As White Sox spring training gains steam, Pedro Grifol remains inscrutable

May 02, 2023

If every new manager is a response to the old manager, then, sure, Pedro Grifol fits the bill. The White Sox went from a guy who wore his Hall of Fame ring in the dugout to a guy who has neither managed nor played in the big leagues.

But Grifol also seems like he's been hired for the last situation. The White Sox can't afford to get it so wrong again, so while the White Sox might’ve gone in a counterintuitive direction by hiring somebody who has never done the job at this level, they also hired somebody who is not programmed to think about anything else besides the task at hand.

The White Sox tried to hype him up, but I feel like the caption applies to a video I’m not watching, unless they want to run through a brick wall to inspire emotion.

Pedro Grifol has us wanting to run through a brick wall. 😤#WhiteSox x @vizzyseltzer pic.twitter.com/lqS2zBGnMB

Likewise, James Fegan wrote a story about his 25-minute conversation with Grifol, and I still don't have a sense of the guy outside of the mission. And I don't think that's James’ fault.

Grifol got recently got a tip from new senior director of sports performance Geoff Head about the optimal temperature for his bedroom, so he estimates he's sleeping seven hours per night, even if he hasn't taken up Head's suggestion of adding a lavender scent on top of it. Despite the administrative nature of his position, the root of his peace — even if you rarely catch him grinning — is how hands-on he gets to be with all of his objectives. It's personally demonstrating catching footwork to Yasmani Grandal. It's raving about live batting practice sessions because he has a moment to stand behind the cage and watch them. It's knowing Rodríguez, Mike Tosar, Ethan Katz and others are keeping tabs on the bevy of charts wedged into his back pocket, mapping out his team's next five days.

There's an inscrutability here that automatically makes me suspicious, although not because of anything Grifol has said or done. Pretty much everything he's planned for the Sox thus far makes sense, and the only thing that didn't really impress me was his assessment of Mike Clevinger …

"That's above me, man, I don't know anything about it," Grifol said. "No news is good news in my mind. He's in camp, he's getting ready. And whenever that decision is made, it's made. But right now, he's in a good spot. Pitching-wise, he threw the ball really good yesterday. He works his [butt] off, he's great at [pitching fielding practice], he's diligent with his work. I’m really happy what I’m seeing here from him so far."

… but I also don't know what he could be expected to say. I guess I’d maybe make it sound like less of a rave, but until the league or front office tells him otherwise, Grifol has the unfortunate task of managing Clevinger to succeed when few White Sox fans are similarly invested.

No, I think my mild misgivings stem from all of this emphasis placed on preparation. I don't think anything Grifol is doing is eyewash, but, setting aside the specific dysfunction of the Tony La Russia era, I think there's a reason why every team talks about a new manager's detail-oriented, back-to-basics spring training as though his predecessor never thought of it. There's a shelf life for expecting a new skipper to solve things. Eventually, everybody has to get to a place where a manager merely manages. If the talent never gets there, the manager isn't likely to stay there.

Look no further than Cleveland, and Terry Francona's introduction to the 2023 Guardians. This is not the work of a four-star general.

Francona broke a tooth while preparing to speak to the Guardians in Goodyear, Arizona. Because he wanted to work on his remarks, Francona skipped dinner with his staff on Monday night to prepare. He made some pasta, but it was undercooked.

"It was frozen at the bottom and I broke part of my tooth," he said Tuesday following his speech. "At first I didn't think I did. Then I started chewing and said, ‘That tastes awful.’ Not only did I swallow the tooth, I chewed it."

Then, when he arrived at the team's facility, Francona spilled coffee over his speech.

If Grifol showed up to his first White Sox spring training like Kevin Malone with a pot of chili, then you’d immediately wonder if he's in over his head. The dream is to be able to start a season by detailing your ineptitude, because that means you’ve made it. Hopefully Grifol feels comfortable enough to name a favorite song, or any song title, when we’re at this point next year. We can start with that.

For the time being, since the White Sox introduced Grifol, everybody at 35th and Shields (or whatever Camelback Ranch's address is) has stressed that if the White Sox fall short once again, it's not going to be for a lack of preparation. That's fine. You just have to stop yourself from thinking of the natural follow-up question, because "What are they going to lack, then?" has a few ready answers.