White Sox fans currently don't seem to have the same level of confidence in their team. This five-week, slow start on offense has many of you now running the gamut of emotions from worried to downright panicked about this group's future success. Let's take a look at a few of these concerns, and see if any or all can be eased a bit.

I thought that this team was going to focus on fundamentals, manufacturing runs and not relying on the home run. What is going on? Home runs are fun and very seductive, but they don't necessarily win ballgames.
-- Joe, Naperville, Ill.

Joe, it's hard to play small ball or "Ozzie Ball" when nobody consistently has been reaching base. Darin Erstad seems to be the only hitter on any sort of current hot streak, although A.J. Pierzynski appeared to take a step in the right direction Sunday with his game-tying home run and game-winning single after coming off the bench in the eighth inning. A team rarely goes into a complete slump together, with every player trying to fight his respective way out of the offensive doldrums. But that collective problem currently plagues the White Sox.

Here is one thing the White Sox categorically should not do: get rid of Greg Walker. This man just might be the best hitting coach in all of baseball, in regard to his knowledge, work ethic and tight bond formed with the players. It amazes me to hear some people believe this change would solve the problems.

Did Walker suddenly forget how to coach after last year's prolific season? I don't think so. He has a group that consistently responds to him, and has a group I flat-out guarantee will finish close to its highly productive numbers of the past.

My only concern would be how quickly players such as Jim Thome and Scott Podsednik, two integral parts of the South Siders' attack, respond to injuries. Thome's on-base percentage and ability to work pitchers deep into the count has been missed almost as much as his power supply.

As for the home run issue, with no offense meant, Joe, it seems to be a lightning rod for controversy whenever the White Sox struggle. But tell me where this team would be, in its hitter-friendly home ballpark, without hitters who could clear the fences. They would be in a great deal of trouble.

I've already heard Ken Harrelson say a couple of times, "If the White Sox can make it through April at .500, they'll be in good shape." While I am confident that the Sox will come together as the season progresses, I don't see the schedule getting any easier.

In May alone, we have six games against the Twins, and three apiece against the Angels, Oakland, and the Yankees. July and September also look like difficult months. What's your take on getting through April at (slightly above) .500?
-- Chris, Brick, N.J.

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Surviving injuries and the aforementioned offensive slump, not to mention staying close to the Indians and the Tigers at the top of the American League Central, made April a relative success. Manager Ozzie Guillen would have a great deal more concern if this team sat at .500, where it's perched entering a three-game set starting Tuesday at the Metrodome, and pitching was the problem.

But the pitching looks solid, especially general manager Ken Williams' revamped bullpen, and pitching ultimately will be the deciding factor between playoff teams and teams sitting home playing golf. As for any sort of easy spot in the schedule, I agree with Guillen in that a weak mark is hard to find in the American League.

"Everywhere we go, there's no break," Guillen said. "Maybe you hit someone who is real cold, but every team has a good ballclub. If they think they are going to find a break, there won't be too much in the AL."

Scott, can you please do me a huge favor and try to explain the ridiculous lineups that Ozzie is coming up with? Before the knee-jerk reaction that includes a list of injuries, think about the guys that aren't injured and why they're still sitting on the bench every week for a game.

I don't want to hear about rest, either. If Ozzie's excuse is that these guys need rest, then Ozzie is babying these guys. Did Cal Ripken need rest? Whatever happened to playing 162 games? And I don't buy the excuse that the bench guys need to be involved more so that they're ready in case of injuries. I really think Ozzie is a bad manager and he has already cost this team numerous wins as a result of his bad managing.

He needs to either be fired or resign. He didn't win it for us in 2005, the pitching did.
-- Dan, Oak Forest, Ill.

Very interesting take here. So, now Guillen lucked into a World Series championship in 2005, just sort of an innocent bystander to the White Sox greatness, I guess. Well, Guillen just happens to be the only manager in Chicago over the last nine decades to win a title, so I think he deserves a little credit, don't you, Dan?

This sentiment has been echoed many times before, but Guillen's great baseball acumen never gets enough credit because of the fact that he's so entertaining and such a great quote. He runs his clubhouse like a CEO of a major company, but with a very unique, human touch. These players respond to Guillen because they know he would go through a wall for them, although they don't come close to taking advantage of him, because Guillen would be the first to criticize when he sees something he doesn't like. But he goes right to the player, certainly not one to hide within the media.

Simply put, he's one of the game's more astute managers, and I would argue that point with anyone who cares to pick up the challenge. He needs to stay right where he is and continue leading the way for the White Sox. As for the lineups, Guillen simply is trying to mix and match to jumpstart this team's offense, looking for the right combination between slumps and injuries. And as for playing 162 games, aside from Baltimore's Miguel Tejada, name another player who accomplishes this feat.

If we do not turn this around soon, will "Back to the Grind" be replaced by "These Kids Can Play, Part 2?" Go Sox!
-- Chuck, Wauconda, Ill.

Chuck, I don't see any sort of wholesale sell off of veteran players, even if the worst-case scenario plays out and the White Sox are out of contention by the All-Star break, which I don't see happening. But trades are always a possibility for potential free agents, which would be Mark Buehrle, Jermaine Dye and even Joe Crede in two years, in the case of the White Sox, in order to get something valuable in return. From talking to the White Sox brass, though, they believe this entire AL playoff race will go right down to the last week of the 2007 season.

What is the word on Crede's status as a White Sox player? Is there any truth to the rumor that the Sox are hoping for a trade involving the third baseman?
-- Ryan, Chicago

Ryan, I have not heard even a whisper of that rumor. Sure, they have a top third-base prospect in Josh Fields at Triple-A Charlotte, but they also possess possibly the best defensive third baseman in the game in Crede. He's started slowly from an extra-base perspective, with just two doubles and two home runs amongst his 22 hits, but those numbers certainly don't warrant a change.

I attended a number of Sox games in 1959 when I was attending DeVry Tech. I did not attend anymore games until 2005 when I got to one game. Since I OBVIOUSLY bring luck to the White Sox, do you think they might send me a couple of tickets for this year?
-- Wayne, Neenah, Wisc.

Wayne, I'll forward your e-mail on to the higher-ups within the organization and see what they can do for one game in 2007. A serious question arises, though, as to whether you attended any games last year. If you remember, the team came up a few games short of reaching the postseason.

The ballpark looks great and just has a tremendous feel to it right now. I would recommend coming to U.S. Cellular Field, whether or not you are considered a good-luck charm.

Do you have any idea if Joe Cowley, who threw the no-hitter for the White Sox, is the same Joe Cowley who writes for the Sun-Times? Just wondering.
-- Lisa, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Lisa, I had dinner with Joe Cowley of the Sun-Times last night, and I've known him as a friend and as a respected competitor on the White Sox beat for the past seven years. Not once has he talked about throwing a no-hitter. OK, maybe once or twice, but I don't think he threw his no-hitter at the Major League level.

These two Joe Cowleys are not one in the same.

But Cowley's no-hitter thrown against the Angels on Sept. 19, 1986, certainly has drawn a few interesting responses from people involved or people who remembered after Buehrle hurled his no-hitter on April 18. Cowley walked seven in that 7-1 victory, but the no-hitter also stood as the last game he ever won. He was traded to the Phillies for outfielder Gary Redus, and finished his career with an 0-4 record in Philadelphia during the 1987 campaign.