Talking baseball while looking forward to NCAA brackets:
1. Dayan Vicideo probably wasn't going to be on the White Sox's Opening Day roster. His injury pales next to the one that sidelined Jared Mitchell on this weekend a year ago, but it is the first really negative development in what has been a very productive Sox camp.
Before Viciedo was hit in the hand with a David Bush pitch in the eighth inning of a game against Texas, he had made a nice running catch on a soft liner down the right-field line. He was the only starter going all nine innings, as Ozzie Guillen worked to get him as much practice in the outfield as possible, and he had continued to look quite serviceable.
Viciedo covered a lot of ground to catch up to an opposite-field blooper by Ian Kinsler with Julio Borbon on first base. He made a basket catch and then got off a strong, snap throw on the run attempting to double up Borbon. The ball got to first base a tick after Borbon, however, but it was right on the money. Pretty impressive play from a guy who played third base the last two years.
The White Sox have other strong outfield candidates in camp, including once-hyped prospect Lastings Milledge and the speedy Alejandro de Aza . Then there's Brent Lillibridge , who can play anywhere on the field, including shortstop and center field.
The last job on the Sox's bench always seemed likely to go to one of those guys, with Viciedo going to Triple-A Charlotte to continue his development as an outfielder. So the Viciedo injury isn't really a factor for the 2011 team.
Under different circumstances, he might have been an immediate threat to RBI machine Carlos Quentin , but not with owner Jerry Reinsdorf "All In'' on having two teams capable of winning championships. There would be too much risk in counting on someone as unproven as Viciedo. But he's not far away from the big leagues.
It's easy to project him as a potential replacement for Quentin or left fielder Juan Pierre . And he's not the only young outfielder in the picture. Center fielder Jordan Danks has stalled as a hitter at Double-A but is well regarded for his fielding and toughness. He's gone 7-for-19 at the plate this spring, with a couple of doubles. Milledge hasn't done as much.
While the White Sox are as well positioned up the middle as any team in the majors, they're going to have turnover on the corner spots in the next season or two, the degree of which will depend partly on whether Brent Morel can establish himself at third base. Mark Teahen has been on a tear at the plate but has had a pair of two-error games.
2. Andrew Garcia is never going to forget Thursday. The young White Sox infielder -- considered one of their top fielders -- had himself quite a day when he was invited to make the trip to Surprise for a split-squad game against Texas. He misplayed a mile high popup, leading to a cheap eighth-inning run, but he got redemption in the ninth. Garcia's two-out double ended a three-run rally off Mark Lowe , giving the Sox a 7-6 win. He'll have quite a story to tell his grandfather, former Angels and Indians manager Dave Garcia .
3. The Rangers are quietly stepping up efforts to trade Michael Young , who would be a nice fit as second baseman for the Cubs. He apparently wouldn't mind that scenario, as he recently added the Cubs and Phillies to the list of teams he'd accept a trade to. But it's hard to see a match with the Cubs, who would need major salary relief to fit Young onto the payroll. Texas is looking for starting pitching in return for Young, and the Phillies ( Joe Blanton , maybe even Roy Oswalt ) seem far better suited to make a deal. They're also very motivated with questions about whether Chase Utley is going to need season-ending surgery.
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