CHICAGO -- Talk of young support for the White Sox rotation usually centers on John Danks, who has admirably served as the team's fifth starter all season, and Gavin Floyd, who is getting a chance to prove his value during an extended second-half stretch.

But two hurlers who didn't get a September callup from Double-A Birmingham -- Gio Gonzalez and Jack Egbert -- could be the team's aces in the hole as the White Sox move forward and try to rebound from this disappointing campaign.

"I'm not afraid to recommend either one to compete for a Spring Training job," said White Sox Minor League director Alan Regier of the Barons' impressive starting duo. "Just because we didn't get their feet wet at the Triple-A level, I still would have no hesitation to tell [general manager] Kenny [Williams] these two guys need to come in and compete for a job.

"They would be starters in the Minors," added Regier of Gonzalez and Egbert. "But as to how [White Sox manager] Ozzie [Guillen] and Coop [pitching coach Don Cooper] want to put together their staff next year, I don't think either one of them is going to turn down a big league job."

Gonzalez, 22, came over with Floyd as part of the Freddy Garcia deal last December. The left-hander fanned 185 over 150 innings in the prospect-rich Southern League, allowing 116 hits while posting a 9-7 record and 3.18 ERA in 27 starts. He yielded just 10 home runs and held opposing hitters to a .216 average.

Egbert, 24, made the most of his fourth season in the organization. The right-hander posted a 12-8 record and 3.06 ERA in 28 starts, giving up 138 hits over 161 2/3 innings. Egbert struck out 165 and walked 44, and he hopes to continue this great success in the Arizona Fall League.

"Jack is the one who really shot up the board this year," Regier said. "Kenny wants sinkers here in our park and his two-seamer is an excellent pitch. He has three pitches to throw for strikes. He committed himself to be in the best shape he could be in, worked tremendously hard and had a tremendous season."

Neither Egbert, who yielded a mere three home runs this past season, nor Gonzalez had to be added to the 40-man roster during September, and neither pitcher figured to get much work if they earned the final-month trip to the Majors. That workload could play out a bit differently, though, come 2008.

"Had the circumstances been different at the big league level, both Gio and Jack could have been called up and nobody would have blinked," Regier said. "Jack is the one who sprung himself onto the radar in Chicago, but Gio didn't do anything to hurt himself by any means."

Surprise and respect: A.J. Pierzynski and his family spoke with Twins general manager Terry Ryan during the Twins' visit to Chicago just this past weekend. At that point, Pierzynski didn't notice anything different about the man who he once played for in Minnesota.

So, the White Sox catcher was surprised by Ryan's announcement Thursday that he was stepping down, effective on Oct. 1.

"Actually, I was surprised and I was shocked when I heard," Pierzynski said. "He was a great general manager and is a great guy. He's someone I still talk to, someone I look forward to seeing there or when he's here.

"I'm happy he could go out on his own terms, and he says he's burnt out and tired. You could understand that and respect that decision."

Guillen also has a great amount of admiration for Ryan, adding their last conversation in Chicago dealt with Guillen's son, Oney, who Ryan watched play while he was at Bristol in the Appalachian League this year. Ryan will stay on as senior advisor to the general manager.

"People like that -- we need them in this game," said Guillen of Ryan. "People who know about the game, people who know how to put a team together, how to evaluate players."

One of Ryan's greatest trades came on Nov. 14, 2003, when Pierzynski was sent to the Giants for Francisco Liriano, Joe Nathan and Boof Bonser. Pierzynski said he still jokes with Ryan about that deal, as the two had occasion to talk about it during Brad Radke's retirement celebration in January.

"He's made a lot of good trades," said Pierzynski of Ryan. "He was a great guy off the field, and he was honest with you -- always told you where you stood. But he made the right decision which was best for his family, and you can never fault a guy for that."

Taking it on the road: Guillen previously joked and quasi-threatened to sit out Jim Thome for the entire upcoming seven games in Kansas City and Minnesota if the White Sox designated hitter was unable to reach 500 home runs at U.S. Cellular Field.

Of course, Guillen doesn't really plan to follow through on that particular idea.

"I wish I could do that, but I can't," said Guillen with a smile. "I don't have that power. If it was Barry Bonds' situation, of course I would.

"Five hundred home runs is a big deal, but not as big a deal as that. To me, the 500 home runs that Jimmy is going to hit is like 800 home runs. I see this kid play and now I'm managing him, and it is something I'm never going to forget."

Thome has a prize package, of sorts, in place to reward the fan who comes up with No. 500 in exchange for the baseball. But Thome was hesitant to talk about the giveaway before he connected.

"Let's hit it first, then we'll deal with it," Thome said. "We had some fun with it. I think the fan is really going to like it."

Around the horn: Andy Gonzalez hit a high-water mark of .254 with his average back on July 31 but entered Friday mired in a 1-for-31 slump in his last 10 games. Gonzalez, who is now hitting .192, has not driven in a run since Aug. 3. ... Scott Podsednik's nine-game hitting streak sits as the top current stretch for the White Sox roster. ... The White Sox celebrated halfway to St. Patrick's Day on Friday. The team wore green hats and had green pinstripes on their white jerseys.

Down on the farm: For the second time in two postseason series, the Great Falls White Sox face elimination. Orem (Angels) topped Great Falls by a 7-5 margin Wednesday night in the opener of the Pioneer League best-of-three championship series, and the onus for survival fell on the left arm of Aaron Poreda during Friday night's second contest.

Poreda, who was clocked at 99 mph this summer after being selected by the White Sox in the first round of the 2007 First-Year Player Draft, finished 4-0 with a 1.17 ERA during the regular season. John Curtis homered and Christian Marrero drove in two in the loss for Great Falls, who finished with a Pioneer League-best 51-24 record and defeated Helena in the semifinals after losing the opener.

On deck: With his appearance Saturday night against the Angels at 6:05 CT, Jon Garland (9-11, 4.59) will mark his sixth straight season with at least 30 starts. The right-hander needs to work 15 2/3 innings for his fourth consecutive year with 200 innings pitched and needs one win for his sixth year in a row with double-digit victories.