White Sox: Does Jerry Reinsdorf Deserve Credit For Rebuild?

Jul 18, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf signs autographs prior to ceremonies to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 2005 World Series championship before a game against the Kansas City Royals at U.S Cellular Field. Kansas City won 7-6 in 13 innings. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 18, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf signs autographs prior to ceremonies to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 2005 World Series championship before a game against the Kansas City Royals at U.S Cellular Field. Kansas City won 7-6 in 13 innings. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

Rick Hahn is doing an excellent job reshaping the White Sox but does Jerry Reinsdorf deserve credit too?

The Chicago White Sox are looking like a new organization. But the question remains, what does Jerry Reinsdorf think of all this. We haven’t heard from the White Sox boss very much this offseason. One has to think he signed off on the rebuild. There’s no way general manager Rick Hahn would be able to wheel and deal without the boss’ blessings. If that’s the case, does Reinsdorf deserve credit too?

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I’m skeptical of actually giving any credit because I feel like Jerry is probably lurking in the shadows trying to think of ways to undermine this GM. If we know anything about him, he doesn’t like to lose. And it probably hurt him when he watched the Cubs win the World Series last year. Now his team isn’t even expected to contend for the division, much less be a serious contender next season. And I don’t believe he’s okay with that.

If it was up to him, I’m sure he would be ordering Hahn and executive vice president Ken Williams to go for broke and win now. He’s never been a patient owner. He wants to win at all costs. Even if that means mortgaging the future. After all, he let Williams basically deplete the farm system and spend money on veterans, who were past their primes. For years he let the organization run without a clear direction. Now, it seems they do have some direction but there is still a lot of work that needs to be done.

If we look at the best teams in sports, they all have one thing in common. Their owners stay out of the day-to-day operations. You don’t see Robert Kraft stepping in and making roster moves or suggesting trades. No, he let’s Bill Belichick and Nick Caserio make those decisions. That’s what he pays them to do. So he let’s them do their job. And it’s worked out pretty well for him. They’re going for their fifth Super Bowl title. Tom Ricketts is another great example of this. He let’s Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer do their job.

Next: Rick Hahn Doesn't Expect White Sox to Contend This Season

It appears right now Reinsdorf is letting Hahn do his job. But it’ll be interesting to see how long that will last. This team isn’t going to be very competitive next season and that will definitely get to him. For our sake, let’s hope he will act like an owner and let the front office do their job. Hahn has already shown he has a good baseball mind. Jerry doesn’t need to get in the way.