White Sox draw big crowd for Hawk Harrelson giveaway
A big crowd of 29,111 was on hand Saturday night at Guaranteed Rate Field for the White Sox-Padres game.
Many came for the unique giveaway, a Ken "Hawk" Harrelson talking alarm clock.
"When they first told me about it I said, 'That's a pretty neat idea,'" said Harrelson, who has been broadcasting Sox games for 33 years. "As it turned out, it has grown. This thing has a little bit of a life of its own. I know MLB and some of the other networks, they have been promoting the (heck) out of it as well."
Harrelson received 100 of the clocks and has been hounded for the souvenir.
"I've had over 400 requests, from friends all over the country," Harrelson said. "A couple from Venezuela. I told them buy a ticket to the game, that's the only way you are going to get one."
Help wanted:
Working to improve his defense at first base, Jose Abreu asked for help before Saturday night's game.
Manager Rick Renteria, bench coach Joe McEwing and assistant hitting coach Greg Sparks were happy to oblige. Sparks played some first base during his 12-year minor league career.
"It's just basically trying to get himself back into a feel of making sure he knows the direction the ball is coming from, making sure his footwork around the base is working properly," Renteria said of Abreu. "And sometimes he tries to stretch too much. Allow the ball to do what it's doing and put himself in a better position to receive the baseball."
While Abreu has struggled with his defense since joining the White Sox in 2014, Renteria still believes he can play the position.
"I've seen him moving around the field, taking groundballs," Renteria said. "And you see his feet, see his hands. Sometimes the tools that you're using may not quite be the right tool for you. So you need to figure out if you can change a little bit of the webbing or the mitts, because the ball rolls around a little too much more than I would like.
"They're just suggestions. Obviously, the man playing out in the field has to make the decisions, the conscience effort of making adjustments to the extent that he wants to. I think he is."
Road to recovery:
On the 60-day disabled list with left biceps bursitis, White Sox starter Carlos Rodon reportedly was feeling good enough to throw a simulated game in Arizona on Saturday.
If he comes through the sim game in good shape, the next step for Rodon is going on a minor league rehabilitation assignment.
Considering he missed most of spring training with arm discomfort, Rodon would need multiple starts in the minors before he'd be ready to return to the Sox's rotation.