It's early, but competitive juices flowing

GLENDALE, Ariz. - The first full-squad workout is officially scheduled for today, but the White Sox went to work Thursday.

With every position player already in camp except for captain Paul Konerko, the Sox had batting practice a day early.

The atmosphere was relaxed, but White Sox starter Gavin Floyd wasn't messing around.

"You see Gavin Floyd throwing the ball and you're pretty impressed," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "Wow, he's in good condition."

Floyd left hitters like Carlos Quentin, Gordon Beckham and Mark Kotsay shaking their heads.

"You know what's funny? You're back home and you have time to rest and then you start getting ready for the season," Floyd said. "Then you get out here and you smell the competition again. It's only batting practice, but somebody's in there trying to hit you and you get that competitive feeling again. It's exciting and it's fun."

The Sox will work out the next four days and play a "B" game against the Dodgers on Tuesday. The Cactus League opener is Thursday, against the Angels in Tempe.

Take a bow, Herm: According to research done by Beyond the Box Score, the White Sox rank very high in the team health department.

Last season, only players with the Los Angeles Angels missed fewer days with injuries than the Sox.

And from 2002-2009, the White Sox lost the least amount of salary due to player injury, followed by the Seattle Mariners and Florida Marlins. Over that same stretch, the Los Angeles Dodgers lost the most amount of player salary because of injury.

The research again shows why longtime trainer Herm Schneider is so respected in the game. Schneider, who resides in Naperville, is entering his 32nd season with the White Sox.

Tracking Tyler: Last year, Tyler Flowers ranked third among Sox minor leaguers with a .297 batting average, first in walks (67) and ninth in home runs (15).

He looks to be the White Sox' catcher of the future, but Flowers is likely to spend the upcoming season at Class AAA Charlotte.

"Can he make this team? I don't know," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "We don't want him to sit on the bench and play once a week. We have a guy to catch every day (A.J. Pierzynski) and that's going to cost him a lot of at-bats."

Ramon Castro is back as the Sox' reserve catcher. Flowers appeared in 10 games with the White Sox last September and batted .188 (3-for-16) with 8 strikeouts.