Paul Konerko said hes in favor of Major League Baseballs new policy, in which players will be tested for HGH. Earlier this month, MLB implemented a policy which requires players to available for in-season testing after the plan was approved by the players union.
MLB officials have indicated players will be randomly selected for HGH tests at least once every season, but not during the postseason, according to media reports.
This is just about the right progression, Konerko said at SoxFest on Friday. As soon as there was testing there was going to be testing as soon as the science was up to doing it. This should be the way to test because now that the science is there, you can test guys from all angles and test for everything you want to test for.
The only issue Konerko can foresee is how some players react to blood tests. Players previously submitted blood tests in spring training last season.
I dont have a problem having blood drawn, Konerko said. I can see that might be the issue for some guys. Some guys, if they get blood drawn in the afternoon, they are done for the day. They are a mess. As for me I have never had a problem giving blood. The issue about how it is done will have to be figured out.
-- Dan Hayes
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MLB
Peavy: Detroit's the team to beat
White Sox starter Jake Peavy is confident in his team's chances of unseating Detroit atop the AL Central, but he's not going to make any bombastic statements about his squad in relation to the Tigers.
"I'm not going to say the White Sox are the team to beat because we're not," Peavy said. "The Tigers are the team to beat. They're the AL Central champions, they're the American League champions. They're the team to beat."
Detroit will return the core of its 2012 team along with catcher Victor Martinez, who missed all of last season following an ACL injury in the offseason. Until Peavy's White Sox are able to unseat the Tigers, the right-hander feels his team has plenty to prove.
"Are we sitting here that we're conceding? Absolutely not," Peavy said. "This team won't concede anything until we're mathematically eliminated. And we all believe right now that that's not going to happen. We know that we have enough talent, as we did last year, to play with the Detroit Tigers, who were the American League champions. There's not a player in this room who was on this team last year who doesn't believe we can beat that team."
- JJ Stankevitz
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No WBC for Santiago
Pitcher Hector Santiago confirmed Sunday he wont to play in the World Baseball Classic in March. Santiago (Puerto Rico) was one of five White Sox players listed on provisional WBC rosters. Jesse Crain (Canada) and Alex Rios (Puerto Rico) are expected to participate as are minor-leaguers Andre Rienzo (Brazil) and Andy Gonzales (Puerto Rico).
-- Dan Hayes
Mitchell primed to turn the corner?
Jared Mitchell hit .237.358.420 between Double-A Birmingham and Triple-A Charlotte last season, which represented a step in the right direction for the team's 2009 first-round draft pick. His trikeout total was still high -- 179 in 549 plate appearances -- but White Sox assistant GM Buddy Bell feels the 24-year-old is starting to put everything together.
"I saw a guy who's starting to look like a baseball player," Bell, who's raved about Mitchell since seeing him play in the Instructional League last fall, said. "(He's) a guy who looks like a baseball player that's athletic as opposed to an athlete trying to play baseball."
-- JJ Stankevitz
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Reed working to avoid another slow finish
Addison Reed's offseason has consisted of plenty of cardio in an effort to avoid another late-season letdown.
As a rookie, Reed allowed 13 hits, two walks and eight runs in nine September innings. The right-hander said he didn't feel tired -- his fastball velocity in September was consistent with the rest of his season -- but the issue may have bee a little more latent.
"It might have been a combination of the hitters seeing me a couple times around," Reed said. " Physically, I didn't feel tired, but that didn't mean I didn't get tired."
-- JJ Stankevitz
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Oh those fans
Pitcher John Danks elicited plenty of laughs in a Sunday afternoon seminar when he was asked about his habits when he watches University of Texas sporting events.
I become one of the fans I hate, Danks said.
-- Dan Hayes