Grifol on instituting new team culture, Robert tutoring Colas in FL

[caulfield12]

https://www.mlb.com/news/pedro-grifol-prepares-for-first-spring-as-white-sox-manager?partnerId=zh-20230208-823813-mlb-1-A&qid=1026&utm_id=zh-20230208-823813-mlb-1-A&bt_ee=AFYUQNSGHWvfkX2%2FrO7l%2F1CYQxQFgmGMtFLp5cr6d2q27lWrTicnNtTMxSK76ZmQ&bt_ts=1675863541840

[zisk]

I think Colas can get injured all by himself. But maybe Robert can show him how to get dizzy.

[Highland]

I like what Grifol says here even if some of it is the usual stuff. It will be interesting to see if his presence in the dugout will help change things. He has to be better than LaRussa.

[Spumoni]

The alternative to paying for better talent is to revamp the team culture.  Sounds great but I'll believe it when I see the results on the field.

[Tnetennba]

I love that a fluffy Merkin puff piece is posted at MLB.com/news

[southsider2k5]

4 minutes ago, Tnetennba said:

I love that a fluffy Merkin puff piece is posted at MLB.com/news

I will take even a puff piece after this long cold winter of our discontent.

[ChiSox59]

22 minutes ago, Highland said:

I like what Grifol says here even if some of it is the usual stuff. It will be interesting to see if his presence in the dugout will help change things. He has to be better than LaRussa.

I don't see how Grifol couldn't be anything but a huge improvement.  Just his excitement and energy alone will be such a breath of fresh air. 

[Chick Mercedes]

Is “culture” a buzzword for hitting the cutoff man?

[CentralChamps21]

23 minutes ago, ChiSox59 said:

I don't see how Grifol couldn't be anything but a huge improvement.  Just his excitement and energy alone will be such a breath of fresh air. 

Grifol will be a huge improvement, but even the perfect manager making perfect decisions isn't going to win 90 games with this roster.

[LittleHurtCG]

Only 5 rookie managers have ever won a World Series. Can Pedro make it 6 this year? 

[southsider2k5]

1 hour ago, ChiSox59 said:

I don't see how Grifol couldn't be anything but a huge improvement.  Just his excitement and energy alone will be such a breath of fresh air. 

This is what I keep hoping for.

[hogan873]

I don't doubt we'll see an improvement.  I think it got pretty toxic toward the end with LaRussa.  As fans, we're excited to see the difference.  The players will hopefully respond to the new culture.

[almagest]

They're really featuring Colas a lot. Hope the hype doesn't end up hurting him when he struggles to acclimate to the majors.

Edited February 8, 2023 by almagest

[Bob Sacamano]

3 minutes ago, almagest said:

There's no way the Jaguars move to Chicago. Jacksonville has 1.7M in the metro area, the stadium is in a decent location, the weather is great, and it's the only pro sports team around here. The team is finally pretty good and the city rallied behind them.

No pro football team is moving to be in Soldier Field unless the city spends billions and completely disrupts the south loop and museum campus for years.

Wrong thread?

[ScootsMcGoots]

1 hour ago, CentralChamps21 said:

Grifol will be a huge improvement, but even the perfect manager making perfect decisions isn't going to win 90 games with this roster.

If it's healthy, it can win 90 games. But...that's like saying I'm going to win the lottery tomorrow. It ain't happenin Jack.

[chitownsportsfan]

Sounds like the manager is in the best shape of his life!

[Eminor3rd]

Yeah this article and all the quotes in it could have been written by chapgpt or whatever, it essentially says nothing, BUT

I think I’m ready to transition, mentally, from feeling like s%*# about how poorly the front office has handled the offseason to just rooting for the players on the field. So that feels alright. 

[he gone.]

11 minutes ago, almagest said:

They're really featuring Colas a lot. Hope the hype doesn't end up hurting him when he struggles to acclimate to the majors.

Merkin is a mouthpiece. He writes what he's told to and Colas has obviously been that focus from Sox brass. 

I'd love Colas to succeed. Based on his plate discipline + lack of time stateside/time in minors i fear he'll be severely overmatched. I think best case scenario is you see a Yermin type of output which then crashes to zero before optioning him back to AAA. I think a realistic scenario is a meh showing in Arizona, followed by the Sox almost being forced to play him out of the gate. Cold start, back to Charlotte by end of April & a late June call-up. I don't expect him to be very impressive or any better than what Sheets offers. 

 

A .240/.291/.625OPS is about my expectation. Maybe hits 9HR? Bats in the 7th or 8th spot in the lineup. The type of production you LOVE to see out of your RF for a contender!

[SoxBlanco]

I feel like there's some contradiction going on with how much a manager can affect a team.  The consensus around here was that TLR was terrible and cost us many games. 

But a lot of people are now saying that even if Grifol is better, it won't matter that much in the win/loss column.

And I'm not talking about any individual person here...more of just a general feeling I get from reading several posts.

[ChiSox59]

1 hour ago, CentralChamps21 said:

Grifol will be a huge improvement, but even the perfect manager making perfect decisions isn't going to win 90 games with this roster.

I....don't agree.  Largely the same roster won 93 games 2 years ago with Tony punting the 2nd half of the season.  

Lots of things will need to go right for this team to win 90 games, but that certainly isn't the ceiling. 

[Jack Parkman]

7 minutes ago, he gone. said:

Merkin is a mouthpiece. He writes what he's told to and Colas has obviously been that focus from Sox brass. 

I'd love Colas to succeed. Based on his plate discipline + lack of time stateside/time in minors i fear he'll be severely overmatched. I think best case scenario is you see a Yermin type of output which then crashes to zero before optioning him back to AAA. I think a realistic scenario is a meh showing in Arizona, followed by the Sox almost being forced to play him out of the gate. Cold start, back to Charlotte by end of April & a late June call-up. I don't expect him to be very impressive or any better than what Sheets offers. 

 

A .240/.291/.625OPS is about my expectation. Maybe hits 9HR? Bats in the 7th or 8th spot in the lineup. The type of production you LOVE to see out of your RF for a contender!

Colas can play defense, Sheets can't. 

[southsider2k5]

7 minutes ago, Jack Parkman said:

Colas can play defense, Sheets can't. 

Sheets can't is a perfect description for most of Gavin Sheets skills.

[Tnetennba]

17 minutes ago, Eminor3rd said:

Yeah this article and all the quotes in it could have been written by chapgpt or whatever, it essentially says nothing, BUT

I think I’m ready to transition, mentally, from feeling like s%*# about how poorly the front office has handled the offseason to just rooting for the players on the field. So that feels alright. 

I'm sure once the players take the field I will shift towards a similar position.  But when the loses pile up from the same shitty play, and the lack of depth rears its ugly head the apathy will set in fast.  I don't know if it's ever been so easy for me to temper my own expectations at the dawn of a new season than after this winter.

[4uckOffCommieScum]

2 hours ago, zisk said:

I think Colas can get injured all by himself. But maybe Robert can show him how to get dizzy.

In Lip’s State of the Sox article, there is a quote about the medical guy the Sox hired having been fired by the Red Sox for giving players toradol, which is an anti inflammatory used for pain. The primary side effect is dizziness.

Edited February 8, 2023 by FourEyesShottenhoffer
Spellin

[Tnetennba]

19 minutes ago, ChiSox59 said:

I....don't agree.  Largely the same roster won 93 games 2 years ago with Tony punting the 2nd half of the season.  

Lots of things will need to go right for this team to win 90 games, but that certainly isn't the ceiling. 

Largely the same roster, minus Abreu, Rodon, and Hendriks...