White Sox just as bad under Grady Sizemore, but players love him -- and the feeling is mutual

The White Sox are 3-14 under Grady Sizemore, who took over as interim manager Aug. 8 when Pedro Grifol was fired. Grifol’s winning percentage this season was .239. Sizemore’s was .177 entering Thursday’s game against the Rangers that saw the Sox trying to break a six-game losing streak.

The team is 4-32 since the All-Star break. It was sliding deeper since then under Grifol and it hasn't stopped under Sizemore.

But the players have gravitated to Sizemore, 42, since he started his stint in spring training with the title of major league coach. They like his demeanor and respect that he played in the majors and to the tune of three All-Star seasons.

“The players love him,” Sox infielder Nicky Lopez said.

And the feeling is mutual.

“I love those guys in there,” Sizemore said of his clubhouse.

Love is in the air, unaffected by the glum drum roll of daily defeats in a season headed to 120 or more.

Whether Sizemore gets a chance to build his case for the job full-time manager's job for next year and beyond remains to be seen. General manager Chris Getz likes what he has seen, but remains intent on his stated plan to search outside the organization after the season.

In the meantime, Sizemore forges ahead with a paper-thin roster, the mounting losses supporting the case that Grifol had no chance to succeed, either. But he’s still having fun.

“It’s been a great experience for me,” Sizemore said Thursday. “Regardless of the wins and losses, I have fun working with these guys, I have fun competing. It’s a great position to be in. There’s no lack of enjoyment or fun on my end.”

Knowing the players support and respect him means a lot.

“That’s everything,” Sizemore said. “As coaches, all we want to do is put them in the best spot to succeed. It’s all about them. It’s not about us."

Sizemore said it’s “remarkable” the team has stayed together through this.

“We’ve been so close for so long, I think good things are coming,” he said. “We keep playing like that, it’s going to be a fun month and we’re going to see more wins."

Multiple players want to see Sizemore get a shot next season, Lopez included.

“I hope so. He gets it,” Lopez said. “He knows this game is hard. One thing I enjoyed about the Braves was everyone on that [coaching] staff played. Everyone had a grasp that this game is very difficult. So it takes the pressure off you and allows you to go play and not have to worry about ‘I don’t want to struggle or do this.’

"Grady, he should definitely be in the thick of it, for sure. The players love him, we connect with him so well. We can go in there and talk to him whenever we want and it allows us to play free and easy.”

 The Sox have been through the wringer and seemingly find new ways to lose on a regular basis, which is going to happen when the 1962 Mets’ record for 120 losses seems inevitable. A walk-off homer by Andrew Vaughn taken away by one of the greatest catches of the year Tuesday was the latest.

“It is what it is,” Lopez said. “We can’t get 30 wins back so we have to just keep grinding every day, do the little things right. People can’t say much when you’re hustling the basepaths and giving your best effort especially with a season like this year.

“Ultimately I know it will be a year in baseball history. But looking back I try to take the positives from it. We’re with a great group of guys. Got to see what we’re made of and go to battle when it was tough. I lot of people would shy away from it but we’ve shown up every day and tried hard. You can still give a hard 90 [feet], try to turn a single into a double and play the game the right way.”