(670 The Score) The suspension of the MLB season has given pitching coach Don Cooper and the White Sox plenty of time to ponder new ideas.
One of the biggest concerns that Cooper and his peers have is just how prepared their pitchers will be when the regular season starts. While there will be a second edition of spring training, it's only going to last a matter of weeks, not the usual month-and-a-half or more that teams get.
Because of that and the uncertainty around what the schedule will look like, the White Sox have discussed a handful of new ideas outside the usual five-man rotation.
"I am just kicking a few things around, but depending on what the schedule looks like, maybe doubleheaders and things like that, maybe we go the other way and go to a four-man rotation," Cooper said on Inside the Clubhouse on Saturday. "Or maybe we have two guys who pitch every five days and we try and work the other three around them.
"Certainly, we don't know if we are close or what the schedule will look like. We just don't know how much we can get our starters stretched out in the spring training we are given. Normally, we have six to seven weeks for our pitchers. Can we get them to six and seven innings again? Can we get them to 70 pitches? We were right in the swing of things when it all stopped.
"You know at least at the beginning the rosters will be expanded. So it affects different people in different ways."
When MLB halted spring training in mid-March, Cooper liked what he had seen from a White Sox pitching staff that added two veterans in left-hander Dallas Keuchel and left-hander Gio Gonzalez to a group of promising young arms.
"I was very happy with what I saw with our guys out there -- focus, direction, stuff, command, preparation, work ethic," he said. "It was all going well for our pitchers. We were looking to win this year. We are going to have to get that going again."
Cooper was -- and is -- looking forward to continuing to see the progress of youngsters like Dylan Cease, Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Michael Kopech.
"We can start with Dylan Cease," Cooper said. "He has 12 starts in the big leagues. So this year was a big year for him to take a big step forward.
"For Lucas Giolito, he was going to try and back up his good year with another good one. Reynaldo Lopez, we were expecting him to be a lot more consistent like he was in 2018. They were making those spring adjustments until it was put on hold. That is disappointing, but the biggest disappointment is I was looking forward to a lot more wins."
Cooper has stayed in touch with White Sox pitchers in his best effort to help them with their arm maintenance programs. And he's ready to roll himself.
"I have been talking to all of them over the phone," said Cooper, who's currently in the Nashville area. "I just started to get the feeling we (MLB) are getting closer to getting something going. That, of course, is just me talking. I have no inside information when we might start. But I have a bag packed upstairs so if someone calls me I can be anywhere ready to go in five hours."
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.
