Normalcy returned to Chicago White Sox camp on Day Two of spring coaching, or no matter passes for normalcy today at Camelback Ranch.
Kendall Graveman greeted the media within the clubhouse by complimenting them on their smiles, a reference to MLB’s resolution to finish the mask-wearing rules for reporters from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sox ace Dylan Cease voiced confidence that he would repeat his breakthrough efficiency of final season whereas Yoán Moncada addressed the absence of clubhouse chief José Abreu. Liam Hendriks’s bout with most cancers was additionally on everybody’s thoughts, as was the upcoming World Baseball Classic, which made Graveman get teary-eyed when discussing his choice to Team USA.
And Joe Kelly referred to himself within the third particular person thrice in lower than 30 seconds whereas discussing his new ebook.
It was again to baseball once more, although the elephant within the room — MLB’s investigation of Mike Clevinger amid home violence allegations by the mom of his daughter — was nonetheless very a lot current.
For a group coming off a decidedly stomach-churning season, the White Sox are effectively conscious of the necessity to mission some optimistic vibes this spring. It’s virtually as essential as the ever-present PFPs and cutoff drills.
“Sometimes you need to get hit in the mouth a little bit to realize, ‘Hey, maybe we were not as good as we thought we were, and we need to really focus a little more to get better,’ ” Graveman mentioned.
“And I’ve had that as an individual in my career, and teams have that as they go through a season and the life span of a core group of guys. So as bad as we didn’t want it to happen last year, the timing could be correct if we take (the lesson) the right way and continue to move forward to not let it happen again.”
Manager Pedro Grifol, who didn’t get a lot of a possibility to be in Chicago over the winter to speak with Sox followers, mentioned he is aware of how anxious they’re for actual change.
“I got a sense of the anxiousness at the press conference,” he mentioned.
“Well,” I interrupted, “that was us.”
“Well, when I was around town, at restaurants,” Grifol continued. “I haven’t been in Chicago that a lot to get a superb really feel as a complete, however I perceive it. I get it. I imply, we’re anticipated to do some issues. I get that. We’re not going to shrink back from expectations. They are what they’re. They’re right here.
“We didn’t perform to our standards last year and changes were made. I’m not going to sit here and hide from expectations, and they’re not going to hide either. They know what we’ve got to do. We know what we’ve got to do.”
Some veterans had been current however unavailable to speak. No one appeared too keen to debate the elephant within the room — Clevinger — who confirmed up Thursday morning and quietly placed on his uniform at his nook locker. One participant gave him a giant hug to welcome him to the Sox.
The Sox entrance workplace was out entrance in convincing Clevinger to speak with the media Wednesday, and he expressed his perception he could be exonerated. And Clevinger’s speech to the group on the opening day of camp was welcomed by gamers who did agree to speak, with Kelly saying it took “a lot of (guts) to do something like that, right?”
“I don’t know anything about the allegations,” Kelly mentioned. “I know for him it’s probably weighing on his mind every single second or minute.”
A former teammate of Trevor Bauer’s, Kelly mentioned he doesn’t attempt to “talk to guys that have been through that” and requested for the MLB course of to “take its course.”
“But for him, standing up in front of a group of let’s say 40, as a first time meeting someone, it showed me a lot there,” he added.
Cease mentioned it was a good suggestion for Clevinger to “put it out there so there wasn’t any awkward tension” within the clubhouse.
Graveman, a former teammate of Clevinger’s within the Cape Cod League, known as Clevinger’s speech a “very professional” strategy to deal with issues.
“Obviously I don’t have much to say about it,” he mentioned. “I want to see how the rest of it plays out. And Mike did an outstanding job of articulating and communicating with us, I will say that… I told him ‘thanks’ afterwards for speaking to the team because some people would not do that and I’m thankful that he’s the guy that did stand up and had some things to say to us. That was pro.”
None of the gamers addressed the allegations, saying they didn’t have the info. Cease mentioned Clevinger could be accepted as a teammate however “obviously everything going on with the investigation is probably going to be the biggest factor.”
Meanwhile, the minicontroversy in ready — Kelly’s new ebook, “A Damn Near Perfect Game” — might need to take a again seat this spring with all the things else occurring. Kelly’s raucous love letter to baseball, with some profanities and loads of Astros-bashing combined in, was written in the course of the lockout and might be launched quickly.
So why did Kelly determine to turn out to be a author?
“I kept getting the same question over and over,” Kelly mentioned. “I do get bugged and irritated a little bit easily. It was like, ‘Hey, Joe Kelly, love you, but when are we going to play baseball?’ ‘Hey, Joe Kelly, ‘F’ baseball. When you come back I’m not going to watch you.’ ‘Hey, Joe Kelly, why are you guys being greedy?’”
Kelly’s ebook ought to not less than carry some levity to the Sox clubhouse. Perhaps he can do some clubhouse readings.
And if he’s searching for a topic for his subsequent ebook, the 2023 season could be an fascinating subject.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com