--LHP Mark Buehrle had an odd spring, with the birth of his second child interrupting his routine. According to manager Ozzie Guillen, that might have caused the stiffness he experienced throughout the camp. "But his last two outings, he was great," Guillen said. "We had a Plan B in case he couldn't go (in the opener), but he's fine. I'm not worried about him. You'll see the same Buehrle you always saw." The Sox have tried to retool Buehrle's spring program to cut back on his work, given the high number of innings he has amassed in recent years. But Buehrle shrugged off concerns. "If I had my way, I'd get three or four starts (in spring training)," he said. "It doesn't take me long to get ready. I've been pitching with pain and stiffness for 10 years."

--RHP Jose Contreras is still tentatively penciled in to be the No. 4 starter, scheduled to make his debut Friday against the Twins. With Monday's game with Kansas City postponed, the rotation is still the same against the Royals, but manager Ozzie Guillen will make a final decision about Contreras or Bartolo Colon in the No. 4 spot on Tuesday. Whichever one is picked to debut against Minnesota will bump the other to the No. 5 spot.

--LHP John Danks and RHP Gavin Floyd had breakout seasons in 2008, and manager Ozzie Guillen and the organization are counting on those two to not only repeat, but take it a step further and start establishing themselves in the upper tier of American League pitchers. "You see those guys throw in spring training and they were outstanding," Guillen said. "You look at what kind of job scouts did when we made those trades. All the geniuses were criticizing Kenny (Williams) about what we do trading Freddy (Garcia) and this guy and that guy for those two guys. Those two kids, they have a chance to be special in this game. They are not afraid and have good stuff."

ROTATION:

1. LHP Mark Buehrle

2. RHP Gavin Floyd

3. LHP John Danks

4. RHP Jose Contreras

5. RHP Bartolo Colon

BULLPEN:

RHP Bobby Jenks (closer)

RHP Scott Linebrink

RHP Octavio Dotel

LHP Matt Thornton

LHP Clayton Richard

RHP Mike MacDougal

RHP D.J. Carrasco

LINEUP:

1. CF Dewayne Wise

2. 2B Chris Getz

3. LF Carlos Quentin

4. DH Jim Thome

5. RF Jermaine Dye

6. 1B Paul Konerko

7. C A.J. Pierzynski

8. SS Alexei Ramirez

9. 3B Josh Fields

RESERVES:

C Corky Miller

INF Brent Lillibridge

INF Wilson Betemit

OF Brian Anderson

MEDICAL WATCH:

RHP Bartolo Colon (elbow surgery) showed enough this spring to be named the No. 5 starter, but Clayton Richard is waiting in the wings if Colon struggles.

RHP Jose Contreras (ruptured Achilles tendon in August 2008) was the talk of the camp, not only showing up 30 pounds lighter, but also three months ahead of schedule. He is in the regular rotation now and ran through all the pitching drills with no setbacks.

INF Jayson Nix (right quad) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 27. He injured the leg early in camp, missed a week and then tried coming back, only to suffer a setback.