Since the events of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, scorpions have been derided as a national menace. Now, they serve as the initial test for a White Sox team eager to prove themselves as contenders. If they survive the Spring with a casualty rate under 30%, they're playoff-bound. That's how it works, and we're already seeing how weaker organizations are being felled.
Read MoreSpring Training is finally here. What this means is we can all get excited about the sight of actual major league baseball players on an actual baseball field, and then cry over the realization that we're still six weeks away from meaningful games being played.
Still, the season of optimism is upon us, so let's take a look at some of the important things to monitor during the White Sox's time in Arizona.
Read MoreSometime during the Viciedo retrospective, the staff of The Catbird Seat got somewhat distracted and started gabbing about Gordon Beckham returning on a one-year, $2 million deal.
Read MoreSo, this happened Wednesday:
Read MoreCompetent shortstops are always rare and in demand, but are they especially in short supply so as to inspire a bidding frenzy for an (All-Star) 33-year-old shortstop with a year left at $10 million and a club option?
Well, what are the free agent options if J.J. Hardy is gone? There are recognizable names, but they may not be good anymore.
Read MoreIt's a tremendous testament to what phenomenal teases Dayan Viciedo and Gordon Beckham are that they have both have had streaks this season that led to wide speculation that they had made real improvements to their game, and now, streaks that have led to wider speculation that they have exhausted all reasonable hope of developing into worthwhile players.
Read MoreThe All Star Break poses a convenient stopping point in the season to evaluate the state of the organization. The White Sox have been a respectable squad this year - certainly compared to last year - but it's pretty clear that the 2015 edition has a better chance at the playoffs than the 2014 one. In the interest of optimism, this post is a chance to look at some of the success stories from the first half in the minor leagues - including the guys who might help that hopeful 2015 playoff push.
Read MoreThe White Sox entered this season with more outfielders than they could really hope to spread work to. With Avisail Garcia and Adam Eaton installed as franchise fixtures, and Dayan Viciedo in an unwieldy arrangement where two imperfect starters would serve as overqualified platoon. The plan hardly left time for Quad-A side projects like Leury Garcia, or, gulp, Jordan Danks.
Read MoreWith Micah Johnson getting promoted the Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday, it gives us a chance to take another look at one of the more interesting prospects in the White Sox's farm system right now.
Read MoreIt's been a few weeks, so I thought it would be good to check in on some of the notable minor league performances in the White Sox system thus far in 2014 -- notable for good, or for ill.
Good News:
By far the biggest disappointment of 2013 at the minor league level was Courtney Hawkins being completely overwhelmed by High A. Well, he's getting a second crack at it and he's doing a good job of just making us shrug our shoulders at 2013 and move forward.
Read MoreThe Catbird Seat is a White Sox blog by White Sox fans that focuses on intelligent and humorous baseball commentary. Brought to you by ESPN's SweetSpot Network.
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