It's a good thing Luis Robert signed a contract extension before the season.
Normally, that kind of sentence includes a clause that adds a cynical or cautionary twist, because otherwise it's a banal statement of fact. And maybe it is, but just like a table full of Korean side dishes, sometimes the bowl of the bland stuff hits the spot at a given time. It's not like you have to eat all of it, so you can just take what you need.
If I wanted something sour, I could've added, "...because Rick Hahn would have to take the governor off his golf cart to speed away from the questions about service time." This doesn't seem like the time. The forces compelling Robert to sign the extension weren't fair, but the contract itself is fairly utilitarian. Everybody benefits from Robert starting Opening Day, and Robert had enough leverage to avoid getting nickel-and-dimed. I'd say that maybe the White Sox quartered him, but that means something else entirely.
So, it's a good thing Robert signed a contract extension before the season. If you still feel that sentence is lacking and need a "because," here's one:
Because you can simply watch Robert's rules of order from the first week of spring training and feel excitement with no strings attached. He hit for the cycle in the first week, drew a walk, stole a base, made some plays. It's all good, and without qualifications, which will hopefully be a trend.
From the beginning:
Sunday
A lineout:
Tuesday
A hustle triple:
Thursday
A resounding double:
Saturday
An opposite-field single (followed by a steal):
He came from off the screen to make a catch behind Eloy Jiménez in left field:
And to cap it off, a 113-mph home run.
He seemed to run into a little bit of a heat check, nearly getting picked off second by the catcher, only to get thrown out at third after overrounding the bag on a 5-4-3 double play attempt. This is Robert's motor, for better or for worse, and whether you're talking about the last week or the last year, it's been mostly for the better.
