Say What?

Back in November when the White Sox hired Pedro Grifol as their new manager, GM Rick Hahn gushed how Grifol “essentially knocked our socks off” in interviews. Hahn also referred to Tony La Russa’s replacement as a “modern baseball thinker.” [both quotes Sun-Times, 11-3-22] Now, fast-forward to the 2023 season, three weeks in. The Sox are 7-12, which was their exact same record at this point last season. Those Sox were lucky and would soon climb over the .500 mark, courtesy of the Angels and Red Sox. These Sox face the Rays, with an MLB best 16-3 record, followed by the Blue Jays, not too shabby at 11-8. Hahn talked about Grifol bringing energy plus communications skills to the job. I don’t see either on display so far. Just one example showing the lack of the former—the team has now gone four straight games where they score in just one inning, which comes out to a 1-3 mark. Elvis Andrus, Romy Gonzalez and Lenyn Sosa are bad, worse and worst, respectively, with a bat in their hands. And the master communicator? Consider what he said after yesterday’s 5-2 loss to the Phillies. “I trust these guys. I trust the work they are putting in. We just have to keep going, keep battling.” Wow. Wait, there’s more. “These guys aren’t going up there trying to make outs. They are preparing, and they are going up there to compete, and it’s not happening. Just as it happened the last three days, you know it will turn around. That’s all I can say. It will turn around.” [all quotes from today’s Tribune] I mean, where to start? He trusts the work they’re putting in? The only way that makes sense is for Grifol to admit he doesn’t know what kind of preparation his players do before a game, but he trusts it’s the right stuff. As for players not wanting to make outs, Andrus is batting .212 with four RBIs; Gonzalez .125 with no RBIs in twenty-four at-bats; and Sosa .154 with one RBI. The team’s eighty-three runs scored is good for eighteenth best in baseball. I want it to turn around, I do, but I’m not holding my breath.