Thinking About Baseball is all that Keeps Me Going...

... through the depth of winter. Current temperature here in Central Illinois? -13. But don't worry about me, the warm air is due to arrive tomorrow afternoon, so we should get back up to a balmy 12 degrees above zero. Obviously the big news in Soxland is the signing of our old friend, Bartolo Colon. Quickly, I think the move is fine; $1 million base salary that could balloon all the way to $3 million based on innings pitched-based incentives. I'll have a lot more thoughts on the move in the next few days, though. Right now, just some Sox news and notes to go over:

Though the Sox brought back one former pitcher, they're not interested in bringing back former Pale Hose pitcher and free agent Jon Garland, according to Kenny Williams. Obviously, I found this nugget before the addition of Colon, but I'm still not sure it's not a mistake to look at a guy like Garland. Look, I know the Sox are trying to do the whole "youth movement" thing, but once again the Central looks wide open right now. An arm here, a bat there and bam, clear division favorite. Whether or not Jon Garland is that specific arm to bring it all together, I don't know, but consistently the mantra of this off-season has been "save money" and "go young," which just is not the way to handle a pitching staff unless you have megaprospects with tremendous upsides (i.e., none of the young guys the Sox are looking at to round out their rotation).

That said, MLBTradeRumors.com says that Freddy Garcia may be back with the Sox soon. Their story comes via the Daily Herald's baseball blog. While Garcia is another veteran arm, he will come at a bargain price and can't be seriously counted on to log major innings for the Sox.

Speaking of the kids, Jeff Marquez's hometown paper ran a nice little piece on his big league aspirations. It's a quick read and good to go over when you're looking for information on a guy that very well may starting 30 games next year for the Sox. The best part is a little scouting report from Ken Williams, that I'm guessing I just missed:

"He absolutely can challenge for a spot," Williams said of Marquez at a news conference on the day the trade was announced. "We had a good read as to who he is and what he brings to the table. He shows a fastball at 90-94 mph with a lot of sink. It's similar to (John Garland) in our ballpark. In addition, he has a slider and a curveball with depth and a power change to both right-handed and left-handed hitters. He holds runners on well, something we have not been too successful with the last couple of years, and he fields his position."

Looking forward to Spring Training, the White Sox invited 18 players to their first camp at Glendale. A couple of quick notes... First, the Sox's last two 1st round picks, Aaron Poreda and Gordon Beckham will be in attendance. Beckham has almost no chance to go North with the team, but Poreda has an excellent opportunity to break camp in Chicago. This is especially true because of Point #2... There seems to be a serious lack of MLB-ready left-handed pitchers. OK, calling Boone Logan "MLB-ready" was a stretch during the end of the Boone Logan era, but still... After the rotation, you have Matt Thornton (who is playing in the WBC) followed by Richard, Poreda, and some guy named Randy Williams. Does this mean Richard will be in the bullpen? Will the Sox stunt Poreda's development as a starter for short-term gain? Stay tuned!

Also, Dodgers owner Frank McCourt doesn't seem to be done building his "baseball paradise" in Glendale. The Arizona Republic says McCourt is planning on building a hotel and conference center at the teams' new shared facility. This raises the only real legitimate concern about the Sox's new Spring Training home... Will they play second fiddle to the Dodgers in what they're dubbing as the new "Dodgertown?"

Earlier today, the owners decided to not use coin flips any more to determine the location of potential 163rd "tie-breaker" games and will now use the season's head-to-head records. Of course, this came to light last October when the Twins won the season series from the Sox, 10-8, but based on an earlier flip, the tie-breaker game was held in Chicago. For some reason, this didn't bother anyone in the previous tie-breakers, but I guess we're the straw that stirs the drink. Anyway, when I saw this story pop up on the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune, I was hoping for more whining and crying, but alas, it's just the AP press release.

Finally, to celebrate the inauguration of the first Sox-fan President, the White Sox are hosting a private party at the ballpark. Front office staff and privileged guests will watch (while wearing Sox hats, of course) Obama be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States while a congratulatory message flashes over the Dan Ryan Expressway. If you're going, don't expect to see Southpaw, who will be in Washington riding in the Illinois float during the Inauguration Parade.