FOR NEWER FACES, PAST IS POWERFUL
BOSTON — Two days at Wrigley Field, three at Fenway Park, all in a week. It’s like a baseball history tour for the White Sox. And for rookies such as lefthander Tanner Banks, who, along with fellow rookie reliever Bennett Sousa, third baseman Jake Burger, first baseman/outfielder Gavin Sheets and reliever Ryan Burr, went exploring inside the Green Monster on Friday, the aura of the place wasn’t lost on them.
“There is something about an energy in a major-league stadium you can’t get anywhere else,” Banks said. “But then you come to these iconic, centuryold ballparks and think of the greats who graced these halls and played on this field.”
Fenway has been the home of the Red Sox since 1912.
“It’s cool. It’s history. It’s where baseball originated,” Sheets said.
Banks is a feel-good story as he enjoys the majors for the first time. At 30, he was beginning to wonder if he’d play in a big-league park, let alone Fenway. And he wasn’t leaving without checking out the big green wall.
Inside, “you feel that energy of not just the present game but those who came before,” he said. “There were so many names in there, thousands. And we got to write our names up there, and you think, ‘Is this going to be around another 100 years? Is the ink going to fade? I guess it’s our jobs to make that ink have meaning.”
With Andrew Vaughn on the injured list and manager Tony La Russa playing the more defensively polished AJ Pollock in the more spacious right field, Sheets played in left by the Monster on Friday. It was all meaningful, he said.
“The newer clubhouses are nicer and have all the cool stuff, but knowing the guys who walked through these doors and played here, that is the fun part,” he said.
With a 1.29 ERA in eight appearances over 14 innings, Banks has some cred. But he knows getting to the big leagues is one thing and staying is another.
“It remains to be seen,” he said. “You have to do your job, get outs and give your team a chance to win.”
Rotation DISCUSSIONS
Dylan Cease will start Saturday on regular rest, followed by Dallas Keuchel on Sunday on six days. Johnny Cueto, signed to a minor-league contract, has had enough work at Triple-A Charlotte and could join the team next week, although La Russa wasn’t specific about a plan with six starters in the mix.
“He’s in the discussion now,” La Russa said. “He’s made enough starts, so we are talking about him. So, the best thing is he’s in the conversations. We’ll see what the result is.”
The Sox have 18 games in the next 17 days, with a doubleheader in Kansas City on May 17.
“We are just going to try to really analyze how guys are throwing and if they need extra time,” La Russa said.
Vaughn on THE mend
Vaughn, who landed on the 10-day IL retroactive to Monday, got a cortisone shot for the bruise in his right hand. La Russa was hopeful he would return when he’s eligible Thursday against the Yankees, although the issue of whether he’ll need at-bats at Charlotte might come into play.
“We are going to miss him here,” said La Russa, who noted that X-rays and MRI were clean. “There’s no damage in there.” ✶