Recently White Sox’ GM Kenny Williams said that he wasn’t looking for starting pitching. The problem is that his nose was growing. Williams is a poker playing GM, who likes to make the big move. He is likely chasing Zack Greinke, Josh Johnson and James Shields as I am writing this. I also think he could be on the hunt for another righty reliever, even after picking up Brett Myers. Kameron Loe and Jose Veras of the Brewers could be White Sox’ targets. I don’t see the Pale Hose standing pat as I think they will add a starting pitcher and a righty reliever before the trade deadline on July 31st.

The Chicago White Sox are 38-35 on the season, which has them in 1st place in the A.L. Central, 1/2 a game ahead of the Indians and 2 games ahead of the Tigers. The White Sox already made a big move in acquiring Kevin Youkilis earlier this week. They need to make a small move for a starting pitcher, who could also pitch in long relief later in the year when John Danks comes back off the D.L. They could also use a backup outfielder, who can handle more than one position. I know that the White Sox and Cubs don’t like dealing with each other, but it makes sense this time around. Outfielder Reed Johnson and righty starter/reliever Randy Wells can likely be had without giving up A or even B type prospects. The White Sox should try to make a deal like that happen.

The two best trade chips the White Sox have on the roster right now are veteran lefty relievers Matt Thornton and Will Ohman. If I were running the show in Chicago, I would deal Thornton to the Baltimore Orioles for young righty starter Chris Tillman and lefty reliever/starter Dana Eveland. I would then ship Will Ohman out to the Los Angeles Angles for 3B Alberto Callaspo. I would then sent Brent Morel to AAA ball, where he belongs and start Callaspo at the hot corner. I think adding Callaspo would help the White Sox now and adding Tillman would help them in the very near future as he has a nice upside.

The Chicago White Sox won’t be spending a lot in free agency, but they could add these three guys who would add to the team in smaller roles in 2012:

1. Wilson Betemit - The White Sox could use a player like Betemit to share time at 3B with Brent Morel, as he isn’t quite ready for prime time quite yet.

2. Aaron Rowand - Aaron Rowand would come cheap and it never hurts to have a guy who plays as hard as he does. Plus, he could push Alex Rios in CF.

3. Micah Owings - The White Sox could use a long reliever to work multiple innings. Owings would be a good fit in that role in 2012.

The Chicago White Sox have six starting pitchers and three good lefty relievers, so they have the ammo to make a big trade. They pretty much match up perfect with the St. Louis Cardinals who are interested in righty starting pitcher Edwin Jackson and lefty reliever Matt Thornton. The White Sox have an interest in CF Colby Rasmus and 3B/OF Allen Craig. There is a deal to be made there as CF Alex Rios and 3B Brent Morel have both been awful with the bat so far this year. The White Sox could also throw in Mark Teahan in the deal or they could move him to another team. I think the White Sox are going to be adding and subtracting from the major league roster this week and I think it will help the team as they appear stuck in a rut.

The White Sox would like to make a couple of deals this month with their best assets being righty starting pitcher Edwin Jackson and lefty reliever Will Ohman. In a perfect world, the White Sox would deal Edwin Jackson to the Cubs for Aramis Ramirez, but I don’t think the Cubs would agree to help out the Pale Hose. A deal I think could be made though is the White Sox trading lefty reliever Will Ohman to the Diamondbacks for righty reliever Juan Gutierrez. I think that would be a deal that would help both teams. I never really know what White Sox’ GM Kenny Williams is up to, so nothing should surprise anyone if he makes a big deal this month to help his team.

When Jake Peavy gets back to good health, the White Sox are going to have six starting pitchers again. I see them trying to move Edwin Jackson and they should find a lot of interest in his services. The Yankees and Red Sox are in need of starting pitching but I don’t think they can offer the White Sox help at the major league level which is what the White Sox are going to want in return for Jackson. I think the White Sox should go in a different direction though. I like the idea of dealing Jackson to either the Mets straight up for Carlos Beltran or dealing him to the Royals for Melky Cabrera and Mike Aviles. Then I would flip Juan Pierre to the Nationals for righty reliever Todd Coffey and lefty reliever Sean Burnett. If the White Sox made these deals, they would be a much better team going down the stretch.

The White Sox are going to have some hard decisions to make this winter. This is how I would go about these decisions if I were the GM of the White Sox:

Paul Konerko: 34-year old righty swinging 1B Paul Konerko played in 149 games for the Pale Hose last season and he was 171 of 548 (.312 avg, .977 OPS) with 89 runs scored, 39 homers and 111 RBIs. Konerko is going to be one of the most sought after free agnets on the open market. VERDICT: I would definitely try to re-sign Konerko because he has been excellent in his career for the White Sox. The 1B market is flooded with good options if I would miss on Konerko.

Mark Kotsay: 34-year old lefty swinging OF/1B/DH Mark Kotsay turned in a decent year as a backup. Kotsay played in 107 games for the White Sox last season and he was 78 of 327 (.239 avg, .683 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 8 homers and 31 RBIs. VERDICT: I would only bring back Kotsay on a deal with a low base salary plus incentives.

Omar Vizquel: 43-year old switch hitting infielder Omar Vizquel actually bumped Mark Teahan out of his starting job at 3B last season. He played in 108 games for the White Sox last season and he was 95 of 344 (.276 avg, .673 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 2 homers, 30 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. VERDICT: I would offer Vizquel about $1 million bucks to return as a utility man but he might actually find a better deal than that on the open market.

Ramon Castro: 34-year old righty swinging catcher Ramon Castro played in 37 games for the White Sox last year and he was 32 of 115 (.278 avg, .832 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 8 homers and 21 RBIs. The White Sox have an option for 2011 on Castro. VERDICT: I would pick up Castro’s option as he’s a pretty decent back up catcher.

A.J. Pierzynski: 33-year old lefty swinging catcher A.J. Pierzynski played in 128 games for the White Sox last season and he was 128 of 474 (.270 avg, .688 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 9 homers, 56 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. VERDICT: Pierzynski’s bat is starting to go and he has never been a good defensive catcher. I would let him go.

Andruw Jones: 33-year old righty swinging OF/DH Andruw Jones still has a ton of power but that’s about all he brings to the party. Jones played in 107 games for the White Sox last season and he was 64 of 278 (.230 avg, .827 OPS) with 41 runs scored, 19 homers, 48 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. VERDICT: I would let him go.

Manny Ramirez: 38-year old righty swinging OF/DH Manny Ramirez played in 24 games for the White Sox last season and he was 18 of 69 (.261 avg, .739 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer and 2 RBIs. Ramirez played in 90 games overall last season for the White Sox & Dodgers and he was 79 for 265 (.298 avg, .870 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 9 homers and 42 RBIs. VERDICT: He’s gone.

Freddy Garcia: 35-year old righty Freddy Garcia had a solid year for the White Sox in 2010 as he started 28 games in which he was 12-6 with a 4.64 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. VERDICT: I would let Garcia walk because the White Sox have a loaded rotation already. I would consider signing Garcia back if Jake Peavy has problems in his rehab.

J.J. Putz: 33-year old J.J. Putz pitched in 60 games (0 starts) for the White Sox last season and he was 7-5 with 3 saves, a 2.83 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. Putz only allowed 41 hits in 54 innings last season while whiffing 65 batters as he looks like he’s back to top form. VERDICT: I would re-sign Putz with the promise that he could compete in spring training for the closer’s job.

Matt Thornton: 34-year old lefty reliever Matt Thornton pitched in 61 games for the Pale Hose last season and he was 5-4 with 8 saves, a 2.67 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. He gave up only 40 hits in 60 2/3 innings while whiffing 81 batters last season. Thornton is probably the nastiest lefty reliever in all of baseball right now. The White Sox have a $3 million dollar option on Thornton for 2011 with a $250,000 buyout. VERDICT: I would have already picked up Thornton’s option.

I think a lot like White Sox’ GM Kenny Williams. I also love the line from the AC/DC song “Have a Drink On Me” when singer Brian Johnson howls “Don’t worry about tomorrow, take it today!” With that in mind I would start pushing chips to the middle of the table. The White Sox need a big bat so with that in mind I would trade 3B/1B Dayan Viciedo, righty starting pitcher Carlos Torres and outfielder Jose Martinez to the Brewers for Corey Hart. Hart would then become the full time RF for the White Sox opening up DH for Carlos Quentin. I wouldn’t stop there though as I would call up the Orioles and offer them outfielders Jordan Danks and John Shelby & righty starting pitcher Jeff Marquez to them for righty starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie. He has been very effective this season despite his numbers and getting out of Baltimore would help his confidence. I would then set my sites on lefty reliever Scott Downs of the Blue Jays. Starting pitcher Jhonny Nunez and OF/1B Christian Marrero would likely be enough to seal the deal. If the White Sox could add Corey Hart, Jeremy Guthrie and Scott Downs to the team they would be incredibly hard to beat.

The White Sox are 43-38 on the season which has them in 3rd place in the A.L. Central, 1 game behind the Tigers. The White Sox have a glaring hole at DH and GM Kenny Williams will leave no stone unturned in his pursuit of one. He has already made offers to the Nationals for Adam Dunn but they don’t seem too interested in moving him. I think the White Sox are going to aim big as they always do. I think the will be watching the Brewers really closely as Prince Fielder would be a very nice fit for the Pale Hose. I see Jose Bautista, Luke Scott, Jorge Cantu, Corey Hart, Lance Berkman and Adam LaRoche being on Williams’ short list. The expanded list would likely include guys like Lyle Overbay, Ty Wigginton, Cody Ross, Dan Uggla and Derek Lee. Make no mistake the White Sox will have another big bat by July 31st even if Kenny Williams has to overpay to get one.