Time to Rebuild the Rebuild
Eloy isn’t the only player not reaching his potential with the White Sox, but he is an example of what is plaguing the franchise, which hasn’t won a playoff series in since 2005.
Let’s stop kidding ourselves White Sox fans. It’s not working. For the past three seasons on White Sox Twitter, radio shows and podcasts we’ve been tearing each other apart arguing about why this team can win instead of focusing on what is preventing them from winning in an honest discussion. Today with the Sox boasting a paltry 7-17 record and losing 4-0 to Toronto with another Michael Kopech implosion at the time of this writing, can we just admit that this team stinks? Can I say that without being lambasted on social media?
We were sold on the idea that this young, fun team back in 2019 was going to do great things. It is now 2023 and the chance to “compete for multiple championships,” as was stated by General Manager Rick Hahn has about as much chance as happening as the Bears staying at Soldier Field. Perhaps even worse, this team isn’t even fun anymore. I can’t stand watching them and do so only because it is part of my job in the media.
What we have here is an organization issue, not a team issue. There are multiple things we can point out about this team, but that wouldn’t be doing it justice. Looking at how this team was put together and the philosophies behind it, is where we need to be focusing our attention.
For starters, signing young players to “team friendly” deals were perhaps the biggest mistake by Hahn. Many of us know that for the most part, professional athletes, in any sport, are mainly motivated by money, and lots of it. Hahn signed Eloy Jimenez, Yohan Moncada, Luis Robert, Tim Anderson, Michael Kopech and Lucas Giolitto to long-term deals based on the belief that they would be the core players who would do big things and command an even greater salary if signed to shorter deals that paid less. Problem is, with the exception of Anderson, none of the others mentioned have done a damn thing. What appears to have happened is they cashed in on their deals and then sat on their asses and collected their checks.
Luis Robert still hasn’t met an outside slider he doesn’t like to swing at. Eloy is still getting injured multiple times a year and can’t play a lick of defense. Moncada can play defense, but strikes out looking at pitches in the zone more than any player I can ever remember. Lucas is consistently bad in his starts, even with his own personal pitching coach that was a force hire. Michael Kopech still only has one pitch, a fastball in which he has no control over and when it is in the strike zone, it’s typically in the middle of the plate and is then smoked into the stands. Anderson’s mental lapses on defense and inability to control his emotions leading to stupid game ejections is still an issue. These are your “leaders?”
This core is now on it’s third manager. While I understood the Ricky Renteria firing after his performance during the COVID playoffs in 2020, the facts are the team hustled and played hard for Renteria. When he was fired, Tim Anderson sent a cryptic message via Twitter stating: “I guess they wanted to change things up.” He also removed all things referring to the White Sox shortly thereafter from his Twitter account. It is as if when Ricky left, the party left. Bringing in the stoic Tony LaRussa was a huge error on the part of the organization. It destroyed the chemistry without a doubt, but let’s not excuse the players. Plenty of people don’t like their supervisor but they go to work and do their jobs. Not White Sox players. The brood, complain and mope about the field in a way that is disgraceful to this devoted, but not crazy fanbase who is refusing to attend games. Anderson is flipping off fans in Cleveland, Lance Lynn is telling us they are all in the process of learning a “new system of playing,” which I have no idea what the hell that means. See ball, hit ball tends to work. Catch ball, throw ball has worked for decades, so not sure what this new system is.
The arrogance of the ownership to make change is also permeating throughout this organization. Two days ago, longtime television analyst Steve Stone suggested that Lance Lynn should add a salad or two to his diet, suggesting the pitch clock is wearing him out and he could benefit from losing a few pounds. Vice President Kenny Williams in an exclusive interview with the Sun-Times says if things don’t turn around, “then changes have to be made.” Do those changes include you Mr. Williams? Do they include Rich Hahn? Do they include Jerry Reinsdorf?
At this point, White Sox fans are ready for a complete enema of this franchise. I am here for it all. It has to be torn down to the studs, a new foundation laid and rebuilt with a solid philosophy. But I can’t trust Reinsdorf, Williams & Hahn to be the contractors on this project. This land needs to be sold to a new developer.