The Dartboard Factor is how many wins a team would be expected to have at the end of the season if it played a neutral schedule (more inside).

[The Hardball Times]:

#2 Chicago White Sox (Dartboard Factor = 109, [Last Week:] 100): Their pitching staff has been astounding outside of Mark Buehrle. Overall, they boast a 128 ERA+ and while their strikeout to walk ratio is worthy, they're not going to be able to hold opposing batters to just a homerun every 25 flyballs.

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Kenny doesn't want any Garlands:

Williams hasn't heard any complaints from players about the energy Swisher brings to the clubhouse every day, but just in case he ever does, he offered a warning.

''It's a grinder-type attitude, energetic attitude, confident-type attitude, and if it grinds on some people, then I need to know who those people are so we can move them on,'' Williams said. ''We want hard-nosed. We want Nick Swisher times 25.''

and Coop on Danks:

"The big difference? Strikes,'' pitching coach Don Cooper said. "The amount of strikes, quality strikes. He didn't command nearly as well and wasn't nearly as efficient. He's got to stand taller and stay on his pitches longer. It was a disappointing outing. We expect more and he does, too.''

[Phil Rogers]:

In what likely will be the last bit of business before Opening Day, the Sox picked Nick Masset for the one vacancy on the pitching staff. Guillen said Ehren Wasserman had out-pitched Masset but will start at Triple-A Charlotte because he has minor-league options left.

Guillen said that the Sox were afraid Masset, who is out of options, would be claimed on waivers if he was sent to Charlotte.

"We're looking at what's best for 162 games, not 30 games," he said.

Joe Crede, who is bothered by a bruised left ankle, played four innings in the field on Saturday and is expected to be available on Monday.

Guillen listed the following lineup for the game against Indians' lefty C.C. Sabathia: left fielder Nick Swisher, shortstop Orlando Cabrera, designated hitter Jim Thome, first baseman Paul Konerko, right fielder Jermaine Dye, catcher A.J. Pierzynski, center fielder Ramirez, third baseman Crede and shortstop second baseman Juan Uribe.

in other news, Alexei Ramirez will be the Sox everyday centerfielder:

The White Sox hope Ramirez carries over his strong spring effort into the start of the 2008 campaign and beyond. He won't just start against pitchers who rely on their fastballs such as Sabathia, he's the everyday center fielder over Brian Anderson and Carlos Quentin.

That job could belong to Ramirez, even when Owens returns, although Guillen is not one to take away a position because of injury.

"This year, the players always have somebody behind them to perform," said Guillen, who added Owens played well during Spring Training, even with his groin injury. "If you don't perform, we have somebody else to do it.

"But [Ramirez] earned the job. We didn't hand it to him -- he earned it. The Cuban Missile got it. I think this kid has a great chance to be special. I think he did everything he was supposed to do to be on the ballclub and in the lineup. This kid has cold blood."

and Ozzie can't overcome his love for Profundo!

Guillen originally had talked about using Pablo Ozuna and his .300 career average at second base and in the leadoff slot against C.C. Sabathia, but decided to go with Juan Uribe at second. The one-time White Sox shortstop will hit ninth, with Nick Swisher moving to left field and assuming the leadoff role until the small tear in Jerry Owens' sore right groin heals.

Missing Owens for the start of the season changes the dynamic of the White Sox attack, with the speed guy missing from the top. But Swisher's career .361 on-base percentage might be exactly what Guillen is searching for to spark the offense.

"What are we going to do with a speed guy if he's never on base? You can't steal first," Guillen said. "We have a great second hitter, we are going to hit and run a lot. We'll put the runners in motion."

I just got an email in my inbox saying we could be off-line for the move by as early as 11PM Chicago time, so I'm quickly throwing this post up here as a placeholder. I'll add to it for as long as I can.

I'm never around in the morning, and Monday will be no different. So the introductory post by Trei, our lead programmer (or something like that) should be on the right sidebar in the area you currently know as Diaries. Please make sure to read it, as it will make your transition much smoother.

I probably won't have the time to do it before 1.0 disappears, but I'll make a post sometime today (Monday) that helps demonstrate some of the new features that aren't yet apparent.

It now occurs to me that even this post might now make the trip. D'oh!

I encourage you all to use the next week before the season starts as a sort of Spring Training for our new platform. Test out the FanPosts and FanShots. Don't be afraid to make a mistake. It's spring training for us too!

In as quick as I can type White Sox news, Mark Gonzales offers some insights into the final roster. Gonzo seems convinced that Wasserman will make the club, which he's rightfully earned in major and minor league performance plus a solid spring, including a nice 1.2 innings on Sunday, but I'll believe it when I see it. I just think they are going to give Masset every opportunity to sink himself. And since MacDougal has an option remaining, and continues to walk guys, MMac might be the one who ends up in Charlotte. But that's just my gut talking, so it could be some bad Easter ham.

Ozzie seems non-committal on Brian Anderson making the club, which I can understand. I haven't seen anything new from Anderson this spring. The gut says he makes it, with the Sox unable to trade him for value. In that scenario, Josh Fields and Carlos Quentin end up in Charlotte (along with possibly Wasserman) because Kenny Williams was unable to properly guage the (trade) value of his own players versus his own view of their talent/worth.

 

 

Wednesday, Juan Uribe was placed on waivers (of some kind). Thursday, he was apparently pulled back, or he wasn't. We don't really know, since the Sox can't comment. There could be trade talks happening as you read this, or they could have fallen apart already. Uribe was in the lineup Thursday, collecting the Sox first hit of the game. Though his longer-term future with the Sox is in question. Said Guillen, "get back to me tomorrow."

Wednesday, Danny Richar was supposed to play his 5th game of the spring at second base. He was a late scratch, and went in for an MRI instead. Thursday came news that MRI showed a stress fracture in Richar's rib stemming (and I'm assuming here) from a car accident he had in the off-season. He will be out 4-6 weeks and will be placed on the DL sometime before the season starts.

Wednesday, Alexei Ramirez' got his second straight start in center field. By Thursday, Ozzie Guillen has seen enough to practically guarantee he is coming north with the club in one role or another.

I'm going to take Ozzie's advice, and won't bother speculating on the situation until after the weekend wraps up. We hope so.

It appears that the White Sox have placed Juan Uribe on some form of waivers (Updated language to satisfy Larry), though we shouldn't expect any confirmation of such until he has been claimed or passed through them completely, as they are supposed to be confidential. By rule, the White Sox are not allowed to comment on the situation. So, we can't be sure what Uribe's status is, leaving us to do what we do best; speculate.

First, lets answer what being placed on waivers means for the Uribe situation. Mark Gonzalez and Joe Cowley both cite a 72-hour period during which teams can place a claim on Uribe, allowing them to pick up Uribe and his entire salary. Other resources list a 48 hour window, but note that Saturday and Sunday don't count. So, combining those two, Uribe could be in limbo until Monday.

In the probable event that no team places a claim on Uribe, he becomes a free agent and the White Sox are still on the hook for his $4.5MM salary. The only way the Sox avoid having to pay him is if an angel of a team -- I'm looking your direction Baltimore -- comes along and places a claim, picking up the full $4.5MM in the process.

How did we get here?

When the Sox signed Uribe to his current 1-year deal in lieu of picking up his $5MM option, I called it "the best of a myraid of poor solutions" available on the free-agent market. I had no idea at the time that David Eckstein would only require a 1-year deal, or that Adam Everett could be had for $2.5MM. I went on to call the deal "far from an optimal situation, [which] gives the Sox freedom to continue to look for trades and doesn't lock them into a poor long-term situation."

Ten days later, the Sox completed the Garland for Cabrera trade, effectively making Uribe an overpriced backup. And a month after that they signed the lightly-pursued Cuban defector Alexei Ramirez, whose hot spring might have given Uribe the final push out the door.

Ramirez was in the lineup in center field for the second time this spring, and had an impressive day at the plate. He walked twice, upping his spring total to 3, and hit a leafoff homerun off Ubaldo Jimenez after an extended at bat. It was a little bit rougher outing for Ramirez in the field, as he missed the cutoff man twice and nearly missed on another occasion. He was 50/50 on difficult to field balls in the gap, once taking a nice route to make a routine play look exactly that, but later faltering on a long run to a ball at the wall ultimately having the ball glance off his backhand attempt.

Just yesterday, Joe Cowley wrote of two contentious morning meetings. One can only assume there was a third this morning before Uribe was placed on waivers. It's just another case, like the Hunter-to-Rowand-to-Swisher situation before it, in which it looks like the White Sox front office has no concrete plan on how to build a team.

We applaud Kenny Williams for his ability to admit he made a mistake in signing Uribe by placing him on waivers before the season even begins. But we'd be a lot happier if he would just make the right decision in his first attempt next time.

Who's on second?

So now that Uribe, the previous leader in the competition for second base, is on the outs, who plays second? These are the options as I see them.

• Alexei Ramirez -- The aforementioned Cuban has impressed with his bat this spring, but second is supposedly his "rawest" of positions.
• Danny Richar -- He arrived late to camp with visa issues, and when he did show up complained of a injured back. He was a late scratch from Wednesday's game, and had a MRI to inspect the back injury.
• Pablo Ozuna -- The Secret Weapon has exceeded my dubiously low expectations for him this spring. I expected him to be complete waste of space following his return from a broken leg last season, but he's appeared healthy from the very start of spring. I did note that he was unable to beat out a ball in the hole in Monday's game, which could signal that the loss of speed I had feared has arrived.
• Trade -- There have been some unsubstantiated rumors of Brian Roberts (purely because the Cubs want him) and Mark Ellis (because Oakland is selling off anyone over age 26), but I can't see the Sox making a major trade between now and Opening Day that doesn't include Joe Crede.

I'd give Ramirez the inside track to be the opening day starter, with Richar probably headed to Charlotte or the DL. Ozuna has served as a passable backup for the last 3 seasons, but shouldn't be considered for a starting role.

The Tribune's headline says it all.

Meanwhile, Joe Cowley basically confirms what we speculated yesterday.

Alexei Ramirez made his center field debut on Monday, which seems to indicate that the Sox are considering keeping him on the big league roster in a super-utility role. According to Ken Rosenthal, Kenny Williams "has asked the White Sox's coaches to draw up plans detailing how many at-bats Ramirez would get in different scenarios."

I've been impressed with Ramirez this spring. I didn't expect too much after he dropped out of the DWL and failed to draw much interest from other major league clubs. He's surpassed some of my expectations, but he's still got some work to do before he's an everyday major leaguer. Right now, I'd call him a utility player with potential.

Ramirez' emergence may land the Sox in a bit of a roster crunch. They plan on carrying 12 pitchers, which leaves only 4 bench spots for position players. Pablo Ozuna and Toby Hall would seem to have two of them locked up. Brian Anderson has had a great spring, and looks like he'll take the 4th outfield spot, with Jerry Owens as the everyday "leadoff man." If Ramirez fills the remaining slot as a super-utility man, Danny Richar, Carlos Quentin, and possibly even Josh Fields could end up in Charlotte.

• I mention that Josh Fields could end up in Charlotte because my own unofficial Joe Crede trade date has come and gone with the only serious suitor for Crede backing off their initial interest in part because of Crede's poor showing this spring. I'm actually starting to believe that Crede could end up being the Sox opening day 3B, with Fields in the minors.
• Anderson may be writing his ticket out of town with his hot play. If Ramirez is viewed as a 4th outfielder, the Sox could ship Anderson out to a team interested in overrating spring performance. The Cubs are said to have at least some interest.
• I eventually did make it to Miller's Pub on Saturday. I was out and about, running late, and didn't log-in to catch any of the warnings. Got there around 4. Fought the crowd to get in, fought the crowd to get out. Left by 4:10.

  The day wasn't a total loss awash among the drunken green masses, however. I did have a nice blue line date with a cute, mousy, redhead Minnesotan. Nothing will come of it, but the Cheat's still got it.

• I made a South Side Sox NCAA Tournament group over at ESPN.

  Group: http://games.espn.go.com/tcmen/group?groupID=55286 (South Side Sox)
  Password: SSSwagger

• Scouting DLS' mechanics
• Sports Illustrated will soon have its entire archive online for FREE.

it's full speed ahead for the torpedo boat:

***** In other news,

• Rich Lederer: Categorizing Pitchers by Strikeout and Groundball Rates: Starters - 2007 Edition (hat-tip Baseball Musings).
• Fangraphs sorts pitchers by velocity. Fastball velocity: Javy @ 91.8, Jose @ 90.1, John @ 89.5, and Mark at 85.9 (hat-tip THT).
• New pitching metrics: tRA and ROA (hat-tip Tango).