With both the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins doing everything in their power not to win the AL Central right now - both teams are currently playing Our Bullpen Is Worse Than Your Bullpen - the White Sox had been hoping that the return of a healthy Joe Crede could be the boost they needed down the stretch.

Well, apparently those hopes have been dashed because Crede had to leave last night's White Sox loss in the sixth inning after his back problems flared up again. Now his manager Ozzie Guillen is saying that he doesn't anticipate being able to use Crede for the rest of the season.

"I don't expect Joe to play for the rest of the year," Guillen said of Crede, who missed nearly five weeks because of back stiffness before returning Aug. 25. "You come out of the game and your back really bothers you, I cannot count on him for the rest of the year.

"I'm not going to put Joe out there once a week, see how he feels and then play around it. I want him to play because he makes our club better."

Now seeing as how this is Ozzie Guillen speaking, I'm pretty sure we shouldn't believe a word he says. In reality this is probably just Ozzie's way of telling Crede to suck it up and deal with it. Whatever it is, and however the season ends for the White Sox, I think it's safe to say that Crede won't be back on the south side next season.

Before the 2008 season began, there were plenty of White Sox fans who thought the team would be better off having Josh Fields as their third baseman and trading Joe Crede. Considering how close Crede was to being traded to the Giants and Dodgers last winter, it's pretty apparent that White Sox GM Kenny Williams was thinking the same way.

Then the season started and Crede was at third for the Sox while Josh Fields was manning the position down in Charlotte. Well, even though Crede's defense has suffered in 2008 (he's already committed a career-high 19 errors which is likely due to his back), he still made the All-Star team for the first time in his career, and there's talk that the Sox may re-sign him this winter.

All of which makes Fields a little more expendable should the White Sox feel the need to add another starting pitcher to their rotation.

A source has indicated the Sox have been in discussions with ''more than one'' team about adding pitching help, either in the rotation or bullpen -- or possibly both -- and the major discussion is whether they dare part ways with minor-league third baseman Josh Fields.

According to the source, unless they are willing to part ways with Fields, there is no deal to be made. Basically, do they forfeit the future at third base to chase October glory this season?

The two pitchers whose names keep popping up lately in trade talks involving the White Sox are Toronto's A.J. Burnett and Oakland's Justin Duchscherer. If the Sox are to make a move, I'm guessing they'd prefer Duchscherer seeing as how Kenny Williams has a long trade history with Billy Beane, and Burnett is an overpaid injury risk that can opt out of his contract at season's end.

Maybe the All-Star Game is a meaningless to the players and just an excuse for Bud Selig to admire himself for a week. That doesn't mean that the selections should be stupid. Today, the MLB 'Haus gives you All-Star Grievances.

Grievance: Jermaine Dye not making the team. I swear in recent weeks I've become Jermaine Dye's publicist telling anybody who will listen that he is far and away the most undervalued outfielder in the game today. Still, I thought enough people knew about him to at least get him on to the All Star team. JD is hitting .308 and OPSing (not sure that's a word, but screw it, I'm angry) at .919 with 19 homers and 52 RBI. His only crime is that he plays in the American League where outfielders are raking this season, and that people still think the Yankees are good.

Grievance: Lack of White Sox pitchers and Joe Crede's selection. Now I'm probably going to come off as sounding like a bit of a homer here, but there just aren't enough White Sox on the team this season. They're in first place in their division, and lead the league in pitching, yet their only All Stars are Carlos Quentin and Joe Crede. While Quentin deserves the nod, Evan Longoria should have gotten Crede's spot. Also, as I mentioned, the Sox lead the league in pitching, yet not a single member of their pitching staff made the team. Does that make sense to you? Gavin Floyd is 10-4 with a 3.22 ERA and a WHIP of 1.12, John Danks is only 6-4 (it's not his fault the Sox average about .00003 runs every time he starts) but has an ERA of 2.52 and WHIP of 1.17. How neither of them make the team baffles me.

Grievance: Jason Varitek as the third catcher over A.J. Pierzynski. Great, another White Sox player. I know, I know, but if you look at the rest of the teams from the AL Central, everybody that deserved to be on the team is on the team (you could argue Carlos Guillen doesn't deserve his spot, but what other Tiger takes his place?). The Sox are the only team in the division to really get screwed here. Anyway, Varitek was chosen by his fellow players over Pierzynski even though he's only hitting .218/.300/.358 with seven homers and 27 runs driven in. Pierzynski, on the other hand, is hitting .296/.333/.442 with seven homers and 33 RBI. Oh, and he's the guy calling all the pitches for the pitching staff with the lowest ERA in baseball. Obviously, his personality is what cost him here, which is idiotic. Is the American League looking to win this game or hang out with friends?

Maybe the All-Star Game is a meaningless to the players and just an excuse for Bud Selig to admire himself for a week. That doesn't mean that the selections should be stupid. Today, the MLB 'Haus gives you All-Star Grievances.

Grievance: The lack of Devil Rays and overcompensation of Sawx and Yanks. I understand that the ASG is getting played in New York and that the Yankees and Red Sox have the two best records in all of baseball ... oh, what's that? I'm sorry. I haven't been watching ESPN all week while they tried to somehow play out the Rays before the All Star Break, so I had no idea they had the best record in baseball.

Grievance: Jason Varitek. Players are S-M-R-T. It's fairly annoying that the players -- and not the fans! -- can do things like let Varitek start for the All Star Game. Vegas Watch probably said it best.

Grievance: Joe Crede over Evan Longoria. Longoria has been in the bigs less time this season and his totals are just far and away better than Crede's. Which makes all of this (meaning his selection) pretty redonk. Also: MORE RAYS, please.

While Cubs manager Lou Piniella isn't as fiery as he used to be (he's been ejected from a game 61 times), he still will get tossed from a ball game from time to time. Of course, ever since Lou came to Chicago, he's lived up to his nickname as he's only been ejected from a game twice. The first time came back on June 2nd, 2007 when Sweet Lou gave us a classic performance that resulted in getting himself suspended for four games.

It also happened to coincide with the Cubs turning their season around, as they went 35-18 over their next 53 games to dig out of an early season rut (they were 22-31 before the ejection) and went on to win the division. Lou's second ejection came this past Sunday, and it also comes at a time when the Cubs are struggling, as they've lost four in a row for the first time all season.

Though if the Cubs win 10 of their next 11, Lou's performance probably shouldn't get the credit, as he never intended to put one on. No, according to Lou, he was ambushed as he went out to argue a checked swing by Joe Crede.

"I was talking to the first-base umpire about the checked swing, and I got ambushed from behind," Piniella said. "Well, then I got my money's worth ... I think. Probably not."

The Chicago White Sox are currently riding a six-game win streak that's helped put them back in first place in the AL Central, but that doesn't mean everything is fine and dandy in the Windy City. Sure, the Sox have played a lot better the last few weeks and are starting to resemble a team that can win the division, but they still have holes.

The most glaring one is at second base where Juan Uribe and Alexei Ramirez have been splitting time this season. Combined, they're hitting .201 with four home runs and 20 RBI. The other glaring hole on the White Sox is their lack of a lead-off hitter, as the team currently has Orlando Cabrera at the top of the lineup, and he's much better suited for the two-hole (snicker).

All of which leads to trade speculation as the Sox are hoping to fill both holes in one move, but it won't be Brian Roberts they're going after. One of the names brought up to general manager Kenny Williams, though, was the Angels' Chone Figgins.

''That's an interesting name, and a name that I, yeah ... they're a pretty good team and they need ... I'm talking about the guys that will ultimately be available, and I don't know if they will be any better than what we already got,'' Williams said Tuesday, hours before the Sox beat the Cleveland Indiana 4-1 at U.S. Cellular Field. ''Again, the key phrase being that they will ultimately be available. Not that I can't sit here and play the fantasy game. Hell, I can play that game and come up with a bunch of people. Reality, that's the game I have to deal in.''

While most of the talk surrounding Joe Crede, his back, and his impending free agency that dominated White Sox spring training seems to have died down a bit, it hasn't changed the fact that the White Sox still aren't sure what they'd like to do with their third baseman. Crede got off to a real hot start in April, and is hitting .270/.345/.500 to be one of the only consistently productive hitters in the Sox lineup (though all seven of his homers and 22 of his 25 RBI came in April).

HIs back has also stood up to the beating that comes with playing third base on a daily basis, so overall, it looks like the old Joe Crede is back. So what are the White Sox going to do? They still have Josh Fields down in the minors waiting to take over the third base spot.

For Crede's part, he'd like to stay in Chicago, and is open to negotiating a new deal during the season. It's just the White Sox will have to be the ones who initiate it.

"We aren't the ones with the money, so I don't feel we need to make the offer," Crede said. "It's a situation were if they want to pay us, they will make the offer. We aren't going to go out and ask for money. That's not how I want to approach it."

"I don't approach teams about player contracts," added Boras, speaking from his suite at Angel Stadium a few hours before Tuesday's first pitch. "They are the employers. I let them know that Joe is happy with Chicago."

On Opening Day last season, the Indians began their run to an AL Central division crown with a 12-5 drubbing of the White Sox at US Cellular Field. This year the season starts with the Indians and White Sox one more time, but this time, it's in Cleveland. The good news is that there's no snow in the forecast in Cleveland, so we don't have to worry about this one being snowed out like the Indians home opener last season.

The even better news is that I'll be live-blogging the entire game for you right here at FanHouse. Of course, for those of you who aren't already aware, I'm a White Sox fan. So expect completely biased opinions and witty rejoinders after the jump.

The Dodgers came into the spring with the plan of having Nomar Garciaparra and Andy LaRoche compete for the third base job. Then on the same day, LaRoche tore a ligament in his right thumb that will keep him out until May, and Nomar got hit in his right hand. The hope was that Nomar would need some time off, and he'd be back in the lineup, but today the Dodgers found out that he has a broken bone in the hand and will be out of the opening day lineup.

The Dodgers have already been rumored to be interested in both Detroit's Brandon Inge and Chicago's Joe Crede, but the talks never got very serious in either deal. Now that neither of their third baseman will be available on opening day, Ned Coletti may have to rethink those trade talks.

"We'll see where Nomar's at in another week or so, and in the meantime, we'll continue to see if we can figure out [a replacement] from within or outside," general manager Ned Colletti said Wednesday.

Obviously either the White Sox or Tigers would be more than happy to help out(The Tigers have no place for Inge, and he doesn't want to be there, while the Sox would prefer to keep Josh Fields out of AAA.), but I think the Tigers would be more inclined to do so at this point. The Dodgers do have in house options in Tony Abreu and Blake DeWitt, and since Nomar is only expected to miss the first week or two of the season.

I don't know that it would be worth the trouble for Los Angeles to deal a top prospect for a player they may not really need. Though if Nomar's hand continues to heal slowly, they may have no other choice in what should be a tough NL West division.

There aren't many people around White Sox camp that thought Joe Crede would still be the team's opening day third baseman, but with every passing day, that scenario becomes more likely. The Sox have a few reasons to want to move Crede: to make room for Josh Fields, and because they don't think they'll re-sign him when he becomes a free agent after the season.

The problem is, even though they were hoping to move him before the season starts, that doesn't mean Kenny Williams and the organization don't hold the 2005 World Series hero in high regard. Unfortunately, the teams they're talking to don't feel the same way.

San Francisco, the most likely suitor for Crede, and the Sox have disparate evaluations that carry ramifications for both sides.

A talent evaluator familiar with both teams said the Sox were miffed the Giants' offers for Crede included since-released pitcher Scott Williamson; pitcher Randy Messenger, who was optioned to Triple-A Fresno last week; and veteran outfielder Dave Roberts.

The White Sox asking price of a top prospect and a young reliever is apparently too steep for the Giants, who prefer to offer players on their team they never planned on keeping anyway. Fortunately for Kenny and the White Sox, the Giants now have a division rival who are also interested in Crede.

The Dodgers had scouts in attendance for Crede's last game, and they're not too sure they want Nomar Garciaparra playing third base while Andy LaRoche recovers from a hand injury. Now the Sox will have some leverage in their trade talks, and it's still possible that Crede will be moved before the season. Though I think it's more likely the Sox will carry Crede along with them through the start of the season and try to move him at the deadline.