Remember when parting ways with Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa was supposed to reinvigorate the Chicago White Sox clubhouse? Yeah, not so much. On the heels of former players' claims that the team has a culture issue, a report has surfaced that claims shortstop Tim Anderson was involved in a physical altercation with catcher Yasmani Grandal right before All-Star break.
This revelation comes just two days after the shortstop found himself in a viral fight against Jose Ramirez.
“Grandal wasn't in the lineup the day before the All Star break. Wanted to just leave early,” Shane Riordan of 670 The Score reported Monday. “Made it very clear. Paraphrasing, TA said: ‘F*** him. If he doesn't want to be here, I'll pay for his flight.' Grandal walked over to TA in the tub and slapped him across the face.”
It must be noted that Grandal denied this report to the press, via NBC Sports' James Neveau. Regardless of what really transpired, Chicago is obviously in a catastrophic state of affairs. A last-place showing in the dreadful American League Central, despite arguably having the division's best roster, and a potentially toxic workplace. Yikes!
If true, one can understand why Tim Anderson would have no patience for Grandal wanting to just skip work. He has been a fixture of the team for eight years and is unlikely to take kindly to such a blatant act of disrespect. In fact, it would be hard to fathom how the All-Star catcher would get away without earning an in-house suspension.
Blame cannot be assigned to just one White Sox player, though. There is an abundance of problems here that are only getting worse. Ownership might have no other choice but to engage in a full reset. In the meanwhile, the worst year of Anderson's career, and possibly life, rolls forward.