Because this week actually offered real actual news in the form of the Kosuke Fukudome signing, a lot of good reading material got pushed to the backburner.

And then there's Addison Reed's iPhone case, courtesy of Gordon Beckham via Twitter. At this moment, the White Sox's probable roster locks average just under 29 years of age, but relative to previous seasons, it's probably going to feel a few years younger.

Jim Bowden, Buster Olney and Keith Law are ranking all MLB franchises in terms of their futures using five measurements -- quality of major-league talent, farm system, finances, stability in management and mobility of assets. By this system, ESPN said the White Sox have the third-bleakest future, ranking only ahead of the Orioles and Astros. The commentary is behind a paywall, but if you're unable to read it, it's nothing you haven't heard before.

This is a handy list of all the players who are out of options this season, because some of these players may become available through waiver claims or spring-cleaning trades. The White Sox are conflict-free this season, since Alejandro De Aza, Philip Humber and Brent Lillibridge are all locks for the 25-man roster.

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Another day, another member of the White Sox coaching staff talking about how they knew their team was going to be flat in 2011 and didn't or couldn't do much to address it.

Oddly enough, Joe Cowley's column was the only the second-most worthwhile read about Greg Walker on Wednesday, unless these I'm-just-now-telling-you-I-knew-something-bad-was-going-to-happen-months-after-it-finished-happening tales do something for you.

Jerry Crasnick also talked with the former White Sox hitting coach, and since it focuses on his new job with the Atlanta Braves, it's a whole lot more useful.

I'm intrigued by hitting coaches, mostly because I really can't write about them with any certainty. I wonder just how certain teams are about hitting coaches when they hire them, given how they often get the ax when things go awry. Their existences seem mostly interchangeable, hinging on timing and whether a high-profile player can be considered a success story.

I have some notions about what Walker brought to and took off the table with the White Sox, but they're only notions. So I was glad to see him hook up with the Braves shortly after he parted ways with the Sox, because it's going to add some context to his time on the South Side, as well as some data to compare it to, even if conclusions can't be strongly drawn.

Crasnick's article is well-timed. Since it's right before spring training, we're catching Walker coming off a relationship that had grown stale, and right as he begins a new job with new bosses who are picking up what he's putting down.

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By now most of you have heard the rumblings that the Chicago Cubs may be calling U.S. Cellular Field home during the 2013 season. If the Cubs want to renovate Wrigley Field and make the necessary repairs to bring the stadium into the mid-20th century, they're going to need to shut the place down for at least a season. Which leads to an interesting dilemma. Where will they play?

The fans who honestly think it's feasible for the Cubs to play in Milwaukee are lying to themselves. That's far too much of a headache for the schedulers and not entirely realistic for the fanbase. Even more humorous is the "Let's play our games at Fifth Third Ballpark (home of the Kane County Cougars)" contingent. Do you know how many seats there are? 14,000! That's a lot of money that the team would lose playing in such a tiny stadium. There is only one realistic option for the Ricketts if they finally decide to stop trying to "fix" every problem with duct tape and actually update their shrine to mediocrity: become temporary tenants of our Chicago White Sox.

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The Kosuke Fukudome signing makes so much sense that it's barely worth talking about. So watch me blaze through 10,000 words! In your face, obvious need-addressing transaction!

The Sox had an opening for a left-handed fourth-to-fifth outfielder with some major-league cred on the cheap, and in comes Fukudome, who will be making $1 million ($500,000 salary for 2012, $500,000 buyout on a $3.5 million club option for 2013). He's good enough to start for the duration of a typical DL stint, which is really the biggest concern for a team that will start unproven entities from left to right.

So it should work out. But if it doesn't, there's no overwhelming commitment to a $1 million may-as-well player. After all, $1 million is what the Sox paid Ben Davis after outrighting him to Charlotte before the 2005 season. Shrugging away $1 million can't stop a champion.

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Not long after hearing that they were the only team to not sign a free agent this winter, Kenny Williams and the White Sox went out and signed former Cub Kosuke Fukudome (h/t to 67WMAQ for knowing about this before anyone). The lefty will earn $500K in base pay this year with a $500K buyout or a $3.5MM club option for 2013. This move all but ensures Jordan Danks will start his season in the minor leagues again this year. That being said, I do find this move a little bit puzzling.

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While writing about Zeke Bonura last week, I had to do a little bit of research on early White Sox sluggers, since he was among the select few who could regularly reach the faraway fences of Comiskey Park.

That required stringing together some milestones in order to give him some context. Which then led me to piece together the rest of the home-run record's timeline out of curiosity.

As you'll see, the White Sox were skeptical of the baseballing craze known as the "four-bagged hit." They stopped writing it off as a fad after a few decades.

1901: 5, Sam Mertes

Let's start at the beginning. Mertes changed leagues without changing towns, jumping from the Chicago Orphans (now known as the Cubs) to the White Stockings of the newly formed American League. He led the inaugural edition of the team we root for with five homers. That's fitting, since he was given the nickname of "Sandow," a popular circus strongman at the time. "Popular circus strongman" is an awesome phrase that doesn't come up enough.

Anyway, his Baseball-Reference.com Bullpen page has a little more on him:

1903: 6, Danny Green

Green, like Mertes, starred for both Chicago teams, and he's got to have an interesting story. He had an OPS+ above 110 every year, but his major-league career was over after 1905 at 28. Total White Sox says he retired, but his Bullpen page says he went to the minors. While playing for Minneapolis, he was drilled in the head, and he never recovered. He died at age 39 in "an institution."

At any rate, Green hit more homers in 1903 than some later White Sox teams, including 1908 (three!) and 1909 (four!).

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In a profile of Jeff Manto, Mark Gonzales outlined the numerous tasks that lie ahead of the new White Sox hitting coach:

These are all very real issues, but there's one task that Gonzales didn't mention that should take precedent. He'll have to keep close watch on Dayan Viciedo, and the adjustments he has to make when pitchers find new ways to exploit his aggressiveness. In fact, I might rate Viciedo's progress as the most crucial development of 2012. Viciedo offers the prospect of above-average production for the league minimum his salary, and that's something the Sox have sorely lacked. If he can't deliver, it clouds the future of any next White Sox core.

So there's Viciedo. Let's assign Morel, too, since Manto oversaw Morel's brisk, steady climb through the minors. Otherwise, Manto arrives on the scene rather foreign to the current state of affairs.

He isn't daunted by the to-do list, at least outwardly:

There's a lot to do, and Manto should get ample time to show whether he's up for the task. He basically gets the benefit of the doubt thanks to the scientific method. Ozzie Guillen had a steadfast belief in his coaching staff and veteran players -- or a sheer reluctance to make anything that qualified as a difficult decision. Either way, what resulted was a formula with all constants and no variables.

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On the tails of some (mildly) expressed lurker interest in learning more about sabermetrics during the South Side Sox open house, I've decided to compile some of my personal bookmarks and other useful resources to help simplify things. I share some links ‘round these parts, so naturally I am expert. Perhaps this can be a database. Or just a one-off. Either way, maybe a few more people will ask more questions and really get the sabermetric ball rolling. If you're only vaguely familiar with some of the more obscure terms and acronyms thrown around on here, well, it can be overwhelming. There is a lot to learn, of course, but there are also a host of White Sox fans willing to help with that process. Just read up a bit first, eh? The links below provide a ton of material, but it's all good stuff, I promise. For the sake of brevity, I'll try to keep my comments clipped.

So, new jack, what is sabermetrics? Where to start? What a coincidence. Fangraphs, perhaps the most-cited outside resource on SSS, recently asked themselves that exact question. The rest of the links are focused on the numbers, but it's a larger field than that to be sure. As you'll find, many of the sites mentioned below are extremely interesting; I highly encourage new users to simply dive in. Select a couple favorite players, use the search functions and click away in any and all directions. Reading stat descriptions is fine, but you'll learn a lot more by putting them to work for you.

Next, to start the technical descriptions, this is an excellent primer. Yep, it has 24 articles on 24 subjects, but it's concise (if you can believe that) and very easy to understand. The listed subjects are largely concerned with player value, which is good since that's probably where most discussions and arguments originate. Those articles give us the meat and potatoes background behind concepts such as Wins Above Replacement. For some quick references, use the Fangraphs library. I've linked to a few of more frequently used stats and concepts below.

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