For that, it’s easy to think that this spring has acted as an enjoyable pallet-cleanse for Konerko. Yet, if there were the slightest health concern, there would not even the most minuscule level of outrage launched at a decision to not play him. The man is 37 years old, and hasn’t even been asked to run the bases after the fifth inning yet this year.

This consideration, and the fact that it is March 12 and regular play is still three weeks off, lends a lot of credibility to Robin Ventura mentioning “We’re not concerned about his playing time down here,” when explaining why Jeff Keppinger is still sitting out for a shoulder injury that was nagging him two weeks ago. Clearly the discomfort has not just eased away with a day’s icing, but Ventura is also in a position to bench Keppinger if he said his shoulder was “too itchy” as well. The incentive to have him on is just that slight.

It’s a small seed of doubt that festers not so much on its own merits, but because every other projected starter is stacking up the professional bats and avoiding attention, and because Keppinger’s pedigree as a full-time player has yet to be proven, his list of career injuries show a player who has endured his share of pain and missed time and third base defense is not what he’s known for, or recently experienced in (340 innings last year was the first he played it since 2009).

Going 10 for 21 with a walk and no strikeouts when he has been healthy enough to bat has probably thrown off any ideas that something serious is wrong, even if he won’t be throwing till the end of the week.

Sale excels

In the most extended look at Chris Sale all spring versus the Rockies on Monday, he looked as good as possible considering that radar data was not made available for the public. He breezed through five innings with just a solo home run to his name and opted for pumping in fastballs over flashing his knee-breaking stuff that much, and certainly not to ‘September in Detroit’ levels. The efficiency kept his workload light and will inspire old school types to boast that he’s “learning how to pitch,” now.

Jared Mitchell

The Rockies got mean and sicced left-handed reliever Rex Brothers on Jared Mitchell in the seventh inning on Monday. The resulting strikeout reminded that Mitchell whiffed 179 times in 549 plate appearances last year as a 23 year-old playing mostly in Double-A Birmingham.

That dose of cold water might be needed, since so far, Mitchell has made such good contact and power, shown so much speed on the basepaths and range in the field that the announcement that he’ll start the year back in Triple-A Charlotte was treated like a breaking development.

On Monday, Mitchell stole second base almost entirely on speed, and ranged back in left field very easily to shag some deep drives. A few of his sprints back toward the wall brought some trepidation rushing back. What day is complete without that kind of terror?

Addison Reed‘s slider

Dan Hayes nailed the summary of Addison Reed’s 2012 dead-to-rights in his Sunday post. He lost his feel for his slider during the year and all but abandoned it, but wound up improving his feel for the changeup out of necessity. In theory, if Reed found a way to get his slider back, he could be better for having gone through the struggles of his rookie year And that’s not just in the way that Gordon Beckham talks about, but because he’ll have a deeper complement.

“(The fastball) is the pitch I could throw for a strike if I needed to, but batters knew that was the pitch I could throw for a strike as well,” Reed said. “At times I could see they were sitting on it. They knew I wasn’t going to throw a 2-0 slider. That’s what I’m working toward. I want to be able to throw it in all counts.”

 So maybe discerning what happened to Reed is pretty straight-forward after all.

Follow James Fegan on Twitter @JRFegan

While a chance at the playoffs pushes everything else to the backburner, the Sox did enter the season with some focus on objectives like reducing payroll obligations, building up the minor league system to some degree, and giving more thought to a sustainable future.  How much of that remains a goal for the rest of this year?

Rebuilding while competing might have been the goal coming in, but the composition of the team would suggest a more go-for-broke response.  31 year-old Alex Rios is the youngest member of spots #2-#6 of the White Sox batting order.  Costly option years loom for Kevin Youkilis, Gavin Floyd, and Jake Peavy, while A.J. Pierzynski is preparing to be a 36 year-old free agent catcher.  Phillies fans think your notions of the competitive window being open past this season are quaint.

Contemplating the White Sox pursuing the AL Central title with less than full gusto is about as fun as, say, watching Sunday’s game started by Dylan Axelrod, but being in the nascent stages of building their organizational depth affects short-term moves as well.

1. The rookie bullpen is cute, but not necessarily good

The past week provided a good indication of the status quo for the pen until Crain returns–Addison Reed is the closer, Matt Thornton and Nate Jones are set-up men, and pretty much everyone else needs to be hidden.

Brian Omogrosso is part of the rookie-filled bullpen, but for how long? (Dennis Wierzbicki-US PRESSWIRE)

Jesse Crain and the massive strikeout rate he was sporting makes that set-up look a lot better, but the pace of his rehab from a mysterious sore shoulder has been sluggish.

Since the Sox don’t need a “proven closer”, a reliable reliever to add to their late-inning depth is something they could easily afford even with their system.  The futures of Eduardo Escobar, Jared Mitchell, or even Brent Morel probably only seem worth keeping to fans of an organization like this one.

2. The starting rotation has a hole

When Adam Dunn said that he and Alex Rios were the Sox two biggest off-season acquisitions, it sounded hokey and unconvincing.  Now their performance is the fondation for the team’s success, and similar responses won’t be able to be properly skewered for years.

There will be no problems filling out a five-man rotation if John Danks recovers, and since he has a $65 million contract, he’ll get every opportunity to do that.  You can find “White Sox” and “starting pitching” in the same sentence on MLB trade rumors, but they’re unlikely to have dismissed the in-house starting options by the end of the month.

3. More offense?

The White Sox plugged one of the four softs spots in their batting order with Kevin Youkilis, but it’s doubtful they have much of a mind to act on the other three.  Alexei Ramirez is heating up and has a big contract, Dayan Viciedo is still in his first full year starting, and hasn’t even been that bad (96 wRC+).

Gordon Beckham has been right decent since the start of May (.270/.303/.416) for a plus-defense second basemen, but is still pretty poor at getting on base and doesn’t project to get a whole lot better at it.

Getting a substantial upgrade on him means getting someone older, and twisting out a lot of their resources to do it.  The White Sox should focus on their obvious holes.  Third base was one of them, a bullpen with currently five rookies–of which only three at most are capable–is another.

4. Will that be enough?

With the most runs scored and least runs allowed in the division, the Sox certainly look like the real deal heading out of the break, but Detroit–and perhaps the Indians too–won’t take this indignity lying down.  Both teams have been mentioned to be in pursuit of an impact starter, and Cleveland is even looking for bats at positions where they are easy to find–1st base and left field.

So it’s easy to say the Sox should play conservative now when they’re in the driver’s seat, but the landscape of the AL Central is always subject to change.  The White Sox being where they are is all the proof of that you’ll ever need.

Oh I do enjoy a good draft. (Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE)

2011 – Keenyn Walker
There was a bit of jabber when Keenyn Walker was selected with the White Sox first 2011 pick. A toolsy, athletic pick went against Ozzie Guillen’s philosophy that baseball players and athletes are two separate things. One can be a an athletic baseball player without a doubt, but athlete doesn’t necessarily mean good baseball player, sure. And the Sox have a slew of unfulfilled athletic picks to corroborate. The jury is obviously still out on Walker as he falls in the “too early to tell” category with the Class A Kannapolis Intimidators. The top graded tool for Keenyn Walker is speed, and that’s on display so far in 2012 as he has already swiped 30 bases in just 53 games. Scouts will forever tell you to stay away from comps, but so long as you’re not leaning on them I think they are fun. Comp I’ve read on Walker: Austin Jackson.

2010 – Chris Sale
If you’re reading this, it’s highly unlikely that I need to update you on his whereabouts. A brief stay in the minors lead Sale to a spot on the big squad in the bullpen, followed by a 2012 move to the rotation which has turned into a battle for staff ace. Successful KW pick or most successful KW pick?

2009 – Jared Mitchell
Mitchell is a currently in Birmingham playing for the White Sox AA affiliate, the Barons. After missing 2010 to ankle surgery, 2011 was a bit of a test for Jared as he watched his strikeout rate rise and his stock as a prospect drop. He’s spent 2012 regaining his reputation as a player that can make it and he’s still got plenty of time to prove it. I’ve seen him regarded as a Carl Crawford type, and he doesn’t disagree.

2008 – Gordon Beckham
In 2010 the Sox had the 8th pick in the draft, and it was used to select Gordon Beckham out of Georgia. At the time he was billed as a Dustin Pedroia type player with lots of doubles power. In his rookie year, he put up a .270/.347/.460 line and hasn’t come close since. 2012 is looked at as make or break for Gordo’s career on the Southside and as of about 2 weeks ago, it appears he might be headed for “make.” Despite his plate troubles, Beckham carries a reputation as one of the better defensive second basemen in the league.

2007 – Aaron Poreda
Poreda was a live-armed draftee and looked to slot into the starting rotation. I had faith in Poreda and was a bit disappointed to see him traded away. His legacy remains, however, in the form of Jake Peavy. The package of Dexter Carter, Clayton Richard, Adam Russell and Poreda brought an injured Jake Peavy to the Sox at the 2009 deadline. The move has seemed shaky for a bit but is starting to look pretty darn good these days. Poreda is toiling in AA Altoona for the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.

2006 – Kyle McCulloch
Drafted out of the Univestiy of Texas at Austin, McCulloch posted a decent K rate in his first year at rookie ball, but didn’t do much to impress after that. He was moved through the ranks, given a chance to prove himself with heftier workloads and more advanced talent but wasn’t progressing enough to give himself a shot at the big leagues. The Sox parted ways with him after 2010 and the Reds gave him a shot in their organization in 2011, but released him in January. Current whereabouts are unknown. Presumably looking for an opportunity to throw somewhere.

2005 – Lance Broadway
Ohhh with a name like Lance Broadway it’s no wonder we all thought he was headed to big things. While the Sox were riding the strength of starting pitching to a World Series, it was felt that the next carrier of the torch was perfecting his craft in the lower ranks in preparation to join the big club and be a star. By his second year in the system it looked like he might be on that path but in 2007 he took a step backwards, struggling with control and in 2009 the organization’s patience was exhausted. In January 2010 Broadway was sued for assault after he apparently took his frustrations out on a man during a New Year’s Eve party. He was last seen trying to make the Toronto Blue Jays.

2004 – Josh Fields
I think what scared people the most about Gordon Beckham’s extended sophomore slump is Josh Fields. Fields had a great rookie campaign, .244/.308/.480 with 23 HR. He’d only hit 7 more for the Sox in the next 2 years. The Sox sent him to Kansas City with Chris Getz for another failed third baseman, Mark Teahen. Following the ’09 season Fields was granted free agency and has since become a bit of journeyman spending time in the Pirates, Rockies and Dodgers organization. He now plays for Dodgers’ AAA Albuquerque in the Pacific Coast League.

2003 – Brian Anderson
The future of center field! Just one problem: he couldn’t hit. The Sox waited patiently for Brian Anderson’s bat to come around and it never really did and his above average centerfield work went to waste. His solution to a weak bat? Become a pitcher. Anderson put in time pitching with the Royals and Yankees organizations until he was released last season. He failed to impress the Dodgers during spring training and was released just before the season began and has since signed a minor league contract with the Rockies.

2002 – Royce Ring
Yet another White Sox first pick castoff that finds himself with the Rockies. Ring singed a minor league deal with the Rockies in March following a 10 year bus ride. He’s played for a million teams since the Sox parted ways with him in 2003 for 6 different big league affiliates, most of it in AAA. He has managed some big league time, 68 innings worth was actually fairly impressive in some short stints with Mets and the Padres in ’06 and ’07.

2001 – Kris Honel
Kris Honel was a local pick out of Providence Catholic HS in BourbonnaisNew Lenox*. He toiled around the lower ranks of the Sox organizations until 2007 with varied results. Injuries may have kept him from fulfilling his MLB promise but he proved that arm strength was never an issue by throwing a no-hitter for the Chico Outlaws in Tijuana on May 23, 2010. Kenny Powers was unavailable for comment. Kris continues to pitch for independent leagues in hopes of one day fulfilling his dream of playing big league ball.

It’s safe to say that the front end of his GM career wasn’t ultimately productive in terms of top shelf talent. That last few, they have a shot to redeem Kenny’s reputation.

*hat tip to reader sager729 for catching the error on Providence Catholic’s location.