It has not been an easy season for the players inside the White Sox locker room. The effort has been there but the results have not. The White Sox are not only the worst team in the MLB, they closing in on the dubious distinction of the worst team in MLB history.
On Sunday, the South Siders added another item to their resume by matching their single-season franchise record of 14 consecutive losses, a record that they already established earlier this season. Sunday’s 6-3 loss to the Mariners marked the third series in a row the White Sox have been swept as well as their 10th loss since the All-Star break.
With the trade deadline looming, many in the White Sox locker room are looking to get shipped to a contender soon, even if they won’t admit it publicly.
“We’re put here trying to compete,” Paul DeJong told reporters after Sunday’s loss. “We’re trying to win games. Everybody’s preparing the right way, it’s just not going our way. We’ve got to do the little things better myself included.”
DeJong is one of the many players whose name has been floated around in trade talks. The White Sox played him at third base in an experiment to try and showcase his versatility. DeJong wound up making two errors that cost the White Sox a pair of runs but made up for it by hitting his 18th home run of the season.
Meanwhile, Garrett Crochet, who has had to deal with constant trade speculation for the last two months, was once again limited by a pitch count. The 25-year-old was limited to just 64 pitches after allowing five runs in three innings. Only three of those runs were earned.
“There’s really nothing to be said about it. It’s terrible,” Crochet said after the game. “Everyone in the clubhouse, we’re all pretty let down with how we’ve been playing throughout the season. But when you have stretches like this, yeah it sucks.”
A loss to the Royals on Monday would not only break the franchise record for consecutive losses, it would also put the White Sox one step closer to the worst winning percentage in MLB history. The 1962 Mets currently own that distinction after losing 120 games. The White Sox .250 winning percentage puts them right on track to surpass that total.
Pedro Grifol’s squad has been outscored by 218 runs, the worst run differential in the league. The Colorado Rockies are second worst with a -173 run differential. The White Sox last win game during the first game of a double-header against the Minnesota Twins on July 10th. The winning pitcher that game was Erick Fedde, who may not be with the team come Tuesday’s trade deadline.
The White Sox are still nine losses away from breaking the MLB record for consecutive losses in a single season. That record was set by the Phillies in 1961. The American League record is held by the 1988 Orioles, who lost 21 straight.
This figures to be Pedro Grifol’s final season at the helm. The second highest-paid manager in the MLB is on pace for back-to-back 100-loss seasons and rumors have already been swirling about potential replacements. A new franchise record would certainly help put another nail in the coffin.
