The only way you are going to steal bases is if you are there. If you get on base, you have Thome, [Paul] Konerko and [Jermaine] Dye hitting behind you. We should score a lot of runs, but we have to get on base first."

Brian Anderson won't be in attendance at SoxFest this weekend, and if he gets his ultimate wish, Anderson won't be with the White Sox when Spring Training begins in February. His desire to be traded doesn't deal directly as much with leaving the White Sox as it does with getting the best chance possible to play at the Major League level during the 2008 season. Anderson currently stands as a long shot to even make the Opening Day roster in Chicago. But this is a different Anderson now talking one month away from the spring reporting date than the somewhat defiant individual who spoke to MLB.com at the beginning of the offseason. Not only does the 25-year-old come into the new year as prepared as he's ever been for Cactus League action, but if a trade doesn't take place in the next few weeks, he's more than ready to go to bat for the only team he has ever known since getting picked in the first round of the 2003 First-Year Player Draft.

"I had a negative attitude and that chip wasn't getting me anywhere," Anderson told MLB.com earlier this week. "The thing is, I have to be mature about it. I'm employed by the White Sox, so I have to go out and try and compete. If that's not good enough for them, there are how many other teams out there? Trades are always possibilities."

...Anderson rightfully points out how he only has 416 career at-bats and it's tough to make a complete value judgment during such a limited body of work. Nonetheless, Anderson has taken proactive strides to give his game on offense an equal chance to meet his lofty defensive skills. Whether it's playing for the White Sox or enticing another team's interest, Anderson simply focuses on what he's able to control and not complaining about what might have been.

"Really, I blame myself because it took me however long to get this wakeup call," said Anderson, who has yet to face live pitching, but said he's swinging pain-free in regard to a left-wrist injury that ended his 2007 season on July 6. "I'm in the best shape of my life and I have confidence in my hitting. When I would go to Spring Training in the past, I knew [hitting coach Greg] Walker was there and hoped he had something up his sleeve for me. Now, I feel set with my swing, aside from making some small adjustments. Not knowing is the most frustrating part," added Anderson, concerning his tenuous status. "I've told myself this whole offseason I want to play in the big leagues in center field, but I still work for the White Sox and have to get myself ready."

Despite spending more than all three of the East's perennial also-rans (Toronto, Baltimore and Tampa Bay), the Yankees somehow don't have a first baseman. Doug Mientkiewicz and Andy Phillips are both gone, which means that new manager Joe Girardi must risk injury and gimme runs by playing Jason Giambi in the field, make a first baseman out of Shelly Duncan or Wilson Betemit or go with the unsung Juan Miranda, who had 16 homers and 96 RBIs between high A and Double-A a year ago.

Or maybe they could deal from an outfield surplus and trade Melky Cabrera and Miranda to the White Sox for Paul Konerko and one of the Sox's spare parts (Juan Uribe or Mike MacDougal). A deal like that could impact the balance of power in the [AL] East almost as much as a Santana trade.

[W]hile Cabrera has his middle infield position locked down for the upcoming campaign, the same certainty cannot be extended to Richar at second base. "It's an open competition," said White Sox general manager Ken Williams of the battle for second base. "In being consistent with what we are trying to do, we are looking for a player who helps give [manager] Ozzie [Guillen] the best chance to get off to a good start. The player who fits in best wins the job."...Cabrera's arrival moves Uribe into a utility role. It's the same sort of job projected for Uribe when he arrived from Colorado in 2004 and hit close to .400 during the first month of the season, earning the starting nod at second. Cuban exile Alexei Ramirez also counts second base as one of the numerous positions he can handle adeptly.

The principal reason for adopting the new name is to better reflect the team’s association with and commitment to the Great Falls community. An exhaustive study of possible names was undertaken by a special committee. After considering numerous possibilities, Voyagers was chosen because of its connection to Legion Park. In 1950, Nick Mariana, the general manager of the Great Falls Baseball team, filmed two rotating, silvery objects above the ball park (video). The Mariana film is one of the strongest cases supporting the existence of UFO’s.