How long Pedro Grifol keep writing Martin Maldonado The name in the lineup will be a study of the White Sox manager’s stated and reaffirmed belief in the value of the veteran catcher’s pitches.
Maldonado, 34, had a .083/.135/.131 batting line and a .266 OPS in the Red Sox’s game against the Blue Jays on Wednesday. Maldonado finished 0 for 2 and the Sox fell 3-1.
Grifol believes it has an everyday recipient in the making in korey lee, and is being careful not to burden Lee with an overload of day-to-day responsibilities that come with working in his first full season as an MLB catcher. Lee homered in the ninth inning for the Sox’s only run.
Grifol also wants to see what effect Maldonado’s new prescription glasses will have on the veteran catcher’s hitting.
“So I didn’t see the ball before,” Maldonado told the Sun-Times on Wednesday. “I went to an eye doctor and found out I needed prescription glasses and I’ve been wearing them for the last three games.”
Maldonado had never worn glasses.
The jury is still out, because Maldonado is hitless in his last five games, but said he is “seeing the ball better.”
“In this game you have to see the ball to hit it, right?” Maldonado said. “The way the throws are now, I’ve made some adjustments with the lenses and I’m only making good throws. That was one of the keys, I wasn’t making good throws.”
There are numerous factors at play, but the Sox are now 8-33 in games Lee has played and 9-22 when Maldonado plays.
That said, Lee was hitting .274/.311/.407 with a .718 OPS and has better defensive metrics than Maldonado, who signed a one-year, $4 million deal during the offseason.
“I know when I signed here they knew what to expect from me on the offensive side of my game,” said Maldonado, a .204/.279/.343 hitter with 112 home runs and a .622 OPS in his 14 years. career.
“I’ve never hit .300 and I know I haven’t been as good as I have been in the past, but we’re working. Take good at-bats and go from there. I’m happy (Grifol) to give me the opportunity, yes. An opportunity to help the pitching staff and whatever else, but at the same time give myself some confidence to go out and do the best I can.”
Physically, with 1,090 games caught in his career, Maldonado said he still feels good.
“The body feels good,” he said. “As if she were 15 years old.”
Will glasses make a difference?
Seeing is believing.
This and that
- Blue Jays starter Alek Manoa (right elbow discomfort) left the game with a trainer with two outs in the second inning.
- Tommy Phamhitting .300/.356/.367 in his last 20 games but hitless in his last 13 at-bats, he was given the day off before Thursday’s off day.
“He’s played 19 in a row,” Grifol said. “The double day off is a really good thing for him.” - Sox starters had posted a 3.05 ERA in their last 22 home games through Wednesday night.
- With MLB formally adding statistics for more than 2,300 Negro Leagues players between 1920 and 1948, the Sox are great. Minnie Minoso He now has 2,113 career hits after receiving an additional 150 from his time with the New York Cubans from 1946 to 1948.
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