It’s not necessarily about the physical discomfort battering the White Sox top pick from the 2009 First-Year Player Draft. It’s more the mental anguish affecting Mitchell, after his 2010 season basically came to an end before it started when he tore a tendon on the inside of his left ankle Friday.

In 1992, Guillen suffered torn ligaments in his right knee during a game on April 21 against the Yankees. He missed the remaining 150 games but bounced back in 1993 after following the rehab process laid out for him.

And it wasn’t always easy to follow that rehab, according to Guillen.

“Rehab is a funny thing,” Guillen said. “One day you feel like, ‘I’m ready to play tomorrow,’ and then you show up the next week and you can’t even walk. You have to be patient because it’s a process to heal. Go do everything the right way and be patient. It’s the best thing you have.

“You lose a year and the worst thing about it is to be [impatient]. You see one year go by and you miss that year and you don’t know how good you are going to come back. Make sure you do every day what you are supposed to do and don’t worry about what’s going to happen next.

“That’s hard to do, very hard to do it,” Guillen said. “Especially in the summer, when everyone is out having fun playing and you are not. Mentally, you have to prepare yourself very well.”

Mitchell suffered this devastating injury running into the left-field wall to make a catch on Juan Rivera’s fly ball to start the sixth inning of Friday’s 10-7 win over the Angels in Tempe, Ariz. Mitchell had just entered the game as a defensive replacement and was only part of the contest because of split-squad action, with part of the White Sox playing the Cubs in Las Vegas later that Friday. Mitchell was reassigned to Minor League camp Wednesday.
The White Sox announced Saturday that Mitchell will be evaluated on Monday in Scottsdale and then is scheduled to undergo surgery on Tuesday at the Greenbaum Outpatient Surgery Center. Dr. John Nasser, a foot and ankle specialist, will perform the procedure.

A rehabilitation schedule and recovery time will be set following surgery.

Juan Pierre got to know Mitchell during Spring Training, with the veteran White Sox leadoff man’s locker situated next to the 21-year-old. Pierre actually served as a mentor to Mitchell, who has been touted as Pierre’s possible replacement in a couple of years.

Missing the season certainly will hamper the development process for Mitchell, who made a lasting impression during his stint in Arizona but still would have been starting his first season focused solely on baseball. Pierre believes the injury won’t knock out this hard-worker and five-tool talent, who played both football and baseball at Louisiana State.

“Maybe it will be a blessing in disguise, where he can sit and watch the game and learn that way,” Pierre said. “All he needed was to go out and play. He has the tools, all of them. He has everything, but just needed the repetition.

“Remember, he’s 21 and he has a lot of time to get back and get healthy. He’s in shape so he won’t have a problem getting back. It’s a tough blow, but hopefully he can rehab and get back sooner than expected. Hopefully his spirits will stay up.”

Guillen plans to talk with Mitchell, reinforcing the point of just taking the rehab process step by step and not trying to map out his playing future before he fully heals. Guillen also stands as proof that you certainly can come back from such a tough setback without losing much, as he posted a .280 average over 134 games in 1993, matching a career high with four home runs.

Of course, Guillen’s injury came after he had posted seven solid big league seasons. The big league talent is there for Mitchell, though, and Guillen believes the perseverance to return is, too.

“When you lose a year, you have to work a little harder to get this time [back] you lose,” Guillen said. “Just go out there and battle. Every day is going to be a battle until you come back, but when you come back, you will feel the satisfaction about the waiting is worth it. I never had a problem after my surgery.”

“His baseball instincts are there and you can tell he has all the tools,” Pierre said. “He was a guy you can see had that baseball feel about him, and he was just about to get going.”

These contests clearly were more about getting in necessary Spring Training work and having fun with this brief diversion from Arizona. Even in Cactus League matchups, though, this rivalry has no letdown.

As an example, there were Cubs fans standing for the final out on Friday night, not exactly a prevalent sight throughout these preseason contests. So, imagine, if you will, how this rivalry would play out if it took place in late October, as part of an L Train World Series in Chicago?

Jake Peavy has envisioned part of that scenario. After making his first Cactus League start for the White Sox Friday in Arizona, the South Siders ace said his team has what it takes to win the World Series title if it stays healthy.

It’s the same sort of confident Spring Training claim Ryan Dempster made about the Cubs two years ago. And after throwing three scoreless innings in Saturday’s victory over the White Sox, Dempster wholeheartedly seconded the bold frame of mind shown by Peavy.

“Every team should think that way,” Dempster said. “You should feel that way as an individual and with the team as a whole. Health is the biggest thing. Teams that win usually avoid those things.

“The White Sox have a very good team and a strong pitching staff. They’re going to be a tough team. And just like us, I feel like we’re going to be a tough team to play against. That’s the key, where we’re at three weeks from now, making sure we’re healthy and ready to go.”

Dempster’s squad won both of these weekend contests, by 6-5 and 8-7 tallies, avenging last year’s two-game sweep by the White Sox in Las Vegas. Of course, it’s hard to get a truly accurate reading about either team when so many innings are being played by Minor Leaguers with jersey numbers in the 80s.
But White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, once again the toast of the Big League Weekend as the one-time Las Vegas Stars shortstop coming home, had a bitingly sardonic explanation for this particular change of fortune. Cubs manager Lou Piniella made the trip to Las Vegas last year, but Alan Trammell ran the show this year.

“Alan Trammell is a way better manager than Lou Piniella. He beat me twice,” said Guillen, flashing a mischievous smile, while poking fun at his old friend. “If Lou wants to quit right now, it’s a good time to do it. Alan Trammell knows how to handle the game better than he does.

“It shows in the paper tomorrow. He got two wins. They showed they don’t need Lou. They play better with Alan Trammell.”

Guillen took his managerial skills to comedic task, pointing out how the White Sox at least split two games back in Arizona with bench coach Joey Cora and Triple-A Charlotte manager Chris Chambliss in charge. Having Guillen and Piniella matching wits, and quips, for the ultimate postseason competition might bring in the Fall Classic’s best ratings — even without the on-field action.

“I’m trying to figure out how they would work that,” said Dempster of a Cubs-White Sox World Series. “How you would, as a player, get in and out of the park? There would be nothing like it. It would be bigger than even the Yankee-Met World Series. I really couldn’t think of a sporting event of the four major sports to have something like it.”

“Every time the Cubs and White Sox match up, and I don’t care if it’s Whiffle ball, Spring Training or whatever, it’s intense,” said White Sox left fielder Juan Pierre, who played for the Cubs in 2006. “That’s Chicago for you. They are passionate about sports and their teams.”

For now, the Cubs-White Sox rivalry brought another spring baseball success to a city known more for its magicians, impersonators and showgirls, who were on display for Saturday’s first pitch with Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman. But at least one Cubs player gave pause for thought at what this competition would be like with the biggest prize on the line.

“Obviously, it’s something you try to imagine, but we’re just trying to win the first game of the year,” Dempster said. “You envision something like that.

“Anybody who doesn’t is lying. It’s a long ways away, but at the same time, it sure would be something to see.”

Otherwise, when you ask the White Sox catcher if he is aware of the rudiments of the popular defensive statistic that is helping shape the rosters of Major League ballclubs more and more these days, he has a simple answer.

“I don’t care what it means,” Pierzynski said. “What matters in this game is wins and losses, and if you have a good defense, it’s going to help you win.”

White Sox general manager Ken Williams agrees, but Williams and his director of baseball operations, Dan Fabian, are interested in some of these new-age stats, too, and UZR, or Ultimate Zone Rating, ranked Chicago as the fourth-worst team defense in the Major Leagues in 2009.

Developed by statistician Mitchel Lichtman, UZR, as described on FanGraphs.com, where the statistics are available for free, quantifies “the number of runs above or below average a fielder is, determined by how the fielder is able to get to balls hit in his vicinity.”

UZR gets to this number by combining “range runs,” which are “the number of runs above or below average a fielder is, determined by how the fielder is able to get to balls hit in his vicinity,” and “error runs,” defined as “the number of runs above or below average a fielder is, determined by the number of errors he makes as compared to an average fielder at that position given the same distribution of balls in play.” Added to standard UZRs are the UZR/150 numbers, or “the number of runs above or below average a fielder is, per 150 defensive games.”

Last year, the White Sox put up a minus-35.6 UZR score, which ranked 27th in the big leagues. So over the winter, Williams orchestrated several moves that figure to make the team better defensively. Manager Ozzie Guillen didn’t hesitate to admit that last year’s team could have been a lot better at catching the ball.

“We were so bad defensively that I had the [designated hitter] making errors,” Guillen joked. “He would foul the ball off, pick it up, try to throw it back to the umpire and the ball would end up in the stands. That’s an error.”

Williams began trying to correct the errors by trading for third baseman Mark Teahen, who will allow last year’s rookie sensation, Gordon Beckham, to shift to second base, where he is more comfortable. Alexei Ramirez will play shortstop for the second straight year after moving over from second.

The club also acquired outfielder Juan Pierre, who should improve the defense in left field while allowing Carlos Quentin to shift back to his natural position in right. The White Sox will enjoy a full season of Alex Rios in center and Andruw Jones as a backup.

And then there’s the mere presence of Omar Vizquel, who will back up the infielders and lend the leadership and experience from a likely Hall of Fame career in which he won 11 Gold Gloves.

“To be a championship team, you need to have a couple of guys that really stand out on defense,” Vizquel said. “You can change the game with a play in a key situation.

“That’s why you see four-to-seven game series turning on a good defensive play or a key defensive mistake.”

The White Sox need only look at last year’s Seattle Mariners to see how powerful a tool improved defense can be. The Mariners were last in the AL in runs scored in 2009 but still won 85 games by leading the Majors in UZR, which helped their pitching staff compile the lowest ERA in the AL.

“Good defense makes your pitchers better,” starter Jake Peavy said. “You can’t give teams extra outs, especially in the American League with the DH — especially in our ballpark, which can favor hitters. It’s pretty simple. You’ve got to catch the baseball. You give a team more than 27 outs and they’re going to capitalize on it.

“That’s why, as a pitcher, I’m excited to see what we’ve done to strengthen our defense. A pitcher always wants to see a team working to get better in that area.”

Guillen said he’s already noticed a huge difference in Spring Training.

“We’re way better [defensively] than last year,” Guillen said.

“If we’re worse than last year? Wow. Good luck.”

Not that Danks was lit up by the Cincinnati Reds in Chicago’s 5-5 tie at Goodyear Ballpark, but after two previous shutout efforts against the Angels and Giants, Danks’ Spring Training line was finally blemished when the left-hander gave up three runs on six hits in 3 2/3 innings — although one of the runs was unearned because of an error by first baseman Dayan Viciedo. Danks struck out two batters and walked four.

Afterward, despite some crooked numbers, he said everything is going according to the plan.

“I felt real good,” said Danks, who went 13-11 with a 3.77 ERA last year and set career highs in victories and innings pitched (200 1/3). “It’s still a work in progress. It’s only my third start and there were a lot of positives.

“I know the line doesn’t look real well, but I accomplished everything I wanted to and I’ll be ready to go in another five days.”

Danks said he still has to work on his effectiveness to left-handed hitters, and on Sunday, the Reds’ two left-handed threats, Joey Votto and Jay Bruce, had success. Votto went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI, and Bruce went 1-for-3 and knocked in a run. Danks also said he didn’t throw any good curveballs in the game.

But as far as getting his work in and being mentally set for the season to begin against the Cleveland Indians at U.S. Cellular Field on April 5, Danks said he was already there.

“We’re ready for the season to start,” Danks said. “No doubt. Now is the time in Spring Training where it gets a little monotonous and a little old.”

But Danks said he’s confident in what he and his team can do once the adrenaline of the real season kicks in and the White Sox have embarked on the 162-game grind.

“We know how good we are and how good we can be,” he said. “We’re all eager for the season to start so we can prove how good we are.”

Nathan, the closer for three Minnesota division winners in six years, has been diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. An injury that usually leads to Tommy John reconstructive surgery makes Chicago’s task easier.

However, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said he is too wrapped up in his own concerns, and team captain Paul Konerko noted that whenever the rug is pulled out from under them, the Twins have demonstrated an uncanny ability to always land on their feet

“Every time they have someone go down, someone else steps in and they never miss a beat,” Konerko said. “Nathan is a lights-out guy, but they’ll figure it out. Probably someone we’re not even thinking of now will step up for them.”

“I feel for Gardy,” Guillen said of Twins counterpart Ron Gardenhire. “This obviously hurts their bullpen. However they adjust, overall their bullpen is obviously weaker.

“But I’m too busy worrying about [White Sox closer] Bobby Jenks and our other pitchers. We’ve had Bobby go down for a long time [principally, for a month with a lower-back problem in mid-2008] and no one really felt sorry for us. But you don’t want to see anyone get injured.”

“[Nathan] is obviously one of the top closers in the game,” said Mark Teahen. “The Twins have a strong bullpen and they can weather this somewhat. We’ll see how it affects them. I was on a team that lost its closer, and something like this can certainly impact an entire bullpen.”

Teahen referred to his former Kansas City team’s Mike MacDougal, idled by various ailments the season after posting 21 saves for a 106-loss club.

“It’s tough for a guy like [Nathan] to go down,” said left-hander John Danks. “It lengthens their game. With him in the bullpen, they played seven, eight innings. Now they’ll have to play a full nine-inning game.”
“Nathan is not an easy at-bat,” added Teahen, who may be entering his first season with the White Sox but already knows what they think of the right-hander.

“In six, seven years, I can’t remember a good day against him,” Guillen said. “Oh, no doubt he’s been tough. Even [Mariano] Rivera hasn’t been as tough against us.”

In 2009, Nathan made 10 appearances against the White Sox, eight of them Twins wins. Those eight saves jacked his career total against the Sox to 24, with a 2.06 ERA for 49 appearances.

That ERA actually took a beating the last time the White Sox played under the Metrodome, on Sept. 2, when back-to-back homers by Gordon Beckham and Konerko blew the 2-0 lead Nathan had entered to protect.

“They probably had him undergo tests after that home run,” Konerko said with a grin, before growing serious. “I’ve had a chance to meet and get to know him, and he’s really a good guy, and you don’t want to see that happen. It may seem like a good story for us and some other teams, and it’s natural to talk about it when a significant player goes down. But we feel like it’s none of our business.”

It isn’t much of a consolation for Gardenhire, but if you were going to lose a game-changing pitcher, you would want to lose him in early March.

“It’s never a good time to lose someone like Joe Nathan, but at least now they can go out and get some help,” Guillen said. “Gardy will have time to find out maybe who can step in and do a job. Who will be the guy? I’d rather face anyone other than Nathan.”

Minnesota general manager Bill Smith would have numerous options if he chose to explore a possible trade for a substitute closer. Teams currently with multiple relievers with closing experience include the Angels (Brian Fuentes and Fernando Rodney), Milwaukee (Trevor Hoffman and Dave Riske) and the Dodgers (Jonathan Braxton and George Sherrill).

Other teams in camp with an incumbent closer and one rehabilitating include Oakland (Andrew Bailey and Brad Ziegler) and Seattle (Dave Aardsma and Chad Cordero).

With two strikeouts, one walk and three hits allowed, it was pretty much a regulation start for the left-hander. And for his follow-up Cactus League move, Buehrle will have his next start skipped on Wednesday and probably will not take the mound again until a night game against Kansas City on March 15 at Camelback Ranch.

Before talk of injury or shoulder soreness in regard to Buehrle begins to creep up, the left-hander explained this move is part of the plan to control his Spring Training workload. It was put into place last March for the durable hurler who has worked at least 200 innings and made at least 30 starts in each of his nine seasons as part of the White Sox rotation.

“That’s why I went down to the ‘pen [Friday] and threw 15 more pitches,” said Buehrle, who couldn’t work any deeper in the game because the White Sox already had their alignment set for the remaining six relievers against the Dodgers. “I threw 35 or something in the game so I got up to 50 pitches.

“I’ll skip the next start and come back out 10 days from now and try to go three or four innings. I guess on [Wednesday] I’ll throw a pretty good bullpen or play long toss in between. Just change it up in between.”

Buehrle admitted to asking pitching coach Don Cooper why he didn’t just skip this first start and then work every five days after that, starting on Wednesday. But by the time that possibility was talked about, the White Sox needed Buehrle to throw Friday.
“They are just watching my innings,” Buehrle said. “I need more time for location and I’m thankful this is our first game.

“Some of their hits and balls they were putting in play weren’t struck very well and they should have been … I wasn’t hitting my location as well. It’s my first one, so it wasn’t that big of a deal, but physically I feel good.”

Location issues at this early stage don’t stand as any sort of worry for the veteran approaching 10 years of service time. His focus, as always, is to build up his arm strength to pitch six or seven innings and be ready for his franchise-record eighth Opening Day start on April 5 at home against the Indians.

That preparation for Buehrle will come away from the actual games for the next 10 days. It’s a brief respite certain to draw a few sarcastic comments from his fellow members of the White Sox pitching staff.

“I will take my annual week off and go home for a couple of days,” said a smiling Buehrle, who missed time last Spring Training to return to Missouri for the birth of his daughter. “I always get ‘When are you going to go home for four or five days and then come back?’ They always have fun with it, and I’m sure they will do that again.”

“A good thing about Buehrle is he feels very well,” White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. “Every Spring Training, he comes with some sort of fatigue. But this year, we don’t have any complaints about it. To me, Buehrle will be Buehrle.”

I’m finally buying into the idea of having a revolving DH.

Sure I’m still drawn to the old idea of having one veteran hitter fill that role. A veteran hitter that can draw walks and drive in runners (Jim Thome anyone?)

However I’m starting to see the value that a rotating DH brings. The benefits of this new way to handle the DH role are generally considered to be twofold:

It allows guys like Konerko and Quentin to take a break from playing the field. Which in theory should help them stay fresh and continue to produce from the plate.

It also creates more of an opportunity for veteran players like Andruw Jones and Omar Vizquel to contribute. Obviously it’s debatable how much those guys have left in the tank to contribute, but for the sake of this argument let’s assume they’re both more than washed up veterans.

However, there’s another benefit to this rotating DH idea and it’s one that I haven’t heard talked about nearly enough. It creates a chance for good young hitters like Tyler Flowers and Dayan Viciedo to get at bats and develop at the major league level in a gradual way .

Both Flowers and Viciedo have shown that they can hit in the minors (Viciedo wasn’t wildly successful, but he certainly passes the eye test), so why not let both of them get some meaningful at bats with the big club? Are Jones/Kotsay/Vizquel going to put up better numbers at DH than Flowers/Viciedo?

I feel confident in saying that not only would putting those young guys at DH right now help them develop, but they’d also outperform the veterans that are slated to do that job.

Now I understand that eventually one if not both of those guys are going to have to play the field. This really only creates a problem for Viciedo, since Flowers ought to be the backup catcher anyway (sorry Ramon). So far Viciedo has been playing first base in spring training, which makes sense, since Mark Teahen is locked in at third base for the next three seasons and Konerko’s deal is up after this one.

Wouldn’t it make sense to have the young Cuban back up Konerko and learn from him this season?

Hopefully Ozzie recognizes both the short term and long term benefit of playing these two good young sluggers this season.

542 At Bats
.277 Batting Average (150 Hits)
15 Home Runs
68 RBI
71 Runs
14 Stolen Bases
.333 On Base Percentage
.389 Slugging Percentage
.288 Batting Average on Balls in Play

It was not just the home runs that stepped back from ‘08 to ‘09, it was his extra base power in general. In 2008 he had 45 extra base hits (22 doubles, 3 triples, 21 home runs) in just 480 at bats. That fell to just 30 last season (14 doubles, 1 triple, 15 home runs).

The easy explanation for the home run decline was his decrease in HR/FB rate:

•2008 – 13.8 Percent

•2009 – 8.2 Percent

Which is the real Alexei Ramirez? We just don’t have enough of a track record to know for sure. Having never played in the Minor Leagues, the past two years are the only knowledge we really have (you can’t really correlate any success in the Cuban Leagues to the Major Leagues). Chances are he comes in somewhere in the middle, but that’s a total crapshoot.

In fact, he needs to have a rebound in the power department to be a true, above average starting shortstop in shallower formats. While he has decent speed (he showed improvement, reducing his caught stealing from nine in ‘08 to five last season), he’s not going to match the totals lofty stolen base totals of guys like Elvis Andrus (click here for more on him), Everth Cabrera (click here for more on him), or Alcides Escobar (click here for more on him). To over come their speed, he must hit more than 15 HR.

The average is something that is slightly surprising. He vastly improved his patience at the plate in ‘09, which you would think would help:

•2008 – 3.5 Percent

•2009 – 8.1 Percent

He also does a decent job of putting the ball on the ground in an attempt to use his speed to get on base, with a career groundball rate of 46.4 percent. However, despite these things working in his favor (as well as not striking out much, with a career rate of 12.4 percent), he just doesn’t have much luck. Over the past two seasons he’s posted BABIPs of .294 and .288. With his strikeout level, marks like that leave him usable in the average department, but he has the potential to be significantly above average.

All he needs is to find a few holes. All he needs to do is get a little lucky. If his BABIP was at .315 last season, his average rises to .295. If it went to .336, his average jumps all the way to .314. Granted, a jump to .336 is significant, but it is not impossible. That type of number would have still left him outside the top 35 in ‘09. With his speed and ability to put the ball in play, it’s not impossible.

Of course, this doesn’t even take into account that if he hits more home runs, his average will increase without any extra luck (a home run is not a ball put into play).

Let’s take a look at my projection for him in 2010:

.280 (143-510), 18 HR, 75 RBI, 75 R, 20 SB, .293 BABIP, .328 OBP, .437 SLG

Given his two-year track record, I will admit to playing it a little safe with this projection. Honestly, I believe this is more his floor than anything else (outside of the stolen bases), as he has a significantly higher ceiling.As we discussed, hitting .300 is extremely possible. He’s already shown the ability to hit over 20 HR. He certainly has the speed to reach 20 SB.

The moral of the story? If you can get him at a bargain price, don’t hesitate. I know he disappointed in 2009, but we all know about sophomore slumps. I have him as my sixth ranked shortstop (click here to view) and certainly won’t shy away if he slips from his current ADP of around 108.

What about you? Is Ramirez someone you think will bounce back in 2010? What type of production are you expecting?

Anyone who has watched him make contact with a baseball knows Viciedo possesses the power of a classic home run hitter.

Now, the main questions to be answered concerning Viciedo are where will he play defensively and when will he arrive in Chicago? Viciedo has his ideas on the first topic, but they might differ from the White Sox.

“My position is third base,” Viciedo said through a translator. “But I’ll play wherever they tell me to play.”

Judging by his first two Spring Training starts, it looks as if Viciedo is jumping to first base. And if that move is not yet completely official, Viciedo certainly appears to be gradually making his move across the diamond.

Viciedo started Tuesday’s “B” game against the Dodgers at first base, and with Paul Konerko getting the day off for Thursday’s Cactus League opener at Tempe Diablo Stadium, there was Viciedo adeptly picking low throws at first base against the Angels. The change in position seems to make sense for Viciedo, with Mark Teahen locked up for the next three years as the White Sox third baseman, and Konerko playing in the final year of a five-year, $60 million deal.

As Viciedo indicated, the position isn’t as important to him as simply having the chance to play regularly. He came to the White Sox carrying a great deal of hype after defecting from Cuba. There was even talk during the negotiating process how Viciedo could contribute at the Major League level in his first big league season.

Instead, the 2009 season was spent by Viciedo entirely with Double-A Birmingham. His effort received high marks, as he hit .280 with 12 home runs, 20 doubles and 78 RBIs for one of the best overall Minor League teams. His 504 at-bats were 181 more than the previous high point of his Cuban career, and he had 327 more at-bats than the last time he suited up for Villa Clara of Cuba in 2007.

Needless to say, it was a yearlong learning experience for Viciedo, who feels wiser and soon to be older when he turns 21 on Wednesday.

“It’s the first time I played in a league with so many games, and I also adjusted to the system of baseball here,” Viciedo said. “This year, I feel better. I feel prepared. I feel a lot more confident.

“They taught me a lot last year. My footwork at third base … Really, I learned about everything. I learned about every aspect of the game.”

The White Sox signing of Viciedo cost them $10 million over four years. It’s not exactly the sort of deal you expect for a Minor Leaguer, which was Viciedo’s 2009 job description, even a first-round Draft pick.

Add those contractual expectations to Viciedo’s year, not to mention the Spanish-English language barrier, and it’s easy to see how the pressure could have quickly built up for the relatively untested rookie.

“Yes, without a doubt. Yes. You feel a lot of pressure,” Viciedo said with a smile. “I’m a 20-year-old, signing that contract, making a lot of money. Thank God I had my family here to support me.”

“I’ve always said it is easier being a seventh-rounder than a first-rounder,” said Jordan Danks, a Viciedo teammate at Birmingham, referring to the extra pressure immediately heaped upon Viciedo’s broad shoulders. “They care about you as a seventh-rounder, but you’re not their main focus. They’ve invested all this money into a first-rounder, and expect you to perform.”

All accounts presented by general manager Ken Williams and Minor League director Buddy Bell characterized Viciedo as not only a great teammate with the Barons but as a young man with an abundance of personality and humor. Danks and Daniel Hudson, who made a nine-start stopover with Birmingham, seconded this notion.

“He’s a cool guy, and I enjoyed playing with him,” Danks said. “I don’t speak any Spanish, and he hardly speaks any English. But we had hand signals to communicate with each other.”

“Just being 20 years old and having that kind of money and coming over here for a first time, not knowing a lot of people, it’s got to be tough,” Hudson said. “But he adjusted well. The language barrier is tough with him, but he tries to make the connection with you. Just a great teammate, and an awesome person to have in the locker room.”

More than the on-field position has changed for Viciedo. He became a father for the first time, with Dayan Jr. born in the offseason. Viciedo speaks of his son with the same enthusiasm and pride as a player who has hit a walk-off home run in six or seven consecutive games.

That sort of excitement is what Viciedo hopes to provide baseball-wise in 2010. It’s a near-certainty he will start the season with Triple-A Charlotte, but in Ozzie Guillen’s revolving designated-hitter setup, Viciedo eventually could be a player.

Guillen wants Viciedo to prove his worth, showing adjustments by hitting the ball the opposite way at the plate, as well as dealing with a potential new position. Through two games this spring, Viciedo looks like a big league first baseman.

“Open people’s eyes,” Guillen said of what he wants from Viciedo. “We moved him to first base to see how he plays there, [if he gets] good at-bats. It’s time for him to start to move on, second big league camp. I think when we send him down, go out there and put some numbers [up] because he’s a guy we’re going to see here pretty soon.”

“Anything is possible,” Viciedo said. “I don’t think I have to rush anything. I’m 21 years old and I have a lot of time in front of me.”

With far-reaching rumors popping up this weekend concerning the idea general manager Ken Williams might include Beckham in a potential trade for San Diego’s Adrian Gonzalez, though, Beckham’s family still wanted to double check on his White Sox status.

“My dad actually asked me,” a smiling Beckham said of the remote trade rumors. “I said, ‘Dad, I don’t think it’s true. But you never know.’”

In the realm of confirmed daily activity, Beckham made his debut as the White Sox starting second baseman in the 2010 Cactus League opener. He played the position last year during Spring Training, coming from a non-roster invitee wearing No. 80 to almost earning the everyday job as camp broke.

Beckham began the 2009 season at shortstop for Double-A Birmingham and quickly worked his way into the White Sox starting lineup at third base by June 4. Now, Beckham has a position to make his own and looked comfortable during his limited chances against the Angels.

A Torii Hunter line drive to second was turned into a double play by Beckham in the opening inning, when Beckham’s throw to first baseman Dayan Viciedo easily doubled off Bobby Abreu. Beckham then ranged up the middle on Robb Quinlan’s fourth-inning grounder and threw him out.

To be honest, Beckham doesn’t feel as if the change from second base to shortstop to third base and back to second in one year’s time will present much of an issue. He points to the double play turn as the biggest point of concern.

“The main thing is keeping my hands close to my body so it’s not a big transition,” Beckham said. “It’s about letting the ball come right to your chest almost, and then just take it out of the glove and throw it. It’s more about the transition.

“Second base is going to be good. I like the way I feel out there right now, I like the way I’m moving. I have a ways to go I think. But so far, so good. I want to be on the field and I don’t really care where I play.”

If Beckham has his preference, he will continue playing for the White Sox for quite some time. The trade rumblings began in a CBS Sportsline article in which Jake Peavy talked about his push for Williams to acquire his former teammate Gonzalez. The article quoted a White Sox person stating that, “They’re saying Kenny would give anything to get him, maybe even [Gordon] Beckham.”

Thus, the speculation took off, although not for Beckham and not for the White Sox — probably not even for Gonzalez.

“I keep telling Peavy to be quiet,” Beckham said with a wry smile. “I want to stay here for the time being. But I totally understand what Peavy is saying.

“Gonzalez is a great player, so why not? I wish there was some way we could get him over here and I could stay. That’s all rumors and I haven’t heard anything and I don’t intend to hear anything. I’m good where I’m at and I think they are happy with me. We’ll see where it goes.”