This is Progress?

Ordinarily, I’d be head-over-heels happy to see the White Sox facing ex-teammate Yasmani Grandal, which is what happened yesterday. Sure enough, Grandal was Grandal, going 0-for-4, including a very sad foul bunt for strike three, and giving up two stolen bases to Luis Robert Jr. Of course, the Pirates still won, 6-2. Any team facing a squad managed by Mickey Mouse has more than a fighting chance, even with the likes of Grandal in the lineup. Here's the really, truly depressing thing: According to baseball-reference.com, Grandal is more than three times the player Martin Maldonado is, with a -0.5 WAR vs. -1.6 for Maldonado. In 129 at-bats, Grandal is hitting .178 with three homeruns and seventeen RBIs. In 135 at-bats, Maldonado is hitting .119 with four homers and eleven RBIs. Wait, there’s more. Grandal has caught 329.2 innings. During that time, he’s thrown out six of 34 potential base stealers for an eighteen percent throw-out rate while committing three passed ball and watching five wild pitches sail by. In comparison to Maldonado, he’s putting up Johnny Bench numbers. Maldonado has accumulated 388.2 (!) innings behind the plate and thrown out three of forty-one runners for a seven percent (!!) throw-out rate. He has as many passed balls as Grandal to go with eighteen wild pitches. Talk about intangibles. Speaking of the worst manager in franchise history, he said in the Sun-Times today, “We have to finish strong. We’ve got to find ways to finish this season in a manner that could set you up for next year.” I have two ideas in that regard.