That’s the million dollar question in Chicago as Crede had a career season.  He hit .283 with 76 runs scored, 30 homers, 94 RBIs and a .828 OPS.  He had not shown the ability to put numbers up like that in his first three full seasons for the White Sox.  So, was it a fluke or is he for real?  I just have a feeling that he will have a hard time repeating last season.  His back is still giving him problems and he really didn’t do anything to correct the situation so it could go at anytime.  He does have excellent range and he only made 10 errors last season which is great for a third baseman. 

Alex Cintron will be the most likely back up at third base but he had problems there on defense as he made 3 errors in only 63 innings.  Pablo Ozuna played 65 innings there and didn’t make an error, but he didn’t show much range at all.  Rob Mackowiak also can play third in a pinch.

24 year old Josh Fields could be the future at third base for the White Sox as he had a solid season in AAA.  He hit .305 with 85 runs scored, 19 homers, 70 RBIs, 28 steals and a .894 OPS.  He came up an played 11 games in September for the Sox and hit .150 in 20 at bats with his first major league homer.

The White Sox will still be in good shape as shortstop whether they start Juan Uribe or Alex Cintron.  Uribe is questionable because of serious legal problems in his own country.  The White Sox would rather keep shortstop the way it is with Uribe the starter and Cintron the back up.  Uribe only hit .235 with 21 homers, 71 RBIs and a .698 OPS.  The White Sox would be happy with an average Uribe year for them.  He has played three years for the White Sox and has averaged .257, 20 homers, 72 RBIs and a .750 OPS.  Uribe is a very good defensive player as he has above average range and only made 14 errors last season.

Switch hitting 28 year old Alex Cintron is the back up at shortstop for the Sox.  He hit a very solid .285 with 5 homers, 41 RBIs and a .703 OPS last season.  Cintron exhibited poor range at shortstop for the White Sox and he made 4 errors in 41 games there.  Cintron’s problems on defense were probably because he was playing all over the field.  If he has to start because of Uribe’s legal issues, he’ll be at least a league average defender.  His solid bat and versatility will make him very valuable for the White Sox this season.

32 year old Tadahito Iguchi had even a better season last year than he did as a rookie in 2005.  Iguchi hit a solid .281, scored 97 runs, had 18 homers, 67 RBIs and a .774 OPS.  Look for him to have another year just like the last one with the bat.  In the field he only made 8 errors in 136 games, but he needs to improve his range which is a tad below average.  Overall, Iguchi is a very solid player for the White Sox.

Alex Cintron will be Iguchi’s back up again this season unless he has to start at shortstop.  He’s a good hitter and a solid fielder as he only made 1 error in 26 games at second base. 

Eduardo Perez has been signed to give Paul Konerko and Jim Thome a day off when they need one.  He still has good power as he’s thumped 20 homers and driven in 61 runs in his last 347 at bats (covering two seasons).  Perez hit .275 with 9 homers, 28 RBIs and a .834 OPS against left handed pitching so that’s likely when he’ll get to play.  He also played 5 games in RF last season.

36 year old lefty swinging Jim Thome rebounded big time last season.  He missed most of the 2005 season with back and elbow problems.  A return to the American League and his health contributed to him winning the A.L. comeback player of the year.  He hit a solid .288 with an OPS of 1.014, 108 runs scored, 42 homers, 109 RBIs and 107 walks.  Look for Thome to continue slugging away as his home ballpark is a launching pad.  Also the lineup is solid both in front of Thome and behind him, so he should get plenty of good pitches to hit.

31 year old Paul Konerko is one of the best first basemen in all of baseball but he never gets the credit he deserves.  Last season he was awesome as he ripped 35 homers, drove in 113 runs and scored 97 times.  He also hit .313 with a .932 OPS which is amazing!  Over the last three seasons Konerko has been consistent and dominant.  Konerko has averaged .291, 93 runs scored, 38.7 homers and 110 RBIs the last three seasons in 155 games per season!  Chances are that he will be a dominant force for the White Sox again this season.  He also is a solid defensive first baseman as he only made 6 errors last season.

If Konerko got hurt either Darin Erstad or Jim Thome would play first.  Erstad is a real good defender at first base, but Thome should stick to swinging the bat.

The White Sox are set at catcher.  A.J. Pierzynski has been really solid for the White Sox the last two seasons.  He hit .292 with 16 homers and 64 RBIs last season.  A.J. has averaged .275 with 15 homers and 65.7 RBIs the last three seasons, so he’s been very consistent.  Pierzynski threw out only 19% of the base runners that tried to steal against him.  He only made 3 errors but he allowed 10 passed balls and that needs to improve. 

The White Sox have brought in a solid catcher to back up Pierzynski.  Toby Hall has the reputation of a solid defensive catcher and the numbers back that up.  Hall threw out 22% of the base runners that tried to steal on him, and he only made 4 errors and allowed 3 passed balls.  Hall has hit .268 over the last three seasons, but he doesn’t have a lot of power.  He could eventually work himself into a platoon role with Pierzynski to keep both of them fresh the entire season.

33 year old Wiki Gonzalez was brought in to play at AAA for the White Sox and provide insurance for them against an injury to Pierzynski or Hall.  Gonzalez hit .298 in AAA last season and .229 in 35 at bats for the Washington Nationals.  Gonzalez has a career average of .239 in the majors and he has some power, so the White Sox wouldn’t be in real bad shape if they had to use him at some point.

The White Sox won’t look much different in the field, but on the mound the White Sox have made a lot of changes.  The biggest move the White Sox made as far as a position player goes is that they brought in Darin Erstad to help out in the outfield.  He missed most of last season due to injury, but he’s proclaimed himself healthy.  Erstad has a career average of .286 and he will challenge Brian Anderson in CF.  He also might play some left field if Scott Podsednik isn’t recovered in time for the season as he had groin surgery.  Toby Hall was brought in to back up A.J. Pierzynski and possibly to platoon with him.  Hall is a very solid defensive catcher but he’s only a tad better than average as a hitter.  Most of the other players that were brought in were on minor league invites such as OF Luis Terrero, C Wiki Gonzalez, OF Kenny Kelly and second baseman Junior Spivey.

The White Sox made some puzzling moves with their pitching staff as they traded Freddie Garcia and Brandon McCarthy and brought back a bunch of young pitchers to compete for the #5 starter job.  Gavin Floyd looks like he is the front runner for the job.  That is based on experience, even though he hasn’t pitched well in the majors.  He has a career record of 7-5 with a 6.96 career ERA.  John Danks is a long shot.  He is a highly thought of young lefthander that was acquired in the Brandon McCarthy trade.  Gio Gonzalez and Nick Masset also will have a shot to win that job as they were both brought in on those trades.  David Aardsma will have a job in the bullpen for the Sox.  He was brought in from the Cubs in a straight up trade for Neil Cotts.  Aardsman throws very hard and he had a 1.65 ERA in September for the Cubs as he struck out 21 batters over his last 15 2/3 innings.  Left-hander Andrew Sisco was acquired in a trade with the Kansas City Royals.  He will likely be the second lefty in the bullpen.  He throws very hard but he had an awful season last year with a 7.10 ERA.  He had a 3.11 ERA the year before as a rookie so the White Sox will try to fix him up.