South Side Sox, a Chicago White Sox community

When the White Sox begin spring play Wednesday in Tempe against the Angels, southpaw Clayton Richard will get the call as the team's first Cactus League starter. The Sox are giving Richard the nod in hopes that he'll use the extra spring start to find the ever elusive first base...

The Chicago White Sox have agreed to terms on minor-league contracts with 13 players and will invite them to their spring training camp in Glendale, Ariz. Also receiving invitations are five players from the White Sox minor league system, including their last two first-round draft picks, left-handed pitcher Aaron Poreda (2007) and infielder Gordon Beckham (2008). Thirteen of the 18 spring training invitees have major-league experience. The players receiving non-roster invites are infielders Javier Castillo, Bryan Myrow, Sergio Santos and Eider Torres, catchers Corky Miller and Chris Stewart, outfielders Josh Kroeger and Michael Restovich, right-handed pitchers Ryan Braun, Franklyn German, Brad Salmon and Jon Van Benschoten and left-handed pitcher Randy Williams. Catchers Tyler Flowers and Donny Lucy and right-handed pitcher Mike MacDougal will also be invited to spring training from the White Sox minor league system.

Tribune company owned LA Times put together a nice primer on the area hotels near the new Sox-Dodgers facility

Ten years and one month ago — to the day — 11,298 fans filled Tucson Electric Park. It was our big-league coming-out party. The Chicago White Sox, fresh off the moving truck from Sarasota, Fla., played the first-year Arizona Diamondbacks on an unseasonably cold night. Ticket scalpers sold $14 seats for $50. TEP was praised as a $37 million, state-of-the-art baseball jewel, something Tucson could take pride in. That was only 10 years ago. In baseball terms, it might as well be 100.

Unable to find a team to take over their current lease at TEP, Jerry is throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks. One thing has, at least temporarily, had some staying power; a year-round, nationally sanctioned youth baseball tournament.