"Zack Greinke doesn't want to be in Ron Roenicke's shoes when the Milwaukee Brewers' new manager announces his opening-day starter.

"It's tricky," said Greinke, who made his spring debut with the Brewers on Tuesday in a 3-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox. "I don't think pitchers are going to be mad, no matter what the decision is. Every rotation is tough to do, but this one's tough."

The Brewers' prized off-season acquisition remains the favorite to get that March 31 assignment in Cincinnati. But with incumbent ace Yovani Gallardo as well as Toronto's 2010 opening day starter, Shaun Marcum, in the equation, Roenicke has a juggling act on his hands.

Accordingly, Roenicke has held off announcing his opening rotation. He gave himself a safety net by noting that the Brewers' home opener, the fourth game of the season, also "is an important game."

Roenicke said he's been feeling out a couple of pitchers to see what their ideas on the subject might be. And he promised he won't go too much longer before aligning his pitchers.

"I imagine it'll come pretty soon," he said. "There will be some (bruised feelings), but that's good. If guys are upset about not pitching the opener, that's good. You want guys who want to pitch."

By that day, count on Greinke to be much sharper. He made it through only 1 1/3 innings against Chicago, primarily because he walked three hitters. Greinke allowed one hit but recorded two strikeouts, whiffing Dayan Viciedo to escape a bases-loaded situation in the first.

Greinke needed 39 pitches to record four outs, exiting after walking Brent Lillibridge with one down in the second inning.

"I didn't think he was comfortable," said Roenicke. "I thought the ball came out of his hand good, but just kind of watching his body language, I got the sense that he wasn't happy with that.

"He was a little bit up in the zone. Zack is a perfectionist. When he wants a fastball low and away, he wants to stick it there. So when it's not there, he's not going to be happy."

As with most pitchers, Greinke said he goes through a progression during spring training, beginning with his fastball and adding other pitches later. His fastball was mostly in the 92-93 mph range against the White Sox with a high of 96 mph, but he indicated velocity wasn't a primary concern at this point.

"The most important thing is to get the fastball working," he said. "Once that's working, you can go to other stuff. If you go to your other stuff right away and your fastball isn't ready by opening day, you're in trouble. That's my main focus until it gets close.

"I didn't throw a lot of strikes with my fastball, but it felt good. I didn't feel like it was being squared up a lot."

After the outing, Greinke was taking stimulation treatment on the bruised left side he suffered early in camp in an off-field incident. The Brewers have declined to disclose how he suffered the bruise and Greinke kept th