10 things to watch in spring training

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9. Those crazy White Sox: Favorite stop of the tour. General manager Ken Williams will greet me with a scowl, deride me for favoring some other AL Central team and then give an eloquent explanation of his off-season. Manager Ozzie Guillen will go off on a tangent or 12, talking about Venezuelan politics and real-estate prices in Miami and occasionally a little baseball.

I stood last year with Ozzie under the hot Arizona sun, watching left-hander Andrew Sisco throw a bullpen session. Ozzie announced that he would ask Sisco and his other relievers to simply throw the ball straight; their movement was that good. Naturally, the plan proved a disaster, and the White Sox spent a combined $30 million on Octavio Dotel and Scott Linebrink this off-season trying to fix their bullpen.

Another new White Sox newcomer, Cuban defector Alexei Ramirez, will be one of the most interesting stories of the spring. Ramirez, 26, could end up a second baseman, center fielder or super-utility man, but Williams has not ruled out the possibility of him spending a season at Class AAA.

Ken Rosenthal | FULL STORY