the time is getting near. the posts are becoming much more frequent. what i see as significant. the reason i had to post on this tuesday night, 03/11/08.

we lost today, 4-2 to the tigers in 10 innings. the only two runs came via two grady sizemore solo shots. one could be concerned about the offense. it has been a trend. then again, boston and the mets had a 1-1 tie after 10 innings yesterday. i think it is safe to assume both of those offenses have nothing to worry about either.

the big news was that someone finally stepped up in the three way 'battle' for the 5th spot in the rotation! i was glad to see the stepper upper was cliff lee. as bad as his season was last year, the game he pitched against anaheim in cali was a reminder of what he was capable of. a gem in an otherwise field of poo that was last year for cliff. the same pitcher who won 46 games in '04, '05, and '06. i like laffey and sowers both. the one thing they share in common (other than their struggles this spring), success as a rookie after a mid season call up. but those 3 years of success mandate cliff's place in the rotation. having him return to his career best form of '05 when he posted 18 W's and a 3.79 ERA while in the 5th spot in the rotation would be a wondrous thing :)

pronk has been turning it up at the plate. that is wonderful to see.

andy marte is not. plus he made some errors in today's game. i really fear a brandon phillips scenario. we trade him for peanuts, then he blows up for his new team. but what can we do? i would not trade casey blake and hand marte a job just to keep him. that is what happens with a team with alot of talent throughout the roster and throughout the levels. it is a nice situation to be in.

i like what i see and read about josh barfield. all that time he put in with derek shelton this winter. his .360 batting average is very encouraging.

on the other hand, i think the white sox are doing what they will all year. loose, and loose badly.