"NOT REALLY WHAT WE TEACH":

"All I'm going to tell you is it was difficult," Abreu said of his ordeal. "But with God's help, you're able to do those things and feel good about them. It's a difficult thing once you leave your country and do those things. It's a difficult time in your life."

The White Sox helped Abreu with his diet in spring training; he would typically skip breakfast and lunch, feel depleted after workouts, and then be famished at night and eat a big dinner.

They have experience in such matters with Ramirez, who toasted his major league debut in Cleveland, Hahn said, with a creative pregame snack.

"He essentially made a mayonnaise and Krispy Kreme sandwich," Hahn said. "That's not really what we teach in terms of pregame meals. But it was just a matter of not having access to the nutritional programs that we have thoroughly researched."

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