Righty starting pitcher LaMar Hoyt was only with the White Sox for six years but he certainly made a mark with them. He pitched in 178 games (116 starts) in which he was 74-49 with 10 saves, a 3.92 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. But, it was in 1983 that Hoyt really dominated as he won the Cy Young Award. He pitched in 36 games (all starts) in 1983 and he was 24-10 with a 3.66 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. He also finished what he started as he threw 11 complete games that year as he was a workhorse.

33-year old righty swinging Paul Konerko will be the starting 1B once again for the White Sox. He rebounded from one of the worst years in his career (2008) last season. He played in 152 games for the White Sox last season and he was 151 for 546 (.277 avg, .842 OPS) with 75 runs scored, 28 homers and 88 RBIs. Konerko also played pretty well in the field defensively only making 4 errors in 134 games at 1B last season. Look for him to have another huge year for the White Sox in 2010.

34-year old lefty swinging Mark Kotsay will back-up Konerko at 1B in 2010. He played in 40 games for the White Sox after coming over from the Red Sox last season in a trade (for Brian Anderson). Kotsay was 33 for 113 (.292 avg, .783 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 3 homers and 18 RBIs. Kotsay didn’t make any errors in 41 games at 1B last season for the White and Red Sox last season.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 1B IN 2010: B+

33-year old lefty swinging A.J. Pierzynski just keeps rolling along for the White Sox. He played in 138 games for the White Sox last season and he was 151 for 504 (.300 avg, .756 OPS) with 57 runs scored, 13 homers and 49 RBIs. Pierzynski is a very dependable hitter for the White Sox and there is no reason to think he won’t be again in 2010. Pierzynski made 5 errors and he had 7 passed balls in 131 games behind the plate last season. He only threw out 17% of the runners trying to steal against him last season but White Sox pitchers had a 4.10 ERA with him behind the plate. Pierzynski will be a asset to the White Sox again in 2010.

33-year old righty swinging Ramon Castro will back up Pierzynski in 2010. He played in 57 games for the Mets and White Sox last season and he was 34 for 155 (.219 avg, .698 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 7 homers and 25 RBIs. Castro has big time power so he will likely help the White Sox off the bench in 2010. Castro made 5 errors in 52 games behind the plate last season but he didn’t have any passed balls which was impressive. Castro has a better arm than Pierzynski does as he threw out 25% of the runners trying to steal on him and pitchers had a 4.41 ERA throwing to him.

It’s only a matter of time until 23-year old righty swinging Tyler Flowers is the full-time catcher for the White Sox but it won’t be this season. He played in 108 games in AA+AAA-ball last season and he was 105 for 353 (.297 avg, .939 OPS) with 67 runs scored, 15 homers, 56 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Flowers also made his major league debut last season for the White Sox as he played in 10 games in which he was 3 for 16 (.188 avg, .600 OPS) with 3 runs scored but he whiffed 8 times. Flowers didn’t make any errors or have any passed balls in 6 games behind the plate for the White Sox. He was 0 for 2 throwing out base stealers and White Sox’ pitchers had a 5.67 ERA with Flowers behind the plate. In time, Flowers will be a good catcher in the majors but he won’t really get his chance until probably 2011 as the White Sox are set to go with Pierzynski and Castro in 2010.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CATCHERS IN 2010: B-

The White Sox have signed 28-year old righty starting pitcher Daniel Cabrera. He pitched in 15 games (9 starts) for the D-Backs and Nationals in which he was 0-6 with a 6.00 ERA and a 1.98 WHIP. Cabrera has now pitched in 162 games (155 starts) in his major league career and he is 48-65 with 1 save, a 5.10 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP. The White Sox should really consider converting Cabrera to the bullpen where his outstanding stuff might play better than is does when he is in the rotation. Maybe his control would improve out of the pen where he can just let the ball fly for an inning at a time. I like this signing for the White Sox.

The White Sox have designated 26-year old lefty swinging catcher Cole Armstrong for assignment to make room on the roster for Ramon Castro. Armstrong played in 69 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 62 for 246 (.252 avg, .714 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 10 homers and 32 RBIs. He has played 7 years in the minors for the Pale Hose and he is 431 for 1,683 (.256 avg, .713 OPS) with 179 runs scored, 46 homers and 233 RBIs. Losing Armstrong shouldn’t hurt the White Sox at all in 2010 and beyond.

The White Sox have re-signed 33-year old righty swinging catcher Ramon Castro to a 1-year deal worth $1 million bucks with a club option for 2011. Castro played in 31 games for the White Sox last season and he was 14 for 76 (.184 avg, .683 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 4 homers and 12 RBIs. Castro has now played in 507 games in his major league career and he is 290 for 1,243 (.233 avg, .723 OPS) with 131 runs scored, 55 homers and 186 RBIs. Castro should be a decent back-up for A.J. Pierzynski in 2010 as he has some pretty big time random power.

Ozzie Guillen is known more for his managing than his playing but he was a decent shortstop in his time. He played in 1,743 games in his career with the White Sox and he was 1,608 for 6,067 (.265 avg, .625 OPS) with 693 runs scored, 24 homers, 565 RBIs and 163 stolen bases. Guillen was the Rookie of the Year in the American League in 1985. In 1985, he played in 150 games for the White Sox in which he was 134 for 491 (.273 avg, .650 OPS) with 71 runs scored, 1 homer, 33 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. Guillen won one Gold Glove and he made the All-Star time three times with the Pale Hose. Guillen is #7 all-time in hits with the White Sox and he is tied for 10th in runs scored with Fielder Jones. Although he was a slick fielding shortstop and a pesky hitter Guillen’s biggest contribution in White Sox’ history has been as the manager of the team. He was the Manager of the Year in the American League in 2005 when he led the Chicago White Sox to the World Series where they became World Champs. He has been the manager of the Pale Hose for six years now and he is 512-461 (52.6%). It is always fun to watch Guillen erupt when things don’t go his way but he usually makes his point.

The White Sox have made some changes which will result in them having likely less power but more speed in 2010. This is the way the line-up would look if the season started next week:

C-A.J. Pierzynski
1B-Paul Konerko
2B-Gordon Beckham
SS-Alexei Ramirez
3B-Mark Teahan
LF-Juan Pierre
CF-Alex Rios
RF-Andruw Jones/Mark Kotsay
DH-Carlos Quentin

I think the White Sox would be fine to go into next season with this line-up but I have a feeling that they will go shopping for a DH. That would likely move Quentin to LF, Pierre to CF and Rios to RF. While Jim Thome would like to come back to the White Sox they might be able to get a deal on another player with spring training just a month away from starting. Vladimir Guerrero, Johnny Damon, Jack Cust, Hank Blalock, Carlos Delgado or Aubrey Huff are the players the White Sox are probably looking at right now.