Three Causes For The White Sox Poor Start To The 2024 Season

The Chicago White Sox Have A Lot Of Issues

The Chicago White Sox are tough to watch. They give you no offense, their starting pitching, while somewhat decent, breaks down at critical times, and the defense struggles. Let’s not forget the bullpen. That’s a huge mess right now. This team is a dumpster fire going in a downward spiral to the ground fast.

It’s too bad for White Sox fans that this is happening. They deserve much more than they have been given. This team was once a proud playoff-bound organization with great players, a decent manager, and a vision. But now, nothing is going right, and it seems it never will. It appears this could be a bad team for a long time.

So why are the White Sox so bad? Fans and media types are asking all across the country. While it’s easy to see, some hidden things have come out of their play that make people wonder what’s going on with them. There are small things and big things. Some of them are glaring, while some of them are hidden.

The following is a look at three reasons why the White Sox are so bad this season, among others.

Bad Bullpen Play

The White Sox have a very bad bullpen. Those are the facts. They have a lot of ineffective relievers who aren’t getting the job done. Two immediately come to mind are Deivi Garcia (with an ERA of 14.54 from Baseball Reference) and Bryan Shaw (ERA of 9.00 from Baseball Reference who is now designated for assignment). Both guys have been horrible, and the rest of the bullpen hasn’t been nearly as effective as anyone had hoped. Even former starter Michael Kopech has struggled a little bit but is slowly looking better.

To think, the White Sox cleared the cupboard of relievers to make room for some new ones this year. Almost all of these guys aren’t cutting it. Things will not get better here this year unless the White Sox can find some trade partners or happen to have some talent in their talent pipeline to fill their needs. It’s safe to say the bullpen will struggle for the entire season.

No Offense Whatsoever

The White Sox have been putting up just over one run a game before their second game against the Cleveland Guardians this past Tuesday night. That’s not going to win that many games in the league. Their offense is null. Their big-name guys, who are not injured, are not hitting the ball at all. Big-money player Andrew Benintendi is not hitting the ball that well at all. Yoan Moncada isn’t doing anything and is horrible at fielding this season. Now, he’s hurt and likely out for a long time.

No one can seem to get their bat going.

With it looking like Luis Robert Jr. could miss quite a bit of time and Eloy Jimenez always a risk of getting hurt multiple times a year, the White Sox will be without two of their biggest hitters. Count out Yoan Moncada for several months, and the White Sox have problems. Gavin Sheets is stepping up, but he’s not as consistent as one would like, although he’s getting better. Not too many of the other guys are that inspiring at the plate.

Someone has to step up, be the offense leader, and start hitting well. Maybe some of the other guys will follow. In the absence of Robert Jr being out, it’s possible that Sheets, Robbie Grossman, or Paul DeJong could be that guy. Someone must step up, be a leader, and start helping to turn this team in the right direction on offense. If they don’t, this team will be horrible this entire season.

Poor Management

Does Pedro Grifol have any idea what he’s doing? Some say no, and that’s probably the consensus. Grifol isn’t doing well with this team. He had no previous managerial experience coming to the White Sox, and things seemed to be “off” with him. There have been a lot of rumors lately that he should have been fired last year, but his stay was a cost-saving measure. He, indeed, should have been fired in the previous year. The clubhouse was a mess, the team was a disaster, and the season was horrible.

Unless there is a miraculous turnaround, the White Sox should fire Grifol. If they haven’t won at least 30 games by the end of May, Grifol should be let go. Then, the replacement manager (who would likely be hired the next season) should be someone with good managerial experience, great people skills, and a lot of baseball knowledge. There are good guys out there, but the White Sox must find one and pay him.