These 7 comments make the Chicago White Sox look inept
By Todd Welter
It isn’t hard for the Chicago White Sox to look inept these days. Ineptness is part of a dysfunctional franchise.
The Sox are one of the most dysfunctional teams in professional baseball.
Dysfunction was a big reason the team’s short-lived contention window was slammed shut. We never knew who was running the White Sox from the moment Tony La Russa was rehired to be the team’s manager at the end of 2020 to when front office leaders Kenny Williams and Rick Hahn were fired in August.
Chris Getz’s promotion to general manager after team owner Jerry Reinsdorf did not interview any other candidates only further exacerbated the franchise’s ineptitude. We will get to Getz getting overpromoted in a moment.
The Chicago White Sox have an owner who is selfish and insular. Reinsdorf listens to La Russa’s opinion as if it still matters in today’s game when he showed during his second tour of duty the game had passed him by.
The Southsiders find ways to have their actions match the foolish words.
There are seven specific comments over the last couple of months that make the Chicago White Sox look like a clown show organization.
The owner laughing at the idea of the Chicago White Sox trying to sign Shohei Ohtani in free agency.
Jerry Reinsdorf plans to spend in free agency this offseason to improve the White Sox while also pointing out they spent a fair deal with a payroll of around $185 million in 2023.
— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) August 31, 2023
"We're not going to be in any (Shohei) Ohtani race, I'll tell you that," Reinsdorf said.
Jerry Reinsdorf literally laughed at the idea of signing a generational talent who is still in his peak performance years.
A team that struggles to draw a crowd and has moaned about not drawing whenever it gets the chance to do it, is refusing to make an offer to the biggest box office draw in baseball.
We know Reinsdorf loathes to give out a contract over $100 million. The richest free-agent contract ever given in franchise history went to Andrew Benintendi, who is a non-power-hitting left fielder. He got $75 million!
This is the same franchise that boasted offering Manny Machado the most money but ignored that a bulk of it would have to be earned in incentives. This lack of not seriously chasing star players is another reason fans are turning away in droves.
Being one of the few teams who has still not signed a player to a nine-figure contract is also a big reason the Sox are a terrible team. Now, you do not want to be foolishly spending like the New York Mets. It would help if you still spent like the Texas Rangers.
You should also at least be willing to make a call to Ohtani’s representatives to see what offer he is looking for. Not the White Sox. They laugh at the idea of the best player in baseball coming to the Southside.