White Sox release 2016 broadcast schedule

The White Sox have released their 2016 broadcast schedule, and here's a link.

Comcast SportsNet will air 107 games, including Opening Night on April 4 at Oakland (9:05 p.m.) and the home opener April 8 vs. Cleveland (3:10 p.m.)

WGN will air 35 games, and WPWR will broadcast 20 games.

I had assumed ESPN had forgotten about the existence of the Sox, but the "worldwide leader" plans to show the South Siders three times in 2016: April 6 at Oakland (9:05 p.m.), (surprise, surprise) May 4 vs. Boston (7:10 p.m.) and May 30 at the Mets (12:10 p.m.).

Only 48 days until Opening Night ...

USA Today projects White Sox as 90-win team

Spring training starts this week, so it's the time of year where various publications start to make preseason predictions.

I'm used to seeing the White Sox picked to finish in fourth or fifth place, so it gets your attention when somebody chooses the South Siders to place first in the AL Central.

USA Today Sports released its projected win totals Monday, and look who it has sitting atop the deepest division in baseball:

1. White Sox 90-72
2. Kansas City 84-78
3. Cleveland 83-79
4. Detroit 82-80
5. Minnesota 80-82

The publication has the White Sox, Boston and Houston as AL division champions with Toronto and Texas as the two wild-card teams. The projected NL division winners are the Cubs, San Francisco and Washington, with St. Louis as a wild card and Los Angeles and Pittsburgh tied for the second wild-card spot.

The USA Today writer referred to the AL Central as "hell" for both prognosticators and the five teams involved. All five teams are described as having a chance to win the division, and, well, any of these teams could also finish last. It's a balanced, tough division.

That's much different than the narrative we get here in Chicago, where Sox fans are told their team has no chance, and that we should go stand in the corner because we stink.

I personally believe Kansas City is a clear favorite in the division, but I think the other four teams are extremely close. It is going to be an exciting year in the AL Central, because there are no bad teams.

And, really, most everyone in the American League enters the season with some hope. The USA Today projections have Oakland with an AL-worst 66 wins, but every other team in the league is projected to win at least 77. There aren't going to be many easy series in the American League this year.

Contrast that with the National League, where 40 percent of the league (Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Colorado and San Diego) has quit on the season before it has even started.

USA Today projects Cincinnati, Philadelphia and Colorado to lose 100 games or more. Milwaukee is projected to lose 98 games, Atlanta 95 losses and San Diego 89 losses.

Remember last year, when the top three records in baseball were all in the NL Central? St. Louis won 100, Pittsburgh 98 and the Cubs 97, and people thought it was this awesome division. Well, sort of. Those are impressive win totals, but it's easier to rack up 95-plus wins when so many teams in the same league are basically conceding and playing for draft picks. Six of the seven 90-loss teams in 2015 resided in the National League. It might be much the same this year.

The USA Today projections have the Cubs with 101 wins and the Cardinals with 97. I don't doubt that we'll see some gaudy win totals in the NL again, but keep in mind, the AL looks like the deeper league. So, 90 to 95 wins in the AL this year might be more impressive than 95 to 100 wins in the NL.

Report: 'Ship has sailed' on Ian Desmond-to-the-White Sox rumor

Ian Desmond

Today's blog was going to address the possibility of free-agent shortstop Ian Desmond signing with the White Sox, but according to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, a team official has said "that ship has sailed."

I was a little surprised when I heard the Desmond rumors, anyway. The top position player prospect in the Sox's system is a shortstop -- Tim Anderson -- and it's possible we'll see him on the South Side of Chicago before 2016 is over. Tyler Saladino doesn't have much of a bat, but he's good with the glove, and we've received every indication the team is comfortable going with Saladino as a stopgap measure at shortstop until Anderson arrives.

We're less than a week away from pitchers and catchers reporting now, and Desmond still does not have a job. Perhaps the Sox wondered if the veteran would be desperate enough to sign a one-year deal. It wouldn't make sense for the team to offer a multiyear deal, knowing that Anderson is getting close. But what could it hurt to kick the tires on a one-year deal with Desmond? That's probably where this rumor came from. The Sox asked Desmond if he'd be interested in a one-year deal, and he told them no. And with that, the "ship sailed." That would be my speculation here.

Also, Desmond rejected a qualifying offer from his most recent club -- the Washington Nationals -- and accordingly, the Sox would have to forfeit the No. 28 pick in the draft in order to sign him. Sox GM Rick Hahn spoke about the value of that pick at SoxFest. I don't think he would part with it lightly, and I think Desmond would have to be willing to come real cheap for Hahn to make the deal.

Even though Desmond is a better player than Saladino, without question, the circumstances surrounding the situation seem to point toward there being no match between Desmond and the Sox.

Ozzie Guillen to manage again -- in Venezuela

Ozzie Guillen

Every now and then, you hear somebody ask either White Sox manager Robin Ventura or GM Rick Hahn if they think Ozzie Guillen will manage in the major leagues again.

Their answers are usually some combination of "yes" and "I hope so."

I'm a little more skeptical. Guillen, who managed the Sox to their only World Series title in the last 99 years in 2005, left the organization on bad terms after the 2011 season. He feuded publicly with then-GM Ken Williams, apparently failing to realize the GM wins the overwhelming majority of the time in GM-manager power struggles.

Then, Guillen managed the Miami Marlins in 2012, where he praised Fidel Castro, went 69-93 and got fired after one season.

Even though Guillen has proven himself as a manager, I would be surprised if another major league team gives him a shot. With the way the media culture is today, front offices like to control the message they put out to the public, and it's just impossible to muzzle Ozzie Guillen. He's the type of man who is not afraid to let you know what he thinks, and he'll give you an honest answer to any question -- even if it's not what the questioner or the public wants to hear.

I don't necessarily think that's a bad trait to have, but teams just don't want someone with that type of personality to be the face of their franchise anymore.

It's different in Venezuela, where Guillen is a national hero, and he's getting another shot to manage in his native land. Guillen was hired Wednesday to manage the La Guaira Sharks of the Venezuelan Winter League next offseason.

The La Guaira team president and vice president said in a statement that hiring Guillen, "has been an aspiration of ours since we acquired the team in 2004."

I'm sure a lot of people will be happy to see Guillen back working in the game, even if it is just the Venezuelan league. But will it lead to something more down the line? You never know, but I doubt it.

Former White Sox pitcher Freddy Garcia retires

Former White Sox pitcher Freddy Garcia is retiring after 21 years in professional baseball -- 15 of them in MLB.

Garcia, 39, spent the last two years in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League playing for the Tigres de Aragua. He made his final start Sunday.

Garcia finishes with a career 156-108 record and a 4.15 ERA in 376 major league games. Fifty-five of his wins were recorded during the five seasons (2004-06, 2009-10) he spent in a White Sox uniform, and of course, his signature moment was earning a 1-0 win in the clinching game of the 2005 World Series.

Let's celebrate Garcia's career by taking a look back at highlights of that game. This was a clinic on how to pitch:

Mat Latos, White Sox agree to one-year deal

Mat Latos

The White Sox moved to increase their starting pitching depth Tuesday, agreeing with veteran right-hander Mat Latos on a one-year, $3 million contract.

Latos, 28, is a three-time 14-game winner who has been limited to just 40 combined appearances over the past two seasons because of knee injuries.

In 2015, he appeared in 24 games (21 starts) with the Miami Marlins, Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Angels, going 4-10 with a 4.95 ERA.

The Sox will hope Latos regains the form he showed from 2010 to 2013. He made at least 31 starts and pitched at least 180 innings in each of those four seasons, going 51-35 with a 3.27 ERA during that time frame.

For his career, Latos is 64-55 with a 3.51 ERA in 177 games, 174 of them starts.

I asked White Sox GM Rick Hahn about starting pitching depth at SoxFest. The projected five include ace Chris Sale, Jose Quintana, Carlos Rodon, Erik Johnson and John Danks. I noted that Johnson still doesn't have many big league innings under his belt, and 30 starts and 200 innings also will be a new experience for Rodon -- despite all the promise he has shown.

So, I wanted to know from Hahn who else the Sox had to fill in when one of the younger guys needs to skip a start, or if there's a doubleheader, or if there's an injury. Hahn cited Jacob Turner and Chris Beck as guys who would be positioned to get the nod as sixth or seventh starters.

Frankly, I didn't like that answer. Apparently, Hahn also saw that as a weakness, so he's taking what I think is a low-risk gamble on Latos. The health is a big question mark, but it's worth noting that Latos has had knee problems -- not arm problems -- and he could be the No. 3 or No. 4 starter on the Sox roster if he returns to form.

If he still isn't healthy, or struggles for other reasons, it's only a one-year deal at a bargain rate. It's not something that's going to financially hinder the Sox from making other moves.

Also, this could be a precursor to another move, because the Sox now have six starting pitchers on the roster. But I think they would want Latos to prove he's healthy before trading away any of their other guys.

At minimum, this gives the Sox more options, and when it comes to pitching, more options is a good thing.

Blue Jays stock up on former White Sox pitchers

David Aardsma

David Aardsma still plays baseball for a living. Can you believe that?

It was a slow news weekend around MLB, so I was just going through the recent transactions to see if I could find anything interesting. Sure enough, I saw Aardsma's name on there.

He signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday, and will report to big league spring training.

Aardsma was terrible nine years ago when he was young and healthy with the White Sox. He compiled a 6.40 ERA in 25 appearances with the South Siders in 2007. He's since played for five different teams, and has a 4.27 career ERA in 331 appearances.

He's pitched in only 77 games total over the past five seasons after having Tommy John surgery in 2011. Last year, he had a 4.70 ERA in 33 relief appearances with Atlanta.

This year, he'll try to stick in Toronto.

He'll be joined in Jays camp by former Sox starting pitcher Gavin Floyd, who signed a one-year, $1 million contract with Toronto on Monday.

Unlike Aardsma, Floyd did some good things on the South Side, winning 10 or more games for five consecutive years from 2008 to 2012. His best year was 2008, when he went 17-8 with a 3.84 ERA for the Sox's last division winner.

Floyd blew out his elbow in May 2013, and the Sox let him walk the following offseason. He pitched for Atlanta in 2014, then for Cleveland last year. Both of his last two seasons ended with elbow fractures, so that's three straight years of elbow problems for Floyd.

I'd say he's a long shot to make an impact in Toronto this year.

So, the perpetually mediocre (at best) Aardsma has a contract, and the oft-injured Floyd has a contract. Meanwhile, former Sox reliever Matt Thornton, who was actually decent last season, sits by the phone and waits.

Baseball is a strange business sometimes.