Oh, man: Sox get Omar

The White Sox made good on recent rumors and signed 42-year-old shortstop Omar Vizquel as a tutor for their young, promising infielders Alexei Ramirez and Gordon Beckham. Actually, though a lot of his value will come as a defensive mentor and tutor to The Missile specifically, Omar can still play, and he could play a great late-inning defensive role for the Sox at 2nd, shortstop or 3rd.

I'm guessing this is another move--along with the Mark Teahen deal, the re-signing of Mark Kotsay and the likelihood that the Sox won't trade the already expensive Dayan Viciedo--that signals that GM Kenny Williams probably will not attempt to bring in Chone Figgins.

That's a shame, because the Sox could really use him in the lead-off spot, where Vizquel will give you no help at all. But, Vizquel brings the Sox a step closer to their commitment to win with string defense, and that's definitely a good thing.

The Cubs, meanwhile, recently traded Aaron Heilman, re-signed John Grabow and still haven't moved Milton Bradley. There has been some buzz about possibly acquiring Chicago product and talented Detroit centerfielder Curtis Granderson. That would be nice, and though Granderson strikes out a lot as a lead-off man, he's got the speed and power of a younger Alfonso Soriano with that much-desired left-handed bat. But, I'll believe this one when I see it.