Steve Cishek seems relieved.
And in a way he is. Figuring out how to pitch to Eloy Jimenez, Yoan Moncada, Tim Anderson and Jose Abreu is no longer part of his to-do list.
Being on the White Sox means you no longer have to face the White Sox.
“I’m just glad that I don’t have to prepare to face those guys,” Cishek said last month during SoxFest, “especially after I see Eloy (Jimenez) break his bat and hit a homer out of Wrigley. That was insane.
“We prepared against them. That’s one thing. (It’s another) to execute because when they step in the box, we know they can thump it. I’m just glad I don’t have to prepare now. I can just witness it from the nice comfort of my bullpen seat.”
Indeed, Cishek has firsthand knowledge of what the White Sox have in store for opposing pitchers as their young core continues to grow. While he didn't allow a run in his five outings against them during his two-year Cubs tenure, he was in the left-field bullpen when Jimenez hit that broken-bat, game-winning homer off Pedro Strop last June. And he was as dumbstruck as anyone.
“I think Stropy was pitching, and after the game, he was like, ‘What do you want me to do? The guy broke his bat and hit it into the stands.’ What can you do?” Cishek said. “It was just one of those things. Eloy’s a strong human being. It was deflating, but at the same time, we were like, ‘What can you do? Dude’s a freak.’”
MLB
Like plenty of others around the game, Cishek has long known what the White Sox have been building on the South Side. He spent the 2019 season watching from afar the breakout seasons from a young core that has propelled the White Sox to the brink of jumping into contention mode.
Jimenez hit 31 homers as a rookie. Anderson won a batting title. Moncada emerged as the best all-around hitter on the team. Abreu was Abreu. Lucas Giolito blossomed into an All Star and the ace of the starting staff. Luis Robert and Nick Madrigal set the minor leagues on fire. Michael Kopech worked his way back from Tommy John surgery.
That core set the stage for the big offseason that followed, Rick Hahn’s front office bringing in big-name veterans to complement that core and bring realistic playoff expectations to the South Side.
“You play against these guys, the young core, you can see the talent there. And then all of a sudden they fit other pieces around them. That’s what all these teams that have had success the past couple years have been doing,” Cishek said. “It’s kind of been the recipe the last 10 years or so.
“What the front office has done to put together a team to win now, it makes a statement to the fan base, yeah, but it makes a statement to the players. Think about the young core group that’s been kind of grinding the last couple years, trying to learn how to be a big league player. All of a sudden, they put it together, they want to win now.
“‘All right, let’s do it.’ That’s just a statement from the front office to the young core group that, ‘You guys show you can play, we’re going to do something.’”
Yasmani Grandal wanted to work with a promising young pitching staff. Dallas Keuchel wanted to work with Grandal. Edwin Encarnacion wanted to mash alongside his buddy Jimenez and the rest of the White Sox young hitters. Cishek was no exception, jumping at the chance to be a part of a winner.
The “playoffs or bust” expectations that have overtaken the manager, the players and the fan base are not for nothing. They’re earned thanks to the front office’s work this winter. While Rick Renteria stands up in front of the media and says he’ll be disappointed if his team isn’t playing in October, his players are right there with him.
“That’s why we play the game, right? Any one of us should be disappointed if we don’t make the postseason,” Cishek said. “A major reason why a lot of us, when we had the opportunity or an offer to play here, you jump on it because the team’s serious about winning and we want to do it now.”
There’s belief on the South Side, belief that found its way to the North Side and convinced a former Cub that the other side of town was a place to be. Cishek saw the talent, saw the commitment and saw the possibilities.
He spent two years playing for a team trying to keep its contention window from slamming shut. Now he’s a part of a team trying to rip its contention window wide open.
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