Not that it was a huge concern, but all is well in the White Sox clubhouse, a tight one already in spring training that has bonded even more after the Yermin Mercedes flap.
Players rallied around the rookie Mercedes after he was called out by manager Tony La Russa for missing a take sign and swinging at a 3-0 pitch — he homered against Twins position player Willians Astudillo, as the entire world knows by now — but veteran right-hander Evan Marshall said the players remain respectful of their 76-year-old Hall of Fame skipper.
“I’ve never seen the clubhouse tighter,” Marshall told the Sun-Times Wednesday before the Sox finished a three-game series with the Cardinals at Guaranteed Rate Field. “With what went down in Minnesota, that’s not enough to cause a rift or void. Tony is our guy. But in the end the players did rally together. We’re a tight family.”
As shortstop Tim Anderson said, “Tony is like the dad, we’re like his kids. We’re like the bad kids that don’t listen. But we all get along.”
“I liked TA’s quote,” Marshall said. “That’s just the nature of it. But there is always mutual respect. And Tony is the kind of guy where his door is always open, you can go in there and air it out if you need to. But that hasn’t been the case for anybody.”
La Russa has assigned a core group of veterans — Jose Abreu, Anderson, Dallas Keuchel, Lance Lynn, Lucas Giolito, Adam Eaton, Yoan Moncada — to be charge of taking leadership roles and handling a variety of issues, including things that might not seem like a big deal looking in from the outside, such as dress codes and protocols for travel days.
“He just wants us to make the decisions so he can take care of baseball,” Marshall said, “so he can worry about what happens between the lines and not have to worry about stuff like that. He can stay like that, and that’s fine with me. That has worked out well, and it really takes a veteran manager to have his trust in his veteran players to handle things that need to be handled.”
Engel won’t be rushed
Outfielder Adam Engel, who homered in his first rehab game at Triple-A Charlotte Tuesday, could conceivably have enough at-bats in a week be ready join the Sox, but La Russa suggested it could be longer than that.
“I’ve gone through this my whole career, guys want to come back as soon as they start feeling good,” La Russa said. “He’s feeling good but he needs his timing. So we’ll watch very closely.”
Asked if a week might not be long enough, La Russa said “If I answer that he won’t like the answer.”
The Sox, playing without injured Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert, have pieced things together in the outfield with Andrew Vaughn handling left better than anyone might have imagined in his transition from first base and Leury Garcia and Billy Hamilton taking care of center.
Day off for Tim
Anderson got an afternoon game off after a night game as La Russa looks to keep players fresh with the Sox being in a stretch of 27 games in 27 days and with a doubleheader coming Monday in Cleveland.
“Man is not a machine,” La Russa said. “The problem is, it’s a good problem, every day he plays he puts a lot into the effort. I’m talking about, I’ve told you, the spirit, the stuff he does in the clubhouse, in the dugout. So it’s a quick turnaround [Wednesday]. Reluctantly, he agreed it would be a good day to take a break.”
La Russa said prefers not to rest Anderson at home for the sake of fans who come to see him play.
