Lucas Giolito didn't opt for profanity. But he agreed with Tim Anderson.
The South Side shortstop, talking with Our Chuck Garfien last week on the White Sox Talk Podcast, lamented the team's attitude during the 2020 season, calling it too laid back. He said that in order for the White Sox to accomplish the big, World Series-sized goals they have for 2021, they need to adopt a different approach.
"We need that dog in us," Anderson said. "We need some, 'Let's go out here and whoop these m-----f-----s."
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RELATED: Giolito sets expectations: 'We want to win a World Series'
Giolito, speaking the day before White Sox pitchers and catchers were due to report to Camelback Ranch, chose some different words. But even without the bleeps, his message was the same.
"When we clinched the playoff spot, we might have — I wouldn't necessarily say we let our foot off the gas, but it was kind of like a relief, like, 'We made it. We got in the playoffs,'" he said about the final weeks of the 2020 season. "And then we all know that we went on a bad stretch immediately after that.
"That was definitely a big learning experience. I think that after last year, we're really going to adopt that mentality TA was talking about where we need to step on throats, we need to try to kill other teams until the very end."
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See, even without the swearing, Giolito found a way to make things equally R-rated.
But vivid metaphors aside, both the ace of the South Side staff and the face of the franchise were talking about the same thing.
With a week and a half left in the 2020 regular season, the White Sox clinched the franchise's first playoff spot in a dozen years and owned the best record in the American League. With the shortened, 60-game season amplifying all stretches, good or bad, a 2-8 stumble to finish the regular season cost them the division crown by a game and, combined with a quick playoff exit, taught them the hard way how winning teams are supposed to act.
"We were definitely disappointed after (being eliminated from the postseason)," Giolito said. "Getting knocked out in the first round wasn’t what we kind of had in the cards, but that disappointment is only going to serve as motivation for now."
The 2020 season was all about the White Sox ascent to contender status, but now they're firmly there. All the good that happened last year, plus the additions of this offseason, mean the expectations are obvious. To quote hitting coach Frank Menechino, it's World Series or bust on the South Side.
New manager Tony La Russa knows how to get a team to the promised land, as evidenced by the trio of World Series rings on his fingers. Now the White Sox have some of that knowledge, too. At the very least, they know how not to act and how they should be acting, from start to finish.
The start comes Wednesday. These White Sox are hoping a new attitude will mean the finish features a trophy.
"It doesn't matter what our record is, it doesn't matter if we're in the playoffs, if we're leading the division. That doesn't matter at all," Giolito said. "All that matters is that we go out there expecting to win a game every single day — no matter if it's April or September or the postseason — and we have that killer instinct, that killer mentality as a whole and we just get the job done.
"I don't think there's any more room for premature celebration, that's for sure."
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