White Sox outfielder Carlos Quentin, among the candidates to win the AL MVP award, almost began the season in the minor leagues, according to The Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago wasn't sure if Quentin would even make the Opening Day roster. "If Jerry Owens had stayed healthy, it would have been Owens in center field, Jermaine Dye in right field and [Nick] Swisher in left, and there would have been a battle for the fourth and fifth spots," Sox analyst Steve Stone said. "Brian Anderson probably would have been the fourth because he can play center field. But Quentin? Given that he's a young guy, they might have wanted him to get every-day at-bats [in the minor leagues]." That's hard to imagine considering the 35 home runs and 96 RBIs Quentin has tallied thus far in 2008. RealGM Note: Quentin is looking like the AL MVP with roughly one month left in the 2008 season.