Here, with much bias, is your official Chip Shots assessment of your 2009 Chicago White Sox:

The Good

Young Guns: The Sox have an infusion of young talent for the first time in a long time.  This is good considering how much age they've been carrying the last several years.  Guys like Chris Getz and Josh Fields can help the team offensively, Getz because he is a classic move 'em up guy and Fields, who has the capability of hitting 30 home runs.  Clayton Richard adds a long relief dimension to the bullpen which may need it if the fourth and fifth starters either break down or don't perform as expected.  The farm system is also stocked for the first time in years with solid young players like Gordon Beckham, Jack Egbert, Jeff Marquez, The Cuban Sandwich and Aaron Poreda.  This gives Sox fans some hope for the present and the future.

Rotation, Rotation, Rotation: The Sox top three starters rival anyone in the Central and perhaps the AL.  Mark Buehrle, John Danks and Pink Gavin Floyd lead the way with a formidable (if they stay healthy) back end of Jose Contreras and Bartolo Colon.  The fact that Contreras even made the opening day roster is a tribute to him and his work ethic and if he can win 10-13 games this season, that will help the Sox hugely.

Oh, what a relief it is: Bobby Jenks has established himself as one of the most dependable closers in baseball.  Setup men Scott Linebrink, Matt Thornton and Octavio Dotel were highly successful before injuries to Jenks and Linebrink messed with the cosmic bullpen tumblers.  If Dr. Herm can keep everybody in one piece, this could be one of the better groups in the league from the seventh inning on.

Put it on the board: The Sox still have a lot of guys who can hit the long ball.  Carlos Quentin, Jim Thome, Jermaine Dye, Paul Konerko, and Josh Fields are all capable of thirty or more homers.  Of course, with age comes heath issues, like Thome's back or Konerko's hand.  Quentin is coming off a broken wrist which can be devastating to a slugger.

Catch you later: The Sox finally have a catcher on their roster who can actually throw someone out.  After two years of spaghetti armed Toby Hall, Corky Miller brings a new dimension to the Sox defensively.  Of course, he'll only play about 35 games.

No Crying in Baseball: Clubhouse pouters Orlando Cabrera and Nick Swisher have moved on as has the pie man Toby Hall.  This will improve an already solid Sox clubhouse. 

Last Chance Saloon: This most likely will be the last year for veterans Dye and Thome in a White Sox uniform.  One of the big intangibles this club has is to deliver Buzz Lightyear to baseball's promised land.  Getting a ring for Thome will be a huge inspiration in the playoffs if the Sox get there.

The Bad

K-Force: With home runs come strike outs and this Sox team should have a lot of them and lots and lots of stranded runners.

Soft in the Middle: The middle relief corps may cause Sox fans to run for Maalox.  The afore mentioned Richard is inconsistent, alternating good outings with bad, while D.J. Carrasco and Mike MacUseless sometimes are more like fire starters than fire men.

Lack of Utility: The Sox used to have one guy (Pablo Ozuna, Juan Uribe) who was a super sub.  Uribe, who played third, short and second last year is gone, replaced by a combination of Wilson Betemit and Brent Lillibridge.  Betemit can basically play the corners and is an offensive upgrade.  Lillibridge can play the middle infield and center, but strikes out a lot.  It will be interesting to see what happens when Jayson Nix, another utility infielder, comes off the DL.

Time is Not on my Side: The Sox core is still older and with it comes a lot of baggage.  Jim Thome has a creaky back and will miss a few games because of it.  Paul Konerko has been in decline since the year of our lord 2005.  Jermaine Dye has been steady, but at 34, you might see a drop off.  A.J. Pierzynski is now 32 and has caught over 130 games the last few years.  Jose Contreras is 37 (in American years) and Bartolo Colon's salad days are behind him (bit his Big Mac Days are still ahead of him! ba dum bum!) The positive news is if these guys can suck it up into one big year, good things will happen.

Slow Motion Merry Go Round: Even with Wise and Getz in the middle of the lineup and Ramirez in the lower third, the Sox middle of the order (3-7) will only move up one base at a time due because they run like their feet are encased in cement.  This will cost them several runs and leave several men stranded.  And, let's not our old friend HIDP.

Back to Reality: It's up to Danks and Floyd to continue their progress from last year.  No one is worried about Danks, but the possibility of Floyd, who the Phillies gave up on because of his lack of fortitude, going back to 2007 is a real possibility.  As Danks and Floyd go, so go the Sox.

The Ugly

Indefensible: The weakest part of this team is on defense.  In center, you have Dewayne Wise, who can move north and south, but can't cover the gaps well enough to compensate for the lack of speed/agility/athleticism in let and center.  At third, you have Josh Fields, who will not only give up umpteen balls down the line because he can't move to his right, but several balls hit right at him.  Alexi Ramirez will be in his first season of playing short at the major league level and may have some growing pains.  Paul Konerko can dig 'em out of the dirt but has no range, especially in the hole between first and second.  A.J. Pierzynski has a tough time throwing runners out and Sox pitchers are notorious for not holding runners.

I could be Center Field:  While his journey is admirable, Dewayne Wise will scare no one in center, either offensively or defensively.  Brian Anderson, a gifted defensive player has never blossomed as a big league hitter.  Worse, if either of these guys goes down, it is entirely possible that we could see the return of Jerry Owens (nooooooooooo!)

Final Thoughts

I do not believe for one millisecond that this team is as bad as some of the predictors (human and computer) say it is.  Sure, everyone will have to contribute a solid year, but you can say that for any team in baseball.  On paper, are these guys as good as say the Red Sox, Yankees or Angels?  Probably not, but you don't win championships on paper.  Is this team good enough to win the division and make the playoffs for an unprecedented second straight year?  Yes?  Will they?  If the cosmic tumblers align correctly, they have a very good chance.

Certainly, the defense is a concern, especially against teams like the Twins which can run them out of the park.  The pitching by today's major league standards is adequate and the run production will be in the top five in the league.  Speed is an issue, although these guys seem to do fine without it.

I see them exceeding most people's expectations in 2009.  In fact, I'm more optimistic about this team than I have been in several seasons.  Maybe I've had too much Kenny-Ozzie kool-aid, but I am really looking forward to this season.  Let's hope it's more like 2008 than 2007.