Play Ball! Previewing the 2010 White Sox

By Benjy Lipsman in News on Apr 1, 2010 4:00PM

The 2009 White Sox finished four games under .500 and 7 1/2 out of first place in the AL Central, missing the playoffs -- about what we expected from the club. The team's pitching ranked among the best in the AL -- leading the league with 86 quality starts and second in team ERA. The batting lineup, however, finished dead last in batting average and near the bottom in runs scored. That's why GM Kenny Williams spent much of the off-season retooling the Sox's roster.

Starting Line-Up:
Paul Konerko - 1B
Gordon Beckham - 2B
Alexei Ramirez - SS
Mark Teahen - 3B
Carlos Quentin - RF
Alex Rios - CF
Juan Pierre - LF
A.J. Pierzynski - C
Andruw Jones/Mark Kotsay - DH

Starting Rotation:
Mark Buehrle, Jake Peavy, John Danks, Gavin Floyd, Freddy Garcia

Key Additions:
Juan Pierre - OF, Andruw Jones - OF/DH, Mark Teahen - 3B, Omar Vizquel - SS

Key Departures:
Jermaine Dye - OF, Scott Podsednik - OF, Chris Getz - 2B, Josh Fields - 3B

Last season's version of the White Sox, with its slow, aging line-up that relied on station-to-station base running and the long ball, often failed to score runs. So Kenny Williams began retooling by trading Jim Thome and claiming Alex Rios off of waivers mid-season. During the winter, Williams stayed busy by acquiring a number of new players to fill out a retooled lineup. Juan Pierre was acquired for a pair of minor leaguers, giving the Sox a speedy leadoff hitter to replace Scott Podsednik. The team traded one mediocre third baseman for another when they shipped former top prospect John Fields to the Royals for Teahen. Budding superstar Gordon Beckham moves over to second base for 2010, with Teahen manning the hot corner. Rios will patrol center field while Carlos Quentin shifts over to right field and Pierre takes over in left. Andruw Jones and Mark Kotsay expect to split time at DH as part of Ozzie's "DH by committee" experiment, while also filling in elsewhere in the field. Former All Star shortstop Omar Vizquel, now well past his prime, will back up the middle infielders.

Overall, that's four new bats in the everyday line-up compared to Opening Day a year ago, and new players at five positions on the field defensively. Manager Ozzie Guillen has raved about the versatility of his new roster. Perhaps that will help the team minimize the impact of injury -- that's our biggest concern for this team. Carlos Quentin missed large chunks of last year with ailments, and a number of other players, like Jones and Freddy Garcia, have played sparingly in recent years due to stints on the DL. But we also wonder about players finding their rhythm when they're shuffled all over the field, as well as in and out of the line-up.

While questions remain about the everyday players, the pitching rotation should rank among the league's best in '10. The already strong staff adds a healthy Jake Peavy to a rotation that includes Mark Buehrle, John Danks and Gavin Floyd. All are capable of winning 15 games. Freddy Garcia rounds out the rotation. A key member of the 2005 World Series team's rotation, he's missed most of the past three seasons with a variety of injuries. If finally healthy again, he could also make a positive contribution.

In order to make the post-season, the Sox will need to win the AL Central -- we foresee two AL East teams from among Boston, Tampa and New York playing in October. Do the Sox have enough to beat out the Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers? Again, it all comes down to their ability to score runs. The pitching should be dominant, but the lineup will need to find some consistency at crossing home plate. We're not convinced they can, given the changes to the roster, but if they do, the Sox might be poised to win the division. The Twins won't go down without a fight, and with a new ballpark, they may have the additional financial resources to add the missing pieces come July. With Kenny Williams' splurge on Peavy and Rios last season and a still recovering economy, the Sox might not have that flexibility when the trading deadline approaches. We'll go on the record predicting an 84-78 record, a second place finish in the AL Central and no playoffs in 2010.