When pitchers and catchers from Chicago baseball teams report to Spring Training each February, it’s a big deal around here. It means spring isn’t too far away, and we can say good-bye to cold weather and snow for a while.

We’re down the home stretch.

It’s especially exciting for White Sox fans this year with pitchers and catchers reporting to Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Ariz. Saturday, as we are getting a first look at what could shape up to be baseball’s best starting rotation. From ace to fifth starter, this squad is going to be tough.

Last year, the Sox went into Spring Training with Mark Buehrle, Gavin Floyd and John Danks returning. Danks and Floyd had one year of experience with the Sox at the time, and their arrow looked like it was pointing up. They didn’t disappoint in 2009, as both had solid seasons.

Then we had Bartolo Colon, an injured Jose Contreras and handful of minor leaguers looking to get a job.

This year, we have a new ace in Jake Peavy joining Buehrle, FLoyd and Danks. Peavy made just three starts with the Sox last season. He was recovering from an ankle injury when he was acquired at the trade deadline, and he took a line drive off his elbow in what was supposed to be his last rehab start last August, which delayed his return to the big leagues. He looked good in those three starts, and with a full offseason to prepare, Sox fans are eagerly awaiting a big season from him.

The Sox also acquired Freddy Garcia last season, who put together a nice run of nine games, considering he recovered from an injury too. When Freddy Garcia is your fifth starter, I think you’ve got a nice rotation.

Think about it. If Garcia regularly faces back of the rotation pitches, he could rack up a lot of wins this year.

And who has a better righty/lefty combination than Peavy and Buehrle in the Major Leagues?

The great thing about this rotation is that any one of these guys can step up to be a stopper, and that means few prolonged losing streaks for the 2010 White Sox.

Of course, in today’s game, you need a good bullpen to have a successful season, and the Sox should be OK in that department.

Bobby Jenks gave up a career-high nine home runs last season, and battled nagging injuries and kidney stones as well. he blew six saves, but still collected 29 of them. His 3.71 ERA was also uncharacteristic.

General Manager Kenny Williams called Jenks’ conditioning into question last November, and it looks like Jenks got the message. He was reported to be in the best shape of his career when he attended the annual SoxFest at the downtown Palmer House Hilton last month. Hopefully, he can return to form in 2010.

As insurance, the Sox picked up J.J. Putz during the offseason, and they still have Matt Thornton. With these two setup men, it should help take the load off of Jenks this year. It also gives skipper Ozzie Guillen two good options in case Jenks falters.

Their long relievers look suspect, as the hot and cold Scott Linebrink returns, along with Tony Pena, and Randy Williams. Jhonny Nunz will probably compete for a bullpen role this spring, and the Sox could consider using Daniel Hudson, although he might benefit from being a starter at AAA Charlotte next season as opposed to a long reliever in the big leagues.

Those problems should work themselves out, and I’ll bet a lot of Major League managers wish they had the same issues to face coming into Spring Training. Sox fans should expect big things from this rotation, and they had better deliver to give the Sox hope of taking the American League Central this upcoming year.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010 at 10:44 am and is filed under AL, AL-Central, All Sports, Baseball, Chicago White Sox. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.