Pregame notes: Tumultuous times

After finishing off a sweep of the defending AL champion Blue Jays, who are looking more like a banged-up club with their own problems than someone another team should view as their benchmark conquest, Davis Martin credited Will Venable for rallying the troops after their 1-5 start to the season.

Now, he just needs to keep the team--and bullpen--together after the opening day starter logged 8 1/3 innings in three starts before being optioned on Wednesday.

"That’s part of the job every day," Venable said. "Making sure we are on track, focusing on the right things, continuing to discuss the right things in our meetings, pregame game planning. Working on the right things on the field and making sure our messaging is still directed at these core things we have to commit to an execute on the field. It’s important early, in the middle and at the end too."

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Charlotte Knights manager Chad Pinder has the same responsibilities, but that can't be allowed to get in the way of informing players they've been called up to the majors via prank/bits.

"It was about the second inning in the Charlotte game last night," said reliever Tyler Schweitzer, who re-confirmed multiple times that this whole affair happened mid-game. "They told me to go down to the dugout for some reason. I was supposed to pitch yesterday. Obviously I got scratched. Came down there and they were like, 'You have a drug test.' I was like, that’s weird. Because they usually do it before or after a game.

They were like, 'I don’t know, go see the trainer.' So I go around the corner, talk to him. He was like, 'Yeah, they’re taking us one by one, everything’s fine.' And then I start walking up the tunnel and Chad is there. He said, ‘How many can you go tonight?’ I was like, ‘As many as you need. Whatever you guys got.’ He’s like, ‘Nah, I need a number.’ I was like, ‘All right, I can go five if you guys let me.’ And he’s like, ‘how about five in Chicago?'"

Schweitzer referred to himself as a "utility pitcher" in spring training and prides himself on being open to anything, which fits the amorphous "length out of the bullpen" role Venable laid out for him. But even as easygoing as he presents himself, Schweitzer was too locked into a conversation with his manager to have any concept of what was being pulled on him.

"I was like, ‘You guys tricked me, what the heck?'" Schweitzer said. "I went into the clubhouse afterwards and I was talking to one of the clubbies and he goes, ‘You saw me, right?’ I was like, ‘No.’ He’s like, ‘I had my phone up, recording you and everything.’ I was focused, I couldn’t see anyone."

Schweitzer is from Indiana and starred at Ball State, so when asked how much of his family will be in attendance on Wednesday, he answered: "most of them."

"It’s very exciting for all of us," Schweitzer said. "I told [my wife], ‘Hey, you’ve got to take tomorrow off. It’s happening.’ And she’s like, ‘Oh my God.’ I think she was more excited than I was because she was getting a little teary when I had to hang up the phone and keep packing."

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Kyle Teel is trending closer to the six week estimate for his return from his Grade 2 right hamstring strain, with still no date set for his rehab assignment, but he has hit off a tee for the past three days.

"It doesn't sound like much, but two weeks ago when I was doing tee work, it was really grabbing at me, so just to be able to go in there pain free is just great because I love to hit, kind of a lot of weight off my shoulders," Teel said. "I'm feeling good. My running is getting back to normal. My range of motion isn't fully there yet so I'm just trying to increase that. But overall, the pain is a lot less than it has been in previous weeks and we're making big progress."

Range of motion is where Teel feels like he's still progressing, rather than back to normal, attributing it to scar tissue that he's still working through. But hitting was the last baseball-specific activity to get going again. He's been able to do catching drills throughout his recovery process, which has been a welcome salve for his active and energetic personality.

"Especially being able to do it early, when it was bothering me and I couldn't really do much," Teel said. "I always say baseball can be an escape sometimes, so being able to just get away and just catch and have fun. It was really great. To be able to do it early was amazing."

First pitch: White Sox vs. Orioles

TV: CHSN

Radio: ESPN 1000 AM

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