Suprises and Disappointments

[DBAHO]

From the Daily Herald,

 

TUCSON, Ariz. - Thursday was a day of rest for the White Sox in spring training.

 

It also was a day to sift through the first month of camp and try to figure out where the Sox have been and where they might be going.

 

• Biggest surprise: It's only spring training and, remember, marginal talents such as Chris Snopek and Greg Norton used to dominate the Cactus and Grapefruit leagues.

 

But give credit to center fielder Aaron Rowand, who came to camp determined to prove deserving of a starting job and promptly going out and earning it.

 

Rowand, who approaches the game much like Lenny Dykstra used to, leads the Sox with a .522 batting average and 8 RBI this spring. Defensively, his throwing arm is better than average.

 

• Biggest surprise II: The race for the fifth starter's job is still on, but Dan Wright is building an insurmountable lead.

 

Wright was knocked around a little bit during a minor-league game Thursday, but the big right-hander has been extremely sharp (1-0, 2.79 ERA) in 3 Cactus League appearances.

 

Elbow pain took a big toll on Wright last season, but he was a 14-game winner in 2002 and could give the White Sox a much-needed lift at the back of the rotation.

 

• Biggest disappointment: Faced with a glaring need for speed, the Sox have basically handed Willie Harris the starting job at second base and dropped him into the leadoff spot.

 

Unless he starts picking up the pace, Harris is going to be sitting on the bench watching Juan Uribe.

 

Harris is batting .200 (5-for-25) in exhibition play and still looks tentative running the bases. If he fails to get on base and manufacture runs, the White Sox' offense will have to rely on the longball to score.

 

• Biggest disappointment II: Shingo Takatsu might have been the man in Japan, but he's no longer pitching against the Hiroshima Carp or Nippon Ham Fighters.

 

While the 35-year-old reliever throws some of the nastiest stuff on the White Sox' staff, his control has been surprisingly erratic, and Takatsu looks lost against left-handed hitters.

 

• Compare and contrast: Jeremy Reed came into camp as the Sox' most heralded prospect, but another outfielder, Ryan Sweeney, has been the best young hitter this spring.

 

Drafted last June in the second round out of Xavier High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Sweeney is still a baby at the age of 19. But the 6-foot-4, 200-pounder has a fluid, left-handed swing, and he has looked a lot like a young John Olerud while batting .318 in the Cactus League.

 

• Hurts so bad: Joe Borchard was positioned to win a reserve job in the outfield this spring. Instead, the power-hitting outfielder has spent most of his time in the trainer's room with a sore left quadriceps.

 

Borchard, the White Sox' top pick in the 2000 draft, suffered the injury in the first intrasquad game and was quickly passed up by Ross Gload.

 

• Worth watching: Now that opposing hitters are looking for his best pitch, the cutter, Esteban Loaiza is frantically working on mixing in changeups, fastballs and curveballs.

 

Problem is, those are the same pitches Loaiza threw when he was being roughed up during mediocre stints with the Pirates, Rangers and Blue Jays. Unless he figures out a way to get some more bite on the cutter, don't expect Loaiza to come close to approaching last season's 21 wins.

 

• Best addition: Without a doubt, it has been Ozzie Guillen.

 

The Sox' new manager is still learning on the job, but his communication skills and overall passion for the game will cover up a lot of mistakes.

[C.Rector]

Harris is batting .200 (5-for-25) in exhibition play and still looks tentative running the bases. If he fails to get on base and manufacture runs, the White Sox' offense will have to rely on the longball to score.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.