White Sox Camp 2009-Burning Questions Edition
Will Brian Anderson be given a legitimate shot or is center field a Chicago election for Jerry Owens? My gut tells me it's Owens job to lose. While Owens adds speed to a plodding line up, defensively Anderson is better at positioning himself and has a much better throwing arm. So does Owens get the starts and B.A. the mop up duty? The bottom line is, this is the weakest position on the team and should they be in contention in June, they need to think about getting someone who can hit, catch and throw all in the same package.- Can The Cuban Sandwich beat out Josh Fields at third? I think Fields has the job and hopefully, Joey Cora will continue to help him learn to go to his left. The Sandwich has a chance, but only if he hit .460 in spring training and can imitate brooks Robinson at third. I think the Sandwich starts the year in Charlotte. BTW, the Sandwich has already taken over Joe Crede's number 24, (although I doubt it is the same size Crede wore.) Of course, last year, I thought for sure the Missile would start the year in Charlotte and was wrong about that, so I may not be the best evaluator of Cuban talent.
- Who will win the battle at second base? You've got three (possibly four) guys who are similar, but I think this comes down to Getz vs Lillibridge. Whomever can use their bat to bunt and move along runners while playing airtight defense will be your starter on opening day. In fact, I don't think Ozzie cares who starts here as long as he is a good situational hitter and can catch the ball.
- Who will backup A.J.? Don't bet on Cole Armstrong just yet. He's a left handed bat and Ozzie, when he rests A.J., likes to rest him against tough lefties. I think Chris Stewart may have an inside track for that reason. I'm also wondering if Armstrong and Stewart can actually throw someone out once in awhile. We know A.J. can't and for the last two years, neither could Toby Hall. The Sox haven't had a catcher who could throw since Miguel Olivo left. Now that dude could chuck it.
- Who will be in the bullpen? Outside of the obvious names, there are three spots open. The dynamics will change if Jose Contreras is ready early. I'm guessing the Sox will take a lefty and two righties, so Aaron Poreda and Clayton Richard will duel for the lefty job and the other two will most likely be shockers. In fact, I'm willing to wager that if Mike MacUseless (non-roster invitee) has a great spring, he may get another shot with the big club. If not MacUseless, there are a couple of guys among the non-roster invitees who may at least be last guy cut.
- Will Jose Contreras be ready to go by April? No. He's done a terrific job in rehab, but at game speed he's probably not going to be ready until May. Don't forget that when a pitcher injures his leg, he tries to throw differently to compensate and winds up blowing out his arm. Cub fans remember this happened to Rick Suttcliffe, who had the same injury and never recovered.
- Will the Sox make any roster moves during spring training? Kenny and Ozzie want to evaluate what they have in camp first before they go out and add more payroll or new players. Could Kenny swing a training camp deal for Jermaine Dye? Maybe, but not likely. He's probably done dealing until the trading deadline when he'll either pick up someone to help or disperse his veterans for prospects depending on where the Sox are. Let's hope at that point anyone who thinks the Sox can catch Cleveland isn't crazy.
- Is this team going to have a good record this spring? No one really cares about your record early in spring training. The key is a strong finish. Even a .500 or below record for these guys in the spring is irrelevant because a lot of the veterans will be resting. Look for individual players stats both offensively and defensively. As for the pitchers, the ERAs are always higher in Arizona.
- Are you ready for some baseball? Hell yes.
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