When free agency kicked off this past offseason, I was elated. The sense of joy that Chicago White Sox fans feel right now is an odd, new feeling we’re not used to. Instead, we have players that are exciting, there will be people attending games, we even have a new fancy Goose Island section that’s pretty bougie for a working-class fan base, but the Goose Island founder is a Sox fan, so all sins are forgiven thanks to it not being some gross marketing operative.
It’s been a rough couple of years since that World Series shine has worn completely off. None of those players are around, and the only people left from that era are the front office and Don Cooper. Some of the guys who are currently suiting up for the White Sox were children back in 2005, and here I am wearing the same pair of Levis.
But, we’re finally getting somewhere, we’re seeing our players pop up in the headlines, the projections are getting better and better for what the White Sox are capable of moving forward. For once, the back page of Chicago newspapers aren’t entirely dominated by the Cubs.
The White Sox rebuild has been nothing short of an exercise in patience. After so many losses, the light at the end of the tunnel is starting to shine through, and the glow is glorious.
Slowly but surely, Rick Hahn struck deals to land a few quality veteran players like Yonder Alonso or Ivan Nova, we even got a legit leadoff hitter out of Jon Jay. These are the kinds of personalities the clubhouse needs to show the young core what to do when times get dark, but also how to be tempered when things are also going well.
But, then free agency took a turn no one was expecting: it landed on the feet of Bryce Harper and Manny Machado.
For once, the White Sox were in. They made legitimate overtures to each player, touting the benefits of being the center of a young team who is going to be one of the best in baseball. But, after the dog and pony show, the expensive lunches, the photoshopped faces in uniform – everything stopped.
It’s been four months since free agency started and over thirty elite players are sitting idle while teams have reported for pitchers and catchers. Why? Because everyone is waiting for Harper and Machado to set the market, the players who come in their wake get a payday, too.
Thanks to all of this inaction, rosters aren’t set, and all anyone can talk about is Harper and Manny, while other guys like Marwin Gonzalez or Craig Kimbrel are sitting, waiting for a mega-deal to fall into their laps. But, the fans can’t get excited, and instead, we’re stuck in a constant cycle of conspiracy theories, “scoops” and zero working information.
get it, the owners should pony up the cash, Manny Machado should have arrived in Arizona by now with cash bulging out of his pockets, but he’d be slipping on a black White Sox cap in the process. Instead, we’re entering this gray zone of looming issues for the next collective bargaining agreement: owners are getting rich by not paying the contracts players want, and players are taking their sweet-ass time making them agonize over their choice.
What started out as fun has now become a toxic mess. Between the lousy reporting, the blogs, radio shows, podcasts, and general speculation across the board, it’s draining.
We should be elated that our prospects are young, hungry and talented. Instead, we’re obsessing over Machado’s Instagram feed. It’s time to grow up and get a collar on free agency on all sides before the circus leaves town and we’re left with a mess more significant than the strike that almost killed baseball, but certainly crippled the White Sox when they were the best team in baseball – never to get that close for another twenty years. No one wants that.
White Sox fans are emotionally drained. We just want to know who’s playing for us. Can we please get this over with already?
