White Sox Media Relations

The White Sox, Comcast SportsNet, WGN-TV, WCIU-TV and WSCR-AM 670 announced the team's television and radio broadcast schedules for the 2012 season on Wednesday.

Comcast SportsNet will televise 101 regular-season Sox games beginning with the season opener on Friday, April 6 against the defending American League champion Texas Rangers in Arlington at 1:05 p.m. CDT. CSN also will air Opening Day at U.S. Cellular Field on Friday, April 13 vs. the reigning AL Central Division champion Detroit Tigers at 1:10 p.m.

WGN is scheduled to broadcast 30 Sox games this season, beginning with the club's second game of the year, and first night game, on Saturday, April 7 at Texas (7:05 p.m.). WCIU will begin its 25-game schedule on Tuesday, April 10 at 6:05 p.m. at Cleveland.

Five White Sox games are scheduled to be broadcast nationally as part of the FOX Saturday Baseball "Game of the Week" package, beginning April 21 at Seattle (3:05 p.m.). ESPN will air the White Sox at Rangers game on April 8 as part of its "Sunday Night Baseball" schedule with coverage starting at 7 p.m. Additional Sox games may be added to the ESPN and FOX slates later in the season.

All CSN, WGN, WCIU, ESPN and FOX telecasts will once again be available in high definition. Game times and television networks are subject to change.

WSCR-AM 670, the Sox flagship radio station, will broadcast all 162 games. The on-air duo of former Sox pitcher Ed Farmer (play-by-play) and former outfielder Darrin Jackson (color commentary) will return to the radio booth.

Ken "Hawk" Harrelson and Steve Stone, entering their fourth year together in the White Sox television booth, will call 156 regular-season games on CSN, CSN+, WGN and WCIU. The seven games scheduled on Comcast SportsNet Plus (CSN+) will be available on CLTV in the Chicagoland area. Viewers in other areas should visit CSNChicago.com for specific channel locations. The first CSN+ telecast is scheduled for Monday, April 23 at Oakland (9:05 p.m.).

CSN will air the first game of the BP Crosstown Cup series at Wrigley Field against the Cubs on Friday, May 18 at 1:20 p.m. FOX will broadcast the middle game on Saturday, May 19 at 6:15 p.m and WGN will televise the finale on Sunday, May 19 at 1:20 p.m. When the series moves to U.S. Cellular Field, CSN will broadcast the first (Monday, June 18, 7:10 p.m.) and third (Wednesday, June 20, 7:10 p.m.) games while WGN will air the middle contest on Tuesday, June 19 (7:10 p.m.).

The Sox will start all weeknight home games at 7:10 p.m. Saturday home games will include both 3:10 p.m. and 6:10 p.m. start times with one 6:15 p.m. first pitch (June 23). Sunday afternoon contests are scheduled for a 1:10 p.m. first pitch. FOX telecasts, which broadcast locally on WFLD-TV, will begin at either 3:05 (April 21 at Seattle, May 5 at Detroit and September 8 vs. Kansas City) or 6:15 p.m. (May 19 at Cubs and June 23 vs. Milwaukee).

Left-handed hitting first baseman Dan Johnson, who batted .119 in 91 at-bats for the Tampa Bay Rays last season, has been signed by the White Sox to a minor-league contract.

Johnson, 32, is best known for his two-out, two-strike home run against the New York Yankees on the final night of the 2011 regular season. It capped a seven-run comeback in an 8-7 Rays victory that clinched the American League wild card for Tampa Bay.

A career .235 hitter, Johnson's other home run in 2011 was a three-run shot against Sox lefthander Matt Thornton during the ninth inning on April 8. The Sox were leading 7-6 at the time, and Rays held on for to a 9-7 victory after they had trailed 7-4.

Johnson's flair for the dramatic extends further. Seven of his 11 Rays home runs either tied the score or gave his team a lead. He hit eight homers against the Rays' AL East rivals Boston and New York, including a tying shot against Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth inning of a September 2008 game in Boston. It was his first at-bat as a Ray, and the Rays went on to win.

Johnson, who was slowed by a wrist injury in 2011, declined an assignment to AAA Durham in October. He told the Tampa Tribune he believes he can make the Sox Opening Day lineup.

"I have to take it day by day, but that's the plan," Johnson said. "You don't play this game to shoot low. I'm going in there shooting for the stars."

Making the Opening Day roster will be a big enough challenge, even if Johnson's wrist is healthy. Paul Konerko is the Sox first baseman and $56 million man Adam Dunn is the designated hitter. The Sox are looking at Johnson as a possible backup and pinch-hitter.

Johnson batted .275 with 15 homers and 58 RBI as a rookie with the Oakland A's in 2005. In 2007 with the A's, he batted .236 with 18 homers and 62 RBI. He has also played one season in Japan.

Here what White Sox general manager Ken Williams had to say at SoxFest over the weekend:

"The boos?"
"I thought you meant the booze."
"It kind of comes with the territory. When the team plays well, the players and the coaching staff get the accolades. That's great. It's it should be. When the team plays poorly, it's the GM and owner's fault. It is what it is. It's part of the deal.
But every time it happens. It seems like it's happened only two other times. In 2004 and 2007.

"You never know. Maybe the third time is a charm."

Give credit to White Sox first-year bench coach Mark Parent for setting the tone early. There's work to be done and things to be fixed when spring training opens Feb. 22. And that goes for everyone, veterans included.

Parent, a 13-year veteran catcher who managed the Phillies' AA Reading club before joining the Sox to be first-year manager Robin Ventura's bench coach, was an imposing physical presence on the SoxFest stage over the weekend. He talked about Sox pitchers retaliating when Sox hitters get hit by pitches, and he addressed veteran catcher A.J. Pierzynski's shortcomings against would-be base stealers

"A.J. has struggled behind the plate with the running game," Parent said to a SoxFest crowd over the weekend. "We're going to try to do things to help out, either with his mechanics, his release, his release times, throwing over, having pickoff [plays]."

 How Pierzynski, 35, responds to extra work during spring training, is worth watching. He's been an ironman behind the plate -- he caught 1,000 innings for the 10th consecutive season in 2011 -- who prides himself on fitness and workout routines and no doubt is comfortable with his normal routines. He is also highly regarded for calling a good game.

Sox issues had issues holding runners, and shortstop Alexei Ramirez has required work around second base making tags. But Pierzynski has never possessed a gun for an arm and he had trouble at at times transferring the ball from his mitt to his throwing hand.

The Sox threw out 37 runners last season while allowing 135 stolen bases, which ranked last in the American League. One of two holdovers from the 2005 World Series championship team, Pierzynski's willingness to spend extra time with new staff on throwing and blocking drills during spring training would demonstrate the kind of veteran leadership rookie manager Robin Ventura and his staff need.

Opponents stole 94 bases in 118 attempts (80 percent) with Pierzynski catching. Of those 24 caught stealings, 11 were on pickoffs by Sox pitchers. Pierzynski threw out 13 runners, and Sox catchers won't have Mark Buehrle around to shut down would-be base stealers for them.

Tyler Flowers, 26, who showed flashes of good things when Pierzynski went on the disabled list for the first time in his career, figures to play more behind the plate. It makes sense for a team trying to inject some youth while giving the veteran Pierzynski more breaks, especially with Pierzynski in the final year of a contract paying him $6 million this season. A career .284 hitter, the left-handed hitting Pierzynski was a designated hitter seven times last season and might DH more this season.

Flowers hit five homers in 110 at-bats, but he batted .209. Baserunners were slightly less successful on 76 percent of steal attempts with Flowers catching. He has shown signs of promise, but needs to show more.

General manager Ken Williams was coy when asked about prize Cuban free agent outfielders Yeonis Cespedes and Jorge Soler and lefthander Gerardo Concepcion.

It was hard to know if Williams thought the Sox were in the mix for their services and wanted to lay low or whether he knew the Sox wouldn't be able to afford one or all of them. The Sox are known to have interest and are considered to be one of the teams in the mix for Cespedes, although many consider the Cubs to be front-runners.

"I don't know who you are talking about,'' Williams told reporters when asked about the Cubans.

You know, Cespedes, the five-tool Bo Jackson type center fielder.

"Those are all just rumors,'' Williams said. "I don't know what you guys are talking about.''

Huh?

"Who were these guys? Where are they from?''

Cuba. Someone said you watched Concepcion in person.

"Somebody said I was there,'' Williams said.

"I don't know what you are talking about.''

Reporters laugh, and Williams almost almost spits out his water suppressing a chuckle. Cespedes is the guy who might cost you $50 million.

"Is that the left-handed pitcher?''

No, that's Concepcion. Cespedes is the 26-year-old Bo Jackson. The one Dayan Viciedo is recruiting.

"You think I should check into them?''

Earlier, Williams said the Sox money supply is tapped. He doesn't have cash for a free-agent utility infielder, he said. Soler, 19, and Concepcion, 18, will come cheaper and would help replenish a farm system in need of an injection of talent.

The Cubans came up later during question-and-answer time with fans. It was more of the same from Williams.

"Who are they? Are they any good?'' he asked.

With that, new manger Robin Ventura turned toward Williams and said, "Should we be scouting them?"