In Other News, the Sun Rose in the East Today

I guess it's my fault for being tricked, but when I opened up ESPN.com, they had a teaser for one of Jerry Crasnik's Starting 9 columns. For fear they'd take it down, here's the text:

Can the Rays stand toe to toe with their rich foes? Can Chicago's two Central leaders stay above the fray? Can Josh Hamilton deliver more made-for-Hollywood magic? The second half awaits

Cool, right? I mean, I know they've got to talk about the Cubs because the N.L. Central race is very compelling right now, but I want to see what he'll say about the Pale Hose... Drumroll, please... [opens envelop]... The answer is nothing! Not one word on the A.L. Central leading Sox and our race with the Twins, which is crazy if for nothing else, it was probably the least likely division race that experts would have predicted.


Haven't seen any follow up on this yet, but Gordon Beckham who the Sox used the 8th overall pick on during this June's draft is one of five finalists for the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award, which is awarded to the top amateur baseball player in the country. Don't know if Beckham will stay at shortstop or move to second base, but if he's as far along as some say he is, the Sox may have the foundation of their middle infield for the next few seasons with Beckham and Alexei Ramirez. Regardless, since Ozzie departed the Sox as a player before 1998, the White Sox have had 5 different Opening Day shortstops (Mike Caruso, Jose Valentin, Royce Clayton, Juan Uribe, and Orlando Cabrera).