Sox want to rebound in 2010

Carlos Quentin wasn't the same player in 2009 as he was in 2008, and the White Sox weren't the same team without his production. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

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CHICAGO – Halfway through this season, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen had a chance to tell his boss that his players were not good enough to win the division.

Guillen had admitted as much in 2007, and general manager Ken Williams responded by sitting out at the trade deadline. But this summer, Guillen vowed that his team could win, and Williams acquired a pair of All-Stars to put the Sox over the top.

Instead, the Sox wound up falling over the edge.

“If you look at the team and say this is a .500 team, you have to be wrong,” Guillen said in mid-August. “Look at those guys we’ve got on the field. Look at the guys we have on the bench. … Do we have the right people on the field to do it? There’s no doubt. But it’s up to the players to go out there and perform.”

Clearly, they did not.

Guillen’s club lost eight out of 10 games during a late-August road trip to Boston, New York and Minnesota, and the team never recovered. The Sox finished 79-83 to post only their second losing record in the past 10 years.

Fortunately, Sox fans should have much to look forward to in 2010.

Starting pitching

By the time Jake Peavy made his Sox debut, the team’s playoff hopes were all but finished. Consider his dominant stint as a preview for 2010. He went 3-0 with a 1.35 ERA in three starts, and he will vie for an Opening Day start along with Mark Buehrle.

Projected: Peavy, Buehrle, Gavin Floyd, John Danks, Freddy Garcia

Relief pitching

Sox closer Bobby Jenks is not a free agent until 2011, but some have questioned whether Williams should cash in on his high trade value. If that happened, hard-throwing left-hander Matt Thornton could assume the team’s closer role. Either way, free agent Octavio Dotel is likely to leave after two up-and-down seasons on the South Side.

Projected: Jenks, Thornton, Scott Linebrink, Tony Pena, D.J. Carrasco, RHP, LHP

Infield

Don’t expect many changes in 2010. A.J. Pierzynski, Paul Konerko, Chris Getz, Alexei Ramirez and Gordon Beckham all figure to be back next season, with Pierzynski and Konerko entering the final year of their contracts. Tyler Flowers likely will back up Pierzynski as his eventual successor, and Jayson Nix impressed coaches as a super-sub. If the Sox do not pursue a designated hitter, Cuban prospect Dayan Viciedo might have a chance.

Projected: Pierzynski, Konerko, Getz, Ramirez, Beckham, Flowers, Nix, Viciedo

Outfield

This is the team’s biggest question mark. All signs point toward the departure of Jermaine Dye, who has hit 164 home runs in five seasons with the Sox. Scott Podsednik is also a free agent after finding a second life on the South Side. Does Williams keep Carlos Quentin in left field, Alex Rios in right field, and re-sign Podsednik? Does he pursue another free-agent center fielder? Or move Rios to center and find someone to play right? Reserve outfielder Mark Kotsay also is a free agent, but the team might try to bring him back as a role player.

Projected: Quentin, free agent CF, Rios, Kotsay (free agent)

Overall

Guillen never has posted two consecutive losing seasons as the Sox’s manager. He cannot afford to end that streak in 2010. The Sox should boast one of the best starting rotations in the American League, although questions remain about whether they can land an impact bat if Dye departs. The health and effectiveness of Quentin and Rios in the middle of the lineup could prove pivotal. Williams will have to be creative with a limited budget.