You Can Put It On The Board! YES!

Let The Countdown Begin

We are only two weeks away from one of the most exciting days of the year. That's right, pitchers and catchers are to report to spring training on February 17. The optimism for every team is so high and we all believe that our favorite team has what it takes to make it an unforgettable year. But for our beloved White Sox, we enter spring training as the defending World Champs! It sure feels great.

But for every team out there, there are a few things to look out for during February and March as teams prepare for the 2006 season. So here is what I am concerned/interested about during the upcoming spring training.

Brandon McCarthy's Role
Ozzie has already hinted that he does not want McCarthy part of the starting rotation when the season starts. He plans to use him out of the bullpen or a possible spot starter for an injured pitcher. Remember, both Freddy Garcia and Javier Vazquez are pitching in the World Baseball Classic, so who knows how their arms will be when the season starts. I like McCarthy out of the pen. I personally don't think he is better than any of the other five, so keep him on the roster and add him to our already deadly pitching staff.

Javier Vazquez
I still can't believe the starting rotation that we have. By adding Vasquez to the rotation, we now have five starters that pitched over 200 innings during the 2005 season. No team has fielded a staff with all five starters pitching over 200 innings since the Oakland A's did in 1980. But what can we expect from Vazquez this year? The guy has great stuff and can be a dominating pitcher at times, but yet he has not won more than 14 games in a year. Of course he was on a bad Montreal team for six years and he under achieved with all that pressure on him in New York. We also have to remember that he will be pitching for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic, so watch for some possible arm issues. But I believe that Vazquez will have a solid year for the Sox. He will have no pressure on him at all being the fifth starter and there is no better person out there to keep you relaxed in Ozzie Guillen as your manager. I don't see why he can't win 15 games for us this year. Lets just hope I am right.

Center Field

The million dollar question during spring training is who will be the starting center fielder for the 2006 season. I don't understand one bit why everyone keeps saying that Brian Anderson is the clear favorite for the job. He only played in a whopping 13 games last year and had a .190 average going 4 for 21. He did nothing special to show that he is the right man for the job. There is one guy out there that no one is talking about that I think has nothing to lose going into spring training. That guy is Joe Borchard. Joe is out of Minor League options for the 2006 season so he needs to make the team out of spring training or he is done here. But Joe had a great year in Charlotte last year and hopefully he can carry that over to this up coming season. He did hit 29 HR and had a team record 130 hits. He does have major league power but the consistency just hasn't been there. I think it will be a two horse race between Anderson and Borchard during spring training and I have no problem with either of them starting in the outfield for the Sox in 2006. Also look out for Jerry Owens to possibly challenge for the job as well.

Lefty In The Pen
As of right now, Neal Cotts is the only left hander out in the bullpen. Many people seem concerned about this but I am not worried at all. The Sox do have some lefty prospects that will challenge to make the roster, but I would be ok with Cotts being the only lefty in relief to start the year. He showed last year that he is capable of getting righties and lefties out. He isn't the type of lefty that only comes in to face one guy and is done. He has the stuff to get anyone out and also has the ability to go a couple of innings if need be. Last year he went 4-0 with a 1.94 ERA, striking out 58 guys in 60.1 IP. So lets all relax that we only have one lefty reliever. Neal will do just fine for us.

# 2 Hitter

Ozzie is looking to move Iguchi down in the order this year so he can take advantage of his power. The man that Ozzie is looking to replace Iguchi is Juan Uribe. I think this would be a good move if Uribe shows that he can handle it. If not, don't try to fix something if it is not broken. If leaving Iguchi in the two hole is the best option then so be it. But it would be nice to see him unleash his power instead of moving Podsednik over all the time.

Well, all in all I think things could be much worse. The problems that the Sox have going into spring training are good problems to have. It will make it a very competitive spring with some young guns trying to make the squad. The start of the title defense starts in just two weeks! Do it to it fellas!