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Seeing as it’s now April 29th and the season is officially one month old, let’s take a look at where the White Sox stand:

Offensive Categories:
Team Average: .242 (14th in the AL)
On-Base Percentage: .338 (7th)
OPS (OB+SLG): .755 (5th)
Runs: 130 (5th)

Pitching Categories:
Runs Allowed: 101 (2nd)
ERA: 3.77 (3rd)
BAA: .248 (4th)
Quality Starts: 17 (1st)

The people who tell you the numbers never lie are only half right. Numbers lie all the time. For example, when a team is hitting collectively as bad as the Sox are, the numbers tell you they should stink at scoring runs and winning games. And lately, the Sox have stunk at putting points on the board - and yet they’re sitting in first place heading to May while ranking in the top half of the league in every other significant offensive measuring stick. How’s this possible?

Meanwhile, what was expected to be the most combustible element of this Sox team - the starting rotation - has been outstanding. Gavin Floyd has pitched well enough to win every start. John Danks is 4 for 5 in quality outings, as is Jose Contreras. Javy Vazquez picked up where he left off - the most suspect member of the rotation is Mark Buehrle!

So you’d think things would be looking all the way up, right? Not exactly. The Sox have to start hitting if they’re going to stay a factor. To take a glass-half-full look at it, the poor average is with Nick Swisher, Orlando Cabrera, Jim Thome & Paul Konerko hitting way below where they’re expected to be. On the down side? The poor average reflects the fact that Nick Swisher, Orlando Cabrera, Jim Thome & Paul Konerko are hitting way below where they’re expected to be. Does anybody else feel comfortable just saying, “Don’t worry, they’re bound to turn it on and break loose sooner or later?” Hawk can say it. No way I’m saying it.

One year ago today, Mark Buehrle threw the 16th no-hitter in White Sox history. Little did we know the best was yet to come, as Mark signed a contract extension 10 weeks later to keep him on the Southside through 2011. Here’s to you, Mark. How about an encore performance tomorrow night against the Rays?

As everyone knows the Sox are set to start the season off in Cleveland this Monday, and will return to Chicago for the home opener on Monday April 7th for an afternoon game. In doing some research on where to find tickets for some of these early season games, I’ve decided that TickCo offers some of the best deals.

Their site isn’t the most friendly, and it took approximately 4 clicks just to get to the listing of Sox games, but after arriving there the rest was easy.

All the home and away dates were listed, so I clicked on the aforementioned home opener against the Twins. The cool thing about their site vs. others is that some good deals are front and center (or actually, left and center). I picked some of the “featured” tickets in Section 522. Not the closest to the field but a good vantage point to see the entire field without any obstructions.

The rest of the process was easy, and I got some decent tickets to a Sox/Twins matchup so I’m happy. It’s better than shelling out more at the park to a scalper. It looks like there are plenty of seats available for upcoming games, including the series vs. the Cubs that starts on Friday June 27.. Peace of mind, folks. Peace of mind.

Despite being on waivers (or perhaps not) earlier in the week, Juan Uribe will be with the Chicago White Sox in Cleveland next week, and he will be the first man up for the in-season competition at second base. Think of it like a bizarro version of American Idol - Uribe and Ramirez survived the whining and moaning of the audition phase and finally get to become shallow underachievers once the lights go up. Should we consider it good or bad that not one of the four contenders was able to win the job this spring? (That’s a rhetorical question.)

Uribe’s position is a tenuous one though - Alexei Ramirez, who could wind up as a stopgap solution in the outfield now that Carlos Quentin is banged up and Jerry Owens is on the DL, is knocking on the door with terrific spring numbers and long-term potential with the bat that puts Uribe to shame. Still, never underestimate the power of having to play for your job in professional sports - it could cause Uribe to fold like an accordion and expedite his exit, or it could motivate him to get back to being the player he was before he realize he could hit 30 home runs a year in Comiskey Park. 

No plans for April 16th? Head out to the Southside and catch some college baseball while supporting a great cause.

CHICAGO - The Northern Illinois University and the University of Notre Dame baseball teams will play a game U.S. Cellular Field, home of the Chicago White Sox, on Wednesday, April 16 at 7:11 p.m.

Tickets will be available starting Monday, March 24 at 10 a.m. at whitesox.com, Ticketmaster phone lines, Chicagoland Ticketmaster outlets, the NIU campus box office and the U.S. Cellular Field box office. All of the money generated from ticket sales benefits the NIU February 14 Scholarship Fund, which has been established to honor the memory of the students slain in its campus tragedy.

All tickets are $10 lower level reserved seating, with the exception of United Scout Seats, which are $50 (food/drink not included). All service fees for tickets have been waived for this special event courtesy of Ticketmaster and Major League Baseball Advance Media.

“Having spent three years at Northern Illinois, the tragedy really hit close to home and affected me a great deal,” said Irish head coach Dave Schrage. “We really wanted to try and do something for the families of those involved. While it’s just a baseball game and may seem trivial, hopefully it can bring something positive from an otherwise tragic situation. We are honored to help Northern Illinois University and the NIU February 14 Scholarship Fund. We want to thank the Chicago White Sox for reaching out to this tremendous cause.”

“The White Sox are honored to host Northern Illinois and Notre Dame at U.S. Cellular Field for this special game and important cause,” Brooks Boyer, White Sox chief marketing officer and vice president. “Both schools boast a significant fan base in Chicago that will make for a great night of great baseball while serving a much more important cause.”

Gates to the ballpark will open at 5:30 p.m. Parking is free in Lots A (bus parking), B and C and concessions stands will be open during the game.

Our latest report from Arizona correspondent SoxManDan, who checked in after Monday’s clash with the Milwaukee Brewers (the Sox & the Brew Crew tied, 4-4)…

Another beautiful day in AZ, sunny and 70’s, Maryvale Park, Phoenix. Brewers wearing green caps.

Miller products sold at park, High Life draft $5.25; nice break from Surprise and Peoria $8.00 drafts. Sadly, the seats had no cupholders! There was no pitch speed scoreboard either. Despite these little issues, the park was beautiful and we had seats 4 rows behind home plate, a mere 25 feet from Ozzie sitting next to the dugout and Jerry Reinsdorf and Kenny Williams sitting right behind him in the first row.

Javier Vasquez looked strong at the start, but then lapsed into the old middle-inning jitters (5th), eventually giving up 6H in 4-2/3 innings, 4R (only 1 earned). He had 6 strikeouts and was dominating early. By the way, Javi also had 2 sharp singles hitting in the national league park, drawing “we aren’t worthy” gestures from Ozzie and the bench, very entertaining!

A special note: First spring training GOLDEN SOMBRERO award to “Look at the big bat on Brad!” Eldred. 4 very bad strikeouts, each time walking past the manager, GM and owner towards the dugout, head down…..hang in there, Brad!

Six broken bat plays this game (new spring training record I think).

Logan, Thornton, MacDougal (YIKES), and #89 (mystery man — editor’s note: that would be Justin Cassel) pitched for Sox, adequately.

Mike Cameron hit a long 3-run homer off Vasquez in the 5th.

Ozuna 2 hits, Swisher double, Ramirez double, no other offensive standouts. Game called after 10 innings by mutual consent of managers.

Next reports with co-SOX correspondent Dave “Wimpy” Gallagher (no relation to former Sox outfielder) Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Monday!

Hope everybody enjoys the new layout - it’s been a long time coming and will only make the podcast more interactive and better going forward, which hopefully will directly correspond with an increase in wins for the White Sox. That’s why 2007 was such a bad year - Soxcast was woefully behind the times as far as the internet revolution goes!Anyway, as we get closer to the March 31 opener in Cleveland, spring training takes on even more importance. Who’s going to step up and earn those precious few open roster spots? And what kind of greatness must it be to enjoy major league baseball in picture perfect Arizona? SoxManDan,our resident Arizona correspondent, has all the answers. Here’s his latest report, from the Sox-Rangers game last Tuesday:

Another great day in God’s country out here in Surprise, AZ, 85 degrees, sunny and happy. Long game today, extra innings, interesting ending. Had to endure Gavin Floyd, but it wasn’t TOO painful…4IP, 3H, 2R on 2 homeruns in the 2nd innning.   

Here’s the scoop:

Hitting

Ramirez- 2 doubles looks very comfortable at plate…Anderson HR in 2nd…Thome took 2 walks…Fields 3 strikeouts…Konerko 1-5, double (could have been an inside-the-park homerun for Owens) 

Fielding

Quentin reminded me of Ron Kittle in LF bouncing fly balls off his head (bad play in late innings)

Pitching

Floyd gets a pass, I guess…MacDougal (UGH, AGAIN) 1 IP throwing 95MPH, did manage to balk a man over to 2nd base…Massett picked a man off 1st, nice!…Adam Russell threw hard, looked OK after loading the bases on a HBP, single and walk…Anderson came in for the 10th: slowest pitch 93MPH, last pitch 99MPH hit for a LONG game winning home run by Texas over the concourse in left field. I saw it coming (and so did Texas, I guess).

Overall great day, and really appreciated that homerun in the 10th  turning around Anderson’s 99MPH pitch. I had been commenting around me that he might want to throw something off speed…..that ball was out of the park in a flash.

Here’s one of Dan’s photos from Surprise: 

If it’s February, it must be Spring Training in Tucson. The Sox final year of workouts in their old Tucson Electric Park digs before relocating to their shiny new facility in Glendale has no shortage of plotlines, from Ozzie’s promise to be “back to being Ozzie” to Bobby Jenks’ decision to go with long hair and the annual debate over what exactly a ‘hang-wuff-em” is. But those are all questions for another time and place. As Spring Training kicks off in earnest (pitchers and catchers were due Saturday, with a number of positional players such as Joe Crede, Josh Fields, AJ Pierzynski, and Brian Anderson showing up ahead of the mandatory reporting date this Friday), here our five storylines worth paying close attention to:

5 - The Back End…Will it be Gavin Floyd & John Danks in the last two rotation spots, as everybody seems to expect, or can one of the remaining prospies (Lance Broadway, Charlie Haeger, Adam Russell, Jack Egbert, or even the always popular ‘Unknown’) earn their way onto the roster? Wild card factor - who arrives in a probable Crede trade.

4 - Grinding Back…Last season the top two spots in the order were plagued by injury and inability to do some of the fundamental “little things” required to win. Can Orlando Cabrera & Nick Swisher right the ship by bunting, sacrificing, getting on base, stealing bases, and creating scoring chances for the middle of the lineup?

3 - Outfield Shuffle…The Sox now have a depth of outfielders, but who’s going where? Ideally I’d like Swisher in left, but Carlos Quentin’s a natural LF and there just is too much roughness around the edges on Jerry Owens. What about Brian Anderson? All these things need to be sorted out in time. Personal prediction: it’ll be Dye (RF), Swisher (CF), Quentin (LF). While Dye & Swisher will be out there no matter what, that third spot is still up for grabs, so anybody could grab it with a good spring.

2 - Second Base is Up For Grabs…Juan Uribe, Danny Richar, newly-signed Cuban defector Alexei Ramirez, & Pablo Ozuna each have a hat in the ring. Richar didn’t do enough last season to nail down the job, but I’m all for giving it to him and seeing what he can do over the course of a full baseball season. If Uribe REALLY lost a lot of weight and attacks from the first spring training game on, it’ll likely be him. An unknown variable that could alter the Sox thinking: how well/fast Ramirez picks up MLB pitching. If he mashes the ball during spring and/or the minors, his time could be sooner rather than later; if he flops that’ll be one less candidate for the bench.

1 - Endgame at Third…The day Sox fans have been dreading for almost three full years may finally be at hand. Joe Crede is an unrestricted free agent after 2008 and there appears to be no room for negotiation between Kenny Williams & Scott Boras, which is very unfortunate but also incredibly predictable. The two sides haven’t had any concrete discussions on the matter, which makes you hope they could work something out if they ever got down to the bargaining table, but the reality is that right now the Sox see Josh Fields as ready to play everyday. And not as an outfielder. That makes a healthy Crede highly valuable trade bait considering the Sox need both the kind of 3rd/4th starter pitching talent he could bring in, or a stud prospect or two to resupply their farm system. A new report in the Chicago Tribune suggests that a deal with the Giants could be in the works, but it would likely be Crede for prospects, not Crede for Noah Lowry (as has been speculated). Either way, a final decision at third is the last (and biggest) question for the Sox to come up with an answer to before breaking camp.

As announced on Monday, August 20th’s show, the winner of the Tickets
from Beer Heaven Giveaway was Jeff K. from Mesa, AZ. Jeff won the
draw of correct answers to the question of who Harry Caray mistakently
pegged as Falstaff drinkers during a Sox broadcast:

“Leon Russell, Stephen Stills, and Jethro Tull are here drinking Falstaff”.

Entries poured in from California, Arizona, Missouri, Tennessee,
Oregon, Indiana, and of course the Chicagoland area. Enjoy Halfway to
St. Patty’s Day Jeff, and bring home a White Sox winner for all of us
at the Chicago SportsCast Network.

To enter, e-mail your guess in to info@soxcast.com. Good luck!