Chicago White Sox manager Robin Ventura isn’t too concerned about the quick turnaround his team must endure in returning to the midwest for an afternoon home opener against the Cleveland Indians on Friday.
“That’s the schedule,” he said. “It’s not ideal but we’ll be fine.”
What concerns Ventura is the weather.
“It’s going to be cold,” he said. “That’s the issue more than anything. I wish we had a day to get acclimated. There are a lot of guys coming in who don’t really know where to go.”
The White Sox have been in warmer weather since the middle of February, spending spring training in Arizona, then flying to San Diego for an exhibition series and opening the season in unusually warm weather in Oakland. Not that the Sox will get much sympathy.
The White Sox will receive a warm welcome, though, after taking three of four from the Oakland Athletics, a team against whom they have traditionally had trouble. Mat Latos put the finishing touches on a superbly pitched opening series.
The four starters combined for a 2.36 ERA. If that trend continues, the White Sox will contend in the competitive AL Central.
Left-hander John Danks looks to continue the solid pitching when he squares off against right-hander Cody Anderson and the Indians.