Martin Maldonado (Creative Commons: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA)
After watching the Chicago White Sox for more than a year, White Sox manager, Pedro Grifol finally had enough of the team’s ineptitude. After Sunday’s 4-1 loss to the Orioles and seeing the Sox collect only one hit, Grifol said, “most of the guys were bleeping flat today. Unacceptable.”
I’m not a fan of Grifol. I think he has taken bad baseball far too casually during his tenure as the White Sox manager. But I really don’t think it matters who manages the team right now, they are going to stink. The on-field product is a big steaming pile. Maybe it has finally gotten to the point where the usually Pollyannaish Grifol is having a hard time swallowing what is going on.
But really, Pedro is part of the problem.
Really, what does Grifol expect?
Though he wasn’t in the lineup for Sunday’s debacle. Grifol has given significant playing time to catcher, Martin Maldonado. Maldonado is hitting .083. Let that sink in. Some guys don’t hit their weight, but Maldonado isn’t hitting his IQ. At least I hope he’s not.
Maldonado signed with the Sox for $4 million this season. Right now, that comes down to $1 million per RBI.
And then there’s that pillar of the Sox lineup, Andrew Benintendi. Benintendi, who signed the biggest contract in White Sox history, is hitting .193, which I assume exceeds his weight but not his IQ. And he’s been awful in the field.
Starting second baseman, Nicky Lopez has driven in two runs so far. That puts him on base to drive in six for the year. The Sox knew Lopez wasn’t a threat with the bat when they traded for him, but I doubt they thought he would be this weak with the stick.
The team responded to Grifol
But not in a good way. Catcher Korey Lee and starting pitcher Garrett Crochet came to the defense of their teammates. Lee said Grifol was entitled to his opinion while Crochet pointed out that the team is in a tough stretch of their schedule.
In addition, infielder Danny Mendick said the team’s “camaraderie is at an all-time high.”
It’s good to know the losing and poor play isn’t getting in the way of the team having a good time.
The fact that rookies are verbally disagreeing with the manager is not a good sign.
Has Grifol lost the team?
And frankly, with a team this bad, does it matter? Probably the only thing keeping Grifol at the helm now is the cheapness of Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf. Of course, the cheapness and ineptness of Reinsdorf is the primary reason the franchise is such a mess to begin with.
Right now, the Sox’ best position player is Tommy Pham. And Pham is likely to be traded before the trade deadline. So, Grifol will likely see assets traded away. That means this bad White Sox team could get even worse. If you can imagine that.
But hey, that camaraderie is good.
As for the idea of Grifol losing the team, there is little evidence to indicate he’s had the team since he’s been there. His tenure as White Sox manager has been a disaster and the likelihood of him ever getting another managerial job at the big-league level seems remote.
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