The ALCS is Coming!

The White Sox got the whole weekend (plus a day) off before the ALCS starts. At this time of year--after 162 regular season games, 3 playoff games, and dozens of Spring Training games--that's a blessing. But by Tuesday night I'm sure we'll be hearing nearly as much about the potential rust on the White Sox pitching staff as much as we'll hear about how tired the poor Angels/Yankees are after surviving Games 4 and 5 of their LDS.

The White Sox handled the rust factor by playing some simulated games over the weekend. Ozzie Guillen even took a few ABs against rookie Brandon McCarthy. I'm not sure yet if McCarthy will be on the LCS roster or not.

One pitcher who will be on the LCS roster is Jon Garland. While Garland won 18 games in the regular season, he didn't get to start in the LDS (he would have started Game 4 had it been necessary). There was talk that Garland would start Game 1 of the LCS. Now it appears that won't happen. The Sox rotation looks like it will set up like this: Contreras, Buehrle, Garland, and Garcia. By the time we get around to Garland for Game 3, it will have been a long time since he's pitched in a regular game. Maybe that's a good thing though, as Garland did tire down the stretch.