Today’s quotable
Thursday, Jul 27, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Rick Morrissey wrote this earlier in the week, but it’s even more true after last night’s loss to that team on the other side of town…
You know what 19 games below .500 is? It’s the kind of record rebuilding teams have. The Sox aren’t rebuilding. Their 26-man payroll is $130.2 million, which is the 11th-highest in baseball. Their .406 winning percentage is the lowest among the top 15 spenders. Ten of those 15 teams have records above .500.
You almost have to try to be as bad as the Sox are. This can’t be emphasized enough: The Sox aren’t trying to be this bad. They’re not trying to get higher draft picks. Their prolific losing is completely organic. Their losing is a living thing, a creature. This is spontaneous dreadfulness. […]
The Sox have finished above .500 only twice in Rick Hahn’s 11 years as general manager.
The White Sox are currently playing .398 ball.
- Flapdoodle - Thursday, Jul 27, 23 @ 3:48 pm:
“spontaneous dreadfulness” — that’s a phrase to remember
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jul 27, 23 @ 3:49 pm:
=== The Sox have finished above .500 only twice in Rick Hahn’s 11 years as general manager.===
Sometimes it’s not the cake, it’s the baker.
- TheInvisibleMan - Thursday, Jul 27, 23 @ 3:50 pm:
–Their prolific losing is completely organic.–
The White Sox, and the ILGOP - two peas in a pod.
Lee Elia Day came and went this year, with not much fanfare. Perhaps it’s time for the Sox to get a Lee Elia of their own?
- Joe Schmoe - Thursday, Jul 27, 23 @ 3:55 pm:
Sell the team, clean house and pray. No necessarily in that order.
- Dotnonymous x - Thursday, Jul 27, 23 @ 3:56 pm:
- You almost have to try to be as bad as the Sox are. -
Ouch!
- Stones - Thursday, Jul 27, 23 @ 4:03 pm:
I have no confidence that the Hahn / Williams regime can successfully build a roster. We’ve seen that movie before and know how it ends. I think Jerry is too nice of a guy (and loyal to a fault) but the front office needs a rebuild in my humble opinion. Plenty of talent on this ball club. Get back to emphasizing fundamentals and defense.
- Skeptic - Thursday, Jul 27, 23 @ 4:05 pm:
Yeah, but they’re 150 points ahead of the Bears.
- Ducky LaMoore - Thursday, Jul 27, 23 @ 4:05 pm:
I am a baseball masochist. There is no other reason to keep on believing.
- Friendly Bob Adams - Thursday, Jul 27, 23 @ 4:13 pm:
Being a Sox fan means taking the good with the bad. I am old enough to recall the 1959 World Series and have seen quite a few awful seasons. Even in a bad year it’s still fun to get out to a game and suffer with others of your kind.
But this year is particulary terrible, given the expectations (and payroll). No team in the AL Central is particularly good and the division should be there for the taking.
But the pitching, hitting and defense are all mediocre to lousy, combined with a rookie manager who does not seem up to the task. The general manager seems to be clueless.
I will never stop being a fan, but these are the times that try men’s souls.
- JS Mill - Thursday, Jul 27, 23 @ 4:14 pm:
=The White Sox, and the ILGOP - two peas in a pod.=
How dare you sir (said in a 1930’s hollywood voice).
The starting pitching has been mostly good enough to win. The bullpen has been the worst I have ever seen. MY wife and I play a game to try and guess how many betters it will take to give up a lead.
The offense has multiple personality disorder.
And Hahn and Williams should be embarrassed enough to resign and move to a far away land.
- So_Ill - Thursday, Jul 27, 23 @ 4:19 pm:
==The Sox have finished above .500 only twice in Rick Hahn’s 11 years as general manager.==
This is insane. It doesn’t seem like they’ve been that bad the last decade plus, but I’m not a Sox fan.
- Regular democrat - Thursday, Jul 27, 23 @ 4:20 pm:
Funny you dont hear the talking heads on radio bum rapping tony larussa anymore . They hated the fact Reinsdorf hired him now they let the gm handle it and now u have a sub .400 winning pct. In reality williams hahn and the mgr all need to go. The talking heads love hahn and treat him with kid gloves
- Frida's boss - Thursday, Jul 27, 23 @ 4:22 pm:
This will work- let’s hire the bench coach who had a .425 winning avg. on the Royals, over the last three years, to be our head coach.
Rick Hahn has to go, maybe LaRussa wasn’t the problem?
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Jul 27, 23 @ 4:28 pm:
===The bullpen has been the worst I have ever seen===
Concur.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jul 27, 23 @ 4:31 pm:
I was watching a few nights ago, Sox scored 2 in the first, lost 3-2, the fellas out of the pen and the AB pitch sequences, total lack of scouting too, it’s was a bad loss because good teams don’t lose ball games like that.
It’s so much of a front office and clubhouse problem, the product on the field is really mirroring so much of what the club is in an overall right now.
No quick fix
- Been There - Thursday, Jul 27, 23 @ 4:32 pm:
====The Sox have finished above .500 only twice in Rick Hahn’s 11 years =====
Oh come on. Really nitpicking by not giving them credit for their .500 season last year. That would jump his positive win percentage from 18% to 27%. That would almost be as good as the Bears if you use the same criteria.
/s
- Anyone Remember - Thursday, Jul 27, 23 @ 4:33 pm:
Perhaps when Oakland is in Chicago August 24-27, White Sox fans can join A’s fans in chanting “Sell the Team!” ??
- G'Kar - Thursday, Jul 27, 23 @ 4:44 pm:
Well, Sox fans, try being a Pirates fan.
- New Day - Thursday, Jul 27, 23 @ 5:04 pm:
“And Hahn and Williams should be embarrassed enough to resign and move to a far away land.”
And in the absence of self-awareness, they should be fired. Enough already.
And the pen? My God - Joe Kelly should also just go ahead and quit. He was paid $17 million apparently to pitch like a little leaguer. Walking in two runs with bases loaded to blow the lead? Wow. Just wow.
- Gravitas - Thursday, Jul 27, 23 @ 5:14 pm:
The White Sox need to move some home games to Robin Roberts Stadium. The Sox could replace the Springfield Sultans or the Capitals.
Joking aside, some big changes need to be made, not only with the roster, but with the entire front office.
- Amalia - Thursday, Jul 27, 23 @ 5:23 pm:
my usual attitude is the Sox will be on and they will lose. tonight I feel like I have to watch. Like I’m going to a funeral. Hearing them talk about the trade of Gio, a good pitcher and a wonderful guy who by his father’s tweets did not want to leave. Last night Gio got some trouble makers kicked out because they were yelling at him that he got traded. During the game. Sad but have to attend the funeral.
- Retired SURS Employee - Thursday, Jul 27, 23 @ 5:53 pm:
Just think…Dave Dombrowski, a Chicagoland native, started out as an intern with the White Sox and subsequently built 5 pennant winning teams and 2 World Series winners, none of which were from Chicago. Sometimes loyalty can be misplaced.
- BC - Thursday, Jul 27, 23 @ 7:47 pm:
Not only is the big league team a disaster (4th worst record in baseball.) The farm system was rank 30th out of 30 in one rating after this summer’s amateur draft. That is an organizational death spiral.