Pedro Grifol's latest goofy comments

Goofy

Did you catch the article Daryl Van Schouwen wrote in the Sun-Times last weekend? 

Man, I don't know how I'm going to get through another season of White Sox manager Pedro Grifol's goofy comments in the press.

The article points out that the Sox have about 10 options for their starting rotation in 2024, which is accurate. I don't know about the quality of those options, but I can find 10 names. In fact, I performed that exercise earlier in the week.

Here's what Grifol had to say in the article:

"We broke training camp with six starters [last year], only one for depth. This year, with all those kids finishing up at Triple-A and the trades [at the Aug. 1 deadline and offseason], we’re looking at 11, 12, maybe 14 starters deep who have the capability of pitching in the big leagues this year if we need it.

‘‘As far as the depth for starting pitching, I’m really happy. And we’re not done by any means. I’m OK with where we’re at.’’

OK, he's happy with the pitching depth. But then later in the article, he offers this:

‘‘I put our team down on paper, and our lineup is pretty good. We’re missing TA [Tim Anderson], and a healthy, good TA is hard to come by. But other than that, if we’re healthy, our lineup is pretty good. We just have to continue to address the pitching.’’ 

Wait a minute ... I thought he was happy with the pitching. Or maybe he's just happy with the depth, but is saying it without saying it that they need another steady veteran to fortify things. If so, I won't disagree.

But the part about the lineup being "pretty good," that's pure fantasy. He put the team down on paper, huh? Well, let's do that ourselves. Here's the projected position-by-position lineup as it currently stands, with each player's OPS+ from last year:

• C: Martin Maldonado, 66 OPS+
• 1B: Andrew Vaughn, 101 OPS+
• 2B: Nicky Lopez, 89 OPS+
• SS: Paul DeJong, 66 OPS+
• 3B: Yoan Moncada, 97 OPS+
• LF: Andrew Benintendi, 87 OPS+
• CF: Luis Robert Jr., 128 OPS+
• RF: Gavin Sheets, 63 OPS+
• DH: Eloy Jimenez, 104 OPS+

Keep in mind, 100 is the league average for OPS+. So, when we say Maldonado and DeJong have a 66 OPS+, that means they are 34% BELOW THE LEAGUE AVERAGE! They stink with the bat!

The projected 2024 Sox lineup has a grand total of three batters that clear the bar of being league average. Robert Jr. is comfortably over 100. Vaughn and Jimenez narrowly make that cut, and Moncada narrowly misses it.

So, one good hitter, three average ones and five guys who stink. Is that "pretty good," Pedro? 

The manager is pretty goofy. Heck, the Sox might not be any worse off if they had Goofy as their manager. Do you suppose Goofy could guide the team to a 61-101 record?

On Michael Kopech's decision to opt out of the 2020 season

White Sox pitcher Michael Kopech and wife Vanessa Morgan

The Athletic's James Fegan wrote an article Monday addressing some of the issues that reportedly caused White Sox pitcher Michael Kopech to opt out of the 2020 season.

Fegan's report says, "Sources close to Kopech indicate he was driven by a litany of concerns, not limited to a short ramp-up to action, an uncertain role, uncertainty over the fate of the 2020 season, caution in determining how and when to best return to action from Tommy John surgery, and despite not being medically deemed high-risk himself, concern over how playing amid the pandemic could threaten the health of those close to him."

Certainly believable.

But Daryl Van Schouwen's reporting in the Chicago Sun-Times over the weekend was believable, too. Van Schouwen had quotes from pitching coach Don Cooper, who expressed concerns about Kopech's mental health. The 24-year-old right-hander has spoken candidly on many occasions about his battles with anxiety and depression -- and Kopech is to be commended for that.

The truth is, we as fans have absolutely no idea what led Kopech to make this decision, and it's fair to say he does not owe us an explanation. I've read online comments from fans both praising and condemning Kopech's choice.

I will do neither of those two things. How can I possibly comment intelligently about a decision I know nothing about? I've said all along that whether players opt in or opt out of the 2020 season, those choices need to be respected by all. These are grown-ups making grown-up decisions at a very difficult time in all of our lives. Everyone has the right to determine what is best for them.

That being said, from a purely baseball perspective, while the Sox can look forward to Kopech's return for the 2021 season, I don't think they can afford to count on him to hold down a starting rotation spot.

The kid only pitched in four MLB games before undergoing surgery in 2018, and by the time he next steps on the mound in April, it will have been more than two years since he threw a meaningful pitch in a game situation.

My mindset on Kopech for 2021 is this: Whatever he gives the Sox is a bonus. He needs to be the sixth or maybe the seventh starter going into the season. It's not his fault, but the fact of the matter is circumstances have his career stuck in neutral at this point in time.

It would be folly to assume he's destined for stardom, despite his tremendous potential.