The Chicago White Sox season has basically been over since May. The team sports an abysmal 28-91 record and is currently on pace to break the all-time single-season losses record set by the New York Mets in 1962.
Unsurprisingly, manager Pedro Grifol was fired on Wednesday, putting an end to his historically bad tenure. Bench coach Charlie Montoyo, third-base coach Eddie Rodriguez, and assistant hitting coach Mike Tosar were also fired. In response, former All-Star outfielder Grady Sizmore was named interim manager.
This is a team that is on pace to be the worst team ever, with an interim manager, and almost no players of note. So why would you tune in for the rest of the season? Well, I can think of a few reasons.
Can Grady Sizemore inspire anything in this team?
It will at least be interesting to see if Sizemore can light a fire under this team to avoid finishing with an all-time loss record. Granted, Sizemore has never been a manager, and this is the worst possible situation to be placed in, but Sizemore was a successful player and may be able to inspire his players.
Will Sizemore get invested in this team knowing he likely won't be around next season? Pedro Grifol was notorious for his muted emotion and nonchalant nature. Can Sizemore at least show passion?
Sizemore will undoubtedly view these last couple of months as an audition for 29 other teams. Perhaps Sizmore nails it and helps the team avoid going down in history as the worst ever in the process.
Will any of the White Sox prospects give us hope for the future?
Colson Montgomery is still in Triple-A, but the youngster should be up any day now. I mean, why not?
Jairo Iriarte, Ky Bush, Fraser Ellard, Jake Eder, Nick Nastrini, Drew Thorpe, Brooks Baldwin, and Bryan Ramos are all already on the 40-man roster. It would be nice if at least a couple of those guys could stand out and prove they belong as pieces of the future.
With the trade deadline now behind us, there's no reason the young guys shouldn't be getting the bulk of the playing time. We already know this team is horrible, so why not see what the kids can do? Montgomery's debut will be the most excitement Sox fans get in the last couple months of the season.
It (probably) can't get any worse!
Look, the Sox are already on pace to set a new record in futility. These times we're living in now may very well be the worst times we ever endure as Sox fans. When you are this historically bad, the only direction you can go is up.
While it's not the history any of us WANT to make, the White Sox will likely make history in 2024 nonetheless. None of us will forget this season, for better or worse. If you're a die-hard Sox fan like myself, you're not going to simply ignore the team. You might as well tune in for the rest of the season, support the young guys, and pray for better days.