Happy weekend! The week did provide some actual White Sox news (see the Fukudome signing) as well as pitchers and catchers for other teams starting to report. The Sox are still a few days away, but in the meantime while we wait, here are some stories from the past few days that you might have missed reading. Next week, we can FINALLY get to talking about baseball on a daily basis. Hopefully it won’t bore us to tears. Meanwhile, here is some reading to start your weekend off properly.

  Remember Brian Anderson? Well, the former outfielder is now ready to continue embarking on a career as a pitcher.

  In the continuing “stir the pot” controversy, Rob Neyer at SB Nation examines the comments that Greg Walker made to resident pot stirrer Joe Cowley about the under performing 2011 team.

  SB Nation has a look at the projected lineup for the Sox this season. This obviously can easily change, but this is who they think will be on the team come Opening Day at this point in time.

  Will the 2012 season be a race to the basement for the Twins and Sox? The StarTribune says these two teams will be competing for the basement. FRT, I think the Sox will finish 4th and the Twins 5th at this point in time.  » Continue reading “South Side Hits: February 18, 2012 White Sox Reads”

The guys get a break today after a 10-game road trip. Fortunately, it turned out to be good. After losing two in Texas and then three in Toronto, there was potential for an awful return home. However, the guys managed to sweep in Boston to make it a .500 road trip. Now if they could jut learn to play everyone else like they play against Boston. The bats woke up, pitching was good and there was come from behind scoring. This is just amazing, but I won’t get my hopes up too fast so I’m not disappointed again.

Anyway, here is some reading for the day. They are going to be home starting tomorrow, so be sure to get to the ballpark if you can. It should be a great time, especially with the nice weather we’ve been getting and should continue to get.

The Six-Man Rotation will stick around a bit longer.

Scott Gregor says the White Sox can be proud of themselves finally.

Friday will be Bernie Mac Day at the game agains the Tigers.

Joe Cowley’s take on KW’s silence and Ozzie’s future.

Bats in the minors that could impact the 2011 season.

Lilli turning the corner and it’s a good thing.

If a starter needs to go to the ‘pen, Edwin is ready to be that guy.

Enjoy the off day and get ready for what I hope will be 1o glorious days at home.

Spring Training is just a few days away. When it does start, it will be a time to see what the team will shape out to be, what the pitches look like as well as how the players who will be in the lineup everyday will look. It is also a time to see some of the minor league prospcts and see what they can do for the team. While looking at this, one thing that comes to mind is who will be vying for that 25th man roster spot.

For the most part, barring injury, we have a pretty good idea of who the starting 9 will be as well as the rotation and bullpen. And a couple of the bench spots seem locked down. It is that extra outfielder, and extra pitcher who will be of interest to look at. This will be another season where there won’t be too many battles for positions to keep track of during the spring.

My take on who appears to be a lock to make the 25 man roster are:

1. Mark Buehrle
2. John Danks
3. Gavin Floyd
4. Edwin Jackson
5. Paul Konerko
6. Gordon Beckham
7. Alexei Ramirez
8. Brent Morel
9. A J Pierzynski
10. Carlos Quentin
11. Alex Rios
12. Juan Pierre
13. Tony Pena
14. Matt Thornton
15. Sergio Santos
16. Adam Dunn
17. Ramon Castro
18. Mark Teahen
19. Omar Vizquel
20. Chris Sale
21. Jesse Crain
22. Will Ohman

This leaves 3 players to vie for a few spots. I expect there to be a couple more pitchers added to the mix as the team generally carries 12 pitchers and 13 position players each year. As for position players,  Brent Lillibridge could be another “super” utility guy. He can play the outfield as well as play the middle infield spots to give those guys the occasional break. However, if the team wants to go strictly outfielder, then Alejandro De Aza has a chance as well as recently signed Lastings Milledge. Dayan Viciedo also may have a shot at this role as well, considering he has been playing some outfield. This will be the battle to watch during spring training. And who knows, maybe there is another guy out there who hasn’t made his appearance known yet, kind of how Sergio Santos burst onto the scene last season.

Should be fun and interesting to watch. Who do you think will be the 25th man come opening day?

Gavin,

I know it is early. I mean, the team hasn’t even reported for spring training yet. However, I have something I need to talk to you about. I feel we’ve been in a relationship long enough that I can be honest with you about a concern I have.

You see, I really need for you to put together a solid pitching season for 6 months straight. I won’t talk about the post-season because I don’t want to unduly burden you with my concern. I cannot take anymore of your looking really good for a couple of months, then looking like a pile of poo the rest of the time. This is important now more than ever. I’ve seen your brilliance. I know it’s there. I BELIEVE it is there.

You’ve teased me with it. Twice, you’ve tossed near no-hit games (the first time going 7.1 innings on 4/12/08 and your second one, a few short weeks later,  was close to my birthday where you went 8.1 before surrendering a double to Joe Mauer, which would have been the ultimate birthday gift had you been able to accomplish the feat). I am not asking you to go out every game and toss a no-hitter, perfect game or near no-hitter. What I am asking is that you pitch so well, your teammates don’t have to worry about slugging a ton of runs to win the game. » Continue reading “Dear Gavin”

What to do with the rising pitching prospect (star one day?) known as Chris Sale?  This has been quite the debate in the off season for the White Sox. The organization for the most part, even before the end of the 2010 season stated he was destined for the rotation. However, at the end of the season, Ozzie wanted to see what the kid could do in closing role, so he got a chance. And boy did he deliver. As was said by Kenny Williams at SoxFest, Sale made Joe Mauer (still “hate” him!) look “infantile” in a couple of at-bats. » Continue reading “Sale Sale Sale!”