Thoughts on the White Sox after weekend’s events

Mission accomplished for White Sox over the weekend.

A good number of fans did come out to SoxFest and negotiated the maze that passes for the Palmer House Hilton.

And believe or not, the majority of patrons seem to think the “rebuilt” White Sox are going to stand back up and contend this season.

We’ve already told you about the heat general manager Kenny Williams and designated hitter Adam Dunn are feeling.

Here are some additional SoxFest highlights:

Future ace?

Williams was raving about Nestor Molina, the 23-year-old starting pitcher he acquired from the Blue Jays in a trade for closer Sergio Santos.

At some point during the upcoming season, maybe as soon as the all-star break, Williams expects to see Molina in the White Sox’ rotation.

Williams also projects the right-hander to blossom into a No. 1 or 2 starter.

Splitting the season between Class A Dunedin and AA New Hampshire last season, Molina was a combined 12-3 with a 2.21 ERA.

Much tougher competition lies ahead, but it is difficult to ignore Molina’s 148 strikeouts and 16 walks in 130⅓ innings.

“This kid has the stuff and command,” Williams said. “When you have (16) walks in that many innings, you know what you’re doing out there.”

Is Peavy healthy?Nestor Molina could ultimately wind up taking Jake Peavy#146;s rotation spot.If the Sox fall out of contention and Peavy is healthy and pitching well, he could be a prime trade candidate.Peavy is in the final year of his contract, and he has the highest salary on the roster at $17 million. The 30-year-old pitcher also has a $22 million club option for 2013 with a more likely $4 million buyout.Maybe this is the year Peavy stays out of the trainer#146;s room, and the right-hander did say he#146;s fully recovered from the radical 2010 surgery he had to repair a detached lat muscle.#147;They#146;ve told me now, 18 or so months out of surgery, I#146;m as healthy as I#146;m going to get,#148; Peavy said. #147;What I have now is what I have now. #147;I#146;m excited and I#146;ve had a good off-season. A normal off-season. The last two years have been nothing but rehab for at least five days a week. This winter#146;s been nice, going to a gym and doing my long toss like every one of these other guys have been doing. I#146;m just going to go out there and lay it on the line.#148;Is Beckham back?Adam Dunn and Alex Rios were big busts for the Sox last season, but don#146;t forget about Gordon Beckham.The club#146;s first-round draft pick in 2008 (No. 8 overall) is coming off his second straight subpar season (.230, 10 home runs, 44 RBI, .296 on-base percentage), and you have to wonder if Beckham is ever going to live up to his once vast potential.SoxFest is a relaxed atmosphere, but Beckham was already itching to get back on the field.#147;I#146;m not worried about me,#148; Beckham said. #147;I#146;ve worked pretty hard this off-season, but talk#146;s cheap. I#146;m looking forward to going out there and playing and getting going. I feel good about where I#146;m at.#147;I#146;ve done some work I needed to do. I think it#146;s going to be a great year for this team and I#146;m hoping to be a big part of it.#148;Beckham has gone backward the last two seasons because he continually swings at pitches high and outside of the strike zone. If he learns to lay off, or hit the ball the other way, Beckham might start seeing pitches on the inner half of the plate he can pull and drive.Changing of the guard:Ozzie Guillen is going to be missed, but the White Sox are thrilled to have Robin Ventura as their new manager.#147;I expect Robin to be great,#148; catcher A.J. Pierzynski said. #147;I#146;ve known him for a long time and I played against him. He#146;s a great person, he seems like he has fun and he seems like he#146;s going to keep everybody loose. We#146;ll see. Nobody knows. He hasn#146;t managed before.#148;Said Beckham: #147;It#146;s going to be different. There#146;s only one Ozzie and he will be missed. That#146;s all I#146;ve known here. But we#146;re excited about Robin.#148;Tune it out:Paul Konerko knows the White Sox are not being picked to make the playoffs, but he#146;s not losing any sleep over predictions.#147;It doesn#146;t matter to the players if you say this team is #145;blank,#146;#148; Konerko said. #147;Last year#146;s team was supposed to be a deep contending playoff team and you saw where that got us. So I don#146;t think it really matters what you define a team as, at least from the inside out.#148;sgregor@dailyherald.com