There is one thing I am sure of for the 2008 MLB season: The White Sox will be better than last year.

You would have never known the White Sox won the World Series in 2005 from watching the 2007 version of the club. From Jose Contreras’ disastrous opening day start to the bullpen’s struggles, the 2007 season was by far the worst year for the White Sox I have witnessed.

However, things should be better in 2008. But, the Sox reside in the toughest division in baseball. The Indians were one win away from the World Series in 2007 and should be just as good this season. The Tigers are only two years removed from an American League pennant and added Miguel Cabrera and Edgar Renteria. Here are some quick thoughts on the 2008 White Sox season.


REASON TO BE OPTIMISTIC

The offense: You can count on the Sox to score a lot of runs this year. Nick Swisher should hit at least 30 home runs at U.S. Cellular Field, and you still have Jim Thome, Jermaine Dye and Paul Konerko in the middle the order. Don’t be fooled by Swisher’s .262 batting average last season, either. He drew 100 walks, which more than makes up for his subpar average.

The offense could be better if the White Sox come to their senses and play Josh Fields at third base. The team made a mistake in choosing Joe Crede over Josh Fields at third base. Neither player had a great spring, but Fields proved he can hit in the big leagues with 23 home runs last season. You can also expect Fields to improve on his .308 on–base percentage, which is still higher than Crede’s career OBP of .305.

I guess the good news is that you can expect Fields to be up in May if Crede struggles.


REASON TO BE PESSIMISTIC

Starting Pitching: Mark Buehrle and Javier Vazquez form a nice 1-2 punch, and John Danks has potential. However, one thing that could be worse than the 2007 season is watching Gavin Floyd take the mound every fifth day. Expect either Lance Broadway or Jack Egbert to take the fifth spot by the middle of May.

You also don’t know what to expect from Contreras, who sported a 5.57 ERA of last season. The White Sox will regret trading Jon Garland, who is a lock for 200 innings and should have a nice season in his contract year.


BEST OFFSEASON MOVE

Acquiring Carlos Quentin from the Diamondbacks could turn out to be a steal. There is a reason why Baseball America named Quentin the 20th best prospect in all of baseball in 2006. Quentin battled injuries in 2007, when he hit only .214. He has the talent to be an elite hitter, as his .313 career minor league average indicates. He was only available because Arizona is loaded with outfield talent in Eric Byrnes, Justin Upton and former Sox farmhand Chris Young.


WORST OFFSEASON MOVE

Trading Garland to the Angels for Orlando Cabrera. Garland would sure look nice in the No. 3 spot in the rotation. Not to mention he’s only 27 years old and could be entering his prime.


PLAYER WHO COULD SURPRISE

Danks. Danks got off to a nice start in his rookie season before fading in the second half. The No. 10 overall pick in the 2003 draft has the talent to be a No. 2 or 3 starter in the big leagues.


PLAYER WHO COULD DISAPPOINT

Cabrera. Expect him to come back to earth from a career year in 2007. As I mentioned earlier, the Sox will regret trading Garland for Cabrera and his .321 career OBP.


PREDICTION

86-76, third place in AL Central.

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