Hey Guess What? Tiger's Back!

I'm not sure if you knew this but Tiger Woods is making his long awaited return to the golf course tomorrow to compete in a little tournament called The Masters. As if he needed any more attention, Nike made sure he got it by putting out this commercial/viral video of Tiger, take a look:





As Nike hoped, this video has gotten a lot of attention, some like it and some not so much, but put me down for the crowd that loves it. But I love it more for Tiger than for Nike and here's why. Tiger clearly had to approve of this ad before it was shot and he willingly allowed Nike to address his infidelity. This ad also goes a long way in showing the public that he knows he messed up and he is trying to correct his problem. 

Nike is one of the few companies to stand by Woods through this mess and showed their continue support by running this ad. They aren't trying to sell anything in this ad, they're simply showing Woods standing there with an audio clip from his father. If they are selling anything, it's Tiger as human being who is trying to come right his wrongs.

The big buzz though comes from Tiger playing golf again starting tomorrow.  I for one believe he has a shot at winning this weekend or else he would not have come back. Unfortunately for Woods, every move he makes is going to be scrutinized by the media (It's already started) but hopefully he blocks it out and goes out there and plays golf the way so many people remember and the way that has dominated the game since he started playing.

If Woods does win this weekend you should start to see Tiger gaining sponsorships again, simply because winning sells. Golf has a very sophisticated audience and companies who sell products intended for the golf demographic will need someone to sell their product. Let's be honest, would you rather have Woods or someone like Steve Stricker as your spokesmen? Clearly Woods is the choice, he's the reason so many people tuned into golf tournaments on the weekends before his transgressions and he's also the reason people will watch golf now. If Woods is winning the other winners are going to be the competitors to the companies that dropped Tiger as their spokesman over the winter. 

When it comes down to it, a lot of people have said some incredibly awful things about Woods and if Karma does exist, we'll see it in full force on Sunday when Tiger dons the Green Jacket.

Things I'm looking forward to this Baseball season

The Red Sox and Yankees just finished up the first game of the 2010 season and while I usually dislike watching this rivalry, it was the first baseball game of the year. Watching this game got me thinking of the national storylines that I'm looking forward to the most.

The very first storyline I'm looking forward to is the debuts of Stephen Strasburg and Aroldis Chapman. Both of these guys look to be future studs in this game and I'm excited to see what they have against top notch MLB talent. Strasburg is carrying the future of the Nationals on his back, but he looks to be unhittable at times and I know I'll be watching Nationals games when he is starting this season. Chapman had a good Spring and made him an intriguing player to watch this season, as long as Dusty Baker doesn't destroy his arm.

Jason Heyward, simply because he is getting so much hype. I really want to see how good this kid is. I've heard all the hype of him being compared to Albert Pujols and hitting moon shots that land in parking lots, but I really want to see him with my own eyes. I'm really excited to see what he has and I hope I'm not disappointed.

Target Field. The Twins are opening up a new stadium this year and I want to see how they handle the move. The HHH Dome was always good for a few extra wins whether it was piped in crowd noise, the bounces the Twins got off the turf, or even opposing outfielders losing fly balls in the ceiling. The offense definitely has the power and speed to be successful wherever they play, but I'm interested to see if the Twins lose some of their edge when they lose the certain home dome advantage that the Metrodome brought them.

The Rays. I talked about this in the AL East preview, but the Rays are in an interesting situation this season. They could possibly (probably will) lose Carl Crawford and Carlos Peña in the offseason so if the Rays struggle out of the gate, will the Rays front office try to trade Crawford and/or Peña to try to get something for them before they bolt for big pay days? It's definitely something to keep an eye on if the Rays struggle early in the difficult AL East.

My last storyline has to deal with the Texas Rangers. They have had the offense of a contender for some time now, they just lacked the pitching. Well it seems as if they may have the pitching to compete and the talent to surprise some people who are convinced the Mariners are going to win the AL West. Some are saying Ron Washington is on the hot seat in Texas, but his players seem to genuinely enjoy playing for him and I'm looking for them to rally around their skipper and win the AL West this season.

The one thing I don't want to see this year is a player get busted for taking some sort of PEDs. Not because it's bad for the game, but because the media runs with it and makes a huge deal out of it and I'm just burnt out on steroid talk. Here's to a great 2010 baseball season full of exciting moments that can be enjoyed by all baseball fans.

2010 MLB Predictions

Since I've finished the AL Previews for the season, it's time to make my predictions for the NL as well as the playoffs and some awards.

To recap my AL Division winners, I have: Texas Rangers (AL West), Chicago White Sox (AL Central), and New York Yankees (AL East). My AL Wild Card is going to be the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays are going to play inspired baseball I think, mostly because they're going to likely lose Carl Crawford and Carlos Peña in the off-season.

NL West: Colorado Rockies.  It's going to be a tight race between Colorado, LA, and San Francisco but I like the Rockies. I think the Rockies are the most balanced team out of the three with solid pitching and a good mix offensively with speed and power.

NL Central: St. Louis Cardinals. Having Wainwright and Carpenter at the top of the rotation is certainly a reason why they'll contend in '10 but it also doesn't hurt to pair Matt Holliday with Albert Pujols.

NL East: Philadelphia Phillies. They have one of the top lineups in baseball and couple that with a rotation that includes Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels, they're the favorites to win the pennant for a reason.

NL Wild Card: San Francisco Giants. One of the best, if not the best rotation in baseball finally has some offense behind it. But this will be the more intriguing Wild Card race this year, I could see any of the following teams winning the Wild Card: Giants, Dodgers, Braves, Brewers, Cubs, or Reds.

Playoff Predictions
ALDS
Yankees over Rangers
White Sox over Rays

NLDS
Giants over Phillies
Cardinals over Rockies

ALCS
Yankees over White Sox

NLCS
Cardinals over Giants

World Series
Cardinals over Yankees

MVP and Cy Young Predictions

AL MVP: Mark Teixeira (Yankees)
NL MVP: Albert Pujols (Cardinals)

AL Cy Young: Jake Peavy (White Sox)
NL Cy Young: Adam Wainwright (Cardinals)

Breaking Down My Fantasy Baseball Draft

With the Blackhawks struggling (I still believe, but it's a little frustrating right now), I've focused more of my energy towards baseball as Opening Night is Sunday and Opening Day the following day. And with Opening Day marking the start of the baseball season, the fantasy season also kicks off. We had our draft about 10 days ago and I wanted to take this time to go through my draft  and take a look where I reached for players and why I took other players. The league is an 11 team league 5x5 scoring but OBP is a category instead of batting average. So let's take a look at who will be manning "Where my Pitches at?" this season

Round 1: Hanley Ramirez SS. I had the second pick of the draft so Ramirez was the no-brainer pick once Pujols was taken off the board. Shortstop isn't the shallowest position this year in my opinion but there obviously isn't a player like Ramirez. He's a player that contributes to all five categories, and was probably the easiest pick I had to make in the draft.

Round 2: Pablo Sandoval 3B. As I mentioned in the intro, I was going to talk about players I reached for and I think Sandoval could arguably fall into that category. The only reason I don't think it was a reach to grab him is because 3B is very shallow depth wise from a traditional offensive standpoint. Others could argue that it was a reach because Ryan Zimmerman was still on the board when I made the selection but I think Sandoval has better protection around him in the lineup and he'll put up very similar numbers to Zimmerman.

Round 3: Kendry Morales 1B. I'll be honest, I'm not thrilled with this pick, just because Morales basically came out of no where to put up such insane numbers that there is a fairly big question mark on whether he can put up those type of numbers consistently. I'm expecting some kind of drop off from last season but I still think he could put up impressive numbers.

Round 4: Ubaldo Jiménez SP. Preparing for the draft beforehand it was clear that pitching would be valuable as 10 of the top 15 pitchers were being kept from the previous year. So with that in mind I thought it's time to nab a starter and Jiménez was my choice. Being a strike out pitcher is almost a most pitching in Coors field but he also won 15 games last year as well as posted an ERA of 3.47. I think his ERA rises a little bit but there's no reason to suggest he can't win 15 games again and post similar strikeout numbers.

Round 5: Félix Hernández SP. As I mentioned, a lot of the top pitchers were kept going into the draft and Hernández was my keeper. There isn't much to say about Hernández that isn't already known.

Round 6: Torii Hunter OF. I'll admit it, I was scrambling when my pick came up at this point, and that's because I targeted Gordon Beckham this round and he was snatched up just before my pick came up. I wasn't thrilled with this pick at first (because I was sulking at not getting Beckham) but after the draft I figured that Hunter could put up similar numbers to Beckham. Hunter missed some time last season but he'll be hitting third in the Angels lineup so I expect an increase in home runs and RBI as well as some more stolen bases for Hunter.

Round 7: Joakim Soria RP. Last year I experimented with drafting closers late and while I don't think it hurt me too badly, it was nerve-racking monitoring the waiver wire all the time looking for new closers to grab. So I determined I wouldn't go through that again and decided to grab quality closers this year and Soria is about as high quality as it gets.

Round 8: Jake Peavy SP. Sticking with my pitching theme, Jake Peavy seems like a quality pick. He was grossly underrated in my opinion, but based on the three starts he made at the end of the season for the White Sox was simply dominate. He's only 28 and I believe he's going to make a run for the Cy Young this year.

Round 9: Michael Cuddyer OF/1B. When I was looking at Cuddyer's numbers I was shockingly surprised. When you think Minnesota Twins, you think of a team that dinks and dunks offensively, but Cuddyer had 32 home runs and 94 RBI last season. Those types of numbers are welcomed with open arms on my team.

Round 10: Adam Jones OF. Another keeper pick for my team, Jones is going to break out in a big way this year. He experienced some time on the DL last year so the health is a little bit of a concern but he has a great mix of speed and power.

Round 11: Edwin Jackson SP. Jackson had a very solid 2009 for the Detroit Tigers but was sent to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the offseason. The move the NL offsets any of the concerns I had about moving form a cozy pitcher's park to a hitter's park and I think he'll post up similar numbers to last season.

Round 12: Billy Wagner RP.  I think Wagner is fully healthy and ready to make an impact again closing games. He's reportedly hitting triple digits on the radar gun this spring and has been extremely effective as well.

Round 13: Andre Ethier OF. My last keeper of the draft is Ethier and I expect big things from him this year. I think he can duplicate his 30 homer 100 RBI performance but I'd also like to see about 3-5 more stolen bases from him

Round 14: Jorge De La Rosa SP. With a cap on the number of innings a team's staff can have, finding guys who just wins was important and that's De La Rosa. The Rockies are a good team with a good offense that can help out their pitchers. Will De La Rosa win 16 games again? Probably not, but he should be able to win double digit games and being my #4 starter, that's all I ask for.

Round 15: José Lopez 2B. Lopez is that prototypical all or nothing type of hitter, he'll help me out with home runs and RBI but he'll absolutely destroy my OBP and doesn't provide many runs or stolen bases.\

Round 16 & 17: Trevor Hoffman and Bobby Jenks. I'm putting these rounds together because it's the same position in back-to-back rounds. Hoffman and Jenks round out my relievers and I feel very happy with these four closers. Jenks had an injury scare this spring but has bounced back and seems to have recaptured that magic he had in the beginning of 2009. I'm counting on Hoffman's changeup to continue to deceive hitters.

Round 18: Jorge Posada C. Surprisingly, catcher seemed to be a pretty deep position this year. I was able to wait this long and I still had choices between Posada and A.J. Pierzynski. I went with Posada because of the impressive power numbers and OBP he put up last season.

Round 19 and 20: Tim Hudson and Bronson Arroyo. I made these two picks to fill out my rotation. After a little bit more research, Tim Hudson may be the steal of the draft. He's 3-1 this spring with a 1.35 ERA and 17 K's in 20 innings. He looks to be fully healthy after arm surgery and could be an extremely valuable piece this season. Arroyo was pretty much just filler for my rotation and I'll probably not even pitch him his first time through the rotation just to take inventory of what I have in him.

Overall, the draft didn't go how I planned but I still came out with a team that I like. I think my team lacks stolen bases and it's an area I'm looking to address as well as OBP and Runs. From previous years, the teams I draft usually aren't the same guys that finish the season with me.

Slumping Blackhawks, Where Have I Seen This Before?

So the Chicago Blackhawks dropped their third game in a row tonight, this time to the St. Louis Blues. After the loss, my Facebook and Twitter accounts were filled with the typical Chicago sports fan who is convinced this team is doomed. Well you know what? I'm not on the bandwagon and I don't plan on ever joining that bandwagon. Listen, this team is already in the playoffs, a sense of entitlement has set in amongst this team it seems like and no matter how bad it is effecting their performance I believe they'll bounce back.

There's no getting around the fact that the Hawks are seemingly uninspired to be playing right now, but that doesn't mean they aren't concerned. The same feeling was sensed in 2005 when the White Sox hit a slump after the All-Star break and many claimed them to be dead. Right before the playoffs hit for the White Sox that year, something clicked and they started playing similar to the way earlier in the season when they held a lead in the first 30 some games of the season. They reeled off an 11-1 postseason record including four consecutive complete game gems from the pitching staff in the ALCS. There are still seven games for the Blackhawks before the playoffs begin, that's plenty of time to refocus and re-energize and get back to the high flying, puck possession style that have the Hawks already locked into the playoffs.

The positive to take from tonight's game is simply the Hawks showed flashes of their old selves in the first period, and they brought a lot of energy to that period. Now it's time to build on that effort and sustain it for an entire 60 minutes (or maybe 40 since the Blackhawks don't like playing the 2nd period for whatever reason). They just need that one moment to close out the season that says they're back, similar to Joe Crede's walk-off home run against the Cleveland Indians on September 20, 2005.

There's no denying the Hawks are a very talented team, much more talented than the Sox were in 2005, so this is clearly a mental hurdle that needs to be cleared and all I'm saying is there is still time to get everything right mentally and get ready for the playoffs. To put it in a phrase: Don't Stop Believin'

AL East Preview

The AL Preview wraps up with what is likely the best division in baseball, the AL East. As always I'll highlight a new addition, a key player, and a player that may break out this season, and wrap it up with a prediction. Teams appear in order of expected finish.

New York Yankees

Same Face, New Place: Curtis Granderson. Granderson was traded to the Yankees in the off-season and simply put, the rich got richer. Granderson will certainly take advantage of the short porch in right field, maybe even more than Johnny Damon did last season. I don't see him hitting leadoff this season with Derek Jeter still on the team, but Granderson's increase in power signals that he may be better suited to hit either second in the lineup or further down in the six or seven spot.

Key Player: Javier Vazquez. When the playoffs came around last October, the Yankees took full advantage of the all the off-days, using only three starters throughout the course of the post season. This season, the playoff schedule will be fixed to prevent that and the Yankees will need a fourth starter to defend its World Series title. Right now Vazquez is that guy and unfortunately for the Yankees, when the pressure is high, Vazquez usually hides. If the Yankees want to repeat, they'll need Vazquez to step up when it counts.

Player to Watch: Brett Gardener. With the Yankees, the team is so full of established players that Gardener is the only player that baseball fans might not know a lot about. He had a fairly good season last year in a limited role (248 AB), and he'll get a chance to claim left field full time. If he does, I can very easily see him breaking out in a big way, he did steal 26 bases last season so if he gets a full season's worth of at-bats, he could steal a ton of bases and creating more opportunities for the power hitters at the top of the Yankees lineup.

Final Verdict: The Yankees have such a deep team and it's very hard to find any holes with this team. The pitching is good as long as Vazquez is kept out of high pressure situations, the bullpen is solid with Rivera and either Hughes or Chamberlain setting him up. The lineup is just full of power hitters and are dangerous 1-9. They should win the division and the only question is will this team win 100 games?

Tampa Bay Rays

Same Face, New Place: Rafael Soriano. Soriano comes over from the Braves to be the closer for the Rays this season. A great move for the Rays as they finally have a reliable closer to finish games (I know Troy Percival all too well, but that's another story). This move also gives everyone in the bullpen an assigned role and that seems to be effective in having a solid bullpen because everyone then knows their role and are comfortable in what they're doing.

Key Player: Pat Burrell. Burrell is in year two with the Rays and the Rays are hoping that he bounces back from a poor 2009. The Rays don't need a ton of help on offense but to get the normal averages from Burrell are obviously wanted on any baseball team and can really solidify the middle of the Rays order.

Player to Watch: Wade Davis. This 24-year old pitcher is slotted to be the #5 starter for the Rays this season after making an impressive big league debut late last season. Davis has a solid fastball and 3 secondary pitches to choose from. Being in the fifth spot in the rotation is a real luxury for a hot prospect because the pressure isn't there because he won't be facing off against the CC Sabathias and Josh Becketts of the world every time out there. Scouting reports say Davis' mound presence is a real asset and confidence is something Davis will have when he faces the lineups of the Red Sox or Yankees.

Final Verdict: The Rays are likely going into this season with the belief that this is the last season where they have both Carl Crawford and Carlos Peña who will both be free agents next season. With that in the minds of the team, and the obvious talent that this team has they'll be a dangerous team this year. The pitching is deep from James Shields down to Davis, the bullpen will be solid with defined roles for everyone, and the offense will be balanced with power from the middle of the lineup and speed and contact from everyone else.

Boston Red Sox

Same Face, New Place: Mike Cameron. Cameron has been everything that consistency stands for. He posted his fourth straight season of 20+ home runs and is also a dependable center fielder. An outfield with Cameron and Ellsbury is a sound defensive outfield and allows Cameron to shade more to right field to cover some of the ground of J.D. Drew. 

Key Player: David Ortiz. Ortiz experienced a rough first half to 2009 but bounced back in a huge way in the second half and finished with 28 home runs and 99 RBI. His abysmal first half really hurt his AVG/OBP/OPS numbers which is why statheads are down on him, but he'll have to have a full year similar to his second half if the Red Sox want to do well.

Player to Watch: Daniel Bard. Bard is the closer-in-waiting for the Red Sox and will force the Red Sox to make a decision on Jonathan Papelbon and they'll be comfortable letting Papelbon go if Bard has a good season this year. If Bard struggles, I won't be surprised to see Papelbon kept and to keep Bard in a middle receiver role.

Final Verdict: The Red Sox have as good of pitching as any team in baseball. The rotation gives Boston a chance to win every night and the bullpen will give Francona many options to shorten the game. The real question is the lineup. Yes, in the age of sabermetrics the Red Sox have a good lineup, but in baseball sense they lack that one hitter that strikes fear into opposing pitchers (The Yankees have their entire lineup essentially, the Rays have Longoria and Peña). I think that lack of power will hurt the Red Sox but no matter how you look at it Boston, Tampa, and New York will be battling for 2 playoff spots all season.

Baltimore Orioles

Same Face, New Place: Kevin Millwood. Millwood is coming to Baltimore to be at the top of the Orioles rotation. Millwood is coming over after a fairly successful stint in Texas where the ballpark is more of a launching pad for home runs. If he can continue that success in Baltimore as well as mentor the young pitching prospects that will be in the rotation with him, he'll be a success for the Orioles.

Key Player: Adam Jones. Jones makes up the core of the Orioles future along with Matt Wieters and Nick Markakis so he'll have to take yet another step forward if the Orioles ever want to compete in the AL East. Jones had a very productive year last year where he hit .277 with a .335 OBP, and .792 OPS. He did miss most of the end of the season so those numbers should realistically continue to climb as well as his power numbers and stolen base numbers. He could become the most lethal threat out of the Orioles big three with the ability to hit for power and steal bases, but he'll need to stay healthy to continue to develop.

Player to Watch: Brian Matusz. Matusz is just one of the Orioles top pitching prospects and he's on the verge of breaking out. I'd argue he is the Oriole's best pitching prospect but there is an argument that could be made for Brad Bergesen.  Last season Matusz won 5 games while striking out 38 over just 44.2 innings. Couple that with his impressive Spring of a 3.10 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 20.1 innings, he seems poised to become a household name this year. Granted he will have to face the Yankees, Rays, and Red Sox it may not be an easy journey for him to make.

Final Verdict: The Orioles are in a really tough spot playing in the AL East. They have a team on paper that I would say could compete in either the AL Central or AL West but having to play the Yankees, Rays, and Red Sox so many times isn't a recipe for a successful season when your team is so young. Offensively, the O's have different ways of attacking either with the long ball or hitting and running all over the place. The pitching is young but talented and if they can get the most out of those young arms they might be able to compete for a little while, but in the long run it'll just be too difficult to win the division this year.

Toronto Blue Jays

Same Face, New Place: Alex Gonzalez. Gonzalez goes across the border after playing in Cincinnati and Boston last season. If the Blue Jays are going to have any success they'll need Gonzalez to produce similar to what he did down the stretch last season for the Reds. He hit .284 and scored 26 runs in 44 games for the Red Sox, while not overly impressive you can imagine how helpful that would be to the Blue Jays lineup.

Key Player: Aaron Hill. Hill had a remarkable season last year, he hit .286 with an .829 OPS  and hit 36 home runs with 108 RBI while playing second base. To get that type of offensive production from second base is a real luxury to have, but Hill will have to put up those numbers again to keep the Blue Jays competitive.

Player to Watch: Marc Rzepczynski. The 25-year old southpaw had an average rookie season that saw him post a 2-4 record and a 3.67 ERA with 60 K's in 61.1 innings. That K rate is something to take note of, especially in the AL East with such powerful offenses. The more he can get guys to swing and miss the better he'll be and the better the Jays will be.

Final Verdict: The Blue Jays basically knew they weren't going to compete this season when they decided to trade away Roy Halladay and I think this preview reflects that. The offense might be able to put up good numbers but Aaron Hill seems poised to regress from his outstanding 2009 and there just aren't enough guys in that lineup to pick up those lost power numbers. I think Vernon Wells bounces back this season and Adam Lind will continue to shine but that's about it offensively from this team. Pitching is a real concern, the Jays lack a real top of the rotation arm and the bullpen seems very fragile.

Breaking Down the White Sox Further

As many of the readers know, I'm a pretty big White Sox fan and with there only being about 10 days until Opening Day, I like to take a deeper look at the Sox and try to get a better feel for them heading into this season. I figured I might as well post it on here and give any other Sox fans the opportunity to see how I think this season is going to play out.

Pitching: I pointed this out the AL Central preview but the rotation for the White Sox this season could be the best in all of baseball, at the very least it will be in the top 10. The reason I'm so high on this staff is because of Jake Peavy, I really think he's going to have a huge year for the Sox, a potential Cy Young year. In the 3 starts he made for the Sox at the end of last season he was 3-0 with a 1.35 ERA. Now I'm not big on end of the year stats because you see a lot of minor leaguers playing, but this was against the Tigers twice and the Royals once and his worst start was against the Royals. He shutout the Tigers, a team fighting to make the playoffs, twice in 15 innings over 2 appearances. I also think John Danks is poised to take a huge step forward this season. He experienced circulation problems in his pitching hand but reports are that those are fixed and he'll post impressive numbers because of it I think.

From the standpoint of the bullpen, I think that too will be a strength for the Sox as long as Bobby Jenks stays healthy. I'm a firm believer in a bullpen being effective when everyone has a role and everyone knows their role. With Jenks as the closer it puts JJ Putz and Matt Thornton in the set-up roles, Tony Peña and Scott Linebrink in 6th and 7th inning roles and then Randy Williams as the left-handed specialist and Sergio Santos as the long-reliever. To have a guy with the ability of a Scott Linebrink coming into the 6th or 7th inning is a real luxury to have as long as he is throwing strikes. The bullpen might be lacking a lefty but I trust Kenny Williams to go get a left hander if he feels it is necessary. A lot of people are sour on Jenks because of his declining K rate and decrease in velocity. The only thing I think Jenks needs to do is have more confidence in his fastball and not rely so much on his curveball. Yes his velocity is down from his rookie year, but he's developed a killer curveball and that's something he can use to replace that lights out fastball to strike hitters out but he can't throw it as often as he has been in previous seasons. 

Offense: With each passing day of Spring Training, the White Sox offense is getting me more and more excited about the potential. Having a lineup where 8 of the 9 guys can all realistically hit at least 20 home runs is something that any team would like, but to have 6 of the 9 guys steal double digit bases is not something many teams can claim. Ozzie Guillen loves to run and I expect him to have his guys really aggressive on the basepaths this season, whether that's stealing bases or just going from first to third on a single or scoring from second on a single. The one major concern I have is Guillen himself. Guillen loves to tinker with his lineups and as of today he is contemplating batting Mark Kotsay in the three hole against right handed pitchers. Now I love Guillen as a manager and think he's grossly misunderstood by fans and the media, but when you have guys in a lineup like Carlos Quentin, Alex Rios, or even Gordon Beckham there is no need for Mark Kotsay to be hitting third in this lineup. This season is a major test for Guillen I think because he was given the exact roster that he has wanted since being in Chicago and Williams has largely voiced his displeasure for not having a prototypical DH. I see the merit in the argument that you want to play the hot hand offensively but to switch a lineup almost daily isn't good for the guys playing to get into a rhythm. Guillen will hopefully find a cohesive offensive unit and stick with it for the majority of the season.If this offense sputters and the team fails to make the playoffs because of it, Guillen could likely be shown the door.

Defense: Overall the team defense has been vastly improved this season. The outfield with Quentin moving to his natural right field, Rios in center and Pierre in left is much better than previous outfields with the White Sox. While Pierre has a noodle for an arm, he has such great range that I can live with his poor arm. Rios is a natural center fielder who played right field in Toronto because of Vernon Wells and Quentin came up in the Diamondbacks organization as a right fielder so he is back where he should be more comfortable. Add Andruw Jones off the bench to spell the other three outfielders and you have a pretty solid outfield defensively. In the infield we have a very defensively underrated Paul Konerko at first base, Beckham at second base should be a fairly easy transition for the former shortstop, Alexei Ramirez at shortstop provides unbelievable range and a good arm to make the deep throws. The only real question mark on the defense is Mark Teahen, but his natural position is third base so maybe he'll improve his defense with a full season at that position alone instead of being jerked all around the diamond. Much like Jones, having Omar Vizquel and Kotsay coming off the bench is a real asset to the defense when guys need a break.

Overall I have the Sox pegged at 88 wins, I think Rios bounces back in a big way, Quentin stays healthy all year and the team rides the arms of the rotation and the bullpen to the playoffs, where pitching can dominate and the Sox could very easily be a dangerous team.