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I always thought Bobby Jenks would be a cool person to drink with. I’m not much of a drinker myself as I haven’t had a cold one in eight months but frankly if Bobby Jenks were to come to my house and say lets drink I’d be up for that.

Well now it appears Jenks has stopped drinking or has at-least toned it down to the point where he has said he’s off the stuff.

I guess it’s best for Bobby. He lost 25 pounds this winter and even though he has been one of the better closers in baseball dating back to 2005 the White Sox and their fan base grew frustrated with his performance down the stretch last year.

Jenks and the White Sox avoided arbitration this winter agreeing on a $7.5 contract for the 2010 season. The team has Matt Thornton and JJ Putz in reserve should he stumble.

Being honest here Jenks has been one of the guys I’ve pulled for in recent years so I’m glad to see he’s making an effort to take care of himself.

Of course it will be interesting to see if Jenks worked out at all this winter as well or just opted to lose the weight by not drinking.

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The Chicago White Sox have one of the biggest questions entering Spring Training. They have named Mark Buehrle as the Opening Day starter. It had been wondered by some that maybe Jake Peavy would get the nod.

The decision doesn’t mean much as being the starter on Opening Day has little merit for contract negotiation, has never won anyone a Cy Young and at times seems to be an honorarily thing but the White Sox are making the right decision here.

Buehrle has been one of the best pitchers in baseball, he threw a perfect game last year and has been the rock of the White Sox dating back to 2002. Last year he went 13-10 with a 3.84 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. Buehrle figures to again be one of the better pitchers in baseball, even though his strike out numbers aren’t friendly for fantasy owners and his win total likely will again be heavily affected by a questionable offense.

The decision also allows the White Sox to place John Danks as the number three pitcher, had Peavy been listed as the teams number one pitcher it’s likely Gavin Floyd would have been in that position.

All things considered the White Sox figure to have one of the best rotations in baseball again this season.

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Say what you want about Jim Thome. Say every-time he goes tot he plate he’ll be swinging for 600 or that he can leg any double into a single but don’t say the other options at DH are any better in Chicago.

The White Sox appeared to be ready to enter the season with some sort of platoon at DH revolving around everyday players Paul Konerko, Carlos Quentin as well as Andruw Jones and Mark Kotsay.

Of course the idea of a reunion with Jim Thome has always been there and finally it appears the two sides may be moving towards one even though the White Sox denied interest as recently as two days ago.

Thome would best be used against right handed pitching only. Last year he hit .262/.383/.498 against right handers while he hit just .209/.314/.429 against lefties.

Over the past four season Thome has played in 546 games and has posted a .265/.390/.539 line all while hitting 134 homers with 372 RBI. Never-mind he only appeared in 124 games last season, that was in large part to the lack of a position to put Thome at for a National League club. With that being said it’s obvious Thomes numbers were to take a drop last season but it’s worth noting Thome still averaged a home run ever 4.6 games while a member of the White Sox, a number that is up just a tad from his 4.3 in 2008 when he hit 34 homers.

Obviously the man can still swing it.

The knock against Thome is his lack of speed. None of the aforementioned players have any speed to speak of either.

While Konerko and Quentin figure to have everyday positions the players who would be most effected by the White Sox signing Thome are Jones and Kotsay. Kotsay originally was brought back to serve as a backup at first base, while Jones was the early choice for DH. Jones could be used to play the corner outfield spots to allow Carlos Quentin a day off or in case Juan Pierre struggles.

Mark Kotsay isn’t the type of player who you guarantee 500 at-bats to. Kotsay hasn’t had double digit steals since 2002 and has never hit more then 15 homers in a season. Andruw Jones may have been a nice first half story last year and while he did hit 17 homers he finished with a dismal .214/.323/.459 line which hardly screams reason to get at-bats until he proves otherwise. Any scenario that would garner Omar Vizquel at-bats will ultimately weaken the offense and unless the organization changes it’s opinion of Tyler Flowers that wouldn’t figure to be a bunch of offense coming from the DH spot.

Simply put Thome’s numbers from last season far exceeded the current options on the White Sox for DH. It’s time a deal gets done just don’t let him play against lefties and there will be no problems.

The White Sox have tried to compare their plans for the DH role to those of the Los Angeles Angels. The problem is the Angels have 10 players who can produce, the White Sox do not. All of those players would be in the Angels lineup at some position on any given day. The White Sox would use the DH to give days off from the field and in turn put in a weaker player who normally would be used in a bench role.

Say what you want but the talent level is not the same between the two teams. No matter how you say it or try to write it down the White Sox gather no additional team speed no matter who they put in the DH role so they might as well go with the guy who can hit the ball best and against right handers that means signing Jim Thome is a no-brainer.

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The Chicago White Sox continued to add relievers to their roster as they claimed right hander Freddy Dolsi formerly of the Detroit Tigers.

Dolsi had been placed on waivers by the Tigers in order to clear up roster space following the blockbuster trade that sent Curtis Granderson to the Yankees. He put up a 1.69 ERA in 10 2/3 innings with Detroit this season and in 47.2 innings in 2008 had a 3.97 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP.

The 26 year old from the Dominican Republic had compiled a 3.54 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP in 226.1 innings over six seasons in the Tigers minor league system.

Dolsi isn’t much of an option for the White Sox in the late innings at this point but with Bobby Jenks trade rumors still in the air and a group of lackluster relievers vying for the remaining spots in the White Sox pen he figures to have a pretty fair shot of making the club this spring. At worst he’s someone the White Sox can stash at Triple-A and call up later in the season.

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I have to admit the first I heard of Andruw Jones going to the White Sox happened today when I opened my email box and found out the club had signed him to a contract worth $500,000.

I have to admit the first thing I did was laugh when I read it. Jones started hot with Texas last season but by the end of the year had faded his average was horrible and well honestly had he pulled his groin and missed the whole second half the public opinion of him would be higher.

Jones signed with the Rangers last season and earned a spot on the clubs opening day roster. After a hot start he cooled off as the season went on and by the time the second half rolled around was pretty much useless to the Rangers.

In the first half of the season Jones compiled a .231/.332/.538 line, in the second half those numbers were down to .185/.310/.333. Of the 17 homers he hit last season, 14 came in the first half as did 34 of his 43 RBI’s.

In total Jones had 281 at-bats last season and should he produce like he did in the second half of last season the White Sox will undoubtedly hope that total is lower in 2010. General Manager Kenny Williams has started that Jones is being looked at as a right handed power hitter off the bench and that the club is still exploring other options in the outfield. I suppose that statement didn’t exactly need to be made as well, had Williams said he was signing Andruw Jones to DH or play right field we’d of laughed him out of town.

Jones has 388 career homers, and very possibly could have 400 by sometime summer should he prove productive. Even with those career totals, Jones is no longer the threat he once was at the plate or in the field where he has won 10 gold gloves in his career.

At one point I wondered if Andruw was going to be a hall of famer. Perhaps that was in part because I am a Braves fan but he did have the stats to support my argument. Then midway though the 2006 season things started to go south and well they haven’t picked up too much.

Last Mother’s Day we happened to be in Chicago and stopped by to see the White Sox and Rangers play. Of course before the game we went down by the dugout and well Andruw came by to sign a few autographs. I didn’t particularly care to get his autograph as I had it on a card before but couldn’t resist to ask him if I could get a picture with my son. He obliged and I’ll post that photo once I find it later.

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On the surface signing Omar Vizquel on the heels of a season in which he hit just .266/.316/.345 in 177 at-bats while a member of the Texas Rangers may seem like a procedural move to round out the bench. However, this is the Chicago White Sox and while Vizquel will be behind Mark Teahen at third, Alexei Ramirez at short and Gordon Beckham at second he figures more often then not to be used as a defensive replacement considering Omar Vizquel at 42 years of age is a better defensive player then all three.

Last season the White Sox were 28th in baseball in fielding percentage only above Arizona and Washington. Only Washington, Arizona and Kansas City committed more errors on the year.

While moving around the infield for the Rangers, Omar appeared at three different positions last season and in 207 total chances committed 0 errors.

On the other hand Alexei Ramirez committed 20 errors at short in 650 chances and was right around average when it comes to range. Teahen had 11 errors in 248 chances at third base for Kasans City last season to finish below the league average for fielding percentage, he’s also a below average fielder in terms of range over the last three seasons. Gordon Beckham who played third last season made 14 errors and finished with a league average .957 fielding percentage. Beckham however did have a higher range factor then most third basemen but it’s unsure  how yet another position change will effect him.

Vizquel still has the tools on defense and manager Ozzie Guillen shouldn’t have any qualms about making late substitutions that bring Vizquel into games.

In a way it’s almost comical that Vizquel doesn’t still have a starting gig. Mind you only 7 times in his 21 year career has he posted an OPS above .700 and five of them came between 1996-2000. A career .273 hitter with a .338 on base percentage and a .355 slugging percentage Vizquel became a star in the majors with the glove and when you compare him to the guys playing today, he’s still a better bet with the glove then almost all of them.

Vizquel alone doesn’t fix the defense in an instant but he does when he’s on the field.

Popularity: 9% [?]

Last season prior to the trade deadline the Chicago White Sox traded away DH Jim Thome. While the trade didn’t exactly make headlines like it would have five years ago, it signaled them waiving a white flag in the divisional race.

At 39 years of age Thome is running out of time to win a ring. With the rotation the White Sox have built up and a decent overall offense they offer as good of a chance as any team does of making the World Series next season. Mind you that means any team that plays outside of Boston or New York.

Prior to last season Thome stated he planned to play two more seasons, which at the time was puzzling because Thome had one year left on his deal he originally signed with Philadelphia. I wondered what type of market there would be for an aging DH who can’t play a position. Well that market seems to be as ripe as any though Thome is limited to the teams in the American League for those same reasons. There’s no shortage of teams that look better when you put the name Jim Thome next to the letters DH and in Chicago it may be even better looking for the team and the player.

Following the 2002 season Thome left the Cleveland Indians for the Philadelphia Philles who offered Thome a large contract as they were moving into a new ballpark.  Thome hit 47 homers in his first season with the Phillies to tie for the NL lead and then 42 the next. Injuries struck and coupled with the growth of Ryan Howard it was time for Thome to move on. He was traded to the White Sox and over the next four seasons fortified a lineup that already had big power ability.

Over the past four season Thome has played in 546 games and has posted a .265/.390/.539 line all while hitting 134 homers with 372 RBI. Never-mind he only appeared in 124 games last season, that was in large part to the lack of a position to put Thome at for a National League club. With that being said it’s obvious Thomes numbers were to take a drop last season but it’s worth noting Thome still averaged a home run ever 4.6 games while a member of the White Sox, a number that is up just a tad from his 4.3 in 2008 when he hit 34 homers.

Obviously the man can still swing it.

Does that mean there’s a spot for him on the White Sox? Following his trade last season the White Sox played Scott Podsednik in the DH role the majority of the time. Looking over at the White Sox roster you have to feel that the team is comfortable moving Carlos Quentin back to left field for 2010 and while it’s unclear what the team will do with center and right Alex Rios figures to occupy one of them while the resigned Mark Kotsay figure to act as a fourth outfielder/defensive sub at first base behind Paul Konerko.

You can quickly look at the rest of the team and see there’s nobody who really could provide the production at DH that Jim Thome could. Mark Kotsay isn’t Jim Thome, playing Quentin at DH only cries for another outfielder to be signed, and while I’m as high on Tyler Flowers he’s going to need a bit more seasoning before he puts up those minor league numbers at the major league level.

When Thome hit his 500th career home run it was with the White Sox, he passed Ernie Banks not too long later and while he’s 36 short of 600 there’s still some excitement that he could reach that number this season as he had hit 42, 35, 34 in his last three full seasons with the White Sox and last season was on pace for another 30-plus campaign.

You’d also be hard pressed to find many in Chicago who wouldn’t welcome Jim Thome back. He’s humble and productive and is a great presence in the community and the dugout. He’s also still searching for that ring.

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