Former Chicago White Sox reliever Keynan Middleton was interviewed by ESPN's Jesse Rogers after his trade to the New York Yankees and his comments have lit a fire inside disgruntled fans.
According to Rogers, Middleton ripped the ‘no rules’ culture that he experienced during his brief time with the Sox.
In Rogers's story, Middleton gave multiple examples of players not being held accountable by management.
He gave examples of a rookie reliever who would fall asleep during games, players being late to meetings, and certain pitchers not showing up to fielding practice. According to Middleton, there were no consequences for these actions.
The Chicago White Sox have a lot of problems that go beyond bad play.
In the report by Rogers, Middleton also mentioned that he heard about this culture predating this season and has been going on at least since the 81-81 season last year.
This report should be embarrassing to the White Sox organization and they must take steps to remedy this issue for next year and beyond. Here are the 3 things the White Sox should do after the Keynan Middleton report if the story is true:
1. Jerry Reinsdorf needs to clean house with management.
From the top down, this organization needs an overhaul. Rick Hahn has made the post-season twice since he became GM in 2013 and there is no White Sox fan that could tell you what VP Kenny Williams does.
This duo has made blunder after blunder for the past decade and it is time management takes accountability for constant disappointment.
Since this ‘no accountability culture’ predated this season, Pedro Grifol may not be the issue for the White Sox but he is a problem. Grifol is another person that the Sox should look to cut ties with.
He preached culture all offseason but seems to be an inexperienced extension of Tony La Russa.
2. White Sox should rid themselves of their current veterans.
On Monday, Jesse Rogers appeared on ESPN 1000’s “Kap and JHood” show and mentioned three names that seem to have a negative impact on the White Sox clubhouse.
In summary, he says that guys like Yasmani Grandal, Yoan Moncada, and Eloy Jimenez have not been doing what they need to do.
The White Sox must get rid of those responsible for this negligent culture before it spreads and takes root within the younger talent.
Terrible culture is like a disease. You can take medicine to keep it at bay but if you don’t address the root cause, it will continue to spread. Reinsdorf needs to get to the bottom of it and cut all toxicity from the clubhouse.
3. The White Sox should sign better culture setting veterans to lead the young talent.
It seems like the White Sox's lack of leadership has finally been made public for all general fans to see. No team can be successful without veterans who show up and set the tone for the rest.
Rumor has it the White Sox tried to trade for Salvador Perez at the deadline even though they already traded for two catching prospects at the deadline. If this rumor is true, management acknowledges the dysfunction that is taking place in the clubhouse.
The Sox should not trade for Salvador Perez but the idea of signing new veterans is 100% correct, especially before Colson Montgomery, Bryan Ramos, and Oscar Colas are spoiled by the rotten culture.
One name that comes to mind is Evan Longoria, a former 3x All-Star and a player who has been to the World Series with the Tampa Bay Rays.