Around this time last year, I wrote a faux letter to Jerry Reinsdorf about his struggling baseball team. Remember, a few years ago, this squad was a playoff contender, and many thought they could make a World Series. They took a step back last season as many predicted that even if they weren't going to make the playoffs, 2024 is a year that will show a little improvement and hopefully can be a building block for a turnaround.
Oh, (bleep!) THEY MADE IT WORSE! WAY, WAY WORSE!
The Chicago White Sux (that's what they are called until further notice) are setting baseball back in the wrong direction. As of this writing, they are 32-109, 77 games under .500. With a few weeks left, the White Sux will easily break the record for most losses in a season. They have had three occasions where they had double digits in losing streaks. Players as Yoan Moncada, Gavin Sheets, Andrew Vaughn, Garrett Crochet and Luis Robert Jr. are not progressing with this club. Dylan Cease, Michael Kopech and Eloy Jimenez are fortunate to be dealt at the deadline as the ChiSux will try to develop young talent. I pray for you, Colson Montgomery and Hagen Smith.
It's simple, management does not have a plan for winning. Reinsdorf kept Ken Williams and Rick Hahn for way too long. GM Chris Getz is a loyalist to the organization, but he seems way in over his head. You can say he doesn't "Getz" it. (C'mon, A.J.) Take their managerial hire after Tony LaRussa retired, Pedro Grifol. The franchise hired him when he was the Royals' bench coach, back when they are horrible. As expected, Grifol was in over his head and was unmercifully let go by the White Sux. They decided to go with....Grady Sizemore as the interim manager, who was a D-Backs intern a few years ago. This is the White Sux way right now. Also, the LaRussa hire was off the mark.
So, watching the Sux versus the Baltimore Orioles over the weekend and my thinking goes into overdrive. They were showing promotions about the team, and they are trying their best to be positive about everything. Frank Thomas and his kids threw out the first pitch during the start of a game and Hawk Harrelson, the franchise's legendary broadcaster who retired recently, showed up to a game. You wonder what goes through their minds? Chicago's Southside team has seen a lot of despair, but when they are successful, people tend to remember the fun times. The Big Hurt, Ventura, Black Jack, Thigpen. How about the 2005 World Series championship squad that broke an 88-year drought with Konerko, Jenks, Buehrle, Pierzynski, Guillen as the manager that brought everything together. This was a team that killed the narrative of being the losers along with the North Siders. However, this single season has totally reestablished that narrative again.
And they had the audacity to cancel Sux Fest. I've never been to that event, but Sux fans were unglued by that.
There was a time when the White Sox (I'll say it one time) hat was worn by Bo Jackson, the Big Hurt and elite rappers as Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and Eazy-E. The black cap with Old School lettering is iconic and people will wear it in the year 2038. Now though, everyone is embarrassed to be seen in White Sux gear. Take for instance, Miguel Vargas, the new second baseman acquired at the trade deadline. His reaction appearing in a White Sux uniform seems as depressed as can be. Also, the other day, he and Andrew Benintendi collided into one another. A sign of things to come in Chicago's southside.
As I finish this piece, I hope someone can check on Berto from the West Side. He's probably drafting another rant for Chicago sports radio. See you in 2038.
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