White Sox Send 2 to WBC

The final, 28-man rosters for all 16 teams participating in the World Baseball Classic were released today and much to the joy of the tournament's haters, the White Sox will only be sending two representatives; tied with Oakland and San Francisco for the least participation amongst MLB organizations.

The first name you know by now; Matt Thornton has been a rock in the White Sox bullpen since being acquired from Seattle just before the start of the 2006 season. In those three years, he has appeared in 205 games, pitching 177.2 innings with a cumulative 3.55 ERA. Considering how well Thornton's pitched for the Sox and the fact they have no 2nd lefty in the bullpen right now, I'm less than thrilled by his presence. However, Team USA has three other left-handed relievers; J.P. Howell, J.J. Putz, and Brian Fuentes, so it's unlikely Thornton will be called on to pitch more than a couple of innings.

Javier Castillo, however, likely is under the radar. The 25-year-old Panamanian third baseman has spent his entire 5-year minor league career with the White Sox, but is pretty well blocked by Josh Fields and Dayan Viciedo. Castillo has played in 505 minor league games, but only 31 of them have come at the AAA level and he's still just a .266/.332/.399 career hitter. His likelihood to have ever made an impact at the Major League level seemed pretty remote, but hey, he'll always be an organizational trivia question now. Q: Who was the first White Sox player to represent Panama at the WBC? A: Javier Castillo, of course. You weren't going to say Carlos Lee, were you?

It's a bummer for AJ Pierzynski, who expressed interest in representing Team USA this year, but was passed over for Brian McCann and Chris Iannetta. While it's no surprise (everyone knew those would be the American catchers two weeks ago), it's still disappointing. I would have splurged for a Pierzynski Team USA jersey, plus it would have been nice to give the young catchers on our roster more work with the pitching staff.

At any rate, the World Baseball Classic kicks off a week from Thursday. Both Team USA and Panama kick off their tournaments on March 7; versus Canada in Toronto and Puerto Rico in San Juan respectively.

A couple of late night quick hits

Aside from the Sox-O-Meter I finally got around to publishing earlier tonight, it's been quiet around here, mostly because the Sox have been pretty quiet. After trading Nick Swisher and Javier Vazquez seemingly before Ken Griffey struck out to end the Sox's season, Ken Williams has played his cards close to his chest. So close, in fact, basically nothing has happened.

On Friday, ESPN 1000's Bruce Levine reported that the Sox were working with the Texas Rangers on a blockbuster trade that would send Jermaine Dye and Aaron Poreda south for Michael Young. The Tribune's Dave van Dyck, however, wasted no time putting that rumor to rest,

Williams, via e-mail, said he "would not waste" time chasing rumors the Sox might... have a big deal working with the Rangers involving All-Star shortstop Michael Young, veteran outfielder Jermaine Dye and top pitching prospect Aaron Poreda.

Fair enough. The only other potential move I've caught wind of in the past few days is this quick, uncited blurb from MLBTradeRumors.com. As I'm sure you know, the site generally just republishes rumors it finds throughout the web, so it was surprising to see them casually mention the Sox as three potential suitors for Freddy Garcia. I'll keep my eyes open.

As for stuff that's actually happened, Matt Thornton will be representing Team USA in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. While I am personally wary of this tournament and the affect it may have on Thornton's effectiveness during the season, I'm sure this is a personal honor for him and I hope he pitches some big innings for Team USA. Not to downplay Thornton's role with the Sox, but honestly, I'd rather it be him than a guy like Buehrle, Danks, or Floyd. With Clayton Richard and Aaron Poreda in the wings, the Sox at least have some talented lefties that could potentially fill Thornton's role should the worst happen.

But let's not think like that.

If the Cactus League has an international flair to it this year, you may be able to thank the Sox. We all remember the huge fight that occurred between the White Sox and Tucson recently; the Sox wanted to move their Spring Training home to the new stadium they're building with the Dodgers in Glendale, but were contractually obligated to stay in Tucson for at least a few more years. Thankfully, a deal was reached and the Sox and the local government settled amicably. Anyway, the Arizona Daily Star reported that a professional, Japanese team may take the Sox's place in Tucson. Can't say I remember something like this ever happening, but it would be very interesting if it did. One of the major limitations to Spring games is that a lot of guys, pitchers especially, don't neccessarily show all their stuff to keep their repertoire fresh for actual games. If an international team played in the Cactus League, it would allow pitchers to work on all their pitches without fear of tipping their hands to a team they'd play in meaningful games later in the summer.

I like it.

Finally, if all the doom and gloom economic news has you down, check out this. The White Sox are giving away season tickets. The contest runs until January 21st. The team is giving away 2 pairs of split-season tickets (which I believe means weekend games only) in the Lower Box. The only catch is you have to become a registered user at whitesox.com, so you'll have to cough up your email address. If you can tolerate the occasional email from MLB.com and the White Sox, then you can find the contest's entry form and official rules here.

Good luck!