Rick Hahn made it clear.
“Put it on me,” the Chicago White Sox common supervisor mentioned Thursday when requested concerning the group’s tough begin. “That’s the job. It’s the absolute gig.”
Entering the opener of a four-game sequence towards the Tampa Bay Rays at Guaranteed Rate Field, the Sox discovered themselves with their worst 25-game begin since 1986 at 7-18.
“Put it on me,” Hahn continued. “I’ll inform you this, let’s make this actual clear, it certain as heck isn’t on (supervisor) Pedro (Grifol) and his teaching workers. They are doing the whole lot of their energy to organize, give attention to what’s controllable, what’s fixable, addressing the issues as they come up. And are actually doing the whole lot of their energy to get this factor proper. It’s completely not on the supervisor and the coaches.
“Ultimately it’s the players who play the game, and when they don’t achieve at the level we’ve projected, they certainly bare a level of responsibility for that. But at the end of the day, the people who put the players on the roster, put them on the field, are the ones who bear the responsibility if that group doesn’t achieve. That’s me. That’s fine.”
The Rays added to it Thursday, roughing up Sox ace Dylan Cease for seven runs (six earned) on 9 hits in four-plus innings in a 14-5 rout. Seven Sox pitchers allowed 16 hits within the group’s eighth consecutive loss and thirteenth in 15 video games, falling 12 video games below .500.
The 7-19 begin is the group’s worst by means of 26 video games since 1950, once they opened 6-20.
Meeting with reporters earlier than the opener of a seven-game homestand, Hahn addressed a lot of matters pertaining to the struggling Sox.
“When you said who’s responsible for this and I said ‘Me,’ that makes it clear that my job is potentially on the line,” Hahn mentioned. “But I wish to make one thing abundantly clear: I’m not a king. I don’t sit on this chair by divine birthright. It’s an absolute privilege to be common supervisor of the White Sox, one which I must proceed to earn. It’s professional sports activities. These issues finally come to an finish and by no means as soon as has any choice that I’ve been concerned in making has my job standing had something to do with what choice we make. It’s about doing what’s finest for the group based mostly on the probabilities on the desk right now.
“But the day I assumed this job or anyone assumes a general manager’s job, you know it’s going to end at some point. Never has it been my focus, and it’s not today. It’s more about again getting this team right for 2023 and what happens later in this season or after the season or five years from now will happen when it happens.”
Hahn’s message to a pissed off fanbase: “They’re not alone.”
“We’re upset,” Hahn mentioned. “We’re feeling each emotion within the guide, starting from rage to disappointment, and we’ve performed maybe the precise reverse of what we got down to do by way of regaining our followers’ confidence (after the 81-81 document in 2022) and belief in what we’re about right here. At the tip of the day we have now to win. That’s the way in which we’re going to earn this again. We can sit right here and discuss the way it’s early. We can sit right here and discuss all these different groups that had tough begins however nonetheless turned it round and even gained World Series after these tough begins. But in the long run, it’s not going to matter except we begin profitable ballgames.
“The focus and commitment remains strong. But when you say, ‘We need to earn this back on the field,’ we know we’re doing quite the opposite of that, and we still have not just that important hole in the standings to dig out from (seven games behind entering Thursday) but that hole in terms of regaining our fans’ trust. We completely understand that, and more than just empathize with the emotions they’re feeling, we’re living it day in and day out. So we absolutely understand any frustration, dissatisfaction or even finger-pointing that’s coming from outside the organization. Absolutely get it.”
Pinpointing the issues, Hahn mentioned a basic situation is commanding the strike zone and controlling the strike zone.
“It would be both sides but offense is probably a bit more pronounced with the amount of expansion we’ve seen with guys at the plate,” Hahn mentioned. “But if you wanted to boil things down, that’s a fundamental we need to get better at on both sides.”
Hahn mentioned the bar hasn’t modified for the Sox.
“It’s the same as it was when we started the season,” Hahn mentioned. “We felt we had the expertise to contend for a championship. We felt we had the expertise to contend for this division after which make some noise within the postseason.
“That goal hasn’t changed. We made our job a heck of a lot harder based on the first 25 games. But the goal hasn’t changed for us.”
Injury updates
Shortstop Tim Anderson (sprained left knee) and infielder Hanser Alberto (strained left quad) will start rehab assignments with Triple-A Charlotte on Friday, Hahn mentioned.
Reliever Garrett Crochet (Tommy John restoration) is in Chicago for a well being check-in and “potentially” will start a rehab project “as soon as this weekend,” Hahn mentioned. Closer Liam Hendriks, who lately introduced he was cancer-free after disclosing he was recognized with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in January, will probably be in Chicago subsequent week, and a rehab project is potential after the Minnesota Twins sequence, Hahn mentioned.
Third baseman Yoán Moncada is “progressing steadily,” Hahn mentioned.
“For the sake of clarity, he was dealing with a disk that was inflamed (protruding and) impinging on his low back,” Hahn mentioned. “Don’t anticipate him leaving on a rehab assignment during this homestand, but hopefully he continues to progress over these seven or eight days and have an assignment soon after.”
Judge dismisses former coach’s claims in go well with towards Sox
An Illinois Circuit Court Judge on Wednesday dismissed with prejudice all of former head athletic coach Brian Ball’s remaining claims towards the Sox associated to Ball’s termination in 2020, the group mentioned in an announcement.
Last May, Ball filed a lawsuit in Cook County towards the group and Hahn, alleging illegal termination in October 2020 due to his sexual orientation, age and incapacity.
“In his February response to the Club’s Motion to Dismiss, Ball voluntarily dismissed all claims against general manager Rick Hahn personally, as well as two of Ball’s original five claims against the Club,” the Sox mentioned within the assertion. “With (Wednesday’s) ruling, the Court dismissed the remaining three claims against the Club, thereby closing the matter, unless there is an appeal of the Court’s ruling.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com