White Sox making history in the worst way
ARLINGTON, Texas -- The White Sox?
There’s not much to see here.
Unless you’re a history buff. Particularly with an interest in disasters like the Hindenburg and Titanic.
Or the New York Mets of 1962.
It’s those lovable expansion losers the 2024 Sox are falling toward. Entering Wednesday’s game against the defending World Series champion Texas Rangers, the Sox are riding a nine-game losing streak and carrying a 27-76 record, a loss shy of their second double-digit losing streak of year and on pace to tie the record for losses set by the 40-120 Mets of ’62.
The Sox were six losses away from clinching a losing season, so that inevitability could be guaranteed before the end of July. And with the trade deadline approaching Tuesday, the Sox are shopping their very best players, and some other good ones as well, to contending teams. So their roster figures to be even thinner in August and September.
The return of Yoan Moncada (adductor strain) is iffy and Eloy Jimenez still isn’t right after coming back from his adductor and hamstring injuries. The starting pitching has been good — their 3.32 ERA in the last 40 games (12-28 record) ranked third in the majors — but the bullpen has blown 25 saves, the lineup is the opposing pitcher’s break in the schedule and the Sox aren’t playing the clean brand of baseball manager Pedro Grifol harped on during spring training.
All of it adds up to, you know it, history.
In the worst way.
Most players seem to be unaware of the ’62 Mets. They play every day, suffer through the losses but have no use for the standings.
“I don’t know what the record is and what we’re on pace for,” infielder Paul DeJong said. “I know it’s bad.”
While DeJong is one of the players who might be traded to a contender, he knows the record is something he doesn’t want to be associated with.
“Not at all,” DeJong said. “No one wants to be like that. And it’s not like with Houston, Baltimore and the Cubs [who tanked in recent years] so they could just get [top] draft picks. It doesn’t work like that any more. It’s a new era.”
“Obviously not,” catcher Korey Lee said. “But that’s a stat I had no idea about. I’m worried about this team, the ’24 White Sox, and putting us in a position to have some success going into next season."
With four days off during the All-Star break, the Sox hadn’t won since Erick Fedde beat the Twins 3-1 in the first game of a doubleheader July 10, 14 days ago.
The losses are hard, some more than others like Monday’s when DeJong hit a go-ahead homer against Rangers All-Star closer Kirby Yates in the ninth, only to get walked off in the 10th. The clubhouse seems even quieter of late after losses.
“We play the game to win, always have since Little League,” Lee said. “Losses hurt. Wins taste better and you hate losing.”
The Sox had lost 12 of 13 and 15 of 18 to fall a season-high 49 games below .500, their most since the end of the 1970 season when they were 56-102. They were trying to avoid becoming the 10th team in major league history to loss 77-plus times in the first 104 games and the first since the ’62 Mets (26-78).