Do Sox have the right blend of youth, vets?
When last seen, the White Sox were huffing, puffing and ... packing.
In Game 1 of the American League division series last October, the Sox fell to upstart Tampa Bay and couldn't get up.
Hardly encouraged with the 1 victory over the Rays the White Sox did produce before going home, general manager Kenny Williams immediately began planning something rarely seen on the South Side - a full-blown youth movement.
"It kind of catches up to you after awhile," Williams said. "If at some point you don't show confidence in your scouting system, in your player development, your major-league staff, to develop young players, and if you're always going out and getting the veteran for your answer, it's going to catch up to you.
"And when it catches up to you, you are screwed, because the spiral down is quick and you've got teams that can't climb out of it, that haven't been able to climb out of it for 10 years."
After being eliminated by the Rays, Williams wasted little time jettisoning heavy mileage players such as Ken Griffey Jr., Orlando Cabrera, Joe Crede, Juan Uribe and Toby Hall.
He also traded Nick Swisher (Yankees) and Javier Vazquez (Braves) for much younger talent and signed 19-year-old infielder Dayan Viciedo.
When the Sox open spring training Sunday at their new complex in Glendale, Ariz., look for Williams to be perusing the new additions like a mother hen.
Williams genuinely believes youngsters like Josh Fields, Jerry Owens, Chris Getz, Brent Lillibridge, Viciedo, Jayson Nix, Jeff Marquez and Aaron Poreda can blend with a group of veteran holdovers (Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, Mark Buehrle, Jermaine Dye, A.J. Pierzynski) and help the White Sox to their second straight AL Central title.
Only time will tell, and the clock starts running Sunday.
"We wouldn't put these young players out there if we didn't believe in them," Williams said. "The key is neither to be too old or too young. The key is to be good."
Heading into the season, here are five keys for the White Sox:
Familiar fragrance: Bartolo Colon is back, and the irony is obvious.
With so many new faces heading into training camp, the White Sox' season could be most impacted by the 35-year-old starting pitcher.
After winning 15 games for the Sox in 2003, Colon departed as a free agent and signed a four-year, $48 million contract with the Angels.
The burly right-hander was a combined 39-20 over the next two seasons, but he's had health issues ever since and is back on the South Side with a one-year, $1 million deal (plus incentives).
Colon had surgery in October to remove bone chips in his elbow, and the White Sox are preparing to ease him in during spring training.
If Colon stays healthy and takes a regular turn as the No. 4 starter behind Buehrle, Gavin Floyd and John Danks, the Sox just might have something.
If Colon spends more time in the trainer's room than on mound, it could be a long season.
What's on second? There are plenty of options here, and the scrappy Getz heads into camp with a slight edge after batting .302 at Class AAA Charlotte last season.
At SoxFest though, Williams and manager Ozzie Guillen took turns raving about Lillibridge, who came over from Atlanta in the Vazquez trade.
"We felt and still feel very comfortable that Chris Getz can get the job done," Williams said. "He's going to have his work cut out for him though because Nix can play and Lillibridge can play. Lillibridge is a guy that can steal you 40-plus bases, and Ozzie is a guy that likes that."
Can he Fields? The White Sox aren't expecting Fields to play third base as well as Crede, or even Uribe for that matter.
But they do expect the former Oklahoma State quarterback to hit like did in 2007 (23 HR, 67 RBI in 100 games).
Fully recovered from a knee injury that hampered him last season, Fields went to Miami in early January to work on his fielding with Sox bench coach Joey Cora.
Remember me? Carlos Quentin picked a bad time to lose his temper last season.
Headed for a potential MVP season, the 26-year-old left fielder broke his right wrist after bashing his bat in a Sept. 1 game at Cleveland.
Quentin was sidelined the rest of the year, including the playoffs, but he still led the White Sox in home runs (36) and RBI (100).
Fully healed, Quentin is eager to prove 2008 was not a fluke.
Try, try again: Had Jerry Owens stayed healthy last spring, he was positioned to start in center field and fill the White Sox' troublesome leadoff spot.
Owens gets another shot this year, and he'll win the job if he plays like he did in the second half of 2007 (32 stolen bases in 93 games).