I’ve been watching Chicago baseball for about 60 years. And this is the worst White Sox team I have ever seen. I also think it’s worse than any Cubs team I’ve ever seen. By a lot. Jerry Reinsdorf picked a bad time to ask for a billion dollars.
The problem is obvious. It’s Reinsdorf.
Some other MLB owners who realized they didn’t have a lot of time left actually tried to win.
Gene Autry, owner of the Angels, and Mike Illich, owner of the Tigers come to mind. And they paid out some bad contracts. But at least they tried to put a winning product on the field.
But not Reisnddorf. He trying to siphon tax dollars for a new stadium. Based on the quality of the on field product, that’s like serving a cow patty on fine china. Maybe more attention needs to be given to the product and not the presentation.
They’ve tried spreading it around
The terrible White Sox team have divested themselves of some of last season’s team. Jake Berger was traded to the Marlins for minor league help last season. Tim Anderson signed a one year deal with the same team. And the Marlins also have been terrible, but they have more reason for hope than the White Sox.
The Sox also traded off Aaron Bummer to the Braves for what is starting to look like a lot of cannon fodder, or organizational depth at best. At last check, Bummer’s ERA is over 5.00. While the Sox efforts to bring other major league teams to the level, they would probably be better served trying to actually improve their team.
But that might require an outlay of money, so count Reindorf out.
The 1970 White Sox had the worst record of any Sox team I can remember.
They went 56–106. I now believe the 2024 Sox will lose more than 106 games.
The 1970 Sox did have some stars. Luis Aparicio put together and extraordinary year, hitting,.313 and putting up an OPS of .776. He also won a Gold Glove.
The 1970 Sox also had Bill Melton at third base. Bill slugged 33 home runs that season. In addition, catcher Ed Herrmann was decent defensively and also hit 19 home runs.
The 1970 team also had Tommy John leading up the starting rotation and Wilbur Wood as a closer.
That’s not a ton of talent but the Sox could at least score some runs. Pitching and defense were huge problems.
What do the 2024 Sox have?
Garrett Crochet may be a good starter, but if I was a betting man, I’d bet he goes on the IL at some point. Yoan Moncada’s career with the White Sox is basically over. And frankly, while Eloy Jimenez may come back from the IL soon, I’m past caring.
Luis Robert Jr. may or may not be back in a couple of months, but I suspect that injurie will always be part of teh equation with him.
The White Sox do have some prospects in AAA and AA, but they are far from a sure thing.
Sure, Reinsdorf is cheap, but as an owner he’s also inept
It’s obvious manager, Pedro Grifol is in over his head. At this point, I doubt it matters. Current Sox GM, who was Sox Director of Player Development, Chris Getz has yet to display in reason to believe he’s good at his current job, or previous job for that matter.
Reinsdorf’s started reason for not going outside the organization for a new GM was Getz familiarity with the Sox personnel. And that would help expedite the Sox turnaround.
The Sox, under Getz, would hit the ground running. But as we all know, if a member of the White Sox hits the ground running, he’ll soon be on the ground, writhing in pain with some sort of leg injury.
Even when the Sox do go for a mid-range free agent, they do it poor. Andrew Benintendi and Yasmani Grandal come to mind as examples.
When you merge cheap and inept, what you get are the White Sox.
Will the Sox be bad enough to force Reinsdorf to make a move?
Probably not. Reinsdorf has shown an amazing capacity to put up with mediocrity or worse, while figuratively giving Sox fans the finger.
Like Liam Neeson, Jerry Reinsdorf has a particular set of skills. Neeson uses his skills to kill off bad guys. Reinsdorf uses his to kill off the White Sox fan base.
All that is left for the White Sox fans to do is wait for Reinsdorf to sell.
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