White Sox’ first 100 games don’t cut it for first-year manager Pedro Grifol

Right fielder Oscar Colas of the White Sox can’t corral Christian Vazquez’ double at the outfield wall in the third inning at Target Field on July 22, 2023 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images) (Getty)

MINNEAPOLIS — Since spring training, first-year manager Pedro Grifol has emphasized fundamentals, baserunning, situational hitting and more as the White Sox looked to rebound from a most disappointing 81-81 season under Hall of Famer Tony La Russa.

‘‘I know it’s March 7,’’ he said back then. ‘‘But I’ll stress this again: To address these things on March 25 is too late. We’ve got to secure the baseball, we’ve got to throw the ball to the right base [and] we’ve got to have cutoff guys in the right situations.