Growing up in Evanston, Illinois (Chicago’s premiere northwest suburb) I was continuously and mercilessly mocked for my continued support of the Windy City’s South-side baseball team, the White Sox. Everyone I knew was a Cubs supporter (despite the fact that the lovable Cubbies have rarely posted an above five hundred record since their last World Series win: 1908. You hear me? 1908.) It seems that my unwavering support for the ChiSox was not in vain.

It has been a miserable season for Chi-Town sports. Every major team finished this season below five hundred. That’s right. White Sox, Cubs, Bears, Black-hawks, Bulls (that’s five teams, folks) all posted miserable records, and all fell horribly short of the playoffs. The continued good play of the MLS Fire and the IHL Wolves was little comfort to us Windy City sports fans, mostly because soccer is not a sport.

Yahoo.com Stan Javier catches a bad one here, as White Sox second baseman Ray Durham forces him out in the midst of a double play.

Pre-season predictions for this year’s baseball season gave my favorite Sox credit for little more than sharing a name with the World Series champions-to be: the Boston Red Sox. Granted, the season has only just begun, but last I looked (that being right now) my Sox have won three more games than the BoSox, and are sitting atop the American League Central. The Cleveland Indians, heralded preseason as easy division champs, are yet another team with three less wins than the White Sox.

Let’s take a look at the stats. As of Wednesday night, the Sox were an impressive 14-7, in close competition for Major League Baseball’s best record. It’s great hitting that has gotten the Sox to where they are. Young first baseman Paul Konerko ranks in the top twenty in four hitting categories: batting average, hits, doubles, and runs batted in, while tacking on a respectable five home runs. Perennial all-star Frank Thomas also has five homers, and joins Konerko near the top of the league in average (the Big Hurt is third, hitting .387) hits, and doubles.

On top of these two sluggers, the ChiSox boast at least two top twenty hitters in each of the aforementioned categories, and only two starters are hitting under .300. Six of them are at .320 or above.

Now I can already hear the critics yelling about the pitching staff. But it’s not half as bad as they would have you think. The Sox have some good young pitchers, and with good coaching and a big free agent somewhere down the line, we have the makings for a great staff.

The Sox bullpen is already considered one of the best in the majors, with relievers Kieth (it’s spelled Kieth, trust me) Foulke, Sean Lowe, and Bill Simas all having ERA’s below 2.50. Closer Bobby Howry is also off to a pretty good start, but has yet to be tested much this season.

As for the starters, a crew full of promising includes Kip Wells, Jim Parque, and Scott Eyre. The veteran leadership of Mike Sirotka, Cal Eldred and James Baldwin (a 3-0 record and an ERA of 3.38) should bring together a strong rotation.

Perhaps more important than any of that is the fact that the Sox are an incredibly young team. In the starting lineup, there is one sixth year player, two third year players, two second year players, and a rookie, all of whom are hitting over three hundred. The pitching staff is incredibly young, with Cal Eldred being the elder member at the ripe young age of 33, and Frank Thomas is the next oldest on the team at 31. There is not one other player on the roster older than 30. There is not another team in the league (much less a good one) with such young players, and third year manager Jerry Manuel is proving to be a keeper.

Now I’m not here to make any rash statements; I’ll be the first to admit that the ChiSox are not looking like World Series Champs. We’ve got a ways to go before we reach that point. But right now, the South Sidaz have everyone screamin’, "These kids can play!"