Obviously, it's way too early to draw any conclusions about the White Sox this spring training, but it was nice to see both Jose Contreras and Alexei Ramirez get off to a good start Thursday.
Contreras earned the win in the Sox 12-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies. He pitched three innings, giving up one hit and one unearned run. Doesn't mean much now, but it beats giving up six runs in the first inning, doesn't it?
Contreras is the key to the Sox rotation this year. You can be reasonably certain Mark Buehrle and Javier Vazquez will be productive pitchers. John Danks and Gavin Floyd are young, so you can bet they'll have their fair share of ups and down. That leaves Contreras as the 'X' factor.
Can the aging Cuban right-hander hold it together and be the No. 3 starter? He doesn't necessarily need to be the ace he was during the Sox 2005 World Series run. But he can't be the next-to-worthless pitcher he was last year either, when he finished 10-17 with a 5.57 ERA.
Cuban defector and free-agent signee Ramirez with 4-for-5 with two doubles, three runs scored and an RBI in Thursday's win. No one can say for certain whether the 26-year-old is ready to play in the major leagues, but if he is, he would be a huge boost for the Sox because of his versatility.
Ramirez can play the middle infield positions, as well as the outfield. The question is, can he hit? We won't know for awhile, but the results from his first game are encouraging.
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