Lucas Giolito: I absolutely want to be the ace

In his first meetup with White Sox media since the start of Summer Camp, Lucas Giolito announced his presence with authority.

"I absolutely want [to be the ace/Opening Day starter]," he says. "Being the ace isn't just being an example on the field, but a more vocal role as a leader. I want to be that leader of the pitching staff."

Still, like a good leader (presumably, Giolito is going to learn a lot from staff veterans Dallas Keuchel and Gio González this season, socially-distanced or not), the tall righty knows it's a team game, even when it comes to ace-ing.

"But I'm not the only ace of the team," he continues. "I have four more behind me. We can feed off each others' good outings."

Later in the session, Giolito lauded González as a true mentor to young pitchers (dating back to their time together in Washington in 2016), proclaimed himself ready to go six innings in a game right now, and reflected on how quirky a year with no fans will be.

"In the bullpen today, I saw one of the test [fan cut-outs] in the stands," Giolito smiles. "It's going to be pretty funny. It's a good idea, get some color out there."

But what Giolito says he'll miss more than seeing fans is hearing them: "It's more the sound, the ambient crowd chatter." He's curious as to what the White Sox will pipe in for games, if anything.

Here's the entire Giolito media session, courtesy of the Chicago White Sox:

And there wasn't a ton of sexy stuff from Edwin Encarnación's session, aside from his promise that "the parrot is still alive" and his readiness for the season. So rather than a separate story, I'll just slide Encarnación's session here:

(If you watch closely enough, you'll see your faithful correspondent's cuestion en español fail during the session.)