No matter what happens the rest of the season, Grady Sizemore’s name will be attached to the 2024 Chicago White Sox’s record, for better or worse.
So he should enjoy every win he can get, as he did on Monday when the Sox shocked the New York Yankees with a 12-2 victory at Guaranteed Rate Field. He had the game-winning ball in his locker and said he would soon put it in his man cave. His players made sure the first win was memorable with a postgame dousing of whatever item they could find in the clubhouse kitchen and training room.
“Everything from cereal to ketchup to baby powder,” Gavin Sheets said afterward. “He’s probably taking three showers tonight but I think he enjoyed every second of it.”
Before Tuesday’s game against the Yankees, Sizemore said he celebrated by watching the NBC Sports Chicago replay into the early morning.
“I was just happy, I was excited,” Sizemore said. “After talking to my family, I watched the game again and I fell asleep watching the game. It doesn’t really feel real at this point. Just proud of the guys, the way they played, proud of the way they handled their business through all of this.
“It’s been a lot for them. We’re just looking to turn the page today and come out with the same mentality and the same energy.”
An interim manager is kind of like a substitute teacher. They have authority, but students have been known to take advantage of their subs, and players have often done likewise with some interim managers.
But this team seems attentive to Sizemore, whose experience as a star player in his heyday commands respect.
The 1970 Sox, the worst team in franchise history with 106 losses, had three managers sharing the record, including third base coach Bill Adair. It was Adair who replaced manager Don Gutteridge on Sept. 2 and was informed two days later that Chuck Tanner was hired as the long-term replacement, making him a lame duck before he knew it.
But Tanner was not available yet, so Adair managed all of 10 games, going a respectable 4-6 before the new manager arrived. He was not retained on Tanner’s staff in 1971 and never managed again.
Sizemore doesn’t fit the criteria general manager Chris Getz is looking for in his next hire, so barring a change of heart, this could be his one and only chance at managing.
What would constitute a successful stint for Sizemore?
Considering the Sox were 28-89 when he took over on Thursday, any kind of slight improvement would probably suffice. They already set a season high in hits on Friday with 14 against the Cubs and surpassed that on Monday with 18 against the Yankees.
The Sox came into the night needing 14 wins to avoid finishing with 120 losses, the modern-day record for futility set by the 1962 New York Mets, and had 41 games remaining after Tuesday.
Whatever happens, Sizemore said he’s having fun.
“Last night was a great example of that, but these last three or four days have been some of my happiest, most fun games in baseball,” he said. “So I’m just looking to build off that. Tomorrow is a new day, just go out and compete.”
Maybe this could be a new career path?
“What’s that?” he said.
Uh, managing?
“I hope so,” he replied.
That was a marked change from Friday, when Sizemore said at his introductory news conference he had no thoughts of managing until Getz gave him the call.
“I didn’t come in with that goal set in mind,” Sizemore explained. “I really want to make an impact on these guys and do my best for them. Today it’s one day at a time, and tonight we have the Yankees and we’re just trying to get ready for that.”
While the team has responded to Sizemore, there are still some lingering questions that he couldn’t answer, like “are we going to see Yoán Moncada again?”
The Sox third baseman suffered a left adductor strain April 9 trying to run out a grounder and has been on the injured list since April 12. He’s been rehabbing in Arizona for a month now, and the Sox have given no indication of what’s going on.
“I don’t know,” Sizemore said. “I know he’s trying to work back. He’s said he’s starting to feel good and wants to start getting in games and stuff. Again we’re waiting for him to tell us when it’s something he’s not worrying about or thinking about.”
That’s been the narrative for a few weeks now, and it’s getting old. Moncada is in the final year of a five-year, $70 million deal signed before the pandemic ended spring training in 2020. It’s unlikely the Sox will pick up his $25 million option for 2025, so why not just shut him down the rest of the way?
“We’re never going to say ‘forget it,’” Sizemore said. “We want him to feel right. Everyone’s injury timetable is different.
“I can’t speak for him as far as he’s feeling but I know he’s itching to come back. I know he wants to. But I know there’s something lingering there and I think injuries have been there a few years now and he’s maybe a little hesitant to go too fast, too soon.
“I hope he’s coming back. I’d love to see him back helping us out, but I can’t tell you. Maybe a couple weeks, maybe not.”
So the Sox rebuild goes on without one of their biggest acquisitions from the original rebuild.
And the interim manager continues to audition for a possible career he never saw coming.
That’s the circle of Sox life.
