In a find scholars and Twitter users are calling “an unbelievable discovery,” anthropologists have located an 8” by 11” magic erase board containing White Sox manager Ozzie’s Guillen’s native language and translations into something sort of resembling English. The board, found in a parking lot at a bar near U.S. Cellular Field, contained the phrases [...]

Luckily this picture of Ozzie doing his David Carradine impression is from the waist up.

The highlight of the 2010 White Sox season is undoubtedly going to be Ozzie Guillen’s twitter account.  The Sox should be in the thick of things in the AL Central this year, as there is no dominant team.  To make the playoffs in the Central, you have to win the division though, as the odds of the Wild Card not coming out of the East are slim.  The White Sox will need bounce back years all over the diamond (Rios, Quentin, Ramirez, etc.) and will need Jake Peavy to prove he is more than just an NL and Petco pitcher.

Outfield: The Sox outfield is full of question marks.  Juan Pierre, brought over in the offseason should provide plus defense in LF, but the bat is always a question.  If he repeats his solid 2009 (.308/.365/.392), Pierre can bring a lot to the table for the Sox.  If he reverts back to his career OPS+ of 85, Pierre won’t be a big help for the Sox.  Is this the year CF Alex Rios breaks out?  Unlikely.  While he has tools across the board, Rios has never taken the next step.  From 2006-2008 he OPS+’d 118 while providing great defense in RF.  He was only in RF due to The Albatross known as Vernon Wells, so 2010 will the be first year Rios is the Opening Day centerfielder.  How will he respond?  The answer to this question could go a long way to determining how the Sox far in 2010.  In RF, the Sox will also need a bounce back form Carlos Quentin.  While he may not repeat his 2008 breakout (148 OPS+ and legit MVP candidate before breaking his hand), he needs to improve on his 2009 showing of a 99 OPS+ in only 99 games.  Still only 27, Quentin very likely could see 30/100 season with a 120-130 OPS+.

Infield: New at 3B for the Sox will be jack of all trades, master of none Mark Teahen. UZR does not like Teahen at 3^rd, and he doesn’t bring much to the table at bat.  He is an upgrade over the 2009 Sox, as he is essentially replacing Chris Getz and Jayson Nix, while incumbent 3B Gordon Beckham moves over to 2B.  Beckham is a star in the making.  As a 22 year old rookie he more than held his own with a 107 OPS+ and 14 HR’s in 103 games.  Expect a solid season from Beckham this year, and stardom down the road.  At SS is Alexi Ramirez, who has yet to see pitch he didn’t think he could hit.  In 164 games at SS, Ramirez has a 2.3 UZR, so it appears he can handle the position well, but it’s still too small of a sample size to say for sure.  Offensively Ramirez was worse in his 2^nd season, but did show signs of improvement.  His OBP jumped from .317 to .333 and his BB rate jumped from 3.5% to 8.1%.  Where he regressed significantly is in his power numbers.  His slugging percentage dropped almost 100 points to .389. If he can get his slugging percentage back to the mid 400’s, while continuing to improve his pitch selection, Ramirez could be in line for a very good year.  The day of Paul Konerko being a great hitter appear to be over, as he has just a 112 OPS+ the past 3 years while playing poor defense at 1B.  Unless he turns back the clock, Konerko doesn’t bring much to the table any longer.

Catcher: Everyone’s favorite dick is back at catcher. AJ Pierzynski is as consistent as it comes behind the plate.  He’ll be good for an OPS+ of about 90, and PISD OFF OPP of about 165.  He’s one of those guys you love if they are on your team, you hate if they aren’t.

DH: At DH, and presumably backup OF for all 3 spots is Andruw Jones.  Since it is spring, we’re hearing about what great shape Jones is in.  Of course he is.  I actually think this was a good pickup, while he’s been around forever he’ll be just 33 this year and did OPS+100 last year.  That won’t get it done as a DH, but if he’s truly recommitted to baseball, this could prove to be a shrewd signing.  Call me gullible, but I’m buying into the new Andruw Jones, so much so, that I still believe he has a good chance to make the Hall of Fame when he’s done.  More on that in a future post, but feel free to tear me to shreds for that one.

Starting Rotation: Peavy is the biggest question mark in the rotation.  Leaving the NL and spacious Petco Field, is Peavy still an ace, or just a nice part of a solid rotation?  If he’s an ace, the Sox could cruise to the division title with solid pitchers filling out the 2-4 spots in Mark Buehrle, John Danks and Gavin Floyd.  As of now it appears Freddy Garcia will fill the 5^th spot, and if healthy he could put up a good season for his buddy Guillen.  Health of course is a huge issue for Garcia.  After 6 straight 200+ innings seasons, Garcia has thrown just 129 innings the past 3 years.  Is he toast, or does all of the time off the past 3 years help him find the fountain of youth?  I don’t think Garcia will make or break this team, but getting 25 starts out of him at the backend of the rotation would go a long way for them.

Relief Pitching: The White Sox will field a strong bullpen this year, and if Bobby Jenks can pitch well enough to keep the closers role, things will line up very nicely behind him with Matt Thornton, Scott Linebrink and JJ Putz.  Putz is the key here, if healthy (and getting away from the Mets can only help), the Sox will be able to get 6 strong innings from their starters and have a good chance of winning a lot of games.  A solid and deep rotation, followed by a deep bullpen will keep the Sox in contention all year.

Final Outlook: If everything goes right, I could see the Sox running away with the Central.  There are a ton of question marks though, and I just can’t see them all going the Sox’ way.  I can see them finishing anywhere from 1^st to 3^rd and anywhere from 82-95 wins.