Chicago White Sox: 10 Major Storylines to Follow in Spring Training

Baseball's favorite sound bite and lightning rod, Ozzie Guillen, has taken his talents to South Beach. The Chicago White Sox have low expectations across the board from fans and experts alike.

Some will the organization as a boring group with very little to no storylines. Even though the excitement may have subsided, there are still stories worth while to follow this spring training.

The following are the 10 major storylines to follow during spring training. 

Jake Peavy Is Healthy, or so He Says

Jake Peavy is healthy for the first time in his White Sox career...for now. He has only made 48 starts in his stint on the South Side, with only 19 last season.

Even still, he has come out and said it is realistic for him to make 30 starts this season. If the White Sox want to compete in the division this year, they are going to need him to do just that. 

Can Robin Ventura Actually Manage?

He went from college baseball star to fan favorite for the White Sox. He roamed the hot corner for the team for 10 years, winning Rookie of the Year, four Gold Gloves and an All-Star appearance.

He was an accomplished player, but can he manage? He has no managerial experience, but has very big and polarizing shoes to fill taking over for his former teammate, Ozzie Guillen.

It will be interesting to see how he fairs in his first season on the job. 

Adam Dunn and His Attempt to Rebound from a Bad Season

Last season Adam Dunn was catastrophically bad. He hit .159 with 11 home runs and 42 RBI, with 177 strikeouts in 122 games last season. Not at all what the team expected when they signed him to a four-year, $56 million deal.

He has lost weight coming into the spring training, and is an instant candidate for Comeback Player of the Year. I mean, he can't be that bad again, can he? 

Who Is the Closer?

In the offseason, the team traded their young closer Sergio Santos. The move came as a surprise, as the 28-year-old had 30 saves last season and signed a multi-year deal with the team.

They now have no accomplished closer on the staff. Matt Thorton was given the job before and failed opening the door to Santos. He will get another shot along with Jesse Crain and youngster Addison Reed. One of them needs to emerge as the guy at the close of camp, or it could be a long season. 

Gordon Beckham Needs to Be the Guy They Thought They Drafted

Gordon Beckham was a star college player at the University of Georgia, where he led the team all the way to the final round of the College World Series. The White Sox drafted him with the eighth pick in the 2008 draft, and since then he has been a disappointment.

He is going to need to improve upon his career .249 average and .318 on-base percentage or else the team might give up on him. 

Dayan Viciedo Gets His Chance to Shine

The man they call "The Tank" has been a part of the organization since 2008 after he defected from Cuba. His skills are raw, but at 22 years old he has the talent and upside to be a major offensive force.

He has tremendous power to all fields, along with an ability to drive in key runs. He will have his first shot this year to play full time, taking the place of the traded Carlos Quentin in right field. 

Alex Rios Might Be Public Enemy No. 1

What's frustrating about Alex Rios is he has all the looks of a five-tool player—he just seems too lazy to put it all together. When you add in that massive contract he carries, paying him $12.5 million this upcoming season and $13 million the two after that, the issue looks worse.

Last season he hit only .227 with 13 home runs, while knocking in 44. To add to that, he has turned into a below average fielder and somewhat of a villain in Chicago. What kind of player he is this season will be on the minds of Sox fans right away.  

Top of the Lineup, Bottom of the Rotation

Chris Sale has electric stuff. Alejandro De Aza has electric speed. Sale has a career 2.58 ERA in two seasons out the bullpen with the White Sox, averaging 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings. De Aza hit .329 and stole 12 bases in 54 games last year with the team.

Both players will be counted on to make major contributions this season, as Sale moves into the starting rotation and De Aza becomes the full-time leadoff man. The two players are considered major parts of the White Sox's future, so it will be interesting to see how they do. 

Is Kenny Williams on the Hot Seat?

Team owner Jerry Reinsdorf picked Kenny Williams over Ozzie Guillen in the infamous feud between them. Now Williams has what he wanted: full control over the team without the manager meddling and making noise. That also means his seat is hotter than before.

He got a little bit of a pass when the team won the World Series in 2005, but fans have cooled on him since then. It could be the gutting of the team's minor league system, the Adam Dunn signing, the Alex Rios waiver pickup, the Nick Swisher/Gio Gonzalez trade or the Jake Peavy trade that has his stock falling.

Also, a rising star in assistant general manager Rick Hahn is waiting in the wings. Hahn has interviewed for multiple GM positions, and Reinsdorf might feel it is his time at some point if Williams can't improve the team. 

Don't Stop Believing

When the White Sox were successful in 2005, they came out of nowhere. Most people did not view them as a serious contender. The culture of a winning team begins in spring training, and that year's team was no different.

That season the team adopted Journey's hit song "Don't Stop Believing" as the theme for their season, and rode the magic all the way to a World Series title. The odds this season might be even further stacked against them, and it might be unlikely they can challenge the Tigers, Angels, Red Sox and Yankees for an American League Pennant.

Still, if this team will compete and finish with expectations higher than the ones set for them now, they will have to look within themselves and believe in each other.