Only a couple of days into camp and questions about the Sox batting line up have arisen. Since Jerry Manuel is not here to do some tinkering, I'll give it a shot.

In today's Trib, Mark Gonzales mentions that shortstop Orlando Cabrera, brought in to be a number two hitter, will be considered for the lead off spot, especially against tough lefties.

Every time this idea comes up, Cabrera sounds skittish about the idea of hitting lead off. Today's quote: "Hitting first is kind of tough because you can't swing at the first pitch, you have to work the count and help the rest of the team see the pitcher in the first at bat."

Though he goes on to say "it's nothing I cannot do," Cabrera knows that ultimately he is not a true lead off guy.

The fact is that any line up with Cabrera, who owns a career .321 OBP, leading off is a waste. Cabrera is a great contact hitter but does not have the on base skills to hit lead off in a line up desperate for baserunners. Going strictly from a numbers standpoint, Nick Swisher and his career .361 OBP (and trending upward toward .380) should be hitting lead off. Too bad he's not a prototypical Ozzie Guillen grinder/speedster lead off guy.

Actually, even though Cabrera is just about the gold standard for second-place hitters, Guillen could really maximize his on base potential by giving the two-hole to Carlos Quentin, another OBP machine. That would give his 3-4-5 mashers the most RBI chances and thus, theoretically, increase the expected number of runs scored for the team.

Assuming you are willing to sacrifice some defense in centerfield, and that Quentin is 100% healthy and productive, what about something like this:

1. Swisher CF
2. Quentin LF
3. Thome DH
4. Konerko 1B
5. Dye RF
6. Fields 3B
7. Pierzynski C
8. Cabrera SS
9. Richar, etc. 2B

But, at least so far, Ozzie's unlikely to swing that way. Unless one of Alexei Ramirez or Jerry Owens can step it up big time in the spring-and both are long shots-Ozzie might not be maximizing his run potential by giving his big bats the baserunners they need.

Cabrera might be the best number two hitter when you're playing for one run, but a Swisher-Quentin combo could lead to some big "crooked number" innings.