I don't claim to be a baseball expert. A fan? Yes. But an expert? Not by a longshot.

That said, I cannot, for the life of me, figure out why the Chicago White Sox went to all the trouble of trading for slugger Ken Griffey Jr. only to put him in center field — where he no longer is capable of playing well because of his limited mobility — and have him hit seventh in the lineup.

If Griffey, who has the most career home runs among active players, was brought to Chicago to add power at the plate to a team vying for a playoff berth, he should be hitting no lower than fifth in the order. And putting him in center field, where he runs the risk of hurting himself chasing down fly balls and base hits, is just plain reckless. The Cincinnati Reds understood this when they moved Junior from center field to right field. It would seem to me that White Sox Manager Ozzie Guillen should understand it, too.

But then, I'm just a fan, not an expert. So what do I know?