White Sox turn their attention towards 2010

As they played out the string over the final month of the season, the bounce toward 2010 was already in full swing.

"As soon as we got (Jake) Peavy, we knew we were going to be tough," John Danks said. "Our goal next year is to be the best staff in baseball."

With a starting rotation featuring Peavy, who was 3-0 with a 1.35 ERA in 3 starts with the White Sox, Mark Buehrle, Danks, Gavin Floyd and Freddy Garcia, no wonder "wait till next year" never sounded so good on the South Side.

As expected, the Sox on Tuesday picked up the 2010 options on Garcia ($1 million plus incentives) and relief pitcher Matt Thornton ($2.25 million), who could be the new closer if Bobby Jenks is traded.

"We can't get excited, obviously, about anything that happened this year," pitching coach Don Cooper said Sunday morning before the Sox closed out the season with a loss at Detroit. "So you tend to to think a little bit about next year. Peavy and Buehrle, Buehrle and Peavy. And the rise of Danks and Floyd over the past two years has been great. They went from question marks to exclamation points last year, and it looks like those two guys are on the right path.

"And it looks like we have four guys that can pitch 200 innings each, so yeah, I'm excited about that. Aren't you?"

Even the most fickle White Sox fans would have to answer yes, but it takes more than a strong rotation to succeed.

The Sox had the most quality starts (86) in the American League this season. Conversely, they ranked near the bottom in offense and defense, and that's why the White Sox finished with a 79-83 record.

Trying to predict secretive general manager Kenny Williams' plan of attack this winter is an inexact science, but enough hints have been dropped to make some educated guesses.

Williams traded slugging designated hitter Jim Thome on Aug. 31, and 35-year-old right fielder Jermaine Dye is likely to join Thome on the free-agent market.

The White Sox have already begun the transition away from relying on home runs, but they still have power returning in Paul Konerko, Carlos Quentin, Alex Rios, Gordon Beckham and Alexei Ramirez.

Williams appears to be focused on adding hitters who have more speed and the potential to post a .350 on-base percentage or better.

"I think we're entering into an era where 30 home runs starts to mean something again," Williams said when he met with the media for the final time on Sept. 30. "So it's important for us to get our players to higher on-base percentages as a team."

That sounds a lot like Los Angeles Angels right fielder Bobby Abreu, who could be back on the free-agent market again this year. The Sox were rumored to be after Abreu last winter, but the pursuit ended when they couldn't trade Dye.

Here is another name to file away - Norichika Aoki, who has a combined on-base percentage of over .400 during a five-season stretch with the Yakult Swallows in Japan.

Aoki wants to play in the major leagues, and if the 27-year-old outfielder is posted for free agency this winter, some team is going to get a hitter Chiba Lotte Marines manager Bobby Valentine compares to Ichiro Suzuki.

Chone Figgins is another intriguing candidate, but White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen on Saturday shot down that rumor due to cost restraints.

Williams, too, has admitted to being over budget, but he always seems to make an interesting addition or two in the off-season.

Guillen is as honest as Williams is elusive, but even the Sox' manager isn't quite sure what to expect this off-season.

"If we are going to bring one guy as an impact player to tell people we are

trying, I don't think that's the way to do business," Guillen said. "We are going to bring a player to help. There are a lot of names out there, but I'm not going to tell you we're bringing this guy or that guy because I don't know exactly.

"I know where we are going when you trade for Peavy and Rios. We are going in the right direction. We are going to win. We do things little by little and hopefully everything works out."