Lawrie back on his feet for White Sox
GLENDALE, Ariz. - Brett Lawrie arrived at the Chicago White Sox's training camp on Saturday, and it's worth noting the veteran second baseman was able to stand up in front of his clubhouse locker.
Last year, Lawrie was down and out from the second half of July through the remainder of the season.
When asked for updates, then-Sox manager Robin Ventura said Lawrie had a bad hamstring one day, a sore knee then next, and there was even some hip pain in the injury reports.
Lawrie's mysterious physical issues dragged into the off-season, but he shed some light on what transpired before taking the field for the White Sox's first full-squad workout at soggy Camelback Ranch.
"It was the orthotics, man," Lawrie said. "I was put into orthotics for the first time in 26 years, and it definitely threw me for a loop. It was the worst time of my life, to be honest with you. Moving forward from here, it's about getting back to my flat feet and stabilizing that."
Lawrie said he tried everything possible to get back on the field last season, but he didn't figure out the problem until it was too late.
"It's not until October that you don't know why you're not getting better, and all of the sudden you don't know what your doing, so you cut sugar out of your diet because my body's not reacting the way you want it to," Lawrie said. "I'm like, 'What's going on with me?' I took them (orthotics) out of my shoes and I've felt better since. The position they put me in, it's been tough, but we're getting there."
Lawrie, who is back on a one-year, $3.5 million contract after posting a .248/.310/.413 hitting line with 12 home runs and 36 RBI in 94 games last season, doesn't blame the White Sox for what happened in 2016.
"I figured it out because nobody could figure out what was wrong with me," he said. "That being said, it's like I've been trying to figure out this whole thing the whole time. It's not anyone's fault. I just think it's one of those things that everyone is trying to find the X on the map, to try to find the treasure, and it's been so tough.
"It was frustrating. You have them in your shoes. I'm trying to put myself in the best position and I went the opposite way as soon as I put them in my shoes. I started going backward."
Let's talk:
The White Sox held their first full-squad workout Saturday at Camelback Ranch.
Before taking the field, new manager Rick Renteria addressed the troops.
"It was just basically trying to establish that we're going to play the game a certain way," Renteria said. "We all love baseball and obviously we live vicariously through our players. Just try to establish a connection between myself and now, obviously, the position players, many of which I know. Just try to connect both the pitchers and catchers and the position players. Just try to have those conversations so that we kind of mesh and move forward."
Weather woes:
It was cold and rainy on Saturday, and the Dodgers canceled their outdoor workout.
The White Sox, who share Camelback Ranch with Los Angeles, got outdoors and did everything but take groundballs.
"We adjusted our schedule to limit our fundamentals and then still get the guys some more swings," manager Rick Renteria said. "It was good to get them out there all together. The guys have been here doing some work so today wasn't going to affect them too much. It just kind of sets us back a little bit with our fundamentals."