Pregame notes: The Pope hat game

If you're of the opinion that it's amazing to have the literal Pope of the Roman Catholic Church be a White Sox fan from the south suburbs, but the MLB team's efforts to capitalize on it have run their course...oh boy, this is going to be a rough night for you.

Chief revenue officer Brooks Boyer said that over 40,000 tickets have been distributed for Tuesday night's game in light of their Pope Hat giveaway, which was originally conceived of as a small, special ticket promotion, but expanded dramatically in response to demand. If every seat in every suite is filled, Boyer said Rate Field has a 40,615-person capacity, and the Sox have prepared to distribute that many White Sox-themed Pope hats.

"Is there [any giveaway item] that has rivaled this where we'd have to say, 'We have to go to 40,000?'" Boyer said. "And we couldn't remember anything where we had to put it to 40,000. I know I've certainly never sat in this seat [in the dugout] to talk about a promo item before."

Quoting from the team press release, planned items of White Sox-Catholicism brand synergy taking place during the game include:

• Pregame Chicago White Sox Charities (CWSC) check presentation to Midwest Augustinian Province, the order to which Father Robert Prevost belonged while in Chicago, accepted by Prior Provincial Father Tom McCarthy
• Ceremonial first pitch by Sister Mary Jo Sobieck of the Dominican Sisters of Springfield
• National Anthem performance by iconic organist Nancy Faust
• Take the Field recognition, featuring students from Our Lady of Mount Carmel Academy’s Vatican-recognized kids’ conclave as they join players from the White Sox starting lineup at their respective positions
• Announcement of “play ball” by former White Sox pitcher Donn “The Pope” Pall
• A live mural painting by Chicago artist Nick Apple, celebrating Pope Leo XIV’s White Sox fandom from the ballpark’s center field concourse
• A third-inning Hero of the Game recognition for U.S. Army Chaplain Shane Withrow
• A fifth-inning “Peace Be With You," led by Evergreen Park and Marist High School alum Father Tom Hurley and featuring lifelong White Sox fan and comedian Pat McGann. In a playful nod to the Catholic Mass tradition, fans throughout Rate Field will be invited to share a “Peace Be With You” greeting with those around them, creating a memorable, ballpark-wide moment celebrating community, good sportsmanship and Chicago pride.

Maybe all this hullabaloo makes you skeptical of Boyer's claims that the White Sox "want to be super respectful" of the Pope's position, or that they wouldn't also churn out Sox-themed Pope bobbleheads at the drop of a hat if they got clearance. But for what it's worth, it sounds like Sister Mary Jo is on board.

"I think [Pope Leo would] enjoy it," said Sister Mary Jo Sobieck.* "I think he would say it's bringing a lot of people out. He's all about community and having people share things. You get people together and you never know where it leads. It can lead to friendship and depth of conversation, and all of that. So I think he'd be game."

*What's the appropriate way to quote a nun?

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Chase Meidroth is out of the lineup for a second-straight game and now wearing a small brace on his left wrist, after receiving a cortisone shot for the soreness he's been managing for weeks now.

"Just a brace, hold the tendon and take some pressure off of it," Meidroth said. "It’s been kind of a lingering thing for the last few weeks and it’s something to nip in the bud and get ahead of it."

"We talked about I think between myself, Chase and the medical department, [James Kruk], we all agree that another day makes the most sense and hopefully it's enough to get him back in a good spot tomorrow," said Will Venable. "I just know that there was no fracture and no hamate was the information I got, and that it was going to be a pain tolerance thing, and that he's not going to put himself in more danger."

In the favor of the Sox contention that Meidroth's wrist is not a big deal is the second baseman has been awesome since the All-Star break, hitting .300/.390/.529 with four doubles and four homers in a 20-game span where his soreness was mounting. Working against their favor is the team already said on Sunday that Meidroth would be back on Tuesday, and was available off the bench if needed, yet clearly bypassed obvious pinch-hitting opportunities for him in that game.

But as it turns out, repetitive use injury don't come with expiration dates, and the Sox will have to just wait until Meidroth feels better.

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Bringing Davis Martin back on short rest to fill the rotation hole on Thursday seemed unlikely given his struggles and recent fatigue issues, even if his outing on Sunday only lasted an inning before a long rain delay. But sometimes unlikely things happen: Martin will start on Thursday against the Reds.

"Normally, he has his bullpen on day two and obviously that's not the case and he’ll have to make an adjustment," Venable said. "But he’ll be ready, and he's a pro, he'll make whatever adjustment he needs to. The specifics of what that means for him in these next two days, I don't know, but I know he'll be ready."

First pitch: White Sox vs. Reds

TV: CHSN

Radio: ESPN 1000 AM

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