Hurt So Good

Watching the ALCS is a masochist’s delight, at least if you’re a White Sox fan. Hurts so good. Two years ago, the Texas Rangers went 60-192 while the Sox came in at 93-69 in what was supposed to the beginning of a long run of contending teams on the South Side. The Ranger won eight more games in 2022, the Sox twelve fewer. This season, Texas went 90-72 to our 61-101. What happened? Call it reaping what you sow. Both teams opted for veteran managers, only Bruce Bochy has a lot more left in the tank than Tony La Russa did. Both team also spent on free agents. Think Corey Seager vs. Andrew Benintendi. And let’s not forget Marcus Semien. We drafted Semien and developed him, only to have Rick Hahn package him in a deal that included Chris Bassitt and Josh Phegley for the A’s Jeff Samardzija. Talk about mistakes The pride of Notre Dame pitched one season on the South Side before signing with the Giants in 2016. Smardzija has bee out of the league for three years. Semien, first a shortstop and now a second baseman, has hit 207 homeruns with 630 RBIs since the trade. You’d think that deal would’ve been enough to cost Hahn his job a few years before it did (or how about James Shields for Fernanado Tatis Jr.?). But, No, he hung on long enough to draft pitcher Jared Kelley in the second round of the 2020 draft. In the three years since, Kelley has amassed a 3-20 record with a 5.66 ERA over four levels of minor league ball. The Sox “brain trust” took Kelley over outfielder Evan Carter, who was called up by the Rangers last month. Carter had himself a nice cup of coffee, hitting .306 with five homers and twelve RBIs. This postseason, Carter is hitting .350, with seven hits, three RBIs and four runs scored. I could also mention that in game one of the ALCS against the Astros, he made a nice running catch off the bat of Alex Bregman, then doubled off Jose Altuve, who missed second base on his way back to first. Or I could mention Andrew Benintendi, our left fielder. Twelve RBIs in barely a month vs. forty-five in 562 at-bats. The smart way or the White Sox way.