3 Chicago White Sox

Changing On the Fly

New talent moves into the lineup to help the veterans make another playoff run

KENNY WILLIAMS looked off toward the Arizona horizon with an amused grin before answering the question he has been asked a hundred times in recent months: Could this actually be a rebuilding year for the White Sox?

It's a curious query, to be sure, considering that Chicago won the Central last season. But there's no mistaking the club's different look; gone are a half-dozen core players from the 2008 roster, including workhorse starter Javier Vazquez, power-hitting third baseman Joe Crede and slick-fielding shortstop Orlando Cabrera. The payroll, for the first time in four years, is less than $100 million. And there were so many young players in spring training this year—15 from the 40-man roster are 25 or under—that the clubhouse almost had minor league atmosphere.

Still, Williams, the general manager, becomes defensive at the mention of the "r" word. "We think that we've aligned ourselves as such that we can compete for a championship now," he says, "but at the same time, yes, we are developing a younger core of hitters and pitchers who will be allowed to grow into significant roles without pressure."

So maybe rebuilding isn't quite the right word, not in a division in which each of the five teams could finish first—or finish last. How about transitional year? For the first time in Williams's decadelong tenure a good portion of the lineup will be taken up by players 27 or younger, as many as four with less than two years of major league experience. With Cabrera having left for Oakland, 27-year-old Alexei Ramirez, last year's free-swinging rookie sensation, will move from second to shortstop. Ramirez's old spot was claimed by rookie Chris Getz, 25, an athletic, high-contact hitter with above-average defensive skills. In place of Crede, who signed with division rival Minnesota, Josh Fields, 26, gets the nod at third, but he will be pushed by hard-hitting 20-year-old Cuban rookie Dayan Viciedo.

"Going back three or four years, this is the best talent we've had in camp," says 33-year-old first baseman Paul Konerko. "There's a nice blend of old guys and young guys. It feels good."

The rotation similarly blends young and old. Veteran lefty Mark Buehrle has thrown more than 200 innings in all eight of his full seasons in the majors and, since a difficult 2006, his strikeout rate has steadily increased. The righty-lefty duo of Gavin Floyd, 26, and John Danks, 23, were a pleasant surprise last season, when they combined for 29 wins and 401 innings. Having mastered a cut fastball, Danks, in particular, has the look of a frontline starter for the next 10 years. Less certain are the performances of 37-year-old Jose Contreras and free-agent pickup Bartolo Colon, 35. Despite decent springs, both are coming off major surgery—Colon on his throwing elbow, Contreras on a ruptured left Achillies tendon—and have lost a good 5 to 7 mph off their peak fastballs.

Williams, however, has done a nice job of hedging against his recent veteran bets. Shrewd trades in the last three years for Danks, Floyd and outfielder Carlos Quentin, 26, an AL MVP candidate until a season-ending fractured wrist on Sept. 1, ensure that the bottom will not fall out when the contracts of such veterans as Konerko, Jim Thome, A.J. Pierzynski and Jermaine Dye expire over the next two years. "It's a funny thing," says manager Ozzie Guillen, "because last year we were too old. This year we're too young. We have 90 percent of the players we had last year. One thing I believe, you cannot sit here and wait while everyone gets older and then you have no one to take charge."

Konerko, one of only six holdovers from Chicago's 2005 World Series--winning team, is aware that this might be the veterans' last chance to make another title run together. "I don't spend a lot of energy thinking about that," he says, "but if it happens to shake out like that, you can say, even if nothing good happens, we got a World Series out of this group. There's no sad ending."