White Sox Wed Sep 16 2009

A Peek At Peavy

You can debate the wisdom of the White Sox trying to work in a start for pitcher Jake Peavy before the season is out, but you can't debate that it's now actually going to happen.

After a rehab stint to work out kinks in his surgically repaired ankle and, later, his elbow after it was hit by a batted ball during the minor league tune-up, Peavy has been given the green light to make his White Sox debut when he takes the mound Saturday against the Kansas City Royals. at U.S. Cellular.

The press and fans were split on the necessity of working Peavy into the lineup, some taking the position that the season was pretty much a done deal so rushing him to the mound might make matters worse, while other said it's important for the team to see what they have in the star pitcher to prepare themselves for next season.

And then there's the third viewpoint, one that concludes that the White Sox might actually need Peavy this season for a final playoff push. Sure, they're 5 1/2 behind the division leading Detroit Tigers and have not been able to really capitlize on the fact that the Tigers are 4-6 in their last 10 games. But there's also the fact that the Sox have six games remaining against the Tigers, a three-game home series September 25-27 and three games in Detroit to close out the season on October 2-4. If the current sitution in the standings remains, it could be a crucial span. And the presence of Peavy, even at less that 100 percent (as he confesses he is) might be key.

— Ken Green / Comments (0)