Adam Engel: full speed ahead
After the blast that turned the tide of the first White Sox-Cubs exhibition game and ultimately spurring a sweep of the northsiders, Adam Engel sat down for a really generous session with media on Monday.
One thing is clear, that rather than resenting or competing with his heir apparent, Luis Robert, Engel has taken the rookie under his wing — sometimes giving advice that goes a bit against the grain.
"What a special player he is," Engel says of Robert. "Can’t say enough good things about him as a player and as a young guy ... I’m trying to learn as much Spanish as I can. Having Eloy [Jiménez] and Nomar [Mazara] out there helps.
"Luis wants to play fast. [I tell him] you’re a special case, dude. The traditional rules are not for fast players like yourself. You have the ability to do things other people can’t. You have to test it."
Engel had a spring training anecdote that illustrates his advice. With Robert on second, he got a good jump on a ground ball and could have scored on a ground out had he not slipped around third. While most of the old guard was warning Robert off of such aggressiveness, Engel waited until everything died down to tell Robert to push his talent and find out for sure what he can and cannot do.
As for Engel, he doubtlessly will play an important late-inning defensive and pinch-running role, possibly even platooning in right field with Mazara.
"I'm not sure what my role on the team yet, but I'm willing to go full speed," Engel says. "Everybody wants to be an everyday guy and main contributor, have that kind of responsibility. But I’ve been that guy off the bench, and you prepare like a starter. And coming off the bench, it doesn’t take as much toll on your body."
And as for that homer that helped bounce Cubs ace Kyle Hendricks from the game on Sunday?
"Was it a cool feeling? Yeah," Engel says. "You hit a home run in batting practice, it’s a good feeling. Was it cool? Yeah, absolutely."
Engel's terrific session is available below, courtesy of the White Sox:
Actor (final credit: murdered by Albert Einstein in "Carnage Hall"), musician (Ethnocentric Republicans), and Nerf hoops champion, Wiffleball aficionado and onetime bilingual kindergarten teacher, Brett Ballantini also writes about baseball, basketball and sometimes hockey, for the NBA, MLB, NHL, and Slam, Hoop, Sporting News, the Athletic, SB Nation and others. He was CSN Chicago’s Blackhawks beat writer when their 49-year Stanley Cup drought ended in 2009-10, and took over the White Sox beat after that. He currently is the editor-in-chief of South Side Hit Pen and beat writer for Inside the Rays. He also wrote a book about Ozzie Guillén but is running out of space, so follow him on Twitter @BrettBallantini and he'll probably tell you even more about himself than you ever wanted to know.