Richard rocked

Clayton Richard hasn't just suffered a recent run of bad luck, the White Sox starter has pitched so poorly that he's now in danger of losing his rotation spot altogether. Richard gave up six earned runs on three walks and four hits in a single inning of work against the Indians on Thursday. He failed to record a single out in the second inning before getting pulled.

Fantasy Impact: Aaron Poreda owners will be upset, because the young phenom is not even in the running for Richard's rotation spot if he gets pulled. Instead, Bartolo Colon or D.J. Carrasco will get the first shot. The situation is fluid, however, as Richard might make his next start after the All-Star break.

Ug-Lee

Indians starter Cliff Lee threw the Chicago White Sox batting practice in game two of their series giving up 7 runs on 11 hits in three innings. His ERA soars to 3.39, which is obviously very respectable but still bot that of a frontline fantasy ace.

Fantasy Impact: Earlier in the year we talked about Lee's inflated value after his Cy Young season. Certainly there are fantasy managers out ther who over-valued the solid lefty. The fact of the matter is this: Lee is a good to very good pitcher, but he's not one of the top 10 or even 20 pitchers in baseball. He'll never dominate like the game's best, and therefore he'll continue to be a top-end No. 3 or low end No. 2 fantasy starter. If you drafted him high or kept him, here's hoping you moved him prior to this paltry showing.

Fields frustrated over Beckham starts

White Sox third baseman Josh Fields sat down with Ozzie Guillen recently after Gordon Beckham came up from Triple-A Charlotte and immediately started a few times at Fields' position. Fields is frustrated that he's losing time to a rookie.

‘‘As a player you go through a thing where you kind of have people that have confidence in you — your front office and your manager having confidence in you — and I really don’t know this situation,’’ said Fields, who entered Monday hitting .242 with three home runs and 21 RBI. ‘‘It’s been weird. Ozzie sat me down the other day and tried to go through it a little bit, but it’s kind of hard to swallow. If I was still at .212 like I was for a while, it would be easier, but pulling my average up and the team getting into second place, it just kind of came surprising, I guess.“I asked [Guillen] a couple of questions, but I have more questions for [general manager] Kenny [Williams] and I haven’t been able to actually sit down and talk to him. I know the draft is coming up and stuff, but we’ll get to sit down here before long and we’ll get to ask all of the questions that I need to.’’Asked if he was frustrated about the timing of the Beckham call-up, Fields responded, “I think so.’’

Fantasy Impact: We've alreday felt some of the impact from Beckham getting a look at third. The 23-year-old has yet to produce in any way offensively, but he's stealing at bats from Fields in the process. Fields is a low-end option, anyway, so he's unlikely an important piece on any fantasy roster. It appears as if the White Sox are willing to let the two players battle it out for the job. That might be a good thing for the fantasy owners who pick the right horse.

Padres & White Sox agree on Peavy deal

The Padres and White Sox have agreed on a deal that would send Jake Peavy to Chicago in exchange for four players, according to WSCR.

Peavy has a full no-trade clause and prefers to play in the National League, so there's a strong possibility the deal doesn't happen. The Sox are said to be offering Aaron Poreda and Clayton Richard as part of the trade.

Fantasy Impact: Peavy would be going to a smaller ballpark, but his electric stuff should work anywhere. He'll have a much more productive lineup around him as well, so his win potential improves. Richard would immediately become a starter with merit. Poreda might have a shot at the Padres roster this season.

Who's leading off?

The Chicago White Sox go with Brent Lillibridge as the leadoff man again following the minor injury to Chris Getz. Getz will be back at the top of the order again on Thursday when the Sox take on Tampa Bay.

That might last forever, however, with Scott Podsednik signed to a minor league deal after an injury to Dewayne Wise. The White Sox leadoff spot could eventually become Podsednik's.

Fantasy Impact: Podsednik batted just .253 in 2008 with the Rockies. He's a low-end option in fantasy play, and he's not even with the team at this time. Lillibridge remains a backup to Getz, who deserves a look at second base in deeper leagues.

Love for Crede

Joe Crede's return to Chicago's south side as a member of the Minnesota Twins is a memorable one. In a hilarious moment, Crede walked to the plate with "All Out of Love" spilling out of the U.S. Cellular Field PA system and the White Sox faithful greeting him with a standing ovation. Crede smiled at the plate and then silenced the crowd with a home run to left field off of Jose Contreras. The Twins rolled the White Sox, 12-5.

Fantasy Impact: Crede may never get back to the level of his 30-homer 2006 season, but he's certainly a threat to post 20 homers and knock in 90 runs in a good Twins lineup. Crede's off to a .188 start through four games, and he's only a .257 lifetime hitter. Consider him a sleeper in 2009 who is capable of finishing the year in the top 10 of all third basemen.

White Sox rotation question marks

Jose Contreras gets set to return as the White Sox fourth starter on Friday after rupturing his achilles ankle midway through last season. Bartolo Colon will be the White Sox fifth starter.

Contreras and Colon combined to shut out Arizona at Chase Field on Saturday afternoon, marking the final exhibition contest for the White Sox. Colon fanned six and gave up three hits over five innings, while Contreras started and allowed one hit in four innings.

Saturday's contest had a little bit more of a Major League atmosphere in comparison to Cactus League contests, where the tandem had been roughed up as recently as last Monday against the Angels. But their combined performance gave the White Sox confidence that this tandem would be productive as long as they were healthy.

"They've got to work, but I believe they're going to be healthy all year long," said Guillen, who doesn't plan to skip any starters, even if an off-day gives him the chance.

"Bartolo and Jose's last outing, I think they turned it up a notch. That was very encouraging," White Sox general manager Ken Williams said. "They are still in what would amount to their fourth week of Spring Training, so there are going to be a couple of starts where they are going to have to grow and get their pitch counts up and you may see Ozzie go out there a little earlier than normal. They are going to grow into a major force on this team. They are not the average four or five guys in a rotation."

That's true, most teams have much different-looking back-end-of-the-rotation guys. Often those slots get filled by younger guys trying to break into a rotation. The Sox went the other way, hoping veterans can round out the staff behind Mark Buehrle and two youngsters in Gavid Floyd and John Danks. It's an odd pairing at the back end, and if it works the Sox will look like geniuses.

Fantasy Impact: We're leaving these two on the waiver wire for now, but if one of them gets hot, he's likely gone before you can grab him. If you must indulge, Colon's the bigger injury risk at this point in his career. Pick up Contreras.

Snowed Out

Chicagoans woke up to snow on the ground Monday morning. Therefore, no baseball between the White Sox and Royals on opening day. They'll play the opener Tuesday.

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.

Twins ink Crede

Joe Crede agreed with the Minnesota Twins to a 1-year incentive-laden contract. He's likely to be the Twins regular third baseman this year.

The Twins will sign Crede to one-year deal with a base salary of $2.5 million with the chance to earn as much as $7 million with appearance bonuses. The bonuses begin once Crede reaches 250 plate appearances and tops out at $7 million when he makes his 525th plate appearance.

Crede, while traveling to Fort Myers, has run into weather problems - in Minnesota. The Twins had scheduled a 3 p.m. press conference but that now has been pushed back until they learn when Crede will arrive in town.

Joe C. is the man! He’s producing all the way from the Twin Cities!

This a is very, very good deal for the Twins. A $7 million base salary seemed too high. A $5 million base seemed reasonable. But a $2.5 million base really helps the Twins out from a risk standpoint. If Crede is healthy, he should play like a $7 million player. If he breaks down, the Twins have a good Plan B in Brian Busher and Bredan Harris. And there’s money available to add move talent - perhaps a free agent reliever like Juan Cruz.

This also means the Twins will have to make another 40-man roster move to clear space for Crede. Update: To make room for Crede, the Twins have placed injured righthander Pat Neshek on the 60-day disabled list. Neshek will miss the entire 2009 season because of Tommy John surgery.

Agreed that Crede will be a great addition in Minneapolis. If his back is OK, he can field with the best of them, and he offers another bat that Minnesota craves. Solid pickup. What the White Sox cast off could end up hurting them in their own division.

Griffey trade a failure for White Sox

The White Sox declined a $16.5 million option on Ken Griffey Jr., making the eventual hall of famer a free agent.

The 38-year old hit a combined .249 with 18 homers and 71 RBIs in 143 games last season for the Reds and the White Sox. Griffey batted .260 with three homers and 18 RBIs in 41 games with the White Sox, who acquired him July 31 in a trade that sent right-hander Nick Masset and infielder Danny Richar to Cincinnati.

Considering the White Sox are unlikely to bring back Orlando Cabrera at shortstop, and that the Sox are likely to move Alexei Ramirez from second to short, dealing Richar away leaves a strange mix at second for the Sox.

Juan Uribe can be brought back, and Chris Getz will get a look, but lost in the Sox declining of Griffey was the pickup made by the Southsiders. The White Sox agreed to a one-year contract with former Rockies second baseman Jayson Nix, who ended up playing mostly at Triple-A once Ian Stewart won the big league job. Richar was considered a possible starter for the Sox at second in spring training '08, while Uribe was the fallback option and Ramirez the wildcard. Now the Sox only have the fallback option at second, plus the rookie, Getz. Nix, another fallback, might end up with the job.

For three homers and 18 RBI in 41 games, bringing in Griffey certainly didn't do much for the Sox.

Konerko for Figgins?

Some odds and ends on the White Sox as they prepare for offseason moves. It sounds like Ken Griffey, Jr. and Orlando Cabrera are gone, and Paul Konerko could head West.

The Jon Garland-for-Cabrera deal was completed in less than two weeks last November, and a natural fit for the Sox would be the Angels' Chone Figgins, who could bat leadoff and play third.

But the Angels will need a first baseman if they can't re-sign free agent Mark Teixeira. Paul Konerko came close to signing with the Angels after the 2005 season and is friendly with Angels manager Mike Scioscia dating to their days in the Dodgers organization.

But Konerko has two years left on his contract and full no-trade rights. He also hit nine home runs in September and two in the American League Division Series after coping with slumps and injuries.

Seems like a stretch to move Konerko. He's coming off his worst full season (.240 AVG, 22 HR, 62 RBI), and while he's not old (he turns 32 in the spring), Konerko isn't getting any younger.