Things are not well on the South Side of Chicago

[Seth Stohs]

Keynan Middleton was traded by the White Sox to the Yankees at the deadline. The Yankees reporters got him talking about the mess that is going on with the Sox. 

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/38147621

Quote

"We came in with no rules," Middleton said. "I don't know how you police the culture if there are no rules or guidelines to follow because everyone is doing their own thing. Like, how do you say anything about it because there are no rules?

"You have rookies sleeping in the bullpen during the game. You have guys missing meetings. You have guys missing PFPs (pitcher fielding practices), and there are no consequences for any of this stuff."

On Monday, Middleton returns to Chicago for a three-game series against his former team, happy to be in a new setting.

[nicksaviking]

Williams and Hahn have been in Chicago for decades now. Obviously they've been flipping between managers the last couple of years, but it's crazy to think they don't have any oversight into the day-to-day activities in the clubhouse.

Of course, hyperbole from disgruntled former players is nothing new, so we probably shouldn't take Middleton's word as gospel. On the other hand, any observer can see that the White Sox have been an utter mess the last couple of years.

[chpettit19]

Interesting. This was Middleton's first year in Chicago. Would be interesting to hear from the guys who'd been there a while (Lynn, Giolito, etc.) who were moved on if this is a drastic change from the TLR years previously. Did the org try to swing the pendulum back the other way and over compensate? 

[jmlease1]

Been a while since I saw a traded player rip his former team like that. Sure, you'd see someone take a shot at management or a coach from time to time, but rarely does anyone put the hammer down, and even more rarely on actual teammates. He called out most of the franchise for being unprofessional clowns.

[Jocko87]

Just now, chpettit19 said:

Interesting. This was Middleton's first year in Chicago. Would be interesting to hear from the guys who'd been there a while (Lynn, Giolito, etc.) who were moved on if this is a drastic change from the TLR years previously. Did the org try to swing the pendulum back the other way and over compensate? 

Good question, I can't imagine Larussa being ok with running that kind of ship.  Although he wasn't there long and if it was already like that it would explain a little bit of the push back against him.  That's a tough tide to turn. 

Also, kinda nice to lay this along side our "can we trust the front office" melodrama thread. 

[chpettit19]

6 minutes ago, Jocko87 said:

Good question, I can't imagine Larussa being ok with running that kind of ship.  Although he wasn't there long and if it was already like that it would explain a little bit of the push back against him.  That's a tough tide to turn. 

Also, kinda nice to lay this along side our "can we trust the front office" melodrama thread. 

Guess I could've read the article where it states that this stuff predated this season and was happening under TLR. So there goes my theory.

[Squirrel]

Wow ... he won't be well received back in Chicago after those comments. But something's amiss there, imo. 

[Squirrel]

This sheds a whole different light on the Tim Anderson ruckus with Ramirez on Saturday.

[Jocko87]

Quote

"I wouldn't say anything bad about the pitching staff," Middleton said. "We went about our work the right way. I think the rest of the team struggled to do the right thing."

OK, which way is it?  Sleeping in the pen and not doing PFP or we were angels?

[USAFChief]

On 8/7/2023 at 8:46 AM, chpettit19 said:

Interesting. This was Middleton's first year in Chicago. Would be interesting to hear from the guys who'd been there a while (Lynn, Giolito, etc.)  

Lynn: "He's not wrong."

https://clutchpoints.com/dodgers-news-lance-lynn-white-sox-chicago-culture-criticism

[Mike Sixel]

Confirmation coming from all over according to the athletic 

[KirbyDome89]

What a clown show. I'm low key sad that there's actually some pressure mounting. I'd hate to see Hahn go.