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The sounds of spring!

Some key players are a little bit banged up, but no worries — it’s mid-February!

By Brett Ballantini
Just some guys practicing their fielding: Hey all, baseball is back!
Kim Contreras/South Side Sox

In what some may characterize as the very best day of the year, the big takeaway from the first day of pitchers and catchers reporting to Camelback Ranch involved injuries.

And those injuries, all minor per GM Rick Hahn, are to three of the White Sox’s biggest pieces:

  • Catcher Yasmani Grandal has a mild calf strain and will sit out the first week of Cactus League play.
  • Presumptive Opening Day starter Lucas Giolito has soreness in a chest muscle and will also sit for the first week.
  • Gio González has some shoulder discomfort. Rinse, repeat regarding availability.

Now, another blog immediately tweeted out a cutesy comp of Grandal’s injury to Jon Jay’s a year ago, but good goddam, it’s February 12. Let’s be happy for a day.

González is a veteran who has never missed significant time, and Giolito threw at White Sox camp today. Knowing the Tasmanian Devil that is Yasmani Grandal he was probably also active, doing dozens of other exercises and prep to stay in shape and get game-ready. But this word from Hahn means we likely won’t see any of these guys in games until March.

Save for the relief it brings those stuck in snow, wind, sleet and cold, it makes you wonder why spring training is six weeks long.

Otherwise, here are some “tweetstorm”-style news and notes from around Camelback Ranch on Wednesday. Thanks to many beat writers, as well as the usual dogged determination of our own Kim Contreras, for today’s insights.

Saving the most delicious for last:

In news of other teams, for a moment this afternoon “James Shields” was trending on Twitter and users dropped their collective jaw. But it was just more props for the grandest mentor, Big Game:

Also, stay tuned tomorrow, as a Houston Astros press conference, featuring the owner, new manager Dusty Baker, and players happens in Florida. Today, the complex was roped off — or at least access to Astros players was largely prohibited.

And finally, I seem to get roasted a little posting too much “other site” stuff here, so I’ll simply announce that the third annual White Sox Hall of Fame vote, moved over to SSHP, inducted Joe Jackson, Paul Konerko, Carlton Fisk, Harold Baines and Ed Walsh today.

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