Playing Catch Up, As Usual

Okay, so I've gotten away from the blog for about three weeks because of midterms, et cetera. Not that it really matters, given that I get about one visitor per day (a lot of site authors joke like this; I'm being dead serious. Like, Jamie Lynn Spears' pregnancy test serious.), but I still feel obligated to put some time into this after promising to do so.

There are a ton of links I've missed, and I wish I could get them all posted, but I'd rather just fly solo through the Cliff's Notes version. Most of the credit goes to South Side Sox, Sox Machine, and MLB.com, sites that are actually responsible about providing daily insights on our beloved Good Guys. Here are the things you've missed if you haven't been paying attention, which you probably have if you scoured through the hundreds of websites that come before mine on any Google search. My ascent to the top is moving considerably slower than expected...

- Danny Richar has had trouble with his visa and still has not reported to camp. Ozzie's pissed.
- Mike MacD hit Joe Crede in the hand on the first day of live BP. Crede's fine, though I'm beginning to think there's a curse trying to keep him in Chicago.
- Buehrle had soreness in his left shoulder and missed a scheduled intrasquad start. Says he's fine, and I believe him since he hasn't missed a start since Castro's been in office (either one, I suppose).
- Ozzie is high on Contreras returning to form now that his personal life is in order. Let's hope Ozzie isn't just high.
- Speaking of The Count, he's helping fellow Cuban Alexei Ramirez adjust to life in the big leagues. Glad we have a $10 million mentor within the organization.
- Speaking of Alexei (I'm working on a nickname), even Greg Walker says he has a long swing. Let's tighten that up, big guy, before Greg tries to tighten it up for you...
- Alexei is drawing many comparisons to a younger Alfonso Soriano with regard to his body type and athleticism. He has apparently been very slick/smooth with the glove (Ozzie said he was impressed by watching him simply field grounders, which is actually saying something), and Scott Merkin even predicts he will break camp as the starting second baseman (p.s. WTF?! I've been more optimistic about Alexei than Alexei has been about himself, but even I would never have ventured a guess that he would be turning double plays on Opening Day. Scott is down in Tucson, and for him to make a claim like this means there is something really impressive about this kid. Could be the Major League steal of the offseason.)
- Gavin Floyd has impressed pretty much everyone down in Arizona. As they say in Super Troopers, "I'll believe that when me shit turns purple and smells like rainbow sherbet."
- Ozzie says he's giving Brian Anderson a fair chance to break camp with the team. For my response, see above line.
- Still no word on the batting order or position battles. We wait with bated breath.
- Jerry Owens predicted 65 steals this season. He tweaked his groin in the first 4-inning intrasquad game. I'll leave you to come to your own conclusions.

I'm sure I'm missing some stuff, but kudos if you made it this far without leaving the site. Spring Break is next week, so don't expect any coverage of the first few Cactus League games. I will, however, be better in the future about keeping up with the posts. In the meantime, feel free to visit the site early and often, and be sure to click on the referral links so I can actually get some money out of this deal. Give and take, give and take.