It's finally here. Well, kind of.
White Sox pitchers and catchers officially report to Spring Training in Glendale, Ariz., Thursday, and an offseason that seemed to last three lifetimes officially comes to a close.
Read MoreWELL, WELL, WELL.
So a full-month of goofy-time exhibition ball has not proven Micah Johnson to be verifiable whole wins better than Carlos Sanchez, and 40-man roster space has become a concern. Wonder if a self-aggrandizing blogger predicted such chaos. He'd be a billionaire about now...
Read MoreCome award season in November, there is a pretty reasonable chance Chicago will sweep the MLB Rookie Of The Year awards, with mega prospects Kris Bryant, Carlos Rodon, and Jorge Soler all having legitimate chances to produce at the highest level in 2015.
Read MoreWriter's blocked by a normal and uneventful Spring Training, Matt Adams and James Fegan played the two-man game for a short podcast to get you ready for the weekend.
Read MoreAt this point, following the machinations of public discussion of Gordon Beckham is like finishing the final seasons of Dexter. It's long since stopped being a compelling pursuit for answers, or even a foolishly idealist search for a long-term solution of what's clearly a fatal flaw. To be honest, it's just a disjointed mess at this point and has contradicted its own constructs numerous times.
Read MoreDiscussion topics for early March baseball podcasts can be rather open for interpretation. In this case, a conversation between Nick Schaefer, Ethan Spalding and James Fegan quickly became a rambling affair about all things baseball. Such as:
--Marcus Stroman's injury and the Sox chances at a Wild Card spot.
--Expectations for Micah Johnson and Tim Anderson
--Strikeout-heavy prospects being doomed
--James is not aware of any offseason transactions
--Ranting about projection systems
--So much more!
Read MoreI'm typing these words on Feb. 25. If my math is correct, there are 40 days until the White Sox play a game that counts in the regular season standings.
Read MoreThe trip begins...
Read MoreWhite Sox position players are not contractually required to be in Glendale until next week, and the pitchers aren't required to be in until Friday. And yet, at least a third of the players invited to camp were reported to have already arrived by Monday. Dan Hayes even reported that Adam Eaton and Jeff Samardzija were ahead of the game and live in Arizona and have been in and out of team facilities for the last few months. Actually living in that state; now that's true sacrifice, something that layabouts like Jose Abreu--showing up less than three weeks early--can only dream about.
Read MoreEvery spring I make my way down to Phoenix to kick back and enhance my anticipation of the upcoming baseball season by following the White Sox around the valley for a week. It tends to be my most enjoyable week of the year, as I shed all responsibilities and immerse myself completely in baseball. It’s that simple. I’m no scout, the things I notice may have merit, but likely less often than a trained and paid individual. There are things to notice, though, and during a time of year where stats mean very little there are advantages to getting an up close look at the action.
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