Grady Sizemore had an 0-2 record before the White Sox played the Yankees Monday night at Guaranteed Rate Field, but it hardly seems fair to judge the performance of an interim manager based on the performance of a team that had a dismal 28-91 record before a 12-2 victory – only its second win in the last 26 games.
Still, players have appreciated Sizemore’s presence from the start of his first season as coach under Pedro Grifol, who was fired from his managerial post last week.
They like that he is a former player who is simply himself in their presence: calm, but focused and full of positive energy during the game.
“Don’t panic, don’t worry,” said one player.
Quietly, Sizemore is already gaining momentum in the locker room, and players are hoping he makes a good enough impression on general manager Chris Getz to make him a serious candidate for the job if Getz hires someone permanent after the season.
Getz has said he will look outside the organization. Sizemore is definitely going all out.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever manage again, so I’m going to manage like it’s the World Series,” he said Monday. “I don’t really care about anything else. I just care about the guys and them having fun and putting them in a position where they can compete and have fun and play good baseball.”
Getz hasn’t put his faith in anything, and maybe he tempered expectations a little to take some of the pressure off Sizemore, who is a first-time manager. Maybe he wants Skip Schumaker, who is leaving the Marlins. But would Schumaker want the Sox, who don’t have the most attractive job out there?
In any case, “a fresh start is necessary,” said outfielder/first baseman Gavin Sheets, expressing an almost unanimous opinion within the team.
Sizemore, an outfielder who appeared in three All-Star games and lasted two full 162-game seasons, enjoys a level of respect in the locker room that Grifol, who never played in the major leagues, did not enjoy.
“You automatically have respect for a guy like that,” Sheets said. “He deserves it and gets it right away.”
“He also understands what it’s like to be in our shoes and he knows how tough this game is. Having that voice in the dugout, getting positive reinforcement after at-bats – that’s another side of it, too.”
As a player, Sizemore didn’t like talking to reporters, but it’s not noticeable these days as he’s gotten used to two meetings a day. Every day he seems more relaxed in front of the microphones – although he’s already learned that being a manager isn’t easy.
“Everything was difficult. There’s nothing easy about this game,” he said. “You play through all sorts of scenarios. The hardest part was that you have a plan but it never goes according to plan, so you’re constantly making adjustments and trying not to question things.”
“I look back at the 7-6 and 3-1 losses to the Cubs and all I can think about is how much fun it was. It was just wild that whole weekend. Now we have the Yankees here and I can compete with them. I’m trying to have fun with it.”
Because that could be the end of his coaching career.
“Yeah, of course,” Sizemore said. “People do this job their whole life and maybe you never get an interview or maybe you never get the job. So I don’t know where I’m going to be. I didn’t come here this year and I never thought that was a possibility.”
But he hopes it will continue like this.
“Of course I do,” he said. “But nothing is guaranteed. So I feel like I have something good and I’m going to hold on to it now and play it like it’s my last chance.”
“I hope I’m here (in some capacity) next season. I hope there’s a place for me. I love it here. I feel like I’ve had nothing but praise and support since Day 1, and I feel welcomed. Now I want to give back and put a good product out there for everyone.”
