Pedro Grifol is right. The White Sox came out flat on Sunday. Through seven innings they failed to get a hit. After nine innings they were on the wrong end of a 4-1 score to cap off a four-game sweep at home against the Baltimore Orioles. It also marked the White Sox fifth consecutive loss and ninth in their last ten games.
Grifol didn’t mince words after the game.
“I don’t have much,” a visibly frustrated Grifol told reporters after the game. “ [Garrett] Crochet pitched his ass off. We had no hit through eight [actually seven]. We had a pinch hitter break it up. The rest of the guys, not the rest of the guys, most of the guys were fucking flat today. Unacceptable. That’s all I got. Flat. Period. Major league game gotta respect it. Pretty simple.”
It’s a far cry from his typical “we got to flush this one and continue to work” cookie-cutter answer he usually gives the media after losses like these. Unfortunately for the White Sox lackluster offensive efforts have grown to be the norm.
However, by finally calling out his players he inadvertently provided a small glimpse into how some of the players feel about him. White Sox catcher Korey Lee was asked about Grifol’s comments and made it clear he didn’t agree.
“He’s going to feel that way, and obviously we’re going to have a different feeling. He’s entitled to his own opinion, and we are also. I think it’s a valid reason. There’s nothing to hide about that. He has opinions, and other people are going to have their opinions,” Lee said on Sunday.
His response was telling. It sounds like the locker room does not respect Grifol. Lee is not exactly guaranteed a future roster spot on the team. Echoing Grifol’s comments about wanting to see a better effort would be the easy thing to say for a player like Lee, who is fighting for playing time with veteran Martin Maldonado.
The White Sox fourth-ranked prospect, Edgar Quero is also knocking on the door for the future starting catcher job in the minor leagues. Lee is still working to establish himself on the White Sox. He is only 25 years old and has only played in less than 100 MLB games at this point in his career. Usually, comments like these come from established veterans, not guys who had to fight to earn a roster spot in Spring Training. A statement like this from a player like Lee shows the potential disconnect between Grifol and some players.
Grifol was seemingly unaware of Lee’s comments on Monday when asked about them. However, he still doubled down on his statement.
“I’m doubling down on what I said yesterday,” Grifol told reporters before Monday’s game. “I thought we were flat and that’s where I’m going to leave it. We have to make adjustments today and go out there today and play the game as hard as we can. They [the players] got their opinions. I have mine. This is not divided by any means. This is not them against Pedro, Pedro against them. It’s just a situation I thought we were flat they didn’t think we were flat. It’s over we just got to go out and play baseball.”
