Grifol miffed at 0% odds of White Sox making playoffs: 'That motivates' me

Chicago White Sox manager Pedro Grifol was caught off guard when he found out PECOTA projected his club to have a 0% chance of making the postseason in 2024.

"I don't really (pay attention to it) until we come out with 0.00% chance of making the playoffs," Grifol said Wednesday, according to Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. "That motivates the heck out of me. I know it's a little bit of a talk in (the clubhouse). … Obviously, no one is scheduled to run away with (the American League Central). Why not us? We're here."

Chicago is projected to go 66-96 after posting a 61-101 record to finish fourth in the AL Central last season.

"If we were out of it already, then why play?" Grifol added. "We're not out of it. We've got 162 games to play. We've got close to 40 days to prepare for those 162 games. I know they've got to do their job, and the percentages are the percentages. Our job is to prove them wrong."

The Minnesota Twins won the division after being the only team above .500; they had 87 victories. PECOTA has the Twins repeating with an 89-73 mark.