The heart and soul of any baseball champion rests on the pitching mound. The White Sox were brilliant in the ’05 postseason, but never regained that form in 2006. Jon Garland led the staff with his second consecutive 18-win campaign, but staff “ace” Mark Buehrle had his worst season in six years with Chicago. Once known as one of the most consistent pitchers in all of baseball (going at least 6 innings in 49 straight games, only to have the streak snapped by an ejection), Buehrle was routinely hammered last year.

The ageless Jose Contreras has looked more like the Yankee flop than the steady anchor he’s been in Chicago recently, but barring health issues he should be good for 200 innings and 15 wins or more. Vazquez recently inked a three-year contract extension to the surprise of many. At 30 years old Vazquez has seemingly relied on the fact that he has “great stuff” since leaving Montreal after the 2003 season. Without a firm fifth starter, his inability to get through six innings consistently could cause serious problems.

The back end of the White Sox bullpen should be very solid with Big Bad Bobby Jenks (a slimmed-down version) looking to build on a 41-save season. Flame-throwing lefty Matt Thornton and former Royals closer Mike MacDougal should help sew up games the Sox are leading through 6 innings. The rest of the pen is a bit of a question or work-in-progress. The remaining spots will be filled with “the future” of White Sox young arms.

Those youngsters aren’t exactly tearing it up so far in spring training but there is a solid battle going for the fifth starters spot between danks and Floyd. Recently signed Darin Erstad (who was once very close to being traded for Jon Garland) is getting some quality at-bats as he looks to fill in for Podsednik in the early going as he recovers from sports hernia surgery. Erstad also gives the Sox a valuable punter in case things start badly. Buehrle and Dye enter the season as lame-ducks without contracts or much hope of getting one before free agency begins after the season (unless they want far below market value). Unlike some in the city, they are professionals who will wait to seek their true market value until after a successful 2007 and should not be any distraction; but watch out if Lance Briggs throws out the first pitch at any games.

All in all it’s hard to imagine the White Sox not winning 90-plus games again. The Tigers and Indians should be formidable foes in the AL Central and the Twins always seem to find a way to contend, so it should be a four-team dogfight through September; sorry Royal fans, Gil Meche only gets you a little closer to getting out of last place!

If the White Sox can survive what could be baseball’s toughest division, the arms of ’05 might come back for an encore versus the Red Sox and Yanks and the Pale Hose might make a run at another World Series championship after a one-year hiccup.

2006: 90-72 (3rd in AL Central)