Read It and Weep

The latest gem from White Sox manager Pedro Grifol, part of today’s story on the team website, this following yesterday’s 4-1 loss to the Rays that drops the Sox to a woeful 7-15: “We’ve met, talked to them individually, and they come talk to me. There’s a lot of care in there [the Sox clubhouse]; there’s a lot of fight in there. They’ve been through this before.” Does he mean his players have all been on crappy teams, or they’re all used to losing? Neither one works for me. But, since I’m picking on Grifol yet again, let’s take a look at some of that preparation he’s always talking about. Lucas Giolito, yesterday’s starter and losing pitcher, grooved one to Luke Raley in the second inning; when you’re batting .178, you need all the help you can get. Giolito called the pitch he threw to Raley for a two-run homerun “one of the worst changeups I’ve thrown in a long time.” [website story] For all intents and purposes, game over. Now, let’s move on to the hitting, or lack thereof. I watched the fifth inning and counted as Elvis Andrus, Seby Zavala and Lenyn Sosa needed all of seven pitches to make three outs. Let me also note here that Sox “hitters” collected three hits on the day, none after the fourth inning. In fact, they didn’t have a baserunner after the fourth. Zach Eflin started and threw five innings of three-hit, one-run ball. If he were on the Sox, Rick Hahn would sign Eflin to a three-year extension (at a reasonable amount, of course). The Rays? They lift Eflin after sixty-seven pitches and get four innings of scoreless relief from Yonny Chirinos and Pete Fairbanks. On the Sox, Rick Hahn would… There must be a rule that keeps the Sox from scouting and signing pitchers who end up with the Rays. That, or an inability to develop pitching just as good.