These 7 comments make the Chicago White Sox look inept
By Todd Welter
One way you can interpret Whit Merrifield’s comment about Chris Getz does not look good.
Spoke with free agent Whit Merrifield here at the Winter Meetings. Merrifield: “I’ve had some conversations with a lot of teams this winter.”
— Chuck Garfien (@ChuckGarfien) December 4, 2023
He wouldn’t say if the White Sox are one of them, but he said this about the hiring of Chris Getz as GM. pic.twitter.com/EyXN5UVD6I
Merrifield is probably trying to mean baseball might be better if fewer executives came from Harvard and Yale. I mean who wants smart people who can look at things with unique and creative perspectives?
Another way this quote looks bad is it infers that the Sox have an outdated front office. You can hate the Moneyball tactics all you want, but it gets results.
The White Sox should be at the forefront of being a modern front office based on how they act like a small market team even though they play in the No. 3 media market.
Being a former player should not be a qualifier for Getz getting the job. Yes, Chris Young just won a World Series with the Rangers. He also pitched at an Ivy League school.
Do not get me wrong, having playing experience is not a bad thing for a general manager. At the same time, you want bright and creative people in your front office.
Also, it comes across as Merrifield sucking up to Getz in the hopes the team foolishly signs him to play second base. It appears that will likely happen.
White Sox and Whit Merrifield could be an excellent match in free agency. Merrifield’s preferred position is 2B, where the White Sox haven’t had an everyday player post a league-average or better OPS+ since Alexei Ramírez in 2008. @MLBNetwork @MLB
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 6, 2023
The way manager Pedro Grifol wants the team to play baseball.
Pedro Grifol said Sox “played a game that doesn’t win in the big leagues. We need to play faster. We need to be more athletic. We need to catch the baseball. And we’ve got to do things a little better fundamentally.” Said Sox are “on the hunt” for players who can play that style.
— Vinnie Duber (@VinnieDuber) December 4, 2023
Grifol has made a lot of cringe worthy statements since he became manager last offseason. A book could be written about them.
His desire to play faster and be better defensively is not bad. The problem with his wants is it completely overlooks how the Sox will score runs.
Fast, athletic, and defensively sound teams tend to struggle when it comes to scoring runs. Just ask the Milwaukee Brewers.
The White Sox should also be on the hunt for players who can hit home runs. Maybe athletic refers to that. Knowing Grifol, athletic means running around in the field and being like the Kansas City Royals in the World Series-winning days.
Why this franchise has an obsession of replicating the Royals is one of life’s great mysteries.
Anyways, run prevention is a necessity. The Chicago White Sox were terrible in that area last season. It also comes across as an overcorrection.
It is also coming across as too little, too late. If these were the type of players he wanted, he needed to stand on the table last year to get them. Instead, the dysfunction of the previous leadership team put together a terrible roster and we suffered through 101 losses as a result.