The Cubs Losing Could Actually Be Bad For The White Sox


The Cubs lost on Tuesday night, and they're now down 3-0 to the Mets in the NLCS. I'm sure that many of you, as White Sox fans, are celebrating this fact. Don't worry, this isn't going to be some lecture on how you shouldn't care about the Cubs.

If you want to hate on them, it's not my style, but do you. I have to say, though, that the Cubs winning could be in your best interest as a White Sox fan.


Yes, if the Cubs win, you'll never hear the end of it. The fan base as a whole will become just as obnoxious as the Red Sox fan base has, as well as the BEST FANS IN BASEBALL down in St. Louis. Hell, they could be worse. It will be incredibly annoying. It could even prove to be enough to make me hate the Cubs.

But I'm willing to take that chance.

You see, as the White Sox head into the winter, they do so as a team with holes to fill. They also do so as a team that is certainly flawed, but not beyond repair. This is a team that could be competitive in a hurry if certain moves are made.

It's just I don't think those moves will be made as of now. Jerry Reinsdorf opened up the wallet last winter, and he was repaid with a 76-win season. Not exactly the return on his investment he was looking for, and trust me, Reinsdorf is a businessman. The return on investment matters to him.

So what could convince him to continue spending this winter?

How about the prospect of the world champion Chicago Cubs?

Let's be honest with ourselves. We are the Second City's second baseball team. We are the afterthought when it comes to Chicago baseball. A lot of you bristle at this, and I understand why, but it doesn't stop it from being true.

Should the Cubs reach the World Series, or even win it, Reinsdorf would feel pressured to build a winner as soon as possible just to keep this franchise moderately relevant. If he thinks attendance is bad now, he should be terrified of the prospect of a great Cubs team residing eight miles to the north as the White Sox battle for a .500 record in 2016.

So the Cubs winning could prove to be the motivation for Reinsdorf to spend whatever it takes this winter.

In other words, a Cubs loss tonight could be the difference between Colby Rasmus and Jason Heyward holding up a White Sox uniform for the media this winter.

So keep that thought in the back of your mind should you find yourself getting a little too excited about the Cubs demise.

Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 21, 2015 at 9:22 AM

    I also think that a Cubs loss will mean they will open their pocket books a little more over winter and bring in some top free agents than they would have had they won it all.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. FornelliOctober 21, 2015 at 9:41 AM

      The Cubs are going to spend either way. The question is what are the White Sox willing to do? Because a guy like Jason Heyward could fix a lot of problems quickly.

      Delete
  2. UnknownOctober 21, 2015 at 9:58 AM

    Is there a real difference between what the Cubs have already accomplished and winning the pennant/World Series, in terms of putting pressure on the White Sox?

    The Cubs are a 97 win team, playing baseball in late October. The pressure is already applied to Jerry Reinsdorf and the White Sox. The 2015 Cubs are the darlings of casual fans, local media, national media, even baseball writers. I'm not sure how much higher their popularity can grow by winning the pennant/World Series. They have marketable stars, and if their season dies by the Mets... 2016 will be littered with Cubs World Series predictions.

    If anything, a Mets World Series can provide a roadmap for White Sox success. The 2015 Mets had a middling/weak offense coupled with strong pitching, until the Yoenis Cespedes trade. The 2015 Mets needed offense, the 2015 White Sox needed offense... 2015 Mets traded for Cespedes and are a game away from the playoffs, the 2015 White Sox did nothing and have a protected 2016 draft pick. On July 30th, the Mets were 52-50, 3 games back of playoff spot with a 30% chance of making the playoffs (via baseball prospectus), the White Sox were 49-51, 3 games back of a playoff spot with a 11% chance of making the playoffs (via baseball prospectus).

    The Mets are showing watching what strong, young pitching can do with deGrom, Harvey, and Syndergaard. That Mets trio delivered an fWar of 12.7 (deGrom- 5.2, Harvey- 4.4, Syndergaard- 3.1). The White Sox front three had an fWar of 13.1 (Sale- 6.2, Quintana- 4.8, Rodon- 2.1).

    The White Sox have the pitching in place, and the Mets have shown was an offensive spark like Yoenis Cespedes can ignite. With a cleaned up defense, and a second weapon to be paired with Jose Abreu, there’s no reason why the 2016 White Sox can’t be one win away from the pennant.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. FornelliOctober 21, 2015 at 10:32 AM

      I agree with just about everything you say. I just think the Cubs winning would force Jerry's hand. If they lose, there's not as much pressure. It doesn't matter if everyone will be talking about the Cubs all winter. That's always the case. The White Sox only get attention when they win a World Series or fuck something up royally.

      Delete
    2. UnknownOctober 21, 2015 at 10:50 AM

      Is forcing Jerry's hand necessarily a good thing though? It seems like a lot more of the "win now" signings have bitten the Sox in the ass, as opposed to actually making the team better. Obviously I'd be on board for signing a guy like Heyward, but I also think they could benefit from avoiding shortcuts and trying to build the right way.

      Delete
    3. FornelliOctober 21, 2015 at 10:59 AM

      I'd like to build "the right way" too, but there's something we need to consider here.

      By the time the 2016 season begins, Jerry Reinsdorf is going to be 80 years old. He's not going to be interested in a long-term rebuild at this point considering there's a good chance he'll be dead before it bears fruit.

      It's not an ideal situation by any means, but it's the situation we're currently in. So it's possible that he's going to feel spendy whether the Cubs win or not.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Try not to be an asshole.

Popular posts from this blog

Write Sox Offseason Plan: Rebuilding Edition

Image
A couple of weeks ago I wrote my version of South Side Sox's Offseason Plan Project , and in that plan I went with what I believe the White Sox are going to try to do this winter: not rebuild. While I still remain skeptical of a total overhaul coming our way this winter, I also realize that it does remain a possibility. I also notice that some members of the local media, and many others of the national media not only think it's very possible, but that it's the correct move to make. And it might be, in the long run, but I'm just not excited about the idea. In my opinion, the idea of a rebuild is a helluva lot more fun than the actual rebuild itself. It's exciting to think of an infusion of young prospects with limitless possibilities, but the reality of the situation typically involves a lot of players that don't pan out, and a shit ton of bad baseball to watch over a six month stretch. Still, just because I'm not into the idea of tearing it all down
Read more

The Worst White Sox Players Of My Lifetime: Position Players Edition

Image
While the entire White Sox fan base sits around waiting for something to happen with Yoenis Cespedes , I figured I'd help us all kill time by continuing what I started last week. If you don't remember, I ranked the greatest White Sox players of my lifetime (by bWAR) in two separate posts; one for position players and one for pitchers. Well, for every yin there must be a yang, and for every Frank Thomas there must be an Adam Dunn . So today I'm continuing the Superlative Series by ranking the worst White Sox players of my lifetime (1981-present), and much like I did with the greatest, players, we'll start with position players. Prepare yourselves for a painful trip down memory lane. We begin with four players who are all tied for seventh place.
Read more

The White Sox Could Find Their Designated Hitter In The Big Apple

Image
When the White Sox designated John Danks for assignment on Tuesday, they made quite a statement. There's no doubt that the Sox have been trying to build a contender for the last few years, but this season things are actually paying off. So when the team showed its longest-tenured player the door because he just wasn't performing well enough, it was the first real sign we've seen since the season started to indicate the White Sox fully intend to "go for it." And while removing Danks from the rotation and replacing him with a carousel of other starters could possibly improve the situation -- I'm honestly not convinced it will, but that's another post for another time -- this is still an imperfect team, win-loss record be damned. The White Sox offense has picked up the pace in recent weeks, but even with a stronger offense, there are still only five regulars with a wRC+ of 100 or higher (100 is league average). While the Sox aren't likely to lo
Read more