Five Things White Sox Fans Can Be Thankful For

Less Smug Looks from Kenny Williams
Every time a move was made and a question was asked we had to view the smug smirk of Kenny Williams explaining what was going down even though no actual information was coming out of his mouth. With Rick Hahn at the helm, at least publicly  we can look forward to a new delivery of misdirection and coyness.

I’m not telling! (Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE)

Reduced 2013 Ticket Prices
An irritating part of the 2012 season was constantly reading about the White Sox lagging attendance and listening to gripes from various folks, both in the media and out, that would complain about it consistently. The reduced 2013 pricing should help that to be less of a problem as more fans will likely bring themselves to the ballpark. Also, you know, cheaper is better.

A Weak AL Central Division
This team isn’t full of rock stars. The way the team is constructed now, to be in the race there will have to be some great performances and some luck. A portion of the latter is already in place as the AL Central’s 2012 division winner was just 7th in the AL overall.  Without any team making huge additions just yet, it looks like that could be the case again in 2013, which helps give everyone a chance.

Prince Fielder Being Paid by Detroit for Roughly the Next 1,000 Years
It sucks to look up at your main rival and see perhaps the league’s best hitter standing up there in the batter’s box. To then look over to the on-deck circle and see Prince Fielder waiting to get violent with a baseball can slump your shoulders even further. He’s not going to make your shoulders slump forever, but he’s going to be spending time in that batter’s box for what seems like forever to Tigers fans. Paying Fielder a boatload is all well and good now while he’s productive, but 2021 is the first year that he’ll no longer be on the Tigers’ books. $23M in 2013, and $24M every year after that through 2020. Have fun with that!

The Upcoming Winter Meetings
Too quiet! Unless you count the re-signing of DeWayne Wise (why?!), the Sox haven’t done much of anything since they announced that Jake Peavy and Gavin Floyd were going to stay around. The Winter Meetings may change all of that. When you throw 30 organizations, various player agents, and all the baseball media you can take into a hotel and let them at it for a few days, deals get done. Sox fans have something to dream on there. Who knows, maybe Rick Hahn is looking to announce to the league that he means business while the baseball world is watching.