White Sox have an army of arms

The White Sox are excited about the prospects of their tweaked pitching staff this season, and there's good reason for optimism. The staff features a nice blend of young and not-so-young talent, including Gavin Floyd, John Danks, Mark Buehrle, Clayton Richard, Lance Broadway Jose Contreras and Bartolo Colon.

...with five weeks remaining in spring training and plenty of candidates, Cooper has plenty of options for what likely will be a 12-man pitching staff.

There's a groundswell of optimism that Contreras and Colon, who will complete their throwing programs Friday, will be ready to make their first regular-season starts April 10-11 against the Twins.

In fact, manager Ozzie Guillen said Contreras and Colon won't have any restrictions placed on them once they join the rotation. Cooper also has ruled out opting for a six-man rotation to start the season even though the Sox successfully preserved Buehrle's left arm last year by giving him extra rest in April.

"We're looking to leave [spring training] with the guys we feel can win ballgames, and they have a track record, they have an edge," Cooper said Thursday. "Heck, one is a Cy Young Award winner [Colon], and the other is a World Series playoff hero [Contreras]. If they're throwing well, they're going to be in there. If not, we have some other guys to turn to."

While there's uncertainty regarding the timetable for return of both Colon and Contreras, the Sox can get by with a pretty decent group until one or both will be ready. It's hard to believe Baseball Prospectus projected this team to be last in the American League Central. I have a hard time picking them behind Kansas City. Chicago has both good pitching depth and a solid lineup.

Carpenter goes Saturday

The top pitcher to follow Saturday in a spring training game is Cardinals hurler Chris Carpenter, who attempts to prove he's on the road to making the team's rotation.

The Cardinals concede Carpenter's recovery from nerve transposition and an unrelated season-ending nerve condition is the camp's No. 1 concern. Carpenter would prefer the attention go elsewhere.

"Like I've said all along, everybody else is making a bigger deal out of it — understandably," Carpenter said.

Carpenter will face Washington at Roger Dean Stadium and be limited to 40-45 pitches. Manager Tony La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan will fixate more on Carpenter's mechanics and recovery than any instant statistical gratification.

"I know with the way that I feel that I'm not too concerned about it," Carpenter said. "I feel good. I feel strong."

He's the Cardinals number one priority in terms of monitoring progress this spring, and he should be a top priority to follow for every fantasy owner. Carpenter's draft position could slide wildly to either end of the spectrum because of a productive or unproductive performances through the end of March. Watch him closely every time out. He's probably capable of returning to his ace status. Then again, with all the injury problems over the past two years, he's also capable of becoming Mark Prior.