White Sox fan as a kid, Bogusevic seeking a spot

MESA, Ariz. -- Brian Bogusevic grew up in Oak Lawn, Ill., and attended De La Salle High School in Chicago. He also was a White Sox fan.

"I went to high school literally across the highway from there," said Bogusevic, a non-roster invitee in Cubs camp. "We used to practice in the parking lot at Comiskey."

He also went to a lot of games on the South Side as a kid. The 29-year-old outfielder is now looking for a job with the Cubs. He came up in the Astros system and was a pitcher from 2005-08, then switched to outfield.

"It was actually their decision," he said of the Astros. "I wanted to do it. I never made it known to them."

He didn't convert because of problems as a pitcher like Rick Ankiel had. Bogusevic was 14-21 with a 5.05 ERA in 77 Minor League games. His former college teammate, Micah Owings, is doing the same thing with the Nationals.

"It wasn't like an Ankiel thing, I just wasn't doing as well, so we switched to see how it goes," Bogusevic said. "It's not like I'd never hit before. I had hit in college."

In his bio, it says Bogusevic pitched one inning last year for the Astros.

"That was a whole different deal," he said. "That was us running out of pitchers. We were down 15 [runs] and we needed somebody to save some arms. I was the guy."

He also was pretty sore after that. He's going to stick to hitting.