WASHINGTON -- Has Brett Jackson already done enough to suggest he'll be the Cubs' Opening Day center fielder next year?

``I'm not going to guarantee anything like that,'' Sveum said, ``but he's shown enough that there's a lot to work with and [given] some adjustments, then there might be something pretty special.''

Certainly, it's a major work in progress for the strikeout-prone Jackson whose month-old career average in the big leagues dipped to .188 when he struck out as a pinch-hitter in Monday's eighth - giving him nearly three times as many strikeouts (43) as hits (16).

But without much foreseeable in-house competition and little promise of significant outside additions next winter, Jackson could at least have the inside track - with a winter-ball season of additional auditions expected to come.

Before going 0-for-11 with six Ks against San Francisco and Washington pitching the last four days, Jackson had run off a 7-for-19 (.368) week against Colorado and Milwaukee that included three homers, three doubles, eight walks and six RBIs.

``We all know watching the games that we have to make some pretty big adjustments this winter to handle this kind of pitching on a daily basis,'' Sveum said of the kid who leads professional baseball with 201 strikeouts. ``And he knows that.''