Will Ozzie Make Wise Decision Soon?

By Benjy Lipsman in News on Apr 9, 2009 3:40PM

We're only two games into the 2009 season, and already White Sox fans are getting restless for a change at the top of the batting order. Never really sold on manager Ozzie Guillen's selection of Dewayne Wise to bat lead off, the fans have quickly grown frustrated with the lack of production from the journeyman center fielder. Fans booed him at the Cell during Wednesday's game. But Ozzie's sticking with his man... for now.

Through two games, Wise is 0 for 8 with 4 strikeouts -- not exactly the kind of numbers one hopes for from the top of the order. And perhaps one of the reasons that the offense has struggled to put runs on the board. Wednesday night's shutout at the hands of the Kansas City Royals followed a game in which all but one run came off a Jim Thome homer. For the Sox to compete in the AL Central, they'll need to figure out how to manufacture runs, and one way to do that is to have a lead off hitter who actually gets on base. As a 31-year-old who made a major league roster out of Spring Training for the first time in his career and sports a lifetime .210 batting average, can Wise be that guy?

Wise's numbers weren't even that impressive in Spring Training despite a hot start. The career numbers for Brian Anderson and even the waived Jerry Owens look more promising to successfully fill the lead off role. Both drew more walks and have a higher OBP than Wise - who drew exactly 1 walk this spring. Yet Ozzie picked Wise. "I'm not going to change my mind [about choosing Wise to bat leadoff]," Guillen said. "I will change my mind when it is necessary to change my mind. I'm pretty optimistic this kid can do the job." Ozzie, you may be the only one. If Wise's hitting doesn't improve dramatically soon, we'd better hope Guillen's ego doesn't prevent him from making a move that's necessary. Not doing so would be very unwise.

Update: Well, that didn't take long... Ozzie Guillen's line-up for this afternoon's game has Chris Getz batting leadoff with A.J. Pierzynski batting second. Is this line-up shift temporary, or a permanent change?