THREE SPRING ISSUES
ISN’T THAT RICH?
Rick Renteria, the former Cubs manager who took the 2015 season off on the North Siders’ dime (he was unceremoniously shown the door when Joe Maddon became available), will be a hands-on overseer of spring camp as manager Robin Ventura’s bench coach. Renteria is replacing Mark Parent, who is managing the Los Angeles Angels’ Class AA Arkansas team after being fired at the end of last season. Class act that he is and jilted as he was, Renteria wants no part of being viewed as a managerial replacement in waiting should the Sox struggle in the last year of Ventura’s contract, but he won’t avoid that should the Sox stumble out of the gate as they did last season.
TURNING UP THE VOLUME
The clubhouse, occupied by mostly calm and collected personalities in 2015, should perk up with an injection of noise, energy and edge that likely will accompany Brett Lawrie and Mat Latos. Both demonstrate emotion on the field and make their presence felt in the clubhouse. Todd Frazier and Alex Avila are expected to bring confident leadership qualities to the mix, a lacking commodity among the position-player cast because of Jose Abreu’s language barrier, Adam LaRoche’s poor performance, Melky Cabrera’s first-half struggles and Adam Eaton’s youth. The fresh mix and clubhouse chemistry will be something for Ventura, who is adept at handling people, to keep an eye on.
LET’S SEE WHATCHA GOT, KID
Fans might not have to wait’ll next year to see shortstop Tim Anderson, the 17th pick in the 2013 draft, and right-hander Carson Fulmer, No. 8 in 2015, in a major-league game. They figure big in the Sox’ plans— Anderson might be the starting shortstop in 2017, and Fulmer, the most major-league-ready college pitcher in the draft, will be given every chance to make the rotation in ’17. But while general manager Rick Hahn said management won’t rush Fulmer as quickly as Chris Sale and Carlos Rodon, and even though Anderson is expected to start the season at Class AAA Charlotte, expect to read plenty of glowing quotes about these two this spring.