Grandal makes no excuses for White Sox: 'We just sucked'
One of the most disappointing players on major-league baseball's most disappointing team looked in the mirror Friday.
Yasmani Grandal did not like what he was seeing, both individually and collectively.
"To put it plain and simple, we just sucked," the White Sox's catcher told reporters.
The truth can hurt, but the Sox have earned the pain.
Expected to easily win MLB's worst division, the White Sox have hovered around the .500 mark all year and are locked in a battle with the Twins for second place after the Guardians clinched first place in the AL Central Sunday.
In the first of three games against the Padres in San Diego Friday night, the Sox won 3-1. Starter Davis Martin allowed 1 run on 6 hits over 5⅔ innings while striking out 8 and Eloy Jimenez homered.
"It just seemed like everything that could possibly go wrong went wrong," Grandal said. "When you thought it was kind of coming back, it just never went back. It just kept going wrong."
It looked like the Sox were flipping the switch late under acting manager Miguel Cairo.
Going on a 9-2 roll that started on Aug. 31, the White Sox were finally playing quality all-around baseball and seemed primed to make a move to the top of the division.
Cleveland never gave them a chance. The Guardians played even better and a three-game sweep of the Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field in late September ended the expected race to the wire.
There was an endless string of injuries, but Grandal said the White Sox still underachieved.
"Anything else would be an excuse," he said. "And the last thing you want to make as a team, as an individual, is an excuse. It's almost like a slap in the face. If you don't take this year seriously, it's going to come back to bite us in the (butt) next year again.
"Hopefully, we get everything straightened out and come back next year and give it a shot."
The 33-year-old Grandal has played only 97 games this season due to back and leg injuries. The switch-hitter is batting .200/.301/.269 with just 5 home runs and 27 RBI.
Last year, a torn tendon in his knee limited Grandal to 93 games.
He is looking forward to getting completely healthy over the offseason.
"I have a really good idea of what it is I'm going to do, but it all depends on my trainer," Grandal said. "It all depends on what he wants to tweak and what he doesn't want to tweak. We are going to review the year, be able to sit down and talk and we are going to go from there.
"I have a pretty good idea of what I want to do in the offseason to get back to the explosiveness I've been talking about.
"Obviously, the workout routine last offseason I couldn't do because we were rehabbing to make sure the knee wasn't getting pounded. This offseason, it's going to be full-go, just like every other offseason. Next year, I'm sure, is going to be a way different story."
In 2023, Grandal will be on the last season of his four-year, $73 million contract.