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The past 24 hours have seen several changes made to the White Sox.

Gone are center fielder Brian Anderson (traded), infielder Josh Fields (sent down to Triple-A Charlotte) and pitcher Bartolo Colon (placed on disabled list due to right elbow inflammation). Anderson – who was sent down Charlotte last week – was traded to the Boston Red Sox for veteran outfielder/infielder Mark Kotsay. To make room for Kotsay, the Sox demoted Fields. And Colon, who was supposed to start tonight at Minnesota, will take another turn on the DL. In his place will be left-handed relief pitcher Randy Williams, called up from Charlotte.

For Anderson, it marks the end of a disappointing White Sox career. The Sox drafted him in the first round (No. 15 overall) of the 2003 draft, but he could never figure out major league pitching, hitting a paltry .225 in 782 at-bats. He also didn't seem to get along real well with Manager Ozzie Guillen.

Fields could also soon find himself in a trade. Chicago's first-round choice in 2004 (No. 18 overall) also had trouble making contact against American League pitchers, striking out 221 times in 648 major league at-bats with a .228 average. Fields did show some promise in 2007, slugging 23 home runs and driving in 67 while hitting .244 in 100 games. But injuries derailed his progress last year, and poor performance (.220, 7 HR, 30 RBI, 71 strikeouts) did him in this season.

Kotsay will be counted on to back up Paul Konerko at first base, spot start in the outfield and pinch hit. Kotsay, 33, has a .281 career batting average, but played sparingly for the Red Sox this year, hitting .257 in 74 at-bats.

Colon might have pitched his last game for the White Sox last Friday against Detroit. The veteran right-hander was just coming off a lengthy stint on the DL, and threw a decent game, yielding three earned runs in seven innings of work against the Tigers. But his season stats of 3-6, 4.19 were nothing great, and the past two starts of Clayton Richard (8 innings pitched and one earned run allowed in each contest) make the loss of Colon easier to absorb.

Williams will provide Guillen with a second left-hander out of the bullpen (ahead of Matt Thornton). He is 3-0 with a 3.44 ERA in 33 games for Charlotte.  

BUEHRLE SETS MAJOR LEAGUE RECORD: The Sox lefty extended his consecutive streak of outs to a major league record 45 in a row by pitching perfect baseball for another 5 2/3 innings Tuesday at Minnesota. Buehrle also got some face time Monday on the David Letterman Show, is the cover boy on this week's Sports Illustrated and was named AL Player of the Week after his perfect game last week at U.S. Cellular Field against Tampa Bay.

CUBS FANS, PLEASE SPEAK UP: After being one of the most disappointing teams in baseball, the Cubs have been playing great baseball since the All-Star break with 10 wins and three losses. A 12-0 pounding of Houston this afternoon tied the Cubbies with St. Louis for first place. I have been somewhat skeptical of the North Siders recent surge, pointing out they have pretty much been beating up on marginal teams. The upcoming road trip includes stops in Florida and Colorado, which will give me a better of idea of where they stand. Do you, Cubs fans, think the team has turned it around and will cruise to the NL Central title? Or will it be a roller coaster ride to the end, with enough ups and downs that make you unsure if they will qualify for the playoffs or not? Please leave your comments.          

 - Tom