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The first day of SoxFest 2018 is officially in the books, and my main takeaway is the nearly universal positivity and enthusiasm among the attendees. If the good vibes were at all indicative of the attitude of the fanbase at large, then the White Sox faithful are very excited about this group of young players—in both the majors and minors—and this upcoming season will be about hope for the future.
Here’s your bulleted list of some other notables from Friday. Once again, feel free to post any SoxFest news from today in this thread. The official hashtag on Twitter is #SoxFest2018.
SoxFest Day 1
- Scott Merkin reported that Carlos Rodon has been cleared to throw. His timeline to return is still unclear, but the fact that he can resume baseball activity is an encouraging sign.
Rodon cleared to begin throwing program https://t.co/XFiXWem7va via @MLB
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) January 27, 2018
- Chuck Garfien and Jason Benetti hosted a live White Sox Talk with Ricks Hahn and Renteria. NBC Sports has posted the audio in podcast form. Hahn preached patience with the prospects, while Renteria talked about personalities jelling and the White Sox Way. There’s also a great conversation on improving Jose Abreu’s defense.
- Two things about this picture: 1) I love that this shirt made its way to Soxfest for all to see. 2) Jon Garland is sporting a gnarly playoff beard after being out of baseball for five years.
World Series Champ Jon Garland said my shirt is #1! #SoxFest2018 #2005Happened @whitesox pic.twitter.com/zgfdzctrJA
— Brad King (@BradKing32) January 27, 2018
- If you’re on the lookout for a player who’s been going under the radar a bit, Hahn said that Ryan Cordell has been popular among opposing GMs. He could be generating a bit more buzz within the organization than realized.
Rick Hahn says that three teams have asked about outfielder Ryan Cordell (acquired from Brew Crew for Anthony Swarzak), who’s yet to play a game for the White Sox.
— Vinnie Duber (@VinnieDuber) January 27, 2018
SoxFest Day 2
- KenWo has already been on the ground for a couple hours this morning, and it sounds like he’s far from alone.
About half the seminar room is full. I was asked “going for Eloy” by a couple people. Apparently he’s the hot ticket item
— KenWo (@KenWo4LiFe) January 27, 2018
Here’s today’s seminar schedule, copied and pasted from yesterday:
10:00 am – Your White Sox (Jason Benetti, Rick Hahn, Rick Renteria)
11:00 am – Kids-Only Press Conference (Jason Benetti, Tim Anderson, Matt Davidson, Yolmer Sanchez)
12:00 pm – Bringing Back the 2005 Champs (Darrin Jackson, Jose Contreras, Jon Garland, Frank Thomas)
1:00 pm – The Digital Diamond: White Sox players & their social media (Chuck Garfien, Zack Burdi, Zack Collins, Michael Kopech, Yoan Moncada)
2:00 pm – Chess on the Mound (Ed Farmer, Don Cooper, Curt Hasler, Reynaldo Lopez, Carlos Rodon)
3:00 pm – Making It to the Majors (Nicky Delmonico, Adam Engel, Carson Fulmer, Lucas Giolito, Kevan Smith)