PHILADELPHIA — Dominic Leone has been on disappointing teams throughout his 11-year career. The right-handed reliever pitched for a 93-loss Diamondbacks team in 2016 and the pricey, underachieving Mets that went 75-87 in 2023.
He was on winning teams as well in Seattle and St. Louis, including the Cardinals’ 2021 division champion. And he posted a 1.51 ERA in 57 games for a Giants team that rolled to 107 wins in 2021.
And now, he’s holding down a spot in a bullpen for a team that’s making history in all the wrong ways.
“It’s tough,” Leone said.
“This game will bring you to your knees,” 12th-year veteran outfielder Kevin Pillar told the Sun-Times.
“But I will say for a [3-16 entering Saturday’s game against the Phillies] team we have the right nucleus here,” Leone said. “We have the right mindset here. The right players, the right guys doing everything they can to battle out of it. But we’ve had some tough breaks.
“When your top three guys get banged up in the first week, it comes as a shock. And it’s not like we’re playing bad competition. The teams we’re facing have really good talent. It’ll come.”
Be optimistic or be destroyed. How much more the Sox collection of struggling veterans and first and second-year players trying to carve their niches into a big league career can withstand bears watching.
The Sox were projected as a 100-loss team with no chance of making the postseason during spring training. They rallied around that, but now have no shot of proving anyone wrong with Luis Robert Jr. and Yoan Moncada, their top two position players, injured for lengthy periods. Eloy Jimenez, who is back after getting hurt during the first series of the season, was 2-for-21 with no extra-base hits.
“I understand in today’s game expectations are always high, no matter who it is,” Leone, 32, said. “And you always want to see results. After the work we did in spring training, even us, we thought it would translate faster. But it just hasn’t.”
There’s no getting past the humbling quiet of the clubhouse almost after every game. After their first three victories, it’s been boisterous beyond measure. You celebrate when you can.
By Saturday, the Sox had turned the page, and there was a looseness about the room.
Through these first three weeks, Leone and veteran outfielder Kevin Pillar have seen no signs of cracking. Not yet, anyway.
“Almost to a man in this room everyone will tell you they are not happy with what is going on [individually],” Pillar said. “But you come in here every day and you hardly know it. People are positive, upbeat and they enjoy each other’s company. If you sit around and sulk and feel sorry for ourselves and for what is going on on the field, it’s going to make for a very long year.”
“We have to move forward and stay positive and we have a good group for that,” Leone said. “We have guys that really bust their [butt], really doing things the right way. Hopefully it’s going to translate and the baseball gods will shine some light on us here soon and we’ll get the train rolling here.”
Leone has played for Buck Showalter, Lloyd McClendon, Chip Hale, Mike Shildt, Terry Francona, Gabe Kapler and Scott Servais. While Pedro Grifol is coming under increasing scrutiny, even though most acknowledge he’s up against it because of the roster he’s managing, Leone has an approval vote in his pocket for him.
“I do,” Leone said. “Look, he’s going to shoot you straight. He’s going to be honest and he’s willing to listen. His door is always open. It’s one of those things, he wants the best for us, truly, as a manager. He wants the best for the 26 guys in here. And everyone as a whole feels we’re all pushing in the same direction.”
Pillar said Grifol is “doing a good job making sure this place is not a toxic environment” in these “dark times.”
“He knows he’s been dealt a tough hand, especially with injuries,” Pillar said. “But he’s doing a good job managing his expectations and nurturing positivity with a lot of these young guys.”
