Chicago White Sox Are So Bad This Season It Might Be an Achievement

After an off-day to bask in a rare escape from ineptitude, the Chicago White Sox resume their march toward historic failure Friday in Boston.The White Sox had a day off on Thursday allowing them an extra day to savor an 8-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night in Baltimore. The victory was a long time coming.It ended their third losing streak of at least 12 games this season. Now they must win 11 of their 21 remaining games to keep from tying the record for futility set by the 1962 New York Mets who lost 120 games.They take a 32-108 record to Boston where the spotlight gets brighter on the White Sox for all the wrong reasons. Meanwhile, a fan base of faithful supporters wonders when things will change from how they’ve been for three straight disappointing seasons.White Sox general manager Chris Getz was hired a year ago after owner Jerry Reinsdorf fired executive vice president Ken Williams and general manager Rick Hahn following an 81-81 record in the 2022 season under manager Tony LaRussa. Mr. Getz hired Pedro Grifol as manager who was 61-101 last year. The 2024 season is even worse.After three disappointing seasons, Mr. Getz said he “understands the skepticism of our fan base and people who are watching those are not going to quiet until we get more wins in the win column. That’s just the reality of professional sports and the reality of Major League Baseball.”Non-answers like that and consistently poor performances on the field make the White Sox a laughingstock. The White Sox’s horrid 2024 season was punctuated by one play this week that looked like something out of a Bad News Bears movie.With two outs and the bases loaded Tuesday night at Camden Yards, Baltimore’s Eloy Jimenez hit a towering popup down the third-base line. Three White Sox fielders — shortstop Jacob Amaya, third baseman Miguel Vargas, and left fielder Andrew Benintendi — converged toward the ball. Mr. Amaya pulled away at the last instant while Mr. Vargas and Mr. Benintendi collided, allowing the ball to drop. Three runs scored.Radio announcer Kevin Brown uttered what is now the call of the season. “My goodness. The White Sox have gone full White Sox.”It was another bad play in a season filled with bad plays since the season began. The White Sox never recovered from losing 22 of their first 25 games and were doomed by an American League record-tying 21-game losing streak. They were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs on August 17.Mr. Grifol and much of his staff were fired on August 8, two days after the 21-game losing streak ended. The White Sox were 28-89 when Mr. Grifol was dismissed in the middle of a three-year contract worth $3 million. The White Sox hired Grady Sizemore as the interim manager.“These two seasons have been very challenging,” Mr. Getz said when he announced the managerial change. “Unfortunately, the results are not there, and change is necessary as we look to our future and development of a new energy around the team.”That didn’t happen as the White Sox lost 20 of his first 23 games. Don’t expect the White Sox to become winners anytime soon. Mr. Getz said Mr. Reinsdorf is on board with what could be an extensive rebuilding plan around acquiring young prospects in exchange for “assets” like starting pitchers Garrett Crochet and Erick Fedde and outfielder Luis Robert Jr.“It’s a process that we have in place that makes sense,” Mr. Getz said. “There will be a time we feel the fruits of the labor at the major league level. We hope it’s sooner rather than later. But there will be no shortcuts and when we get it there it’s going to be very special for a lot of people.”Right now, the White Sox are special for all the wrong reasons.

Chicago White Sox Are So Bad This Season It Might Be an Achievement

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