White Sox player development staff to remain intact in 2010

The Chicago White Sox on-field player development staff will return entirely intact for the 2010 season.

Among the managers returning to their respective minor-league affiliates in 2010 are Chris Chambliss (second season) at Class AAA Charlotte, Ever Magallanes (second season) at Class AA Birmingham, Joe McEwing (second season) at Class A Winston-Salem, Ernie Young (third season) at Class A Kannapolis, Chris Cron (fourth season) at Advanced Rookie Great Falls and Ryan Newman (second season) at Advance Rookie Bristol.

Jerry Hairston of Advanced Rookie Bristol, the White Sox all-time leader with 87 pinch hits, is one of the organization's six hitting coaches returning to the same post in 2010, while former Sox All-Stars Richard Dotson (Charlotte) and Bobby Thigpen (Winston-Salem) headline the group of pitching coaches which also returns intact.

Buddy Bell, who spent 18 seasons in the major leagues as a player and nine as a manager, returns for his second full season as the Sox director of player development. Bell's entire player development instruction staff also returns to its same positions in 2010.

The White Sox six minor-league affiliates combined to go 425-346 (.551) in 2009, the third-best winning percentage among all organizations. Four of the six teams reached the postseason, Birmingham going 92-47 to establish franchise records for wins and winning percentage (.662).

White Sox outright Cole Armstrong to class AAA Charlotte

The Chicago White Sox have outrighted catcher Cole Armstrong to Class AAA Charlotte.

Armstrong, 26, batted .252 (62-246) with 10 home runs and 32 RBI in 69 games with Class AAA Charlotte in 2009. He was selected by the White Sox from Atlanta in the 2005 Rule 5 Draft.

The White Sox 40-man roster is at 40.

White Sox agree to terms on one-year contract with pitcher John Danks, avoiding arbitration.

The Chicago White Sox have agreed to terms on a one-year, $3.45-million contract with left-handed pitcher John Danks, avoiding arbitration.

Danks, 24, was 13-11 with a 3.77 ERA (84 ER/200.1 IP) and 149 strikeouts in 32 starts last season. He set career highs in wins and IP and limited opponents to a .245 average, fourth-lowest among American League left-handers.

Danks has gone 25-20 with a 3.55 ERA (156 ER/395.1 IP) and 308 strikeouts in 65 starts over the last two seasons combined.

The White Sox have no remaining arbitration-eligible players.

2010 Sox Pride Club memberships now available

CHICAGO - The 2010 Sox Pride Club, the official online fan club of Chicago White Sox baseball, features all the of the membership privileges provided in the past, but now with a new membership level and more exclusive offers and perks.

Members of the "Home Run" and "Grand Slam" groups will continue to receive an individual game-ticket presale and other exclusive ticketing opportunities throughout the season, along with a membership card, a 2010 subscription to mlb.com Gameday Premium (including mlb.com Gameday Audio), a special Sox Pride Club headquarters on whitesox.com and much more.

New in 2010, the "Ultimate" membership level includes guaranteed tickets to a 2010 White Sox regular-season prime game, a postseason ticket opportunity, along with special day-of-game promotional opportunities and more. Plus, all Ultimate and Grand Slam members will receive a special gift following the season.

The new Ultimate membership costs $134.95, while the Grand Slam and Home Run cost the same as they did in 2009, $34.95 and $24.95. respectively.

Fans interested in signing up for a 2010 Sox Pride Club membership, or giving it as a gift, should visit soxprideclub.com for complete details. Fans attending SoxFest 2010 this weekend at the Palmer House Hilton also can purchase 2010 Sox Pride Club memberships at the whitesox.com booth, located on Level 4 outside of the State Room.

The Chicago White Sox Blog " Farming "

Farming

CHICAGO -- The Chicago White Sox announced their on-field player development staff for the 2007 season, which includes managerial changes at all levels of the Sox farm system.
Marc Bombard, who spent the 2005-06 seasons as first base coach with the Philadelphia Phillies, enters his 23rd season as a minor-league manager with Class AAA Charlotte. He was named Minor League Manager of the Year by USA Today in 2002, and his 1,556 victories are the most among all active minor-league managers.

Rafael Santana has been named manager at Class AA Birmingham after going 66-72 in his managerial debut with Class A Winston-Salem in 2006. He also served as first base coach for the White Sox in 2003-04.

Tim Blackwell, who served as the pitching coach for the San Diego Surf Dawgs of the independent Golden Baseball League in 2006, will take over as manager at Winston-Salem. He has posted a 693-771 (.473) record over 12 seasons as a minor-league manager and played 10 years in the majors with Boston (1974-75), Philadelphia (1976-77), the Cubs (1978-81) and Montreal (1977, 1982-83).

Chris Jones has been named manager at Class A Kannapolis following two seasons as manager of the Newark Bears in the independent Northern League. He played nine major-league seasons with Cincinnati (1991), Houston (1992), Colorado (1993-94), the Mets (1995-96), San Diego (1997), Arizona (1998), San Francisco (1998) and Milwaukee (2000).

Chris Cron, who served as manager at Birmingham last season, moves to Advanced Rookie Great Falls, and Omer Munoz, who spent the 2006 season as manager of Kannapolis, will serve in the same capacity at Advanced Rookie Bristol.

In other changes to the player development staff, Wes Clements has been named hitting coach at Winston-Salem, while Larry Owens (pitching coach) and Andy Tomberlin (hitting) were added to Kannapolis' staff. Robert Sasser (Great Falls) and Jerry Hairston (Bristol) will serve as hitting coach at their respective affiliates.

Chicago White Sox 2007 Player Development Staff Assignments