Can Pedro Grifol change Chicago White Sox culture?

Pedro Grifol’s indictment of the 2022 Chicago White Sox season got here early in throughout his introductory information convention because the group’s new supervisor Thursday at Assured Charge Discipline.

Requested what he noticed from the Kansas Metropolis Royals’ dugout, Grifol famous the Sox have been “an especially proficient ballclub” that was troublesome to organize for.

“As a result of if the power was excessive, they may beat anyone within the recreation,” he mentioned. “And if the power wasn’t, we have been capable of have some success in opposition to them. So my job, and our employees’s job, goes to be be sure that power is excessive each night time and we’re ready to win a ballgame.”

The lowly Royals — who completed at 65-97 and in final place within the American League Central — have been 10-9 in opposition to the Sox, so the power deficit was straightforward to watch.

That lack of power wasn’t utterly the fault of former supervisor Tony La Russa, whose identify wasn’t talked about Thursday. However the accountability for motivating gamers to convey that power each night time falls on the supervisor, and La Russa was unable to get the job achieved.

You may suppose at the present time gamers wouldn’t have to be advised to convey power. The potential of making the sort of cash to offer generational wealth must be sufficient to encourage any athlete in any sport.

However common supervisor Rick Hahn signed a number of core gamers to large contracts earlier than they’d proved themselves within the main leagues, so they never had to worry about whether or not they wanted to play laborious on a regular basis or sit with on a regular basis leg soreness.

Administration was OK with gamers taking off every so often to avoid wasting their legs, a directive La Russa did a poor job attempting to clarify and thus took the brunt of the blame. Both approach, when gamers get the thumbs-up to not hustle on a regular basis, it’s laborious to place the toothpaste again within the tube.

Grifol was requested Thursday about how he would deal with gamers who wouldn’t play until they have been 100% wholesome. He replied that he would “talk” with the gamers to verify they knew after they’re going to have days off.

“Communication is an enormous a part of this factor, and I additionally know now we have to have a collaborated effort in the case of guys’ our bodies and the way they go about it,” he mentioned.

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Grifol turned to Hahn in an apart, like talking to his legal professional at a authorized listening to.

“Will we wish to speak concerning the sports activities, uh …?” he requested Hahn.

“Mmm,” Hahn replied. “Nonetheless engaged on that.”

Grifol turned to the media and continued: “So mainly, communication.”

I hope that’s not a development and that Grifol can communicate freely with out having to ask permission about which subjects to keep away from. In any other case he’ll be seen as simply an extension of the entrance workplace with no actual voice.

Hahn mentioned he was eager about getting outsiders’ views on the Sox to “complement” the views from contained in the group and “getting slightly little bit of a actuality examine maybe.”

So what new issues will Grifol implement to convey concerning the needed modifications?

“Properly, communication is without doubt one of the largest components of my management,” he mentioned, including: “Elevating the power stage each single day is extraordinarily necessary.”

Communication certainly is a crucial factor, as Grifol and Hahn kept saying. However when Hahn mentioned after the information convention that he wasn’t accessible for extra questions, I figured perhaps communication was overrated.

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Anyway, this was the Sox’s likelihood to advertise their new supervisor, and so they couldn’t have chosen a extra lovely day for photo-ops on the sector. We would not see him once more till February in Glendale, Ariz., now that the group has determined to blow off SoxFest for causes by no means defined.

Grifol looks as if an excellent man. He patiently paid his dues and certain will put all of his being into attempting to make the Sox succeed. “Creating the tradition and chemistry of the membership” can be one in all his major objectives, and as soon as they begin in spring coaching, he mentioned gamers will “see how ready they’re going to be to ― holding it clear ― kick any person’s butt.”

That’s good to listen to. Sox followers have been in search of some butt-kicking from a supervisor since Robin Ventura changed Ozzie Guillén in 2012. However Ventura was approach too mellow for his or her style, and Rick Renteria’s “chipping away” mantra didn’t register. La Russa had the fame as take-charge supervisor however spent many of the interview periods defending their errors, with the apparent exceptions of Dallas Keuchel and Yermin Mercedes.

When requested about being paired with new bench coach Charlie Montoyo, who was fired because the Toronto Blue Jays supervisor on July 13, Grifol was humble sufficient to say: “If I’m the neatest man within the room, we’ve received large drawback.” Think about La Russa considering that, a lot much less saying it.

Grifol mentioned all the correct issues about the necessity to enhance defensively, basically and mentally. And although none of it was notably revealing, that’s OK. Managers all the time say the identical, staple items after they arrive and greet the media for the primary time. And administration all the time insists the successful candidate stood out among the many relaxation — on this case about 29 others whom Hahn mentioned have been into account.

Hahn mentioned Grifol’s first interview was so spectacular he needed to be “checked” by his fellow executives to maintain an open thoughts throughout remaining interviews with the opposite candidates.

“My ideas had drifted again to Pedro,” Hahn mentioned, sounding like he was writing a romance novel.

A type of candidates was Guillén, who mentioned on the finish of the season that nobody is aware of this group like he does after watching it up shut. We don’t know if Guillén — who interviewed — was severely thought of for the job, although we do know he was among the many critics of the group’s power stage by way of his job as NBC Sports activities Chicago studio analyst.

Hahn mentioned Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, who employed La Russa two years in the past, advised him in the course of the interview course of it reminded him of the one which netted Chicago Bulls govt vp of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas in 2020. That search, led by his son, Bulls President and COO Michael Reinsdorf, turned out to be an instantaneous success.

Karnišovas quickly brought respectability back to the Bulls with some deft personnel choices, together with the commerce for DeMar DeRozan. Whether or not Grifol can be managing many of the identical forged of Sox characters in 2023 is to be decided. Requested if he needed free/-agent first baseman José Abreu again, Grifol averted the topic, saying: “All 30 managers wish to see a José Abreu of their lineup.”

Hahn doesn’t foresee “drastic wholesale modifications on the horizon,” which suggests many of the gamers we watched underachieve in 2022 can be again. Possibly all they actually need is a kick within the butt.

Who is aware of? We’ll all discover out collectively.