Mousetrap

Poor, poor pitiful Mickey Mouse. He can suck up with the best of them, only it won’t save his job. Going into the season, the White Sox manager made sure to praise every front-office hire made by new GM Chris Getz, while at the same time letting the world how great Getz is. It’s a time-honored strategy in the Sox organization, where owner Jerry Reinsodrf has always demanded loyalty, skill optional. Kenny Williams and Rick Hahn knew how to play the game, as did Hawk Harrelson, Don Cooper and Daryl Boston. So, Mouse can’t be blamed for copying what’s worked for so many other non-entities on the South Side. Only Mouse is a premier non-entity, as evidenced by a 1-7 record after last night’s 3-0 loss to the Royals. Mouse and company had a terrible spring at 9-20, but those games didn’t count. Maybe so, but they sure warned fans what to expect come Opening Day. For a team that’s last in the majors with a .177 BA and .248 OBP, the Sox have still found a way to be tied for fourth in hitting into double plays; they’ve got ten, eight of them coming in KC. That’s eight in three games, folks. It’s not all Getz’s fault, but enough to make him uncomfortable. No, he didn’t put together the crappy farm system or sign Andrew Benintendi. Kevin Pillar, Paul DeJong and Robbie Grossman, though, are a different story, along with Martin Maldonado, Dominic Fletcher… On top of that, the boss wants a new publicly funded stadium. A team with a .125 winning percentage isn’t exactly going to excite fans, or legislators. The Sox have to, at a minimum, look to be making an effort. Did I mention the .177 BA? Which brings us back to Mouse. Hahn, not Getz, hired him, which makes him a lame mouse, so to speak. He’ll talk about things turning around when Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert Jr. get back, as if wishing will make it so. The fact is, those two are injury-prone; if I’m not mistaken, I saw a graphic on the postgame show listing sixteen trips Robert has taken to the IL since he came up in 2020. Holy Mickey Mantle (if only). And Yoan Moncada is just a sneeze away from joining him. The more the Sox lose, the quicker the fan base will be turned off, the harder it will be for Reinsdorf to get his new stadium. Oh, he can threaten to move alright, but that would be both ugly and hard. Nashville has its own ownership group looking for an expansion team. As ever in the South, outsiders aren’t exactly welcome. And how many owners want to trade the third-largest TV market for the 26th? This isn’t 1988, or 1994. Reinsdorf is probably more isolated in baseball circles than at any other time since he bought the team in 1981. Put it all together, and Mouse is a marked mouse. The only question is when, not if, he goes. I can definitely see early June. Bye-bye.