Emma: All In Again, White Sox Stuck Hoping For Something Different
By Chris Emma--
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Emerging from behind a curtain came White Sox outfielder Avisail Garcia, a smile on his face. He walked across the runway toward the SoxFest stage and was greeted with some robust boo birds. To his credit, that smile prevailed.
Boos are a rarity at a fan convention, in which diehards pack hotels to get up close and quite personal with their favorite players. Yet, Garcia's mere presence in many ways represented the ever-present angst in the Hilton ballroom Friday evening.
Garcia's one of far too many White Sox players who disappointed in 2015. He's among a certain group that needs a dramatic turnaround in 2016 for the team to find success.
"Obviously, some of the players, some of the things we were counting on last season didn't quite measure up to their potential, which doesn't mean that's going to continue to be the case," White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said. "There's still some internal upside."
One year ago in that same Hilton ballroom, SoxFest brought a circus-like atmosphere to celebrate the White Sox winning the offseason World Series, with hopes of competing for the actual World Series. Hahn and executive vice president Kenny Williams appeared to have hit home runs in adding Jeff Samardzija, Melky Cabrera, David Robertson, Adam LaRoche and more. Then the team finished 76-86 and missed the playoffs in a miserable season.
Once again, here are the White Sox following the Jerry Reinsdorf way of going all in on another season. They doubled down on their mistakes from last season by moving prospects to upgrade parts of the roster. There doesn't appear to be any sort of real plan in place, other than throwing more chips at the table.
All-Star third baseman Todd Frazier comes to Chicago optimistic about playoff contention, joined by second baseman Brett Lawrie as names of note. But really, the White Sox will either thrive or crumble in betting on turnarounds from their players who disappointed in 2015, because a few newcomers aren't enough to make a difference.
Joining Garcia in the class of disappointments is LaRoche, who was a disaster in his first year on the South Side, and Cabrera, who for most of 2015 looked nothing like his Yankees and Blue Jays form. The list runs deeper than this, too.
Frustration filled the Hilton as a fan base that has seen little to celebrate since the 2005 title was left wondering why this season is going to be different. Just don't tell that to the White Sox, who believe in what they have.
"We got a really good shot," Frazier said with his eyes on the postseason.
Added Hahn: "Frankly, as we sit here today, we feel that we are a stronger team now that we were (last offseason)."
The White Sox sure better hope they bet right. The team moved prospects Frankie Montas, Trayce Thompson and Micah Johnson to bring in Frazier and Lawrie, then put together some low-profile work on the free-agent market in only bringing in Alex Avila, Dioner Navarro, Jacob Turner and several minor additions. Attempts to sign a high-profile outfielder in Yoenis Cespedes, Justin Upton or Alex Gordon all came up short.
Fangraphs marks seven position players returning to the White Sox lineup who were below replacement level. That group includes three players who the team is banking on: LaRoche, Garcia and Cabrera. Adam Eaton topped the WAR rankings of White Sox position players at 3.6, and Jose Abreu was second at 3.0. In third? Thompson, who was a 1.5 WAR in just 44 games, more than enough to climb above the rest of the struggling lineup.
What good is ace Chris Sale if he doesn't have any run support?
While Abreu is a superstar and the White Sox are set with a quality rotation and solid bullpen, the team is left hoping for so much that hasn't panned out previously. That's a dangerous place to be.
However, the White Sox refused to tear down what they have and start over again.
"At this point, we decided it's important to take advantage of the talent that's on this roster in Chris Sale, Jose Abreu, Eaton, (Carlos) Rodon and (Jose) Quintana all entering the primes of their career," Hahn said.
"We thought it was time to augment this roster, not detract from it and put the goal off several years."
The White Sox can hope their offense nears the level of the pitching staff and that the team defense improves with some new additions. But it's unrealistic to think an entire team that struggled can change with one offseason and only a few new additions.
Hope remains the key word for the White Sox, who are committed to the core in place, despite its collective struggles. The team is stuck hoping Frazier's second-half decline isn't a true regression, that LaRoche can be better, that Cabrera is worth the investment and Garcia finally meets his potential, among many items of White Sox concern.
What the White Sox really have to hope is that their gambles don't waste the primes of Abreu and Sale, two players who will go down as all-time greats for the franchise.
SoxFest brought mixed emotions for the loyal fans on hand -- excitement for a new beginning but some dread for what could be to come again.
"Our expectation is always to go in and compete," Ventura said.
It always is the expectation on the South Side. Once again, the White Sox are going all in and praying for a different result.
Chris Emma covers the Chicago sports scene and more for CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670 and like his Facebook page.
