For starters, Sox expect rotation to be one of baseball's best
Leave it to captain Paul Konerko to summarize the White Sox' plan for 2010 before it has officially been executed.
"The main thing for this team, I think, is getting that mindset where we go into every game thinking this is going to be a 1-0, 2-1, 3-2 knockdown, drag-out affair of tough baseball," Konerko said.
That's a competitor's way of saying the offense has some holes. But it's also a serious nod to the Sox' starting rotation, which looks to be among the best in baseball.
Let's take a closer look at the starting five:
Can the five starters be as good as the 2005 unit? In the regular season, Mark Buehrle, Jake Peavy, Gavin Floyd, John Danks and Freddy Garcia be as good in 2010 as Buehrle, Jose Contreras, Garcia, Jon Garland and El Duque Hernandez were in 2005.
Peavy is a warrior, and he has a legitimate shot at becoming the White Sox' first Cy Young Award winner since Jack McDowell went 22-10 with a 3.37 ERA in 1993.
Buehrle and Garcia are still around, and Floyd and Danks continue to improve with age.
Should the rotation carry the Sox into October, the bar is going to be considerably higher.
In the 2005 postseason, White Sox starters were 9-1 with a 2.83 ERA. And don't forget about the American League championship series, when Buehrle, Garland, Garcia and Contreras pitched consecutive complete games.
If Peavy is the ace, why does Buehrle get the ball in the April 5 season opener? Buehrle has earned the honor, and the workhorse left-hander is going to become the franchise leader when he makes his eighth Opening Day start against the Indians at U.S. Cellular Field.
The classy Peavy pushed for Buehrle to pitch the opener, but manager Ozzie Guillen was leaning that way all along.
Shouldn't a lefty, Danks, follow the right-handed Peavy in the rotation, then right-handed Floyd and Garcia? That would give the White Sox the best balance, but Floyd is going third so Danks can start the April 9 series opener against Minnesota.
The Twins are loaded with quality left-handed hitters like defending MVP Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Jason Kubel.
Danks is still remembered for his gritty 8-inning effort against Minnesota in the 2008 AL Central tiebreaker, but he struggled against the Twins (1-2, 5.17 ERA) last year.
Why does Guillen keep saying he doesn't want Buehrle to throw another no-hitter? Last season, Buehrle pitched a perfect game against Tampa Bay on July 23. The 5-0 win pushed the Sox to 50-45 and into a first-place tie with Detroit. After that, they went 29-38 and finished third in the Central.
In 2007, Buehrle pitched a no-hitter against Texas on April 18 as the White Sox improved to 6-7. They went 66-83 the rest of the way.
Why does Buehrle say he will consider retirement when his contract expires after 2011? Buehrle is the consummate family man and is clearly tiring off all the travel that comes with being a major-leaguer.
The wear-and-tear factor is equally important. Since 2001, Buehrle has pitched the most innings (2,009⅔) in baseball and the lefty huffed and puffed his way to a 2-7 record (4.78 ERA) after his perfect game last year.
Does Garcia have anything left? It sure looked like it last season after he rejoined the Sox in mid-August and went 3-4 with a 4.34 ERA in 9 starts.
Garcia is older (33) and no longer throws as hard as he once did. But 21/2 years removed from shoulder surgery, Garcia is feeling good and confident he can have success with an array of off-speed pitches.
<p class="factboxheadblack">AL's best</p>
<p class="News">Where we rank the top starting pitchers:</p>
<p class="News">1. Zack Greinke, Royals</p>
<p class="News">2. Felix Hernandez, Mariners</p>
<p class="News">3. CC Sabathia, Yankees</p>
<p class="News">4. JAKE PEAVY, WHITE SOX</p>
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<li><a href="/story/?id=364457">With rotation, Cubs deal with fear of the unknown<span class="date">[3/8/10]</span></a></li>
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