CHICAGO -- Friday’s series opener against the Mariners marked the return of full capacity fandom to Guaranteed Rate Field, which also meant the return of tailgating around the ballpark.
Even with the stadium at reduced capacity so far this season, White Sox fans have been very supportive showing their excitement about the team with the highest home winning percentage in the American League.
“It's going to definitely be dope, it's going to be cool,” shortstop Tim Anderson said. “I'm pretty sure the fans are excited that it's back at 100 and we're excited to be able to go out and play for the best fans in the city.
“They've definitely been supportive throughout this whole process. You can tell they're happy and excited that we're finally putting things together and we're finally winning ballgames and the guys are playing good. They're excited and happy, as they should be.”
Last year’s empty stadiums due to the COVID-19 pandemic also are a thing of the past, which is good news for players and fans alike.
“Everybody's thankful and grateful for coming to the ballpark,” Anderson said. “We're grateful to have the fans in the stands, just be able to get back to that regular connection that we usually have. It's going to be loud tonight, it's going to be fun, it's going to be exciting and of course it's a Friday night on the South Side. It doesn't get any more exciting than that.”
Second-half adds?
White Sox manager Tony La Russa knows executive vice president Ken Williams and general manager Rick Hahn will do whatever they can to help improve their AL Central-leading squad.
La Russa also understands that any deals have to make sense for a White Sox team with designs on winning a World Series in 2021 but also with a core built to contend for four or five years. It’s a sentiment Hahn expressed at the end of the last home series against the Rays.
“It's our nature to look at every opportunity to [make] ourselves better,” Hahn told reporters. “We've made no secret [that] we don't want this to be a one and done.
“We want this to be something we can perpetuate for a number of years, which is really what we're trying to balance in terms of any acquisitions," Hahn added. "Long-term costs and what it does to us going forward. Chances to win are sacred and we're going to treat this one accordingly.”
Getting their players healthy really becomes the biggest second-half addition for the White Sox. That list includes left fielder Eloy Jiménez (ruptured left pectoral tendon), center fielder Luis Robert (right hip flexor tear) and outfielder Adam Engel (aggravation of right hamstring strain), who did some light running on the field pregame Friday.
Those three players are expected back this season. Second baseman Nick Madrigal will not return until the 2022 campaign, after having surgery to repair a right hamstring tear. Madrigal still fits firmly in the White Sox long-term plans, but second base figures to be one of the focuses for potential current deals.
For now, the roster built by Hahn and Williams continues to move forward, sitting atop the division for 51 days despite the injuries and a recent 1-5 road stretch.
“They've been making phone calls and keeping staff abreast of possibilities and there's no doubt in our mind and fans should understand that if there's something that's reasonable, they're going to try hard to make it happen,” said La Russa of the front office. “That's why I think you have to repeat 'reasonable.'
“If there's something that makes sense, they're going to try to make it happen," La Russa added. "I've learned myself, and I'm sure our fans have learned for several years, [there is] a lot of confidence in their willingness to help us be a contending club. And their willingness along with the support of the ownership with Jerry [Reinsdorf], they're going to try to make it happen. The fact that they're trying means a lot to everybody in this clubhouse.”
Third to first
• Carlos Rodón, who started Friday, is trying to become the second White Sox first-round Draft pick since 1990 to make the All-Star roster. He would join southpaw Chris Sale, who was an All-Star from 2012-16, each year he started for the White Sox.
• The White Sox have lost three straight season series to the Mariners (2017-19) after going 47-23 combined between 2008-16.
They said it
“We definitely need him. Big power arm, he was throwing well before he went on the IL. Just to get him back healthy, that's definitely going to help the bullpen out.” -- Anderson on right-hander Michael Kopech, who threw a simulated game on Friday to test his left hamstring.