First day of Summer Camp!
Photo by Ron Vesely/Getty Images
Out: Canoeing, campfires, singalongs ... In: sanitized baseballs, multiple pitching mounds, distanced dugouts
Well, old pal Brett has killed it pretty well over at SI with all the ramp-up to Summer Camp, as well as a first-day wrap. It’s also pretty much the only place you can easily get juicy-thick cuts of video, straight from the Sox. So, not playing favorites, but just, heads-up, all these clips are Sports Illustrated. If that ticks you off, carry on, nothing to see here.
Next clips addition, maybe tomorrow a.m., will be more of a grab-ass general White Sox thing, not specific to Summer Camp.
Yoán Moncada: Hyped for 2020
For all the attention paid to Tim Anderson and batting title, Lucas Giolito and his push for a Cy Young, and even newly-extended compadre Luis Robert heading into 2020, there's no more valuable Chicago White Sox player than Yoán Moncada.
The third baseman knows it, but shyly shrugs off any sort of MVP talk: "We'll see," is the biggest boast you're going to get out of him.
Giolito, McCann on daunting prep for 2020
Chicago White Sox starter Lucas Giolito and catcher James McCann both know how daunting the 2020 season will be — not only for players, but for everyone. They also agree that the time is now to try.
"If you asked me a week ago about playing, the answer would have been a resounding YES," McCann said during a media session this afternoon. "But you see how things can change [regarding recent positive tests around baseball and in the country]. We don't really know what the future holds. But we're at a point of no return if we don't try to play now. The virus is going to be here, there isn't any way around it."
Ricky Renteria is happy with the first day of Summer Camp
Chronically sunny, White Sox manager Ricky Renteria wouldn't let a single key no-show spread any clouds over a sunny and gorgeous day at Sox Park, as Summer Camp 2020 got underway.
"Being back on the field ... it's just nice being back there," Renteria beamed immediately into his media time after Chicago's morning session.
Rick Hahn: Fun to be back with leather, ball and bat
In an effort to keep any dirt off of the lede, we've gotta start with the rough stuff first: Michael Kopech, though rehabilitated from 2018's Tommy John surgery and counted on as a key cog on the 2020 staff, is not in Chicago.
And from the sound of it, might not be around for the season.
"Michael Kopech is not here," GM Rick Hahn said during some opening remarks after the first Summer Camp workout at Sox Park. "He is excused with permission to deal with a personal matter. There's no timeline for his return, but he is healthy.
"It's never ideal when players are dealing with off-the-field matters, but it's a reminder that these guys are human."
What's going to be different at the ballpark?
We've heard so much about how different baseball will be this season. And for as much planning as has been done since spring training was suspended in March, changes will probably be continuing up until July's Opening Day.
Which makes the job of longtime White Sox vice president of stadium operations Terry Savarise's job more challenging than effort. It's a Herculean effort to shift the focus of an entire ballpark almost on the fly, and his team has pulled it off.