White Sox players were “visibly upset” following a meeting with team officials explaining the request that 1B Adam LaRoche cut back on the amount of time his son was at the ballpark, and the players threatened not to play in yesterday’s Spring Training game, according to ESPN’s Karl Ravech. Players met Tuesday with Exec VP Kenny Williams, GM Rick Hahn and manager Robin Ventura and they were “very vocal to Kenny about this decision.” There were some “real heart-to-heart airing-out going on at that.” White Sox 3B Todd Frazier “had some things to say just about the way that this was handled.” Players subsequently were “angry to the point where they basically went to their manager and said, ‘We're not going to go out and practice. … We're going to boycott practice.’” Ravech: “At that point, apparently it was told to the team, ‘Okay, I understand you’re upset, you're angry. Have the protest and sit here. You don’t need to actually work out today. We’re good with that.’ A little while later, the players said, ‘We’re not going to play in our exhibition game today.’ That’s where the rubber met the road and they were told, ‘Look, I need you guys to play.’” Ventura was “pleading with them like, ‘I get what's going on here, players will stick up for players, especially in a situation like this, but once you start avoiding games, you're on my territory and as a manager, I need you guys to get out there and we'll deal with the other things later.’” Ravech notes there will be meeting between White Sox Chair Jerry Reinsdorf and the administration “about the dynamic that exists between the clubhouse and front office” (“SportsCenter,” ESPN, 3/17).
SHOW OF SUPPORT: White Sox CF Adam Eaton said that the team "didn’t participate in their routine stretching" because Tuesday's meeting "went long." Eaton: “We wanted Drake in the clubhouse, and we were backing Adam in every aspect” (CSNCHICAGO.com, 3/16).
