The White Sox activated Esteban Loaiza from the D.L. and then they released him. The Pale Hose weren’t happy with Loaiza since the day they signed him when he reported out of shape. He pitched in only 3 games (0 starts) with the White Sox this time around and he was 0-0 with a 3.00 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. The White Sox might have been able to use Loaiza with Jose Contreras on the D.L. but they decided against it.

The White Sox have recalled 24-year old lefty starting pitcher Clayton Richard to replace Jose Contreras in the starting rotation. He will make his major league debut tomorrow. Richard was supposed to pitch on the Olympic team for the USA next month but his job comes first and that’s with the White Sox. Richard has started 19 games in AA+AAA ball this season and he is 12-6 with a 2.44 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP. He has only allowed 91 hits while walking only 20 batters in 121.2 innings pitched this season. It will be interesting to see how well Richard pitches as he was not a highly rated prospect coming into this season.

The Chicago White Sox have placed righty starting pitcher Jose Contreras on the 15-day disabled list with a case of right elbow tendinitis. He has started 19 games for the White Sox this season and he is 7-6 with a 4.60 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. Over his last 8 starts however, Contreras has been awful. In those 8 starts, Contreras is 2-3 with a 7.46 ERA and a 1.86 WHIP. Nick Masset will take over for Contreras in the rotation until he’s ready to return to action. Masset has pitched in 28 games (1 start) this season for the White Sox and he is 1-0 with 1 save, a 4.14 ERA and a 1.65 WHIP.

The White Sox spent a lot of money to improve the bullpen in front of closer Bobby Jenks and it has proven to be money well spent. Jenks has done his job as he is 2-0 with 18 saves, a 1.95 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP but Octavio Dotel and Scott Linebrink have been great too. Linebrink is 2-2 with 1 save, a 2.37 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP so far this season for the White Sox working mostly in the 8th inning. Octavio Dotel has also been solid this season for the White Sox. He is 3-4 with 1 save, a 2.98 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. Dotel has really been nasty as he has whiffed 60 batters in only 42.1 innings this season for the Pale Hose. He would probably close the next time Jenks is unavailable or injured. Matt Thornton is the top lefty in the bullpen and he also has wicked stuff. Thornton is 4-1 with 1 save, a 2.33 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP this season and he has whiffed 48 batters in only 38.2 innings which shows how tough he’s been on hitters. Lefty Boone Logan (2-2, 3.00 ERA) and Nick Masset (1-0, 1 save, 3.32 ERA) have been solid for the White Sox working early in games. No team can really match the White Sox bullpen top to bottom and that will serve them well the rest of the 2008 season.

The Chicago White Sox are 54-40 at the All-Star Break as they have one of the best all-around teams in all of baseball. But, the reason the offense has been so good for them is because of the power they have shown. The White Sox lead the American League with 129 homers as it is their main weapon on offense. Five players have at least 12 homers this season for the White Sox but Jermaine Dye and Carlos Quentin have really carried the offense this year. Jermaine Dye is hitting .306 with 56 runs scored, 21 homers and 56 RBIs this season for the White Sox and he’s very capable of having a huge second half this year. The White Sox pretty much stole Carlos Quentin from the D-Backs over the off-season as he’s been healthy and productive all season long. Quentin is hitting .276 with 62 runs scored, 22 homers and 70 RBIs this year for the White Sox. The biggest surprise this season has been the emergence of rookie Alexei Ramirez at 2B. Ramirez is hitting .312 with 31 runs scored, 7 homers, 29 RBIs and 7 stolen bases so far this season and he has shown no reason not to expect a huge second half out of him. Watch for the offense of the White Sox to really take off now with Paul Konerko back healthy.