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WHITE SOX HEADLINES OF FEBRUARY 1, 2017 “Giolito going 'back to basics' for more spin” … Scott Merkin, MLB.com “Truck Day: White Sox haul gear to Arizona” … Scott Merkin, MLB.com “The state of baseball's worst teams” … Bradford Doolittle, ESPN “Kopech, Giolito Are 2 Faces of White Sox Hope Amid Rebuild” … Chris Emma, CBS Chicago “White Sox Preaching Patience at Every Level”… CBS Chicago Giolito going 'back to basics' for more spin Prized prospect saw drop in K rate during brief MLB debut with Nationals By Scott Merkin / MLB.com | January 31, 2017 CHICAGO -- Lucas Giolito was not the pitcher he could be -- or more importantly, should be -- during his short Major League stint with the Nationals last season. MLBPipeline.com's No. 12 prospect per the 2017 Top 100 rankings fanned only 11 in 21 1/3 innings for the Nationals, giving him a 10.9 percent strikeout rate that was the 12th-lowest of the 511 pitchers with at least 20 innings. That number stands as a stark contrast to the 397 strikeouts Giolito recorded over 369 Minor League innings. According to Statcast™, Giolito's fastball sits at the core of those struggles. Opposing big league hitters posted a split of .349/.446/.730 off that pitch, with his spin rate of 2,061 rpm falling below the Major League average of 2,261 rpm. A lower spin rate can produce sink and grounders, and Giolito throws a sinker as well as a four-seamer. But the higher spin is correlated with swinging strikes, and the 6-foot-6 right-hander considers himself a strikeout pitcher. "It's enjoyable to strike people out, that's for sure," Giolito said during last weekend's SoxFest. "It's always good to be able to put guys away. I know I have the stuff to do that. I have to continue to hone it in. "I'd say the lower spin rate was probably because I wasn't extending as much. I was really flying open a lot last year. I've been working super hard to get back to basics with my mechanics this offseason and put it all together. I feel like the ball is coming out of my hands much better right now." Studying specific statistical trends such as spin rate is important enough to the White Sox that they hired Matt Koenig as director of baseball analytics to focus on Statcast™ and Trackman. It's becoming prevalent in the scouting circles as well because more of the information makes its way to the colleges, major summer tournaments and even some of the high school stuff. Fastball issues for Giolito centered on changes in mechanics implemented when he arrived in Washington. Giolito, 22, blames himself for trying to be something he really wasn't. "This year it's kind of like a clean slate," Giolito said. "It's even a new team. I'm able to, like I said before, kind of get back to basics in my mechanics. Go back to what made me successful and continue to do that so I can continue to be successful. "I was trying to make adjustments that I thought might have been helpful, might have made me more consistent with my mechanics, or might have gotten more out of my legs or arm ... I was trying to juggle it, and then I developed some really bad habits." Those habits seem to be past history, as Giolito has felt great since he started throwing again. He earned rave reviews from pitching coach Don Cooper during a side session Friday. "We've got to create a little more angle, a little bit more down angle to the fastball," White Sox scouting director Nick Hostetler said. "When you do that, it essentially causes the hitter to have to change his launch path in his bat. You put all these things together and it ends up building up to a point where he becomes, he realizes his deficiencies. Our coaching staff does, as well as us in the office, and we get information to him to fix that." "The ball is going to be coming out of my hand different this year than it was in the big leagues last year," Giolito said. "I saw I was throwing 90, 91, 92, and that's not going to be happening. I'm not interested in being that type of pitcher. I can put power behind the ball. I can throw inside/outside. I can throw the curveball/changeup. I'm just going to continue to work on all that stuff and put it all together so I can go and win games in the big leagues. It's what I really want to do." Truck Day: White Sox haul gear to Arizona By Scott Merkin / CSN Chicago | January 31, 2017 CHICAGO -- The White Sox are undergoing a highly publicized rebuild, but the change of players doesn't change the basic plans of preparation for the start of the 2017 season. Tuesday marked the White Sox Truck Day, when one vehicle loaded up with all the necessities for Spring Training heads to Camelback Ranch for when White Sox pitchers and catchers report on Feb. 14. The truck will be unloaded Friday or Saturday in Glendale, Ariz. "We don't want to be too rushed," White Sox home clubhouse manager Rob Warren said. "Obviously, there's probably guys down there, whether it's rehabbing or hitting in the cage or working out on the Minor League side. But we still want to be able to not be in a rush. "It takes a good solid week to get everything set up down there when it comes to setting up lockers. We want to make sure when these guys show up on the 13th or 14th that they are ready to go and we are ready for them." Warren is in his 12th season with the White Sox but second in charge of the home clubhouse. He admitted that Tuesday's organizing and loading, as well as packing up weeks in advance, were a little less stressful this time. The majority of the process started in the middle of January when much of the new gear arrived, working with visiting clubhouse manager Gabe Morell, assistant home clubhouse manager Jason Gilliam, umpires clubhouse manager Joe McNamara Jr. and home clubhouse staffer Tom Bafia. "That week before, once SoxFest hits, we start to get going every day," Warren said. "As you can see, it's a lot of stuff we are bringing down. "Just one big truck. We get it pretty full. There's been some years where we can't fit something and say, 'Maybe next year.' But it's gotten better over the course of the years. It's a pretty full truck." "A variety of stuff, not just equipment-wise," Warren said. "Training staff equipment, PR, photo, scoreboard items, things that some of the front office needs, that sort of thing." There's a more roundabout trip to Arizona in store for Warren, who first is driving his dog to be with his parents in Florida and then flying across the country. But while the faces may change with the players in the White Sox clubhouse, the process to get them everything they need stays the same. "We've got the basic stuff that we need to fit all the guys. Helmets or new Spring Training gear, pants, shirts, shorts," Warren said. "Anything that you can think of that these guys are going to need, we are going to bring it down. We still have to make sure these guys have what they need to be out on the field." The state of baseball's worst teams By Bradford Doolittle / ESPN | February 1, 2017 Chicago White Sox: Rebuild it and maybe they will come. The folks in Chicago love their teams, but they aren't easily fooled. They know mediocrity when they see it, and as the White Sox lapsed into a rudderless era, their box-office fortunes reflected a fan base that had become apathetic. The Sox have ranked 12th or worse in American League attendance in each of the past three years. With the north side Cubs morphing into a budding dynasty, what is a flailing franchise to do? Rebuild, of course. Entering the winter, it seemed clear the White Sox were in need of a reset, even though the farm system was so thin that a rebuild seemed like a long-term proposition. And perhaps that will prove to be the case. Certainly, no one expects the White Sox to contend for anything this year other than the AL Central cellar. But in moving Chris Sale and Adam Eaton, the Sox have gotten further down the rebuilding road than seemed possible. With the bounty from the Sale deal and the similar haul from the somewhat stunning Eaton deal, the White Sox have life. There is work to do: The system is still shallow despite leaping to 10th in Keith Law's most recent rankings. Chicago still has solid veterans such as Todd Frazier, David Robertson, Jose Abreu and, especially, Jose Quintana to redeem in an effort to deepen that pool. What seemed like a moribund franchise suddenly has direction. And you know what? I live not far from Sox Park, aka Guaranteed Rate Field, and even if no one can really tell you anything about the likes of Michael Kopech, Yoan Moncada or Lucas Giolito, people are intrigued. It might not pay off at the turnstiles right away. It probably won't pay off in wins, at least not this year.

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