White Sox ace starting pitcher playing waiting game
Lucas Giolito is back home in Southern California.
Like millions, however, the White Sox's top starting pitcher feels like he is somewhere else.
"It's weird," Giolito said on a conference call Tuesday. "It almost feels like some sort of weird purgatory."
On March 11, Giolito and the Sox were at camp in Glendale, Ariz., and just over two weeks away from opening a regular season full of promise.
Cactus League play was halted the next day and the coronavirus pandemic's wide-ranging grip has put everything on pause.
"We were in spring training mode, everybody is on the same page," Giolito said. "We were having a great camp, guys were coming together and we were making great progress as a club, I think.
"We were getting prepared for a really great season and just out of nowhere, not very much warning, it was like all right, we have to shut it down and everyone is on hold until further notice.
"It's a weird vibe for guys like me, pretty much every guy around the league will probably tell you the same thing. It sucks. We wish we were out there playing. At the same time, we are in the middle of a crisis and we can't force the issue. We have to let everything run its course and hopefully we can get this going as soon as possible."
Giolito was 14-9 with a 3.41 ERA in 29 starts for the White Sox last season, good for a seventh-place finish in American League Cy Young Award voting.
The 25-year-old righty was on track to start Opening Day, originally scheduled for last Thursday against the Royals at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Like everyone else, Giolito is playing the waiting game.
"It's a tough one," he said. "Baseball in general, America's pastime and all that. It brings people together. Obviously, it's a big form of entertainment, both live action and on television, radio. We're missing that right now. You could say the same thing about basketball.
"Basketball should be moving its way toward the playoffs right now, hockey, too. Missing sports in general is definitely weird. It's a weird feeling. I know that a ton of sports fans around the country are really not very happy about what's going on. But at the same time, there are some more important things going on. There are, unfortunately, people dying from this. It seems like it continues to spread more and more.
"The whole baseball thing does have to take a back seat. As a player, I'm doing everything I can within reason to maintain staying in shape and be where I need to be when it comes time for us to start again. But I think the main importance is adhering to what we should be doing together as a country and as united people in trying to stop the spread of this."
There has been some speculation that games will be played without fans in the stands when it initially begins again.
"That's definitely not the most enjoyable experience for a player," Giolito said. "For me, personally, I really love to feed off the crowd's energy, whether that's at home and everyone's rooting for me or if we're on the road and I want to shut all the other fans up. I like that part of the game. I think it's a big part of the game.
"The more fans that are packed into a stadium, the more exciting a game can be, the more it adds to it. But at the same time, we're all used to playing those backfield games, chain-link fence league games. We've done it coming up through the minor leagues. We even do it in spring training, at times. I don't think it has too much an effect. If things matter, if games matter, I think we'd be able to go and get it done with or without fans in the stadium. But I'd definitely prefer to have fans. We'll see what we'll be able to make happen."