Much, much more has been expected out of the Chicago White Sox the past few seasons. Unfortunately, the White Sox didn’t live up to those expectations and this season may be the worst of them all. The White Sox are currently 49-77 and in 4th place in a very weak American League Central.
When a team doesn’t perform how it’s expected to it’s going to end up costing someone their job and in the case of the White Sox it cost two people their jobs.
Yesterday the White Sox announced that they’ve fired Executive Vice President Kenny Williams and General Manager Rich Hahn.
In a statement yesterday White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf said
“Ultimately, the well-worn cliche that professional sports is results-oriented is correct”. “While we have enjoyed successes as an organization and were optimistic heading into the competitive window of this rebuild, this year has proven to be very disappointing for us all on many levels. “This has led me to the conclusion that the best decision for the organization moving forward is to make a change in our baseball department leadership.”
Williams has been with the team since 1992, working his way up in various roles, including general manager. He oversaw the team that won the 2005 World Series before being promoted to executive vice president in 2012. That’s the same year the team promoted Hahn to general manager.
The White Sox have been in the post season very recently. In 2020 they were a wild card team but lost the wild card game to the Oakland A’s. In 2021 they won the A.L. Central but were eliminated 3 games to 1 in the first round by the Houston Astros.
The other question you have to ask is how does this front office change affect first year manager Pedro Grifol. In most cases a new general manager likes to bring in his own manager, so it’s possible that Grifol will be one and done as White Sox manager.
Whoever ends up taking over the White Sox will inherit some young talent, so there could be a quick turnaround for the team. The only regular over 30 years of age is catcher Yasmani Grandal.
Of course, the White Sox were sellers at the trade deadline dealing away quite a few of their pitchers, so whoever takes over will have to find a way to replace the arms that were traded.
The White Sox made news by firing their front office yesterday, but they were also mentioned in a big rumor.
There have been reports that the White Sox have looked into moving. Apparently, the White Sox have checked into the possibility of moving to Nashville Tennessee. There was talk of this move coinciding with the team being sold.
The White Sox have and will always be the second baseball team in Chicago behind the Cubs, so a move might give them their own new identity in a new city.
Jery Reinsdorf has threatened to move the White Sox before. In 1988 there were reports that the White Sox would move to Florida unless they were able to secure a new stadium. As we know the White Sox ended up getting a new stadium and stayed in Chicago. It’s unclear if or what the White Sox could be looking for with this story of a possible move.
Since the story of the move just popped up yesterday will have to kind of wait and see what else starts to come out. Maybe the team is looking for a better lease deal at Guaranteed Rate Field or maybe they’re looking for some upgrades to the ballpark.
Jump in here and let me know what you think about the White Sox situation. Will Grifol be the manager next season? Is the threat of the White Sox moving to Nashville real? Or is it just another ploy to get something out of the state of Illinois?
Don’t forget to look for me on Twitter, I’m @Burketime.
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Although some sources say that Grifol’s job is secure for 2024, I am highly suspect about that scenario. I think they’ll make a change their as well.
Of course these rumors about the White Sox leaving Chicago have happened before but remember that this team his been in town for nearly a century. It would certainly hurt the south side if they actually did move.
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