White Sox 2013: What Went Wrong?

Jeez, what a season! And that's not in a good way. It's a good thing Chicago had the Hawks, and will have the Bulls, Bears and Hawks (again) this year, because baseball has been horrendous. The team on the North Side has always been horrendous and thus shall remain irrelevant, so the team on the South Side is the big question. Just what in the world happened!?

While the White Sox did not end with 100 losses, 63-99 is absolutely unacceptable. The problem is not only that they finished with this record, it's how they finished with it. This year was the first year for GM Rick Hahn, who took over for Kenny Williams after the collapse of last year. Hahn didn't really do much in the off-season, and it clearly cost him with this horrible team.

The team's defense is arguably the biggest reason for this team's horrible record. Last year the Sox had the best defense in the Majors, which was arguably a big reason why they led the AL Central for much of the year. Their .9883 fielding percentage and 70 errors were a team record. This year, however, they're ranked 29 in the Bigs with a .980 fielding percentage and 121 errors. You're not going to win very many games of your defense is non-existent..

One bright spot this year was Chris Sale, whose 226 strikeouts was a personal best. Sadly, you're not going to win the Cy Young Award if your defense has more holes than Swiss cheese. Sale finished with an 11-14 record and a 3.07 ERA. Did anyone else see the video of him thrashing the Gatorade cooler?

Oh, but don't think the offense is entirely blameless here. Just like last year, the Sox offense finished second in the Majors, but things fell apart. They had to deal Alex Rios, who despite his billing, did not produce at all during his tenure with the White Sox. The ever-loved Paul Konerko was also invisible, and so was Adam Dunn. They only totaled an average of 3.74 runs per game. The "Hitless Wonders" of 1906 did worse, but the Dead Ball Era made anything possible. It got so bad they had to fire hitting coach Jeff Manto.

So what happens for next year? Well, I think it's obvious: Hahn must spend money. By all accounts, it looks like this might be Paul Konerko's last year on the South Side. He's said he'll retire no later than 2014, but it's not clear whether he'll return. Ventura will certainly return, but who will be back is up in the air after a year like this. My hope is that the Sox find some hitters and fielders both from other teams and within their own farm system. I do not want to see another horrible year, so Hahn better get to work. What do you think the price tag is?