And the negative magic number is 23. (23 more losses will ensure the fewest wins since the 1962 Mets, who finished 40-120.)
Right. With 31 games remaining In order to finish with 40 or more wins, they would need to play at least at a .290 pace for the rest of the way. In order to finish with no more than 120 losses, they would need to play at least .355 ball.
Both of those are, of course, substantially better than their record to date.
And yet there are fans who object to these bums leaving Chicago, and who wish the state to build them yet another stadium… 
Five years ago, in the 2020 season, the White Sox won their division.
In the 2021 season, the Orioles won 52 games. Last year, the Orioles won 101 games.
As bad as the Sox are this year, the fortune of a franchise can be turned around relatively quickly.
Certainly, though the Sox have been pretty consistently mediocre for a while.
In the nineteen seasons since they won the World Series in 2005, they’ve only made the playoffs three times, getting knocked out in the first round each time. In twelve of those nineteen seasons, they’ve finished under .500.
In 2021 (not 2020), when they won their division, they had fired their previous manager, Rick Renteria, who had gotten them to the wild-card game in 2020, and replaced him with the 76-year-old Tony LaRussa, who hadn’t managed in ten years (but Jerry Reinsdorf clearly liked him a lot). They did win the division under LaRussa in '21, though it’s generally felt that that was in spite of the manager, not because of him, as he seemed to be out of touch with the players, and made a number of strange managerial decisions. They backslid to .500 in '22, and fired LaRussa mid-season.
From what I see, living in the area, even diehard Sox fans are frustrated and tired of Reinsdorf and his management team.
Yeah, good points in your post. Getting rid of the owner and his lackeys would rate above getting rid of the team, I suppose.
That’s what happened in KC, although the ownership change in 2019 hasn’t made much difference until this year.
I don’t know anyone who has ever had anything good to say about him. Even keeping in mind the 90s Bulls.
The White Sox won the World Series in 1917. Since then, 2005 is the only year the Chicago White Sox have won a playoff series.
Yeah, but they had to cheat to lose in 1919.
31 games left in their season.
They can’t be so bad that they’re unable to go 10-21 or better the rest of the way.
Right?
Benintendi’s getting hot, up to .211 now.
Heck, Vaughan, Sheets, and Lopez are all up around .240 now. Meanwhile, the pitching, which was sometimes halfway decent earlier in the season, has gone in the dumper. The team ERA is now nearly 5, and WHIP is 1.438, both of which are second-worst in MLB.
1916 is “the modern era”? LOL
Can but it’s going to be a steeper hill to climb for the Sox.
Look at the 2 teams on ESPN last night. Both the Astros and Orioles had 100+ loss seasons for stretches followed by great seasons - and almost a decade of strong teams in the case of Houston.
But those were deliberate tanks made by front offices who knew what they were doing and who had the faith and backing of their owners. They ended those runs with several good drafts, rebuilt farm systems, and cores that could contend for years. They did not have to lose so many games - they chose to do so as part of their strategy.
By contrast, I don’t think anybody can accuse the White Sox of having gotten to this point as a deliberate strategy of the (recently replaced yet again) front office to tank.
Neither does Reinsdorf seem like an owner with that sort of patience nor discernment to hire staff to successfully pull it off. After all, he took a promising team back in 2018 and then decided the height of strategery would be to pull La Russa out of retirement and into the dugout where the general consensus is that the team won the division in his first season despite him rather than because of him and then proceeded to prove that sentiment with the next couple futile seasons.
Agreed! They got to this point by investing in a group of players who seemingly went without any clubhouse discipline or expectations. Those players failed miserably both physically and mentally, and we had no one from their pathetic farm system to replace them. I suppose he could spend a lot of money and sign 3 or 4 big free agents and improve quite a bit, but I think the small market teams like Minnesota, Cleveland, and KC have shown that a healthy farm system can keep a team at least competitive with minimal free agency.
Yes, actually. Most baseball historians refer to 1900 and forward as the “Modern Era,” mostly because it’s when the game’s rules had settled into, more or less, the same rules which are used today. (Additionally, the American League began play in 1901.)
Speaking as a Royals fan, I would beg to differ. Their farm system has been anything but healthy, which has forced them to sign FA retreads, usually without much luck. Lately they have been anything but competitive, until this year, when the one superstar they drafted, coupled with (finally) some decent FA pitching signings, has them in the playoff hunt.
Last year they lost 106 games. Not exactly competitive.
I’m a bad person to talk. Last time I really followed the Sox was in 75, when I attended every Friday night game.
I just get so tired of wealthy team owners expecting the public to pay for new stadiums, and showing zero loyalty to their longtime homes.
Okay, but look at the bright side. They are only 2 games behind a Cleveland team that is having a shaky August. You guys might prevail in the end.
3 games, actually. And Cleveland is leading in game 1 of a DH today between the two teams.
I guess I’m not going to turn that frown around! LOL