As Rick Renteria dives into his first White Sox spring training as manager this week, he seemingly does so without the weight of outside expectations to contend.
A Sox team that won 78 games in 2016 shed its best starting pitcher and its leadoff hitter when it traded Chris Sale and Adam Eaton in the offseason. The front office is expected to deal more veterans in favor of prospects before the season is up. And general manager Rick Hahn even acknowledged late last month that it would be difficult to rebuild and field a contender at the same time.
But Renteria said Monday from Camelback Ranch that he won’t concern himself with outside expectations as he begins his second stint as a big-league manager.
“The expectation outside can be what it’s going to be — we still have to have high expectations for ourselves,” Renteria said. “Part of the process of playing the game a certain way is obviously looking for the victory. The question is how are we going to approach our attack on a daily basis? Everyone is going to have high expectations for themselves in that clubhouse.”
Renteria has been in Arizona for a few days already, but when camp officially opens Tuesday as pitchers and catchers report, he’ll be in a much different role than last year as Robin Ventura’s bench coach.
Renteria said he doesn’t plan to make huge changes in camp, but he does want to be more detailed in his approach. He mentioned baserunning, backing up bases and battling better with two strikes as some of the areas the coaches might target as the spring moves along.
He likened his new role to being a parent, but he said his personality will remain the same.
“We’re always talking baseball, so that’s not going to change,” Renteria said. “The reality is I have a line that I have to toe in terms of having the responsibility to lead these guys in a particular direction. So that is on me now, that is my law.
The White Sox will be a team in transition as they open spring training at Camelback Ranch on Tuesday. Gone are two of their biggest names — Chris Sale and Adam Eaton — and arriving are a host of newcomers looking to make an impression on their new team.
Here are nine questions facing the changing Sox.
(Colleen Kane)
“There are going to be times where my guys don’t like me very much, and that’s OK. There are going to be times where I don’t like them very much. But I’m always going to love them.”
Among the challenges the Sox face this spring will be veterans wondering if they could be traded at any moment.
The Sox reportedly were in talks with the Nationals to trade closer David Robertson last week but the deal stalled. Rumors surrounding left-hander Jose Quintana also are likely to continue as they did all offseason.
Renteria’s approach to such talk is to acknowledge it – and then return to work.
“It would be foolish for me to say they probably don’t have it in the back of their mind,” Renteria said. “It’s probably there, but it shouldn’t be something that encompasses their every waking moment. They still have a job to do.
“If there are any obstacles or annoyances that occur, we will do the best we can to kind of minimize those. For the most part, I think they are professionals.”
Another challenge will be integrating several new prospects into the clubhouse, but Renteria already has experience with molding a young group during his year as Cubs manager. He expects to bring an energetic approach to working with them and said he won’t necessarily hang his head after every loss, acknowledging that there will be failures along the way.
“We have to give ourselves an opportunity to grow in confidence,” Renteria said. “We have to understand when you do fail it’s not the end of the world. It’s just a moment, and we have to question how we went about it with our approach in that particular moment. I want them to know we’re not going to be quitters.”
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