CHICAGO -- Juan Uribe thought that the shortstop job belonged to him for at least one more season when he agreed to a new contract back in early November. That belief lasted about 12 days, until the team acquired Orlando Cabrera in a trade with the Angels.

And though the White Sox have not had any contact with Uribe during the offseason, manager Ozzie Guillen admitted on Friday that he was a bit concerned with the focus Uribe would present in his return to a utility role this season.

"It will be tough. The motivation will be tough," said Guillen, talking to a group of reporters during Opening Day of SoxFest at the Palmer House Hilton on Friday. "I don't blame Juan for this, but I think as long as he shows up with the right attitude, we are going to give him a shot to play.

"He has no other choice but to have a good attitude. Show up with the right attitude, and you have a better chance with me and our staff than if you come like you lost your job. You didn't lose your job. If you make the team, you will get at-bats somewhere."

Guillen added that Uribe's impending free-agent status after the 2008 season worried him, with Uribe possibly coming in thinking that he needs to play every day this season so he can continue to play every day in the future. General manager Ken Williams said that he talked with Martin Arburua, Uribe's agent, and learned Uribe was not happy about having to fight for playing time.

Williams also pointed out that Uribe knew what the team expected from him last year in regard to putting up better at-bats to go with his solid defense, and also knew the ramifications if those targets weren't hit.

Even with the position switch, though, Uribe will be in the mix at second base, with Danny Richar, Alexei Ramirez and even Pablo Ozuna joining the Spring Training battle for a starting job.

In Guillen's mind, Uribe has to look more at what there is to gain as opposed to dwelling on what he lost.

"Juan might not understand why we [brought] in Cabrera," he said. "We need leadership. We [didn't] bring a shortstop. We [brought] in a player.

"That will be a pretty good battle at second base. I will talk to Juan, let him know what we think about him and about our situation."

Lineup alignment: Jerry Owens is not a lock to start at center field and as the team's leadoff hitter. But Guillen made it clear on Friday that Owens stands as a strong bet to break camp with the team in some capacity.

"Owens has a great shot to be up there," Guillen said. "He gives me speed, and I never thought this kid would play center field the way he did for us. But he proved me wrong."

Guillen also intends to keep 12 pitchers, with Nick Masset, Ehren Wasserman and possibly even Andrew Sisco battling to join Bobby Jenks, Octavio Dotel, Scott Linebrink, Matt Thornton, Mike MacDougal and Boone Logan. That leaves one roster spot open, basically, between Richar, Ramirez and Uribe.

The rotation also will get a slight tweak in regard to the specific pitching order. As of now, Mark Buehrle and Javier Vazquez will be followed by John Danks, Jose Contreras and Gavin Floyd. Guillen wants to make the move to break up the two young pitchers working back-to-back games.

Making progress: Carlos Quentin could be the true sleeper pickup of Williams' offseason overhaul, assuming the outfielder enters camp healthy. Quentin underwent surgery on Oct. 9 to repair a torn left labrum and torn left rotator cuff but believes he is on target to play at 100 percent during Spring Training.

"No setbacks so far, knock on wood," Quentin said. "The surgery went well and the rehab went even better."

Quentin has started taking swings, although he remains limited on a set program. He took some front tosses on Friday as he progresses to regular batting practice.

"My shoulder feels great," he added.

Eye of the Tiger: With plenty of talk on Friday centering on the chip on the team's collective shoulders following last year's fourth-place finish in the American League Central, the old Survivor tune and Rocky theme might become the team's 2008 fight song. Simply put, the players are more than ready to put 2007 in the rearview mirror.

"The way everyone got embarrassed and the way we played, nobody wants to go through that again," Buehrle said. "I can't say we have to try harder, because we tried last year. Hopefully, we get off to a better start than we did last year."

"Last year was the first time I have ever been on a losing team, so it's a new experience to me, and it stunk. I'm not going to lie," catcher A.J. Pierzynski added. "It was miserable every day, just horrible coming to the field, trying to answer questions from [reporters] about why we couldn't get it done. We need to get it turned around from Day 1 in Spring Training and win a lot more games than last year."

Around the horn: Players, fans and staff members serenaded Nick Swisher with a chorus of "Happy Birthday" after Friday's opening ceremonies. There was just one problem. Swisher's birthday was on Nov. 25. ... Paul Konerko and Buehrle drew the loudest cheers upon their introduction Friday. ... Williams reiterated a desire to talk with Cabrera and agent Dan Lozano about a possible contract extension during Spring Training. Williams said that Cabrera had expressed the same basic desire through Lozano. ... Williams also mentioned that Scott Podsednik could be close to signing a deal with another team. But even if Podsednik remained unsigned by late February, Williams would not bring him back through a Minor League deal. "I want the best for Scott Podsednik," Williams said. "And I don't like signing people who don't have a legitimate opportunity to play for us."