It's a shame you don't get a second chance to make a first impression, because otherwise, Todd Frazier would've erased his uneventful 0-fer in his debut with a far more dynamic two-hit night on Tuesday.
Or maybe advertisements lie and Frazier's good. He produced evidence in the form of a 2-for-5 night, including a big three-run homer that gave the Sox a 3-1 lead.
Watching Frazier sock Chris Bassitt's 73-mph curveball despite being out on his front foot ...
... reminded me of another greatly anticipated first blast -- Jose Abreu's back in 2013:
Both came on two-part swings on curveballs in the 70s. Frazier tops Abreu for hitting his farther in a tougher place to hit 'em, but Abreu's homer had crazier uppercut action. Basically, they're both very strong men, and if Frazier can follow in Abreu's footsteps, everybody will be very happy.
Jimmy Rollins' first homer was cool, too, I guess. It broke a tie in the ninth inning, but it came on a center-cut fastball. Yawn.
Terrerobytes
Speaking of Abreu, if you noticed that his defense looked niftier so far, it might not be a spring mirage.
"We just worked on normal drills, but working with Super Joe and Renteria, they noticed that I have been doing something wrong with some ground balls to my right hand," the right-handed-throwing Abreu said. "Then they let me know and then we worked together to fix it. It was just with my upper body, with my arms movement."
Two days into the season, we already have a Brett Lawrie headline that will be very difficult to top.
- White Sox unveil massive new video board - Chicago Tribune
- New videos, more food and a new voice for the resurgent White Sox - The Athletic
If everything goes right in Oakland, fans will get a chance to see the new-look White Sox in a new-look U.S. Cellular Field. The Sox upgraded their video boards, including a massive screen in center field that is both the right shape and size.
It's courtesy of the state, of course, and the executive director of the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority tried his best to make it sound like a victory:
Bertuca said the U.S. Cellular Field project, which originally was budgeted for $11.4 million, was paid for through a capital construction fund, which is funded in part by the rent the White Sox pay and a 2 percent levy on city hotels.
"I think you're going to be hard-pressed to find the quality of boards we have for the price we got them for ($7.3 million)," Bertuca said.
Which doesn't really apply to taxpayers who aren't Sox fans, but hey, most of us can enjoy the items previewed by the Sox on Tuesday. Besides the new displays, the Sox unveiled new food items (including the Tater Totchos), and announced the chance for Chicagoans to get free ballpark food samples from a food truck at the following locations today:
- Michigan and Lake at 11 a.m.
- Michigan and Monroe at 12:10 p.m.
- Clark and Monroe at 2:30 p.m.
- Wacker and Adams at 4 p.m.
The Sox also used the video boards to display a promotional video narrated by Chance The Rapper:
.@chancetherapper narrated a new video for Sox games. pic.twitter.com/zq7REBDyAk
— The Athletic Chicago (@TheAthleticChi) April 5, 2016
He's also throwing out the first pitch on Friday, which is a great nod to the White Sox' best marketer the last couple years. If the Sox keep winning, he might be able to take a few days off.