It wouldn’t be White Sox camp without something unusual going on, so the chances of “Shouldergate” becoming a distraction appear remote.
David Wells, Jim Parque, Kip Wells, Jon Garland and Jon Rauch will be wearing Sox uniforms this week, though the possibility that one of them will wind up with the Blue Jays by the end of March may hang over their heads for a while.
Sox pitchers and catchers report to camp Friday for the start of the 2001 campaign, though David Wells’ arrival won’t come until Monday.
The Sox have been the undisputed kings of spring media circuses for almost a decade, starting with Bo Jackson’s comeback from hip-replacement surgery in 1993.
The next year featured Michael Jordan’s pro baseball debut after retiring from the NBA, followed by the replacement spring in which Jordan stalked off the field after an argument with former General Manager Ron Schueler before ultimately returning to the Bulls.
The spring of ’96 was highlighted by newcomer Tony Phillips’ sudden retirement, which lasted all of one week.
Albert Belle’s arrival fueled the ’97 camp, while the confrontation between manager Jerry Manuel and Frank Thomas stirred things up one year ago.
The battle between the Sox and Toronto over Mike Sirotka’s shoulder injury figures to dominate the news until the commissioner’s office makes a ruling on the case, though several other issues will be addressed in the next seven weeks.
Can Jose Valentin handle the job in center field?
Can 6-foot-11-inch rookie Jon Rauch make the Opening Day rotation?
Will Sandy Alomar Jr. stay injury-free?
Is Frank Thomas happy?
All these questions, and more, should be answered by the time the Sox open the season April 2 in Cleveland.
Manuel will get reacquainted with his players beginning Friday.
“I usually leave people alone during the winter,” he said.
Nothing really needed to be said after the way the season ended last October, with the Sox disappearing in the playoffs. No one received more criticism for the playoff debacle than Thomas, unless it was Manuel, who heard over and over in the media that Seattle’s Lou Piniella had thoroughly outmanaged him.
“If that’s how they feel, that’s them,” Manuel said. “That’s not a problem with me.”
Manuel faces an even more daunting challenge in 2001, with the pressure to repeat the success of last year’s regular season and advance further in the postseason.
“The Kids Can Play” no longer applies, not with Alomar, David Wells, Royce Clayton and Harold Baines on the roster.
The chemistry clicked last year because the majority of the players were experiencing the same things together. Whether that chemistry can be maintained with the sprinkling of veterans is unknown.
“It seems like two years ago we were rebuilding with no chance of winning,” first baseman Paul Konerko said. “Now it’s like we won last year and have David Wells, it all happened so quick. Chemistry is always an issue. You’d think it would just pick up where it left off and everything would be great. But you have to keep an eye on stuff like that–make sure everyone is getting along and acting right.
“We can’t take it for granted that we’ll have what we had last year. We have to work, be conscious of new teammates, make sure that you’re paying attention. If the chemistry is bad, forget about it. You can’t win without the chemistry.”
