Brooms, Oswalt and Good Home Cooking

The Good: The White Sox accomplished something this weekend they have been waiting for since....well, the beginning of the season. Sweeping a series. An official series. Back on May 7th the Sox took a one game series from the Tigers at the Cell and then a two game sweep of Seattle at the end of April. Each series had one game called due to rain. This time against the struggling Royals in K.C., the Sox would get it right. More importantly, they took two of three in Kansas City without the help of the long ball. Heading back to 35th and Shields for an 11 game home-stand, the Sox will not only bring with them momentum, but the knowledge that their feisty GM is hard at work to bring another ace to their pitching staff.

The Peaved: Reports had surfaced over the weekend that Kenny Williams' assistant Bill Scherrer had been tailing the Houston Astros for the better part of two weeks. Sources close to the Williams' camp have indicated that the Sox have their sights set on Houston starter Roy Oswalt. It was just two weeks ago that the ever diligent Williams had Jake Peavy on his radar, only to get shot down by Peavy exercising his no trade clause. Oswalt, who signed a five-year extension in 2006 with an option year for 2012, is due to make $15 million in 2010 and $16 million in 2011. Any trade involving the Olympic gold medalist would have to get his approval. Regardless of what Oswalt does, one thing is unavoidable....Jake Peavy's decison to snub the Sox has lit a fire under Kenny Williams. Expect to see a new starter by the All-Star break. Case Closed.

Sweet Home Chicago: 23 of the Sox 28 games in June will be played at home, or within 90 minutes of downtown Chicago. The White Sox are 12-10 at home this season.

BTW: Scott Podsednik entered Friday's series opener at Kansas City batting .275. He will enter Monday's game against Oakland batting .297.

Up Next: Oakland (19-29 4th) at Chicago (24-25 2nd) - (7:11 PM) Trevor Cahill (2-5) Bartolo Colon (3-4).

Sox Scouting Oswalt?

Sources close to White Sox scouting have indicated that Kenny Williams is actively pursuing one of the Houston Astros starting pitchers. Over the past 10 days, Sox scouting has traveled with the Houston team. ESPN 1000's Bruce Levine is suggesting Roy Oswalt may possibly be on Kenny William's dart board. Oswalt is 1-2 with a 4.62 ERA in 62 innings of work this season. In 2005, Oswalt posted a 20-12 record with an impressive 2.94 ERA.

'Gordon' Beckons

Josh Fields can't say he didn't have his chances. As the White Sox and the rest of Major League Baseball roll into the month of June, talk around the South Side is that Gordon Beckham will be rolling with them. The White Sox are currently in fourth place amidst a division plagued by injuries and inconsistencies. Historically, June has been a gracious month for White Sox baseball. Since 2005, the Sox are 64-43 in the month of June.
For the White Sox to pull off a winning record in June, they're going to need to dispose of some baggage. For the die hard Sox fan, the loss of Joe Crede at third base was especially difficult. Crede going north to Minnesota was one of the more difficult realities to swallow. That transition would have been a bit easier to digest had Crede's replacement showed some bullocks. In 153 at bats, Fields has struck out a whopping 48 times, while batting a meager .229. No doubt Fields has explosive moments and has had several multi-hit games this year, but his quality at bats just aren't there. Back in July of 2007 when Crede had two herniated discs in his lower back, Fields was recalled from Charlotte. In the 100 games Fields played, he went to the dish 373 times and registered 125 K's. Pitiful. Let me put this in perspective for those of you as befuddled by these numbers as I am. In his 13 seasons with the Yankees, Joe Dimaggio averaged 637 at bats, while averaging only 34 strike outs per season. Certainly I am comparing apples and oranges, but the Sox cannot afford this ill-fated plate coverage that continues to plague Fields. Following Ozzie Guillen's benching of Alexei Ramirez a few weeks back, Guillen called attention to Fields' inconsistencies. "He's next," Guillen said of Fields' continuing plate struggles. And 90 feet away from where Fields' is fighting off breaking balls, he is also struggling defending third base. In 40 games at third base, Fields' has committed six fielding errors, while turning five double plays. In 2009, among AL third basemen, Fields' ranks only behind Adrian Beltre in most errors committed this season. And how is Joe Crede fairing? In 33 games at the hot spot, Crede has committed just one single fielding error, while turning seven double plays. Crede hasn't turned too many heads at the dish, but his numbers are respectable. In 129 at bats, Crede is batting .240 with nine home runs, while striking out 21 times.