Look nobody has ever accused me of burying a lede, but while the short and simple answer to the question is “no”, there are individual elements of these games that matter both from a roster-building and developmental standpoint.

The White Sox begin their Cactus League schedule today against the Dodgers. Dylan Covey will start, and Tyler Danish, Thyago Viera, and Brian Clark are all expected to toe the rubber. It’s exciting, because live baseball will be in front of our eyeballs for the first time in far too long, but while these games can often feel like a meaningless slog as we count down to opening day, there are aspects worth keeping an eye on, even if the wins and losses absolutely do not matter.

1. HEALTH. If this list were 20-deep, health could probably take up spots 1 through about 16 or so. In those terms, the player everyone will have their eyes on is Carlos Rodon, who is in the early stages of a throwing program but who general manager Rick Hahn said Wednesday might not return until closer to June 1.

“This is more about getting him healthy for the long term rather than an extra two or three starts in April or May of 2018,” Hahn said. “I’m guessing it’s going to be closer to June 1, but until he’s actually throwing in games, it’s still speculative.”

Aside from Rodon, the most relevant injury-related name to watch in camp is Charlie Tilson. “Charlie Tilson if he’s healthy” has been an option in center field for more than a year now, but as much of a long-shot as it seems at this point, having a healthy Tilson as an option in center field would be a big bonus at a position where the incumbent is Adam Engel and his .517 OPS. Tilson is far from a sure thing, even when healthy. But you don’t know what you have in him until you know, ya know?

2. What the players and coaches say after spring training games actually matters, at least it matters as much as things like that can matter. Watching, say, Michael Kopech on the mound or Eloy Jimenez at the plate is fun to watch, but the results of those spring game appearances aren’t nearly as important as them executing what the coaching staff is asking of them in each appearance.

Maybe on Monday Don Cooper will have Kopech focusing on glove-side fastballs away, or standing tall. Fastball command is a common refrain you hear from White Sox coaches when working with young pitchers, and what and how they approach that with, say, Viara, is key.

You often hear what, specifically, those pitchers are working on after the game, in a matter-of-fact-ness that isn’t always the case in games that matter.

3. We mentioned Charlie Tilson earlier, and the group of outfielders will be worth monitoring throughout the spring. Tilson (yeah if healthy) and Engel are presumably battling for the starting center fielder spot, presuming the White Sox envision Leury Garcia for the utility role. There’s also Daniel Palka and Willy Garcia to consider.

Last year, the presumed starting center fielder in camp was Peter Bourjos before Jacob May came out of nowhere to earn the job. A lot can happen to change plans in these meaningless games.

4. Results. Wait, what? But you said …

Yes, results don’t matter. But let’s face it, it will be a helluva lot more fun this spring if Kopech comes out and torches a major league-ish caliber lineup, or Jimenez goes on a world-crushing tear. Last year, Yoan Moncada went .317/.391/.683 in 46 spring game plate appearances, and some guy nobody had ever heard of named Nicky Delmonico posted a .941 OPS and team-high five home runs in 71 plate appearances.

For every fun thing like that you have a May or Cody Asche, so take everything with a grain of salt. But the long spring is a lot more bearable when your presumed future roster pieces are playing well.

Lead Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

We can only smash the “like” button on the tweets with said content so hard until our fingers start bleeding, but the news Tuesday was that a sizable chunk of players were already getting work in a day ahead of schedule. This type of news isn’t exactly irregular anymore, but at the very least it signals the start of actual baseball things we can see and read about and talk about.

2. While the start of spring training is exciting, we still have about six weeks until real, meaningful baseball is played. However, while the White Sox roster seems mostly set, there will be a number of questions that will likely be answered over the next month-plus. Are the White Sox content with Yolmer Sanchez as the everyday third baseman? How about Nicky Delmonico in left field? Who among Adam Engel, Leury Garcia, or Charlie Tilson will emerge in center field? Will a new contender enter the arena in any of those position (or DH) in the form of a free agent? What is the meaning of life? When is Carlos Rodon going to be ready? Who is going to close? Is Scott Merkin on track to return by Opening Day? Who is the next Anthony Swarzak? What’s the bullpen going to look like?

3. None of those questions are likely going to be answered anytime soon, but the most noteworthy development from Tuesday’s pre-report date reporting was news that Nate Jones is throwing baseballs. Jones, as you might recall, missed almost all of the 2017 season after undergoing nerve repositioning surgery in his right elbow, and has pitched a grand total of 100.1 innings over the last four seasons (70 of which came in 2016.

Last season’s injury coupled with Tommy John surgery that cost him almost all of 2014 and 2015 have put Jones in a precarious position, as he continues to be thought of as someone who can provide valuable innings in the back of a bullpen when healthy, but has had trouble, ya know, staying healthy. The fact that he’s already throwing, albeit minimally, in the early days of the spring is a good sign for him to start the season with the major league club.

4. Spring Training also offers a glimpse of White Sox prospects invited to big league camp, such as Michael Kopech, who said he’s more comfortable in his second go-around at big league camp. For players like Kopech or Eloy Jimenez, the fact that they’re so close to the majors make their time in big league camp all the more interesting, as we’ll get a glimpse of them against major league level(-ish) competition in spring training games. Likewise, it will provide us with our first extended looks at players a bit farther away, such as Luis Robert and Jake Burger.

5. Lauren Comitor of The Athletic took an extended look at the roles of women in the front offices of both the White Sox and Cubs, including the Sox hiring of 24-year-old Emily Blady as a baseball operations analyst last month. It’s a great long-form piece that provides some insight into both the growth of women’s roles within the game as well as how far the game has yet to grow in that regard. It’s absolutely worth your time.

Lead Photo Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

The White Sox first baseman was forced to re-live that moment and those days and weeks leading up to it because he was called to testify in the trial of Bartolo Hernandez and Julio Estrada, two baseball agents standing trial on allegations they were involved in an operation that smuggled baseball players to America.

A full account, from Abreu’s perspective, of that August 2013 journey was largely unknown until a Chicago Mag profile on the slugger two years ago, but even then, Abreu hasn’t spoken much about it in public. It’s never been in his nature to be particularly loquacious. An article by James Fegan 11 months ago detailed this eloquently.

Yet he arrived, after a harrowing trip out of Cuba with his family, on far too small of a boat to make the journey, and the typically murky process Cuban expatriates have to navigate to MLB free agency. The almost Late-90’s Bad Boy Records-style shiny suit Abreu wore to his introductory news conference remains the biggest misdirect he’s ever thrown at Chicago as to his personal nature.

Regardless, his testimony Wednesday — he’s expected to continue Thursday — serves as another stark reminder of what he went through in order to achieve his dream and provide for his family.

2. Heralded pitching prospects Michael Kopech and Reynaldo Lopez simultaneously made their spring debuts with the White Sox on Tuesday in split squad action, and neither went particularly well.

Kopech allowed four runs in one inning of work, while Lopez lasted 1.1 innings and allowed five. As you might expect, Don Cooper didn’t seem worried.

“If anybody has a tough outing in the first one it’s like a mulligan for me,” Cooper said. “You gotta understand, some of these guys it’s their first big league camp. Some of them are 20 years old so you’re anxious. You want to go show everybody what you do and you might be revving it a little too high sometimes, but that’s part of the learning process, too.”

The spotlight on the first starts by that duo, as well as Lucas Giolito, are mostly because they’re just that — firsts. Cooper noted that they’re plotting courses for each pitcher and, considering the calendar just hit March, worrying about a one-inning outing doesn’t seem the best course of action for anyone.

3. Speaking of debuts, James Shields also made his first Spring Training start on Wednesday and afterward spoke about his disastrous 2016.

“To be completely honest with you, there was no rhyme or reason for it,” he said. “I think my delivery was out of whack. My ball was flat. For the most part I was up in the zone. There was a combination of things. We addressed that toward the end of the season last year. We’re addressing it right now and moving forward.”

Shields is short on details, so either he knows what went wrong and doesn’t want to talk about it, or he doesn’t know … and doesn’t want to talk about it.

Either way, the current state of the White Sox means he’s going to get every opportunity to prove he can still be a major league pitcher.

4. Bovada released its win total props and set the White Sox over/under at a nice 69.5. That might seem low if you’ve been looking at the 76 wins projected by PECOTA, but it’s important to remember that, unlike computer projections, gambling over/unders are designed to get action. And while PECOTA looks at the White Sox roster as it stands today, oddsmakers can factor in additional rebuilding moves most of us assume are coming.

5. Injuries: Todd Frazier told reporters Wednesday that he was feeling good but had no timetable for his return from a strained left oblique. Nate Jones left his outing on Wednesday after taking a batted ball off the knee, but the report after the game was that it was just a bruise and he’s considered day-to-day. But then again, aren’t we all?

Lead Photo Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

The young guys, duh

Duh. We’ve read plenty about all of the White Sox new prospects already, and this will be the first chance to catch a glimpse at the future before the future is frozen in the carbine of MiLB.tv until an undetermined date.

Seeing Michael Kopech face major league hitters or Yoan Moncada face major league pitching in a Cactus League doesn’t mean a whole lot in the long run. Fretting over their numbers during these games does no good. But, dammit, it will be fun to see!

While this will be our first opportunity to see these guys, in all seriousness it’s also the White Sox brass’ first chance to get to work up close with them. And what they see and what they say and what they instruct is just the first step in a long and important process.

Dealing with distractions

I’ve never put much stock in the idea that distractions such as trade rumors has much impact on a player’s performance. But the one thing I do put stock into is the idea that being asked about those rumors constantly is probably annoying as hell.

Some players are probably used to it, and I place no blame on the reporters who are doing their jobs, but while trade rumors can be digested quickly and easily during the winter, Spring Training means Jose Quintana, Todd Frazier and the others will be front and center whenever the next hot piece of juicy gossip comes to the forefront.

Rick Renteria addressed as such when he met with reporters for the first time Monday:

“I think that if there are any obstacles or annoyances that occur, we will do the best we can to kind of minimize those,” Renteria said. “For the most part, I think they are professionals. They know what they have to do.”

Spring Training trades aren’t frequent, and the closer we get to Opening Day the more likely it is that Quintana et al begin the season on the roster. But Rick Hahn has made it clear on multiple occasions that he won’t be afraid to pull the trigger if the right deal comes along. Until then, all we’ll have are the rumors.

Injuries

Again, nothing earth-shattering here, but while a contending team needs to stay healthy because of how it affects their chances of making the playoffs, health is important to the White Sox for other specific reasons.

The younger players likely the make the 25-man roster, whether it be potential building blocks like Carlos Rodon and Tim Anderson, or more volatile youngsters like Charlie Tilson, Matt Davidson, and Omar Narvaez, need the experience to further marinate. Rodon and Anderson are the two players on the current roster most likely to still be around for the next White Sox contender, and the others at least have slim chances to join them.

The older folks break down into two categories: Trade chips (we covered that above) or warm bodies you need because, well, somebody’s gotta play. While the tradable guys need to stay healthy for obvious reasons, for guys who aren’t as tradable (looking at you, James Shields) health simply means the White Sox aren’t tempted to throw players who need further development into situations they aren’t yet ready for.

So, yeah, health is important. Again, not a revelatory proclamation, but the reasons are different than in years past.

Fun along the way

The arrival of Spring Training is exciting because it means some baseball is here and important baseball is close. The more baseball the better, IMO. But after the first few games you realize none of the games actually matter.

This is a depressing realization, but there are plenty of things to enjoy about Spring Training. Every time a player who will likely never reach the majors, someone without a name on the back of his jersey and a number comparable to an NFL offensive lineman gets a hit at the plate or a strikeout on the mound is worth enjoying in the moment.

Spring Training is long and boring and fun and exciting. Let’s just hope the White Sox get through it without any, ahem, clubhouse controversy.

Lead Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports