The White Sox aren’t flawless, but their projceted Opening Day roster has fewer holes than a six-pack of doughnuts. Top-of-the line starting pitching? Check. Potentially dominant bullpen? Check. Explosive lineup? Check. Hall of Fame-caliber hitter dying to prove he’s still has it? Check. “Right now we’re a pretty darn good team on paper,” closer Billy Koch said. “But paper doesn’t throw strikes and paper doesn’t hit the ball.”
PITCHERS
Mark Buehrle, starter
Bats left, Throws left, Age (on Opening Day): 24
– Opening Day starter threw 239 innings last season, fourth most in baseball. Showed remarkable consistency in posting a 3.57 ERA before the All-Star break and 3.59 after.
Bartolo Colon, starter
Bats right, Throws right, Age (on Opening Day): 29
– Workhorse tied Randy Johnson for major-league lead in complete games with eight. Still a flamethrower but strikeout total fell from 201 to 149 last season.
Jon Garland, starter
Bats right, Throws right, Age (on Opening Day): 23
– No. 3 starter posted a 3.16 ERA over his final 12 outings, but still needs to cut down on walks. Used his sinker to induce 1.49 double plays per nine innings, tops in the American League.
Gary Glover, reliever
Bats right, Throws right, Age (on Opening Day): 26
– Easy to see why he fits the bill as long reliever. He struggled as a starter (7-7, 5.97) but excelled out of the bullpen (1.21 ERA in 22.1 innings) in 2002.
Tom Gordon, reliever
Bats right, Throws right, Age (on Opening Day): 35
– Hasn’t pitched a full season since 1998, when he saved 46 games for Boston. Now a set-up man, Gordon hopes his tremendous curveball is just as effective in the eighth inning.
Billy Koch, reliever
Bats right, Throws right, Age (on Opening Day): 28
– No AL reliever appeared in more games (84), worked more innings (93.2) or struck out more batters (93). Koch would pitch 365 days a year, but the Sox want to prevent a repeat of last year, when he posted a 5.40 ERA in September.
Damaso Marte, reliever
Bats left, Throws left, Age (on Opening Day): 28
– Plucked from the Pittsburgh scrap heap, Marte limited lefties to a .149 average, lowest in the league and lowest for any Sox pitcher since Kevin Hickey in 1980.
Esteban Loaiza, starter
Bats right, Throws right, Age (on Opening Day): 31
– Went from Toronto’s Opening Day starter to a non-roster invitee in two years. Superb spring gives the Sox hope that best season (11-11, 4.13 ERA for Pittsburgh in 1997) wasn’t a mirage.
Rick White, reliever
Bats right, Throws right, Age (on Opening Day): 34
– Endured a Jekyll-and-Hyde 2002, posting a 6.20 ERA for Colorado and a 0.82 mark in St. Louis. Sinker-slider journeyman will be used to eat the sixth and seventh innings.
Dan Wright, starter
Bats right, Throws right, Age (on Opening Day): 25
– Excelled late in 2002 under pitching coach Don Cooper, going 7-2 with a 3.90 ERA in his final nine starts. After overcoming right elbow soreness, Wright will start the season on a pitch count.
Kelly Wunsch, reliever
Bats right, Throws left, Age (on Opening Day): 24
– Side-armer recovered from shoulder surgery to post 2.04 ERA after the 2002 All-Star break. Dynamite spring gives hope that he can regain his 2000 form, when he held lefties to a .163 average.
CATCHERS
Sandy Alomar Jr.
Bats right, Throws right, Age (on Opening Day): 36
– Signed to be a backup, game-calling maestro could get the call for Bartolo Colon’s and Mark Buehrle’s starts. Hit combined .279 last season with Sox and Rockies.
Miguel Olivo
Bats right, Throws right, Age (on Opening Day): 24
– Has the arm, legs and bat to be a star. Hit 10 triples and stole 29 bases last year at Double-A Birmingham, but still needs to establish rapport with Sox pitchers and learn the AL hitters.
Josh Paul
Bats right, Throws right, Age (on Opening Day): 27
– Best asset might be his mind, which helps him draw confidence from pitchers. Caught-stealing percentage has plummeted from 42 percent to 13.7 to 9.1
INFIELDERS
Joe Crede, third base
Bats right, Throws right, Age (on Opening Day): 23
– A top prospect since 1998 when he nearly won a Carolina League Triple Crown, Crede is finally a mainstay in the lineup. His 2002 numbers (.285 average, 12 homers, 35 RBIs in 53 games) made people wonder: What took the Sox so long?
Brian Daubach, first base/left field
Bats left, Throws right, Age (on Opening Day): 31
– A potential steal at $450,000, Red Sox veteran has hit 20-to-22 homers and driven in 71-to-78 runs in each of last four seasons. More effective (.270 average) against right-handed pitching last season.
Tony Graffanino, infielder
Bats right, Throws right, Age (on Opening Day): 30
– Jack-of-all-trades is revered in Sox’s clubhouse for work ethic, good nature and baseball smarts. Made a smooth recovery from reconstructive right knee surgery in September.
Willie Harris, second base/center field
Bats left, Throws right, Age (on Opening Day): 24
– Brings the element of speed after stealing more than 35 bases a season in the minors and going 8-for-8 last year with the Sox. Better defensively in center than at second.
D’Angelo Jimenez, second base
Switch-hitter, Throws right, Age (on Opening Day): 25
– Former Yankees prospect is prized because of his patience at the plate. Posted .384 on-base percentage with the Sox last season, walking six more times than he struck out. Will bat leadoff.
Paul Konerko, first base
Bats right, Throws right, Age (on Opening Day): 27
– After posting monster numbers in first half (.328, 20, 71), Konerko limped home with seven homers after the break. Hit .303 with runners in scoring position and .344 in late-inning clutch situations. Runs like a catcher.
Frank Thomas, designated hitter/first base
Bats right, Throws right, Age (on Opening Day): 34
– Still baseball’s active leader in on-base percentage (.432) despite hitting a combined .249 in 2001 and 2002. Now fully recovered from triceps injury and working with hitting guru Walt Hriniak, Thomas will try to enter free agency with a bang.
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Jose Valentin, shirtstop:
The Sox went 31-16 when Valentin, 33, started at shortstop last season. The switch-hitter’s .357 average with two outs and runners in scoring position ranked fourth in AL, but anemic .152 average against lefties could mean more at-bats for Tony Graffanino.
OUTFIELDERS
Carlos Lee, left field
Bats right, Throws right, Age (on Opening Day): 26
– Transformed his game last season, posting a .407 on-base percentage after drawing just 38 walks in 2001. Slimmed down at 240 pounds, his range in left has improved.
Magglio Ordonez, right field
Bats left, Throws right, Age (on Opening Day): 29
– Good luck trying to find a weakness. Three-time All-Star led all major-league outfielders with 135 RBIs, hit .341 after the sixth inning, .251 with two strikes and .529 with the bases loaded.
Armando Rios, outfield
Bats left, Throws left, Age (on Opening Day): 31
– Major surgery on left knee sapped his power last season in Pittsburgh, as Rios homered just once in 208 at-bats. Rebounded to hit .377 over final 26 games.
Aaron Rowand, center field
Bats right, Throws right, Age (on Opening Day): 25
– Rowand, a.k.a. Robocop, a.k.a. Crash, has fully recovered from November dirt-bike accident that left him with two broken ribs. Needs to improve his patience after walking just 12 times last year.
