Liam Hendriks sat down for his Zoom interview and showed off his new T-shirt.
"The 'Pen Is Mighty," it read, a strong reference to a "Saturday Night Live" Celebrity Jeopardy skit that also touted the presumed excellence of the back end of the White Sox relief corps. Pictured as the contestants, from left to right, were Evan Marshall, Aaron Bummer and Hendriks, himself.
Here's a look at the @SnarkBuehrle production that made it's way to White Sox camp:
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These White Sox are not short on confidence, that's for sure, not lacking in the swagger department. Just look to the previous T-shirt that circulated camp — which highlighted, and made fun of, Nick Madrigal calling his 3,000-hit goal "very reachable" — for another example.
The bullpen, especially, has been a near constant source of quotes about how good they're expecting things to go this season. Marshall said that anything short of elite status for the group will be a disappointment. Bummer said he wants the team's record to be 90-0 when they lead after the sixth inning. Hendriks wouldn't go that far Wednesday, but he's also the guy screaming profanities on the mound, making everyone around him, teammates included, think he's a little crazy.
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It's not limited to the bullpen, though.
Tim Anderson has put the division-rival Minnesota Twins on blast on multiple occasions, calling the White Sox the best team in the AL Central, "hands down." He doubled down by going on The Score and saying, in so many words, that the White Sox are the best team in the American League. Rick Hahn opened spring camp by saying anything short of a World Series win for this team would be disappointing. Lucas Giolito has acted as team spokesman on the World Series front, making it known that's what these White Sox expect of themselves in 2021.
"We're just really, really good. And we know we are," the staff ace said after his latest spring start Wednesday. "Our rotation, I think we're super nasty. The bullpen, best in the league.
"The expectations are high from outside sources, but also internally. And we own that."
The gigantic team goal is driving all these guys. But that swagger shows up in their individual goals, too. Eloy Jiménez wants to win an MVP, talking casually about hitting more than 40 home runs in a season. Dallas Keuchel wants to rinse the taste of his playoff performance last fall out of his mouth, talking about the 40 innings of postseason baseball he hopes to log this October.
Certainly there's reason for the White Sox to be saying these things, to be talking so big. They own one of the finest rosters in the game and look worthy of being among the preseason favorites, on paper. To caution those concerned about pride coming before the fall, rarely have any of these statements been made without the addendum that the team needs to prove it all on the field.
But after an ascendant 2020 season and an offseason spent adding important pieces like Hendriks and Lance Lynn, the moment the White Sox rebuild was building toward is here. They look like World Series contenders, with a reigning MVP, two Silver Sluggers, a Gold Glove center fielder and not one, not two, not three but four pitchers who finished in the top 10 of last year's Cy Young vote.
Oh, and that bullpen.
"The guys you have in that bullpen, ... no matter who is coming in, we have guys with plus stuff, plus command who are going to be around the zone. No matter what happens, we are not going to give in in any situation or game," Hendriks said. "We have the seven or eight guys who will be out there that can pitch in any situation and be completely content.
"We definitely have a confident group of guys. We have guys who have the wherewithal to be confident because of what they can do on the mound. It's something special I'm excited to be part of."
You can extrapolate that evaluation to the entire roster, the way the whole team feels about what starts in two weeks.
These White Sox are good. And they know it.
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