The opener of a three-game series between the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers on Friday might have lacked some of the anticipation of the Taylor Swift concert a few miles north.
There was no bad blood between the teams, as was the case in years past. All the Sox could do after their 23-35 start in April and May was to shake it off or face the possibility of another cruel summer on the South Side.
Manager Pedro Grifol was just excited to have his whole team back for the first time, with Elvis Andrus and starter Mike Clevinger coming off the injured list Friday, four days after the return of closer Liam Hendriks from non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
“Having a full roster like this and having some depth is going to allow us to rest people more often than we have been able to,” Grifol said before Friday’s 3-0 victory. “And that’s important for us to allow bodies to recover while we still have the depth in our lineup.”
How Grifol deals with the rare abundance of healthy Sox players will be interesting to watch in the coming weeks as he tries to right the ship after an awful 8-21 start and a 15-14 record in May.
“We’ve learned from each other,” Grifol said. “We made mistakes in April, and that’s me included. But we were a better ballclub in May. We need to improve now in June and continue in July and finish the year strong.”
But the Sox faced a Tigers team that won three of four last week in Detroit and finished May with a 15-11 record, their first winning month since September 2021. The Tigers rebuild appeared to have turned a corner after the benching of Javier Báez in mid-April for not running out of the box hard on a double, then forgetting the number of outs and getting doubled off.
“There’s a lot of talent here,” Báez said. “They’ve just got to go out and be themselves and fix the mistakes we’ve made because we’re going to make mistakes. If you’re honest with yourself, tell yourself ‘I messed up,’ and we’ve just got to make adjustments and have fun.
“It’s a hard game, and when you’re doing well everything is fun. When you’re not doing nothing, it’s hard to get out of it. So enjoy it while you can.”
Andrus was on the bench Friday for second baseman Romy Gonzalez, while would-be backup Jake Burger was out of the lineup. Burger was tied for first among American League hitters Friday with 10 home runs at home while leading the league with an .861 slugging percentage.
Grifol used left-handed-hitting Gavin Sheets in the designated-hitter spot against Reese Olson, who made his major-league debut. Gonzalez shrugged off a slow start and hit .303 with three home runs and 10 RBIs over his previous 10 games, so Andrus seemingly lost his starting job while on the IL.
“He might still be the everyday second baseman,” Grifol said. “They’re competing for a job over there. Elvis is a 15-year major-league veteran. I’m pretty certain he’s just not going to sit down. His game is going to elevate to a level where he’s going to force hands and find himself in the lineup. I haven’t spoken to Elvis about being a utility player or anything like that.”
At least Andrus was still here. Hanser Alberto was designated for assignment Friday to make room for him.
Grifol also said there is no timetable for when Hendriks would return to his closer’s role. He had not pitched since Monday’s season debut.
“He’s a part of our bullpen right now until things start settling down,” Grifol said. “How long that is going to take, I’m not really sure, and I’m not in a hurry to make that decision.”
Hendriks said after his return from cancer he intended on assuming his closer’s role soon but added: “I have to earn it.” Grifol said that was not really the case, even though he won’t close right now.
“He told me that the other day, and my answer to that was, ‘You’ve earned a lot of things in this game,’ ” Grifold said. “This is not so much about ‘earning’ it. I don’t think he ever lost it. We just had a bump in the road that was a hell of a lot more important than baseball, right?
“Now he’s back and he’s just working himself back to where he needs to be and where he belongs. I appreciate the fact he says he needs to earn it because that’s the kind of mentality you have to have.”
The Sox know all too well they are where they are because of their poor play and that it’s up to them to fix things. As Báez said, when you’re not going well, it’s hard to get out of. But the Tigers seemingly found a way, so perhaps the Sox can follow their blueprint.
“We had high expectations coming in,” Grifol said. “They are still there. We haven’t performed.
“We dug ourselves a hole. It’s our responsibility and our job to continue to work and turn this thing around.”
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