All Things Considered, Not a Bad Weekend

Sorry, some internet problems last night I had to work out, and by the time they were fixed, it was time to hit the hay.

Safe to say after Friday night's embarrassing 12-5 loss to the Twins, the prospects for this weekend looked pretty dismal; the Sox had scuffled to three straight home losses to division opponents, their pitching had gone completely south, and the bats were still nowhere to be found.

Thankfully, baseball is a game that's always full of surprises and short memories, and as down as the Sox could have been Friday night, two straight excellent games on Saturday and Sunday have really cleaned the taste in my mouth.

So what to make of this weekend? Hopefully the Sox team that showed up on Saturday and Sunday are the real White Sox, and Friday's game was just one of those shitty games that unfortunately come up every now and then over the course of a 162-game marathon.

Friday

Its hard to pinpoint one "dissapointing" part of a game you lose 12-5, but the most obvious was Jose Contreras's 1st start. He only lasted through five innings and allowed 4 runs on 7 hits and was basically hit relatively hard all game by a team that has slumped out of the gates offensively to start the season. Crede's home run was stroked and it just seemed like Jose couldn't miss any bats. The bullpen was bad and the offense was bad (even though that was the high water mark for runs in a game). I'm trying not to relive that game as much as possible, so let's just moved on to the weekend.

Saturday & Sunday

I think this is exactly the team that Kenny Williams envisioned when he crafted this roster. I wish I could have watched Saturday's win, but Fox chose to broadcast the Cardinals/Astros game in our market so I was relegated to watching ESPN GameCast. Still, from the highlights I saw, its safe to say Colon's stuff looked fantastic. I'm still not sure if we can realistically get him 31 more times this season, but if he can make it through 20 starts in 2009, I really like the way this roster is coming together.

It's also nice to see Dewayne Wise put together a few nice games. Thankfully, Ozzie ended the Wise leading off experiment early and Wise has flourished deeper in the lineup, going 2-3 Sunday with a very nice sacrifice bunt. I still prefer Anderson for his defense (especially on the road at large outfields like Comerica), but the outfield at the Cell is much smaller so if Dewayne is swinging a sweet bat, I don't think his defense is that much of a negative.

Finally, Chris Getz left Sunday's game early after taking a pitch from Twins reliever Craig Breslow just above the elbow to the back of the arm. Brent Lillibridge pinch ran for Getz and finished the game at second base. Right now, it doesn't look like anything severe, and he's just diagnosed with a bruise, but it's something to keep an eye on.

Series Preview: Minnesota Twins, April 10-12

SERIES: at U.S. Cellular Field, Friday, April 10 - Sunday, April 12. Friday's first pitch is at 7:11 PM, Saturday's at 3:05 PM, and Sunday's at 1:05 PM

FRIDAY'S PROBABLES: Jose Contreras (7-6, 4.54 ERA in 2008) vs. R.A. Dickey (5-8, 5.21 in 2008)
SATURDAY'S PROBABLES: Bartolo Colon (4-2, 3.92 ERA in 2008) vs. Francisco Liriano (0-1, 5.14)
SUNDAY'S PROBABLES: Mark Buehrle (0-0, 3.60) vs. Nick Blackburn (0-0, 7.20)

Of course, the last time the Twins came to Chicago, the Sox won a memorable 1-Game Play-off for the AL Central title. The start to the 2009 season for last season's division frontrunners has been rough. The White Sox are currently hitting .198 as a team, last in the American League, while the Twins are hitting .219, third to last. With normal, early season temperature in the forecast, it's hard to see either of these teams mustering much offense.

The main storyline for the White Sox is the return of Jose Contreras and Bartolo Colon, each coming off injury-plagued 2008 seasons. Contreras's story is simply remarkable, he wasn't expected to make much of an impact until the All-Star break or later and here is he, starting Game #4. Colon makes his first appearance in a White Sox uniform since 2004. In limited action against the current Twins' roster, he has had some success, only allowing a .229 BAA and has yet to serve up a home run.

Finally, on Sunday Mark Buehrle makes his 2nd start of the season. After a good, but uninspiring debut Opening Day, he will be opposed by Nick Blackburn, who last faced the Sox in the aforementioned Play-Off Game, going 6.1 innings, allowing only 1 run on 4 hits. As for Saturday's starter, Francisco Liriano, who has seemingly been around for ever, has had very limited exposure to the White Sox roster; only facing 5 current players 15 total times.

This series also marks the return of Joe Crede to the South Side, fresh off signing a deal with the Twins. It's weird to see him parading around in their goofy pinstripes, but the Sox have planned a short video tribute for Crede and he has the option to make a quick address to the fans. So bust out those #24 jerseys one more time.

Contreras, Colon Win Spots in Rotation

For all the pomp and circumstance that surrounds Opening Day, and all the ensuing drama that comes with a late-game 3-run homer, this little nugget from the AP recap might have slipped past even the savviest of readers,

Ozzie Guillen said Jose Contreras would be the team’s No. 4 starter with
Bartolo Colon in the fifth spot.

This means Contreras and Colon will be pitching the first two games of the series with Minnesota; The Count facing Nick Blackburn on Friday and Bartolo Colon squaring off against Francisco Liriano.

Neither had a Spring that begs for much optimism; Contreras did go 3-0, but he had a 5.82 ERA in 17 IP while allowing 26 total baserunners and striking out 14. Colon, in 15 innings of work wen 0-2 and posted a 6.60 ERA. Both guys are coming off major injuries in the past year (frankly, its amazing Jose can walk pain-free at this point). And here we go, putting 40% of our games in their hands.

God help us.

So... Are we Still Counting on this Guy?

With the first week of Spring Training in the books, easily one of the biggest stories from Glendale has been the amazing comeback of Jose Contreras. 30 pounds lighter and somehow ready to pitch to live batters, he has thrust himself into the fold for a job in the starting rotation. All of this, has pushed Bartolo Colon out of the spotlight, but just a few weeks ago, he was all but a lock to be the Sox's 4th starter. Now, that's not so certain. From The Daily Herald,

The timetable for veteran RHP Bartolo Colon, who had elbow chips removed last October, is not as clear.

Regardless of how his elbow feels, he sure looks like shit in this photo; his official mug shot taken last week in Arizona. No surprise that the guys at Deadspin love it.

Colon's stayed out of the news this Spring. Whether or not that's a good thing, I'm not sure.

Big Game Freddy signs with the Mets

There had been some speculation recently that the Sox were interested in bringing back Freddy Garcia to compete for a spot in their undermanned rotation, but those can be put to rest this morning; Freddy Garcia has agreed to a 1-year, incentive-laden minor league contract with the New York Mets.

Oh well. With Bartolo Colon and Jose Contreras, I think the Sox have already met their payroll limit for Injured, Aging Starting Pitchers. With Garcia officially gone, it's time to start crazy rumors about the next available free agent pitcher who could do some good for the Sox. Might I suggest Mark Mulder? A local guy that's struggled with injuries, he'd be cheap right? Coop will fix him.

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.