The most notable background might belong to Van Benschoten, whose 9.20 career ERA is the highest mark in major league history among pitchers who have worked at least 90 innings.

--RHP Scott Linebrink seems to be completely recovered from the inflammation that caused him so many problems from late July to September, which is great news for a White Sox bullpen that desperately needs the veteran to be healthy. Before the All-Star break, Linebrink was 2-2 with a 2.37 ERA, and the bullpen was among the best in the American League. After the injury, the unit was inconsistent and struggled to define roles. Only Bobby Jenks and Matt Thornton were consistent performers after the break.

--RHP Jeff Marquez is being considered the likely candidate for the No. 4 spot in the rotation for a reason -- because of a sinkerball that general manager Ken Williams believes will fit perfectly into the way U.S. Cellular Field plays come summertime. Williams, who acquired Marquez in the Nick Swisher trade, compares the right-hander to Jon Garland and will give the young pitcher the first crack at winning a starting job this spring.

--RHP Jose Contreras is still months away from truly testing the ruptured Achilles tendon he suffered last season, but the White Sox are optimistic that they could see Contreras on the mound for them at some point this season. The plan for manager Ozzie Guillen is still to bring Contreras along slowly, first using him out of the bullpen when he is ready to pitch again.

--DH Jim Thome probably will again seek permission to arrive in spring training early, as he has done since being acquired by the White Sox following the 2005 season. Thome switched workout programs when he was traded from the Phillies in hopes of keeping his chronic back problems in check. The first part of that program has entailed arriving in spring camp early to continue strengthening the back and get it acclimated to his workload of swings in the spring. Thome had one of his healthiest seasons in 2008 and credited his early work as a big reason.

--RHP Octavio Dotel had a 5.11 ERA in the second half of the 2008 season, and the White Sox want to make sure that conditioning is not a reason. Dotel isn't exactly known as the hardest-working guy on the team, and Guillen said he would make sure that his entire team is in shape before it breaks camp. As a matter of fact, Guillen warned that his players better show up at camp in shape, because, "This is going to be a different type of camp."

BY THE NUMBERS: 149 -- The number of games played by Jim Thome in 2008, the most he's played since 2003, when he played in 159 games for the Phillies.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "One of my biggest worries over the years is to get an aged club to the point where they are ineffective and then you have no value in order to get more players and continue the team rolling on. If you get to that point and have done nothing ... you are going to be a club that suffers for a long time, and once you start suffering for a long time, it's a deep hole to dig out of." -- General manager Ken Williams on why it was important for the Sox to get younger now rather than later.