David Ross watched Pedro Grifol play at Florida State again when the present Chicago Cubs supervisor was rising up in Tallahassee and dealing within the stands on the Seminoles ballpark promoting Cokes.
“He was the guy I watched,” Ross stated of the brand new White Sox supervisor. “A big fan of Pedro … Not that we go way back, but I go way back watching Pedro on a baseball field.”
Though he’s solely in his fourth season, Ross already has outlasted two Sox managers in Rick Renteria and Tony La Russa, plus an interim supervisor in Miguel Cairo. But once I requested him what recommendation he would have for Grifol in his first 12 months in Chicago, Ross pleaded the fifth.
“Oh, I’m not here to give anybody advice on managing,” Ross replied. “Enjoy the city. It’s a great city. He’s been in coaching a lot longer than I have. He could probably give me more advice than I could give him.”
Rest assured each managers shall be provided unsolicited recommendation from their at all times opinionated followers all through the 2023 season, which begins Thursday with the Cubs going through the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field and the White Sox touring to Houston to play the defending champion Astros.
The catchers-turned-managers enter the season going through related obstacles on completely different sides of city.
The Sox and Cubs have playoff aspirations however have already got been written off in most preseason prognostications. Both clubhouses are filled with veterans with postseason expertise, although a lot of these gamers are in the hunt for comeback seasons due to accidents or an absence of productiveness.
Both groups function younger expertise with native identify recognition, however a few of these much-hyped prospects have to string collectively a few good seasons earlier than appearing like they’ve arrived.
And followers on each the North and South sides are longing for a turnaround after empty guarantees of “sustained success” uttered by a number of front-office executives throughout their crew’s respective rebuild.
After watching the Cubs play flashy protection, get robust beginning pitching and management the opposition’s working sport in Cactus League play, Ross was cautiously optimistic higher days have been forward.
“Is it going to be perfect throughout the season? Probably not,” Ross stated earlier than breaking camp. “There are going to be some hiccups. I felt like spring’s been fairly clean, knock on wooden. We’ve solely had a pair guys with some bumps and bruises.
“Things are going well. But do we really know until we compete for real? No. But I’m pretty happy with the way things have gone.”
Ross has been given the good thing about the doubt by crew President Jed Hoyer, however we nonetheless don’t know the way good a supervisor he’s. Outside of the pandemic-shortened season in 2020, we’ve but to see him handle a crew that was anticipated to compete for a division title.
With the additions of high free brokers Dansby Swanson and Jameson Taillon, veteran winners similar to Cody Bellinger, Trey Mancini and Eric Hosmer and the emergence of younger starters Justin Steele and Hayden Wesneski, the Cubs imagine a brand new period will resemble the one which led to the 2016 championship.
Winning is now anticipated, as Hoyer repeatedly has stated, that means Ross should take them into October to again up the expectations.
On the South Side, Grifol has a comparatively simpler job, changing an unpopular supervisor in La Russa and inheriting a crew that already has proven it’s able to large issues. But 2021 was speculated to be the springboard, not an outlier. Injuries and underperforming gamers proved to be a deadly mixture within the season nobody desires to say once more.
“Shut Up and Play” needs to be the Sox’s mantra in 2023. At the top of final season, nearer Liam Hendriks criticized the crew for “an overabundance of confidence that turned into arrogance.” Asked what sort of supervisor they wanted to switch La Russa, he stated “an authoritarian, someone who is a little harsher on some things, not let things slide.”
Enter Grifol.
The details-oriented supervisor, who impressed Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, govt vice chairman Ken Williams and basic supervisor Rick Hahn a lot through the interview course of they might barely wait to announce the hiring, ran his first camp like he was coaching a Navy SEAL unit. There was no wasted second and no mistake left unaddressed.
At the very least the Sox needs to be extra mentally centered, and never going half-speed out of the batter’s field to protect their legs, a recurring theme La Russa condoned.
Most of the important thing gamers have returned, although José Abreu departed and Hendriks’ standing stays unknown after his non-Hodgkin lymphoma prognosis. No one has made any rash predictions concerning the Sox being the very best crew within the American League, as Tim Anderson did final 12 months throughout an interview on WSCR-AM 670. And the Sox made it via the spring with none main accidents, a very good omen.
The greatest query mark shall be whether or not Eloy Jiménez and Luis Robert can keep wholesome and grow to be the power the Sox anticipated after they signed long-term offers earlier than proving themselves within the majors. Patience has run significantly skinny for Jiménez, who apparently talked his approach into enjoying extra proper area than anticipated when the Sox signed Andrew Benintendi to take his place in left.
Another key’s Anderson, their finest hitter and the face of the group, who principally disappeared from view whereas rehabbing a torn ligament in his left hand, then opted to not return for the ultimate weeks although he gave the impression to be wholesome sufficient to take action.
After enjoying nicely at second base for Team USA within the World Baseball Classic, Anderson wants to indicate the Sox are higher when he’s at brief than they might be with longtime shortstop Elvis Andrus, who moved to second after re-signing.
The Sox may dominate or be their very own worst enemy. Grifol stated he may see the expertise on the Sox final season when he served as bench coach for the Kansas City Royals.
“If the energy was high, they could beat anybody in the game,” he stated throughout his introductory information convention. “And if the energy wasn’t, we were able to have some success against them. So my job, and my staff’s job, is going to be to make sure that energy is high every night and we’re prepared to win a ballgame.”
Everyone appears to be like good managing a Chicago crew within the Cactus League. Now comes the laborious half for Grifol and Ross.
Enjoy the town, gents. And simply win.
()
Source: www.bostonherald.com