Phil Humber Continuing to Quietly Dominate

"Despite being nothing special himself (there is a reason he's been placed on waivers by so many teams in such a short time frame) [Philip] Humber is an experienced Minor League veteran with at least some Major League experience who should be able to provide replacement level production. I have no doubt that he could, in a pinch, come in and provide the White Sox with a handful of 'acceptable' starts, giving the team perhaps 20-25 innings of 5.00 ERA ball."

While it's generally ill-advised to highlight your own foolish comments, I feel compelled to do so for the sake of fairness. Those were my words when I wrote about the White Sox claiming of Philip Humber this past off season. It certainly wasn't my most prescient moment.

Jake Peavy Makes First Rehab Start

At one point this spring it looked likely that White Sox starter Jake Peavy (can I call him a ace anymore?) looked as though he might be able to make a rather impressive return from his torn lat muscle. Initial estimates suggested that Peavy wouldn't be ready until early May at the soonest, but Peavy was trying to defy those expectations, and perhaps even looking at being ready for opening day.

Unfortunately after suffering shoulder soreness, later revealed diagnosed as tendinitis, his return date was once again pushed back. There was a small measure of controversy surrounding the diagnosis as Peavy had tried to pitch through it without alerting the team or it's medical staff to his pain. That's something that's become a disturbing tendency for some. While many appreciate Peavy's tough guy mentality, his willingness to pitch through too much pain, to the point of causing further injury has become a bother.

Chris Sale And The Implications Of A Four-Man Rotation

Having taken a look at the schedule, Manager Ozzie Guillen has decided that he'll try and go with a four man rotation to open the season. His team has off days on April 4th and April 14th which should allow him to easily keep his four other projected opening day starters on their regular rest cycle. He then plans to fill in the rotation with spot starters as needed. Likely candidates for that role would include long man Tony Pena, or minor leaguers Philip Humber or Lucas Harrell.

White Sox Claim Philip Humber

Philip Humber is becoming quite the AL Central traveling man. After stops in Minnesota and Kansas City, he's now a member of the White Sox (after a brief one month stop with the A's this winter). It's hard to believe, but Humber was once an immensely talented prospect who was the 3rd overall pick in the 2004 draft. Tommy John surgery has long since diminished those skills, but he's hung around and will now be joining his 5th Major League organization.