(Chicago) Chicago White Sox general manager Chris Getz isn’t burying his head in the sand: he understands the fans’ frustration.
The White Sox entered Tuesday tied with the 1962 New York Mets — then an expansion team — for the most losses in a major league season since 1900 with 120.
“It’s not something we’re proud of,” Getz said. “There’s a multitude of reasons why we’re in this situation. Now that that’s out there, I see this as a tremendous opportunity to build something.”
Is he embarrassed by his team’s season?
“We’re not proud of it,” Getz said. “Nobody wants to be associated with it. But we’re certainly up for the challenge.”
Getz faces a huge challenge as the White Sox have lost at least 100 games for the second straight year, and he refuses to give a timetable for his club’s return to World Series contention.
“It’s hard to say at this point,” he said.
Getz’s most pressing task will be finding a manager. He said Tuesday that Grady Sizemore is one candidate, as he has been acting as interim manager since Pedro Grifol was fired in August.
PHOTO MELISSA TAMEZ, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Chris Getz faces a huge challenge as the White Sox have lost at least 100 games for the second straight year.
The White Sox had never lost more than 106 games in a season. They surpassed that mark set in 1970 on March 1er September against the Mets with several games still to play before the end of the campaign.
On Saturday against the Padres in San Diego, the White Sox tied the American League record with 119 losses, which also belonged to the 2003 Detroit Tigers. The next day, they joined the 1962 Mets. The 1899 Cleveland Spiders hold the all-time mark with a 20-134 record.
The White Sox have suffered streaks of 14, 21 and 12 losses this season. The first 14-game losing streak from May 22 to June 6 was a team record, but Illinois broke its own mark of mediocrity with 21 from July 10 to Aug. 5. That’s an American League record.
Days later, Grifol was fired in his second season at the helm, replaced by Sizemore.
At the time, Getz had indicated that the new manager would likely come from outside the organization after the season and would be someone currently wearing a major league uniform, so the announcement that Sizemore was a candidate came as a surprise.
“He’s done a very good job, in our evaluation, and we feel like he deserves to be considered,” Getz explained. “I can’t say he’s ahead of anyone because it’s going to be a complete process and we’re going to find the best person for us.”