White Sox: Not bad, for starters
The White Sox are a first-place team, but how long is that going to last?
Five losses in the past eight games have the Sox answering questions about a slumbering offense, erratic bullpen and glaring lack of team speed.
Looking for a positive? At the moment, it pretty much begins and ends with the starting rotation.
"A lot of people didn't think we'd pitch this well,'' Mark Buehrle said.
Heading into the season, the White Sox' starting five was probably the biggest area of concern.
Buehrle and Javier Vazquez gave the Sox a proven one-two punch at the top, but John Danks, Jose Contreras and Gavin Floyd were collectively viewed as lightweights.
"Let's face it, the big question marks were Gavin and Danks,'' said Sox pitching coach Don Cooper. "And another one was: 'How's Jose going to be?' Right now, I don't think we could have asked any more out of Gavin and Danks. They've pitched very well so far.
"And Jose is climbing. He's locating better and I see a lot of positive signs. If we can keep doing what we've been doing pitching-wise and get the offense rolling a little bit, there's no doubt we're going to be a team that's going to be in the hunt the whole way.''
Surprisingly, Buehrle has been the weak link among White Sox starters through the first month of the season.
The workhorse left-hander -- who starts against the Blue Jays tonight in Toronto -- was bombed in the season opener at Cleveland, allowing 7 runs in 1¿ innings.
While his numbers are down, Buehrle (1-2, 5.65 ERA) isn't at all concerned with his sluggish start.
"I have the highest ERA among the starters and if it ends that way, I think we're going to be all right,'' Buehrle said. "I'm going to come around and start pitching better. I think if you take away Opening Day, overall I've thrown the ball pretty well. My record and ERA aren't where I want them to be, but I feel like I've gone out there and given the team a chance to win.''
History says Buehrle is going to pitch his usual 200-plus innings, win 10-15 games and finish with an ERA under 4.00.
Danks and Floyd entered the season as unknown commodities, but the youngsters combined to go 4-3 with a 3.08 ERA in April. With more support from the White Sox' offense, the win total would probably be doubled.
"I think what we're seeing right now is what everybody thought they were capable of doing,'' Buehrle said of Danks and Floyd. "Hopefully, they can continue doing it. They're going to go through some struggles. There's going to be a game or two when they get hit around pretty good, but every starting pitcher goes through that.''
Coming off a miserable 2007 (10-17, 5.57 ERA), Contreras has bounced back strong. The big right-hander has allowed only 1 earned run in two of his last 3 starts.
Like Buehrle, Vazquez was roughed up in his first start of the season, but the veteran right-hander has come back and won three of his last four outings while ranking among AL strikeout leaders with 37 in 38¿ innings.
"I always have concerns, even when guys are going good,'' Cooper said. "But I'm always encouraged, too. I like the job we've done so far. And the operative word is so far, because I have a memory of last year where we started off pretty good and then we hit a skid, especially in the bullpen.''
The White Sox' offense also skidded for much of 2007, but Buehrle thinks the bats are going to start heating up as the season progresses.
"Last year, the hitting wasn't there at the beginning and the pitching was,'' Buehrle said. "Once the hitting started picking up, the pitching kind of struggled. This is our time now to pick up the slack and once the hitting gets going, we have to continue what we're doing.''
High five for Sox
Here's a look at the White Sox' starting rotation through the first month of the season:
Mark Buehrle: 1-2, 5.65 ERA Inside pitch: Has to start improving on the road, where he's allowed 13 earned runs on 26 hits over 152/3 innings.
Javier Vazquez: 3-2, 3.72 ERA Inside pitch: Holding right-handed hitters to a .164 average; left-handers are batting .329.
John Danks: 2-2, 3.00 ERA Inside pitch: Has yielded 2 earned runs or less in 4 of his 5 starts.
Jose Contreras: 2-2, 3.98 ERA Inside pitch: When he throws a first-pitch strike, opposing hitters are batting just .167.
Gavin Floyd: 2-1, 3.16 ERA Inside pitch: Both of his wins are against the Detroit Tigers.
-- Scot Gregor
Scouting report
White Sox vs. Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre
TV: Comcast SportsNet today, Saturday and Monday; Channel 9 Sunday
Radio: WSCR 670-AM
Pitching matchups: The White Sox' Mark Buehrle (1-2) vs. Shaun Marcum (2-2) today at 6:07 p.m.; John Danks (2-2) vs. Jesse Litsch (3-1) Saturday at 12:07 p.m.; Jose Contreras (2-2) vs. Roy Halladay (2-4) Sunday at 12:07 p.m.; Javier Vazquez (3-2) vs. Dustin McGowan (1-2) Monday at 6:07 p.m.
At a glance: The Sox close out their road trip after losing two straight at Minnesota. The Blue Jays are last in the AL East and, like the White Sox, their offense has been sluggish. The Sox were 3-4 vs. Toronto last season (1-3 on the road). The White Sox are expected to make a roster move before today's game because utility man Alexei Ramirez (visa problem) is not with the team. Nick Swisher is a career .327 hitter at Rogers Centre.
Next: Minnesota Twins at U.S. Cellular Field, Tuesday-Thursday
-- Scot Gregor