The Chicago White Sox are in a tough spot. After beating the Cleveland Guardians in their makeup game on Thursday, they should feel good about their game but they are still 3.0 games out of first place (trailing those Guardians) in the American League Central Division.
They have a chance to win the division in mid-September which is nice but with the expectations going into this season, not having it all but wrapped up is disappointing at this point. Now, regardless of the past, they need to focus on the present.
The present is a real challenge as they have to pretty much be perfect for the rest of the season. It isn’t necessarily likely but they do have three more games against Cleveland next week. Although it is bleak, there is still hope.
A lot of the hope stems from the fact that they have been playing well over the last couple of weeks. Tony La Russa has been away from the team since late August dealing with a medical condition. Since then, the White Sox have looked like the team that we thought they were.
The Chicago White Sox should have let Tony La Russa go a long time ago.
Unfortunately, they were in a big hole at the time of his departure. Now that they are playing well, they have to hope that it isn’t too little too late. No team is perfect so the losses they do suffer right now feel way worse than they should.
Even the best teams have a tough loss every few games but the White Sox can’t afford too many of them. The wins need to keep coming in bunches in order for them to have a chance.
It was obvious that the team needed to make a managerial change a few months ago but they obviously never did. Now, they are seeing why that was a mistake.
Since Miguel Cairo took over, the lineups are much more consistent and the offense looks like their approach is entirely different. This team hits the ball hard and far now which has helped them win a lot more games. It is a shame that it had to come this far.
There is still a chance that La Russa comes back but that would be a mistake for the White Sox. Obviously, his health is most important and we wish him well but the White Sox can’t bring him back for baseball reasons. If a move was made months ago, they may not be in this position.