In what started out as a pretty quiet camp for the Chicago White Sox has turned into some pretty big problems in the last couple of days.  In no particular order by still an area of concern:

• The horrible injury to prized prospect Jared Mitchell.  Mitchell was not going to make the roster this year, but he was having an outstanding camp and was ticketed for AA for his first full season of minor league baseball.  Now, he'll be a year behind and we'll see how blowing out his ankle affects his speed and agility when he suits up in 2011.  This was a bad injury for the Sox organization as the kid clearly appears the talent to be successful at the Major League level and be the leadoff man/outfield star the Sox have needed for a long time.
• The slow start of Bobby Jenks.  It seems like the only person on Earth getting shelled more than Osama Bin Laden is Bobby Jenks. has toiled less than three innings with an ERA of 37.80.  He's also reported some problems with his calf, the same calf that he caused him problems last year.  Before you start apologizing for Jenks, realize the prior two spring trainings, he's been nearly flawless. So, you have to ask yourself, will he be ready come April, does he have a long term issue with his calf, is it more severe than the Sox are telling us and if Bobby can't go, can Matt Thornton or J.J. Putz get the job done?  One thing is for sure: If Jenks is out for a good length of time, the Sox have found a way to neutralize the gift they were given with Joe Nathan's elbow injury. For the love of God, Bobby, please pick up a six pack.
• The slow start of Mark Teahen. Teahen is projected to be a key piece to the puzzle for the Sox in 2010 and needs to be more than a complimentary player.  I don't think he's Joe Crede, but he's not Wilson Betemit either.  Teahen is hitting only .105 in 19 at bats.  Compare that to last year when he ripped for .433 in the spring. Sure, it may just a be a slow start.  Let's hope that it is because Omar Vizquel isn't hitting either and he's the backup to Teahen.  The Cuban Sandwich won't be ready until at least 2011 (2012 if he continues not to run out popups)  and he couldn't carry Teahen's glove on defense.  Of course, Teahen couldn't carry Joe Crede's glove. Is it time now to worry about third base, because I didn't like the trade to begin with.

Before you think I've gone over the deep end, let me clue you in to my philosophy here.  Spring training is not the regular season.  The record is irrelevant.  In many cases, stats are irrelevant in that a player might go to the plate or mound working on a specific stance or a new pitch.  And, you always factor in the desert air for both hitters or pitchers. 

What you do watch are how players are rehabbing from injuries from the previous season and how the youngsters are progressing.

So far we know that  the Sox have some talented young players (this kid Morel is particularly outstanding and could be Beckammed to the bigs.) The pitching has been good, although there is some concern so far regarding Freddie Garcia and Daniel Hudson.  But the big four have looked good. 

The Mitchell injury hurts a lot, but he's young and he'll be back.