Jake Peavy

Coming off an up-and-down 2010 campaign, the Chicago White Sox are reloaded, "all in" and taking aim at the American League Central title and beyond.

The signing of Adam Dunn put a powerful left-handed bat in the lineup that the Sox so desperately missed last year, and the re-signings of Paul Konerko and A.J. Pierzynski told fans that this team means business.

Still, there are several questions looming over the fields at Camelback Ranch in Glendale. Here's a look at what the White Sox need to accomplish before April.

Spring training is under way, and we can now take a much more in-depth look at what the regular season holds in store.

Last season, we were fortunate enough to watch dominating pitching take over the landscape of Major League Baseball; and this season looks to be the same.

With ample amounts of solid arms in last year's playoffs, run production (believe it or not) was few and far between for some ball clubs.

However, for a vast majority of teams without such talent on the mound, last season was a forgettable one.

One of the most interesting races in baseball should be the AL Central Division.  The Midwestern division isn't the sexiest in baseball, but it's highly underrated. 

ESPN will give more coverage to one Red Sox/Yankees series than they will to the combined seasons of the five teams in the division, but the fans of those teams know it's shaping up to be a great race in 2011.

With all of the hoopla surrounding the Boston Red Sox (Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez, Bobby Jenks), the Washington Nationals (Jayson Werth), the Philadelphia Phillies (Cliff Lee) and the Milwaukee Brewers (Zack Greinke), it seems that the Chicago White Sox have been dismissed as a contender for 2011.

It could just be a coincidence, or there could be something to it.  Adam Dunn is just another example of a player who has been linked with the crosstown Cubs who is headed to White Sox.  Let's take a look into Kenny Williams' past.

1. Jim Thome

Though the Sox exceeded the expectations of many pre-season predictions, they still finished a distant second to the Twins and enter the off-season with some work to do.

Before we even talk about making any upgrades to the roster, the Sox have several major decisions to make regarding their current players. The team already has a number of sizable salary commitments and would need to make a few more to keep this same core together.

Money will be a big theme this off-season, and Kenny Williams will probably have to creative to improve this team.

The All-Star break is suddenly approaching, which for many signifies the upcoming trade deadline on July 31.

With the recent trade of perennial Cy Young candidate Cliff Lee to the Texas Rangers, many teams will open the floodgates after determining if they are going to make the push for October glory, or pack it in for 2010.

One team that will not be giving up is the Chicago White Sox, who with a resurgence that almost no one predicted over the last 40 days, have put themselves near the top of the American League Central.

It was what everyone suspected as soon as Jake Peavy walked off the mound with his right arm barely moving in the second inning against the Los Angeles Angels. Jake Peavy is gone for the season.

Friday, it became official as Peavy said he will have surgery on his detached right shoulder muscle (latissimus dorsi) on Wednesday. He hopes to be throwing by spring training early next year.

Doctors told Peavy the procedure must be done, but his career is not in jeopardy.

White Sox starter Jake Peavy was pulled from the game during the second inning with an apparent arm injury.

After throwing a pitch, Peavy wandered off the mound and appeared to be shaking his right arm. He was replaced by Tony Pena.

I'm not going to speculate on what the injury actually is (other than that it appeared to be in the lower arm area) or the severity of it, but this could be a major blow for the White Sox. Peavy has been their hottest starter of late, posting a 1.75 ERA in the month of June.

It’s never a good sign when a manager says his ace pitcher “has some things going on” in his shoulder, but that's exactly what Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said about Jake Peavy the other day.

Due to Peavy’s achy shoulder, the White Sox skipped his Thursday night start against the Pittsburgh Pirates, and he'll attempt to start on Saturday.