Danks doesn't want to be weak link in Sox' strong rotation
When he first joined the White Sox, John Danks was an up-and-coming starting pitcher with a big fastball and a matching heart.
That was 2007, and much has changed.
Danks is now the Sox' elder statesman, and the goal this season is keeping up with all of his younger teammates.
"It's weird," Danks said. "There are times I feel like I've been here forever, and other times I feel like I'm still the new guy. It's a good mix, and certainly I try to be available.
"I think back to my first camp when (Mark) Buehrle and (Jon) Garland welcomed me and took care of me. I try to return the favor and know how much that helped me, so I try to pass that on to a guy like (Carlos) Rodon or the other new guys."
Danks still has plenty of heart, but he's a much different pitcher now after having shoulder surgery in 2012.
He has been a shadow of his past self the past two seasons, combining to go 15-25 with a 4.74 ERA. Scheduled to be the No. 4 starter this year behind Chris Sale, newcomer Jeff Samardzija and Jose Quintana, Danks is just trying to carry his own weight.
"Everybody has to go out and do their job, but we're all capable of giving us a chance to win every night," said Danks, who makes his Cactus League debut Thursday. "That's all we can ask for. We have as good a top of the rotation as anybody in baseball. I'd put those guys up against anybody, and it falls on myself and (No. 5 starter) Hector (Noesi) to do our job on the back end.
"I know we're both ready for that and kind of take it as a challenge to keep up with those guys. There's plenty of confidence there, and we both finished the season on high notes and are hoping to pick up where we left off."
Relying more on changeups and curveballs after the shoulder surgery, Danks was 2-2 with a 3.94 ERA over his last 5 starts in 2014.
"My motion, we cut out a lot of the movement in it," he said. "The more movement I have the better chance I have to mess it up before I let go of the ball. We're trying to find a way to get more movement on the fastball, and by doing that help me keep it down in the zone, keep the ball in the ballpark."
Danks ranked among American League leaders with 25 home runs allowed last year, so keeping the ball lower in the strike zone is an obvious key.
"When my fastball gets over the middle of the plate, it's not strong enough to get away with as I did in the past," Danks said. "The main focus has been trying to get more life on the fastball.
"Command with four pitches, that's my game now. It's not always easy, but that's what I've worked on. I feel good about things going into this year."
If Sale can bounce back quickly from a freak injury - the Sox' ace fractured his right foot late last week and is expected to miss three weeks - and if Danks can log close to 200 innings like he did last year, and if Noesi can hold down the No. 5 spot until Rodon is ready, it could be a special season for the starting rotation.
"This is exciting," Danks said. "Not that we didn't in years past, but there's real hope around here. There's high expectations.
"We know there's high expectations around Chicago, but none higher than what we put on ourselves in here. We're going to go about our business and do what we have to have to do to be ready for the year."
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