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CHICAGO -- Saying he had great command and a curveball that hasn’t been this good in six seasons, John Danks was upbeat about his latest minor league rehab start.

The Chicago White Sox left-hander, who is one week from the one-year anniversary of his last game in the major leagues, hopes he might only need one more start in the minors before returning to the big league club.

“I haven’t heard anything specifically,” Danks said after pitching Triple-A Charlotte to a 6-4 victory over Pawtucket on Sunday. “I don’t think I need too much more. I’m hoping I have another good one in the next [outing]. I’m certain me and [general manager] Rick [Hahn] will be in touch and talk about that. I’m not very far off.”

Danks gave up three runs, but only two earned, over six innings while throwing 101 pitches. He was touched for seven hits with five strikeouts and was disappointed about allowing three walks.

“Their three, four hitters, especially their four-hole hitter, he was a guy you don’t let beat you, so I’m going to throw pitches up here and hope he gets himself out,” Danks said. “You hate to do that in the minor league game, but I’m trying to win a ballgame for the Charlotte Knights.”

Helping him pull off that victory was his brother Jordan, who had a two-run single in the first inning and three RBIs in the game.

Danks had shoulder surgery on Aug. 6 of last season and is still working on regaining his old velocity that topped out in the mid-to-low 90 mph range. The White Sox did not have a report on his velocity from Sunday, and Danks claimed it was anywhere from 87-91 mph, although he did say it was hard to see the radar readings on the scoreboard.

“[Pitching coach Don Cooper] and the organization puts a lot more emphasis on [velocity] than I am,” Danks said. “I have to be able to play off it with a change of speed, so it’s a big part. But I think I can be just as effective at 88 [mph] than I would be at 93. I’m throwing the ball where I want to throw it rather than putting a lot behind the ball.”

If developing into a complete pitcher is the goal, then the presence of a solid curveball will help.

“It’s been a pitch I don’t use as an outpitch,” he said. “It’s a pitch I try to get strike one with, but today, I was able to use the curve as an outpitch. It’s another big step in the right direction. I made a lot of strides.”

Danks is now expected to get a fifth day of rest before his next outing, which would put him in Charlotte’s game on May 18 at Buffalo. That could set him up for a return to the major leagues the following week. With an off day in the White Sox’s schedule May 23, Danks could make his season debut May 24 against the light-hitting Miami Marlins.

“At any given point [during the rehab process] I’ve had as good of a cutter and changeup [as ever], but I need to get a lot more consistent,” Danks said. “I don’t feel like I’m far off, and know my stuff is there. For the most part, I can make the ball do what I want. It’s about pulling it all together, giving myself a chance.”

CHICAGO -- Although the Chicago White Sox have the worst record in the American League Central, there is no sign of panic from their new general manager.

“It is easy to overreact or want to do something based upon the fact we have gotten off to a slow start,” said first-year GM Rick Hahn. “If you take a step back and look at the fact we are just one game, at this time, off of last year’s pace, you are confident things will progress.”

Injuries to key players and some major offensive and defensive malfunctions have resulted in a 14-18 record going into Friday’s game. The Sox are last in runs scored in the American League and near the bottom of the league in almost every hitting statistic.

“We’re a team that was fourth in the league in runs scored last year and now we are dead last,” Hahn said. “There is reason to believe we are not out of this thing at this point, but there is significant room for improvement that is likely to happen on the offensive side of things.”

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CHICAGO -- Chicago White Sox general manager Rick Hahn appears to have seamlessly slid into his new role as the top baseball executive in the organization. Although former GM Ken Williams has a title above Hahn’s position, it is clear the Winnetka, Ill., native is calling most of the shots. The team's early struggles with key injuries that have contributed to a slow start have not changed Hahn’s optimistic demeanor or his accessibility.

Having had ten years in the trenches as the club's assistant GM appears to have made the transition easier for the people he works with."There is always a change when someone new takes over,“ said second-year manager Robin Ventura. “I don’t think anything has changed here philosophy wise. For me, it has been easy because we spent a lot of time together last year. We are dealing with different issues but handling things in similar ways. Rick and Kenny are just different personalities.”

Hahn has a less aggressive style by nature than Williams but is known as a stone-cold hardliner when it comes to making decisions on talent and money issues. The friendly exterior person he projects should not be confused with the single-minded executive who has shown he is not afraid to say no or turn away from a bad deal. Hahn made his bones by saving the franchise millions of dollars in contract layouts. He signed young players like Mark Buehrle to long-term deals in the early stages of their careers. That type of proactive move worked two-fold: It provided security for the player and another revenue stream to add other good players to the White Sox mix.

The only player who has been here longer than Hahn is team captain Paul Konerko. The veteran first baseman looks at Hahn as a top communicator and a shrewd handler of people. “There won’t be any times where Rick would be caught saying 'why didn’t we think of that?‘" Konerko said in explaining Hahn’s penchant for detail. “Rick and Kenny are the type of baseball men who are dialed in 24 hours a day.”

Hahn has had to adjust to people treating him in a different matter rather than the reverse. “I have seen a difference in the office staff at times but not with the baseball scouts and personnel,“ he said. “Everyone means it out of respect, saying things like ‘I know your busy,‘ when in reality I was the one who initiated the conversation.”

The Sox's poor start as a team while losing two starting position players within a week has tested the 39-year-old executive early in his tenure as GM. “I certainly feel more responsible when things get difficult as you weigh various depth options maybe knowing that right piece isn’t there waiting for you,” Hahn said. “It already has been a rough year injury wise, and, for the most part, we have had someone to come up and help. I do feel a greater responsibility when things don’t go how we planned it to go.“

The White Sox GM is still working closely with Williams, who is out looking at high school and college players for the June draft. “He is always there as a resource even if he isn’t here on a daily basis,” Hahn said. “This has been a little bit of a transition for him. So far, I think it has been good for both of us."

CHICAGO -- Without a ton of depth, good health was imperative for the Chicago White Sox, and so far things have gone nothing like the team hoped.

Not only does John Danks continue to recover from last summer’s shoulder surgery, but Dayan Viciedo is now on the disabled list with an oblique strain, joining fellow Opening Day starter Gordon Beckham, who fractured the hamate bone in his left hand/wrist.

In addition to that, utility man Angel Sanchez has already gone to the disabled list, along with reliever Leyson Septimo.

“I don’t remember an April where we’ve had five guys on the DL, but that’s just part of the gig and that’s where we’re at right now,” general manager Rick Hahn said. “Fortunately, nothing seems that long term. We expect all of these guys to be back in the coming weeks and months. In the meantime, we’ll give some other guys opportunities.

“You’ve seen Conor Gillaspie make the most of his chance to get more regular at-bats, and here’s a chance now for guys like [Jordan] Danks, [Blake] Tekotte and Dewayne Wise to step up and play a larger role.”

While Viciedo was still trying to find his way in the early going, Beckham was off to a solid start before he was injured. Taking advantage of his spot toward the end of the White Sox’s order, Beckham was batting .316 after the first seven days, although he had yet to deliver an extra-base hit.

With Jeff Keppinger moving over to second base, Gillaspie has made the most of his opportunity at third base. He closed out the road trip on an 0-for-6 slide but was still batting .364 with a .485 slugging percentage at the start of play Saturday.

Gillaspie was acquired at the start of spring training as a nod to the club’s lack of depth. The White Sox’s system is not highly regarded by baseball publications, like Baseball America, that monitor the minor leagues.

Hahn was asked whether the injuries and a 7-9 start have tempted to tinker with the roster via trades.

“Given all the injuries, it’s been fairly easy to tinker and scratch that itch, so to speak,” Hahn said. “It certainly is a temptation to explore other options, but it’s way too soon to avert from the plan except when forced to due to injury.

“We’d rather get up to at least 6-8-week sample before you start drawing any sort of long-term conclusions, whether it be the guys who have gotten off to fantastic starts or the guys who have struggled early.”

Health issues haven’t been exclusive to the roster. Pitching coach Don Cooper missed the entire 10-game road trip with a digestive issue that required hospitalization in Washington D.C.

“It wasn’t a good road trip,” Ventura said of his club, which went 3-7 on its three-city swing. “Not only losing players, but you’re losing staff members. But again, it’s part of the game, and you just have to be able to have somebody come in and pick it up and keep going. That’s just part of baseball and being a long season and being able to make it work.”

CHICAGO -- No longer in the general manager's seat, Chicago White Sox executive vice president Kenny Williams said Monday's nail-biting season opener was a little easier to bear.

Williams, who has said that White Sox games gave him knots in his stomach for 162 games -- if not more -- each year, has handed the GM hot seat over to Rick Hahn.

"To a greater degree, yeah I was able to relax more than I have for a dozen years," Williams said of the Sox's 1-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals.

Despite the one-run game in the ninth inning, he didn't have to use the treadmill to burn off nervous energy.

"Never once even thought about it," Williams said. "The intensity is still there. The investment and the interest is still there. You are who you are, but because I'm not in the day-to-day trenches of things, I was able to watch it from a little bit of a different perspective.

"I actually had a good time up until the ninth inning and then I realized it's 1-0 and we've got to focus here."

Williams took over as White Sox general manager in 2001, with the club winning a World Series four years later. Hahn was in the White Sox's front office for 12 seasons before taking Williams' GM spot in October.

White Sox general manager Rick Hahn talks about the trade Friday that netted third baseman Conor Gillaspie from the Giants in exchange for minor league reliever Jeff Soptic.

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- On a sunny but cold February day, the realization that he was actually in charge of an entire organization began to sink in for new Chicago White Sox general manager Rick Hahn.

“Everything is a little different,” Hahn said. “I frankly thought that given I have been here 13 spring trainings with the White Sox and a lot of the players and coaching staff has been the same, that it wasn’t going to be that much different. The last 24 hours or so I have felt a little more on my shoulders. This is one of those times like the (first) GM Meeting or Winter Meeting that it really sinks in a bit.”

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CHICAGO – Perhaps there wasn’t enough thrown equipment late in the season or a teeth-gnashing anger for one fan who wondered Saturday why there wasn’t more outrage over the Chicago White Sox falling short last season.

A September collapse put the Detroit Tigers in the postseason instead. Now the White Sox forge ahead with a similar roster to the one that couldn’t accomplish its goals after rebounding from a disappointing 2011 season.

Maybe it was the fact that the roster wasn’t torn apart. Whatever the reason, the fan asked about a perceived lack of outrage, prompting both general manager Rick Hahn and manager Robin Ventura to respond at a morning seminar at SoxFest on Saturday.

“There is simply no worse feeling that I have than watching another team celebrate at the end of the season,” Hahn said. “In terms of everything you said, we’re not trying to finish in second place. We’re not trying to win 83 games and miss the playoffs.”

At that point, Ventura took over the conversation.

“Contrary to popular belief, it’s not easy. I think a lot of people might think it’s easy but it’s really not that easy. That’s why it’s 162 games and that’s why you play. I played for 16 years and it’s not that easy, it never was. You never want to go home not making the playoffs. We’re just as disappointed as anybody else.”

Ventura said the experience gleaned from his first season as manager should help the team moving forward. But just because the team was better in his first season, it doesn’t mean he was satisfied.

“Again, I know there is no season that you prepare for that,” he said. “Any time you’re knocked down you have to get back up and go. I’m not going to quit. I’m not quitting. I’m getting everybody to be ready to win this year not worry about just falling down.”

At that point the audience broke into applause. Not seeing signs of the disappointment might have been confusing for some. Hearing about it earned some appreciation, though.

The best seminar at the Chicago White Sox winter fan fest has always been The GM and manager’s Q&A session with the fan base. Although, gone are the feisty Kenny Williams and Ozzie Guillen, who would challenge unruly fans who chastised their moves.

New GM Rick Hahn had to deal with the toughest question last on Friday.

“I want a one-word answer. Do you think you will do a better or worse job than the last guy in that chair?” Williams asked Hahn as he grabbed the microphone in the audience while the crowd broke out in laughter.

“That’s not a fair (question). He had a better support staff,” Hahn, Williams’ former assistant GM, ad libbed.

Williams, now a senior Vice President, seemed to enjoy watching Hahn and Manager Robin Ventura answer the tough questions.

“Why didn’t we bring back A.J. Pierzynski?” barked one fan. “What are we going to do about a left-hand hitter?” asked another. Hahn and Ventura answered all the queries with respect and a good sense of humor.

The session lasted a hour and was hosted by venerable broadcast legend Hawk Harrelson, who put Hahn on the spot from the beginning of the seminar. “ I think the general manager’s job is the worst job in baseball. I speak from experience,” quipped Harrelson, who had a stormy and failed tenure as the Sox GM in 1986 that included firing Tony LaRussa.

Hahn did promise the fans that he, like Williams, would never sit back and rest on his laurels when it comes to improving the ballclub. Hahn had his toughest moment in response a question about Pierzynski signing a one-year $ 7.5 million contract with Texas.

“I’m surprised to hear an A.J. question,” Hahn said tongue-in-cheek. “I’ll try to answer it. Let me start this by saying A.J. was fantastic for us. Year in and year out he was there for us as a tremendous representative of this organization. It’s never fun to say goodbye to someone you have that much respect for . It was not a decision that we took the least bit lightly.

“We felt we had some other pressing needs than at catcher. We used some of the cash we had at our disposal to resign Jake (Peavy) to a deal that made sense for both sides. We brought in a guy like (Jeff) Keppinger ,who fits a lot of what we want to do offensively.We were able to sign Matt Lindstom today who fits into the back end of our bullpen. Had we not done these moves we felt we would not be strong enough to win.”

CHICAGO -- The new guy in charge of fielding the most pressing of fan inquiries at SoxFest this weekend at the Palmer House Hilton, promises just as much energy and enthusiasm as his predecessor.

Yet despite his good intentions, first-year general manager Rick Hahn is going to find it hard to match those sometimes unpredictable exchanges from former GM Kenny Williams.

"I've been up there the last six, seven years doing panels," Hahn said. "Obviously it's a little bit different not being the No. 2 guy or being the assistant (GM), but I look forward to it. People that come out are coming out in the dead of winter to spend their money because they love the White Sox. The least I could do is answer their questions."

Sometimes, though, those questions had a bite to them and Williams would expose his personal defense mechanism.

Take the now infamous 2004 SoxFest when a fan essentially dismissed the roster Williams had comprised to that point and asked what the club was prepared to do in the following year.

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CHICAGO -- It remains all quiet on the Chicago White Sox front despite the fact the club could still use a left-handed bat to balance the lineup.

The best fit would have been a left-handed hitting third baseman, but the White Sox signed right-handed hitting utility infielder Jeff Keppinger instead and are expected to use him a bulk of the time at third.

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CHICAGO -- Now that Kevin Youkilis has officially moved on from the Chicago White Sox it appears to be a matter of time before A.J. Pierzyynski does the same.

Reports revealed Tuesday evening that Youkilis had agreed to a one-year deal with the New York Yankees. Youkilis was reportedly considering a free-agent deal with the Cleveland Indians as well.

The White Sox were interested in keeping Youkilis and have the same feeling for Pierzynski, but the price tag for both was and is too high. Even with Youkilis out of the picture, the White Sox still don’t figure to have the resources to keep Pierzynski.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Chicago White Sox's decision makers left baseball's winter meetings Thursday with a pair of utility infielders to show for their work, hardly the kind of activity that would inspire sonnets from their fan base.

The modest activity is exactly what was expected, though, so it wasn't as if the club failed to achieve its goals.

And in adding Jeff Keppinger via free agency, the White Sox are poised to turn one of those utility guys into a player that can pick up a majority of the action at third base.

Other goals remain like adding a left-handed bat and bringing in some bullpen help, both of which could be achieved in the coming weeks.

"I would love to go downstairs and have a press conference and announce a deal that we all felt made us better," general manager Rick Hahn said this week. "We are not going to rush anything to get down there just so we can say, 'Hey look what we did in Nashville.'

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Chicago White Sox general manager Rick Hahn suggested strongly Wednesday that the club is not done tweaking the roster after adding infielder Jeff Keppinger.

Hahn understands that fans clamor for talent additions during the winter meetings, when teams are busy setting their arsenal for the upcoming season. He cautioned, though, that plenty of time remains to make more additions.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Chicago White Sox senior vice president Kenny Williams and general manager Rick Hahn are working on adjusting to their new roles during this critical time of year.

“I called Rick about a week ago and asked if my input should be more or less than it has been,” said Williams, who was previously the GM. “He told me straight out I need you to be more involved. I said OK and rolled up my sleeves. To be honest about it, I was glad he asked me to get more into it. I was getting a little bored.”

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