For the past 4 years, the White Sox have finished behind the Twins, despite being a pre-season favorite by a majority of prognosticators each season. My guess is that the Twins will be the biggest pre-season favorite to win their division of any team in MLB. Can't argue with that logic, but under the radar the White Sox have remade their team over the past year and it will be interesting, if nothing else, how it all comes together.

The latest signing of A.J. Pierzynski was a great move by Kenny Williams. (try to find those words used together in a Google search) Pierzynski was signed for one year at 2.25 million, not too bad for a catcher with a career OPS of .773. Considering that Jason Varitek is making 10 million annually for a career .798 OPS and is 3 and a half years older than AJ, this looks even better. Sure Pierzynski left San Fran with a reputation of being an irritant on the level of Simon Cowell, but bringing a solid left-handed bat behind the plate for this price is something the White Sox are willing to risk. Plus, the guy knows the Twins hitter's better than anyone else they could sign, so maybe his poor study habits won't be such an issue.
If Santana and Radke don't have similar stats to 2004, I think the White Sox will be neck and neck with the Twins, as the depth of pitching on the South Side is the best in the AL, outside of the Yankees. Trotting out a staff of Freddy Garcia, Mark Buehrle, Orlando Hernandez, Jose Contreas, and Jon Garland is the best starting staff the Sox have had since the days of Jack McDowell, Alex Fernandez, Jason Bere, Wilson Alvarez. The bullpen depth is the best I can ever remember the White Sox having.

Sure the offense is going to be weaker with the loss of Lee, Ordonez, and Valentin, but outside of Frank Thomas (36) and Jermaine Dye (31), the rest of the starters are under 30 and should be at their peak levels. I think the biggest weakness on this team is the manager, Ozzie Guillen, who has always seemed to be a bit muy loco. I know a lot of people slammed the Carlos Lee deal, but I grade it positively, overall, considering that it freed up enough money to sign O. Hernandez and Pierzynski, plus obtaining Scott Posednik and Luis Vizcaino, who are solid additions considering their low salaries.

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On a related White Sox subject, the mystery of Magglio Ordonez continues, as with the signing of Carlos Beltran by the Mets, his options for a large contract have shrunk. If the Orioles were to sign Carlos Delgado, I'm thinking the bottom just might fall out on the market for Maggs and he might have to sign a Nomar-type one year deal to prove he still is a superstar-level player.