Are the White Sox really interested in Melky Cabrera? According to Ozzie Guillen (via Mark Gonzales), they are not:

PHOENIX - Manager Ozzie Guillen reiterated his faith in the candidates for the White Sox's leadoff and center field positions and tempered any trade speculation. "No, we're not going (outside the organization)," Guillen said. "I don't want that to happen. I don't like that to happen. If we have to go outside the organization right now, gosh, I'm not going to say we're in trouble. But as a ballclub, we have enough guys here to resolve that problem." Dewayne Wise went 1 for 4 with a double in a 3-1 loss to Arizona but was nailed trying to stretch the hit into a triple in the bottom of the first inning.

As Tim Dierkes notes, the in-house options are Wise, Jerry Owens, and Brian Anderson. With all due respect, Jerry Owens simply isn't good enough to play. He's got more than 400 plate appearances in the majors -- and by the way, why? -- and his career stats include a .321 on-base percentage and a .312 slugging percentage. OK, small sample size … but Owens is 28, and in three years and nearly 1,200 plate appearances in Triple-A, he hasn't done appreciably better. He's hung around for a while because he's fast, but you can't steal first base. Owens doesn't belong in this conversation. Brian Anderson is a horse of a different stripe. He's got more MLB service than Owens and his numbers are just as heinous -- thank you, .277 OBP -- but he's two years younger and does have a solid minor league track record. Well, maybe not solid. But it's a track record suggesting he can play better in the majors than he has. And then there's Dewayne Wise. Owens' career OBP is .321. Not good. Anderson's career OBP is .277. Really not good. Wise's career OBP is .254. In 504 plate appearances. His career OBP in the minors is .310. He's 31. When Ozzie Guillen says the White Sox "have enough guys here to resolve that problem," I'm not sure what he means. You can bring in all the fast guys in the world who can't get on base, and you still won't have a legitimate center fielder. Let alone a legitimate center fielder who can bat leadoff and score 100 runs. I don't know that Melky Cabrera is the answer. He's been a bit OBP-challenged, too. What's more, every would-be contender has a weakness somewhere. Brett Gardner is playing center field for the Yankees. Julio Lugo supposedly is playing shortstop for the Red Sox. The Indians are relying on Carl Pavano. But it's just irresponsible for a contender to enter spring training without a reasonably viable option at a particular position, particularly a key spot like center field. Yet that's exactly what the White Sox have done. And now, just more than week before Opening Day, they're still doing it.