CHICAGO–Josh Stewart entered last season with something to prove. He went on a season-long roll the White Sox hope doesn’t end any time soon.

 

Stewart captured a spot on the 40-man roster by helping Double-A Birmingham and Peoria win championships in the Southern and Arizona Fall leagues. The 24-year-old lefthander then made the most of his first trip to major league spring training.

 

The former Memphis standout out-pitched righthander Jon Rauch and Gil Heredia to become the first option when righthander Dan Wright was forced to open the season on the disabled list.

 

"He seems to be on a roll, and we can ride that out," White Sox manager Jerry Manuel said. "I’ll tell you what. If Stewart keeps throwing like he has and we have (Wright’s) 14 wins sitting down and waiting, we’re in a good situation."

 

Manuel was impressed by Stewart’s poise and his stuff. The 1999 fifth-round selection throws in the high 80s but has a plus curveball. He changes speeds and keeps the ball down.

 

While Stewart is likely to be optioned to Triple-A Charlotte once Wright returns, he could stick around for the long haul if Esteban Loaiza starts slowly. The Sox would like a second lefthander to work alongside Mark Buehrle.

 

"I didn’t want it to be this way," said Stewart, who threw 200 innings over 37 starts last season between Double-A and the Fall League. "I hope Danny gets healthy. He’s a big part of this team.

 

"This is a big opportunity for me," Stewart said. "I’m just going to come out and pitch my game and contribute whenever I can."

 

The Sox hope the 6-foot-3, 200-pounder will be an inspiration for other players in their minor league system. He began 2002 behind more highly regarded prospects like Rauch, Corwin Malone, Dennis Ulacia and Brian West but surpassed them.

 

Chi-Lites

 

• Second baseman Aaron Miles, who hit .299 in 67 at-bats, and lefthanded reliever David Sanders, who struck out eight and walked one in seven innings, were the final players cut from big league camp. Both were assigned to Triple-A Charlotte.

 

• The Sox have assigned Japanese lefthander Tetsu Yofu to Birmingham, where he could share closer responsibilities with 2002 first-round pick Royce Ring. Yofu, 29, helped the Brother Elephants win a title in Taiwan in 2001, earning two wins and two saves in the championship series

just to add a little side note to that.. i heard from a good source that aaron miles is injured with a broken bone in his hand where he was hit by pitch a week ago......he is day to day.. and most likely why he hasnt seen alot of play time lately.........foregot if we discussed that or not already...........if we did sorry for repeating .....if not then thats just an fyi........

the brother elephants????

the brother elephants????

hey they were twins.

That Yofu guy is killin down there