■ Tim Anderson homers twice as White Sox blank Reds 5-0, reduce magic number to 4.
Grandal complimentary of way younger players are approaching games
Yasmani Grandal saw a team heading places when he signed with the White Sox in November.
“Just seeing the direction that the program is going in and talking to them a little bit about what their future plans are and what their goals were, it got to me a little bit,” the catcher said during his introductory conference call Nov. 21.
After seven consecutive losing seasons, the Sox have transformed into a playoff team. Grandal has been impressed with how the Sox are navigating through the stretch run of this pandemic-shortened season.
“They’re doing a great job handling the situation,” Grandal said Thursday. “They’re not looking past anyone. They’re coming in and trying to get the job done. They’ve done a great job so far.”
Grandal was one of the veterans with playoff experience the Sox added in the offseason. Starting pitcher Reynaldo Lopez has appreciated the advice from Grandal.
Lopez didn’t factor in the decision but tossed 5 1⁄3 solid innings in Thursday’s win against the Minnesota Twins that clinched the Sox’s first postseason appearance since 2008.
“Sometimes, my mindset for a particular game, for a particular hitter, wasn’t the right one,” Lopez said through an interpreter Saturday. “He’s been helping me to adjust in that aspect of the game, how to deal with different things during the game and how to prepare better for the games too.
“It has been a very good and helpful relationship, and I’m just glad to have him as my partner.”
Grandal was the first major freeagent move last offseason for the Sox. The list included pitchers Dallas Keuchel, Gio Gonzalez and Steve Cishek and designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion. Each has playoff experience.
“There’s a few guys in that clubhouse who have been around and gotten in the postseason, (so) they’ll be able to share with the players, and that’s a matter of them communicating,” Sox manager Rick Renteria said Thursday. “I’m sure guys will be asking them questions or (Grandal) might share what might be helpful.”
While several of the key players will be participating in their first postseason, Grandal doesn’t see it as a hurdle.
“A team like this team who plays hard, runs everything out, who can steal, bunt, who can hit the long ball, who can string runs together, who’s pretty much never out of a game, it’s pretty nerve-wracking for somebody else,” Grandal said.
The success has come even though injuries have hampered the pitching staff. Keuchel returned from the injured list Saturday after missing time because of back spasms.
The Sox are still without one of their top relievers, Aaron Bummer, and starter Carlos Rodon. Bummer threw 20 pitches in a simulated situation before Saturday’s game against the Reds at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.
The organization’s pitching depth has shined, be it Dane Dunning in the rotation or Codi Heuer and Matt Foster in the bullpen.
“We have the guys and we have the talent to be able to do it on the pitching side,” Grandal said. “We have a lot of young guys who (have) come up and done a great job starting-wise.