10 Questions, 2 Teams

The Hardball Times are in the middle of their "Five Questions" series, and they start their dissection of the Chicago Cubs with a quick bonus question that kind of answers any remaining questions:

Pop quiz question: What can Cubs fans look for in 2012?

2013.

As always, their analysis is prescient and their prose is enjoyable. Read it if you have a moment.

For White Sox fans, the future is even more murky:

Are the White Sox rebuilding?

According to Kenny Williams, yes, they are. This offseason, he addressed the media and said that in his entire decade-plus long tenure as GM, he’s never used the R-word. Well, he’s using it now. They’re rebuilding.

But then...

Can the White Sox compete in 2012?

...

The Sox should be a bit worse [than last year], but not terribly worse. Sure, if Sale bombs and Dunn and Rios remain offensive black holes and Peavy is never healthy, the team is doomed, but the dark side scenario is no more likely [than] the sunny one.

Sitting from here, the White Sox look like a team that will win 75-80 games. They shouldn't be that much worse than last year, but they look a bit below 2011's disappointment.

Unfortunately for the White Sox, the addition of the second Wild Card is probably not going to help out too much. The strength in the AL East (Yankees, Rays, and Red Sox) and the AL West (Angels and Rangers) should pretty soundly absorb all the available Wild Cards, but the AL Central is still not a strong division, and a key injury or two can open a door for the Sox.

Oh well, it's still Spring Training and anything can happen from here.