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.
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.
ReplyDeleteThe 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.
DeleteIs 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?
ReplyDeleteThe 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.
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.
DeleteIs 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.
DeleteI'd like to build "the right way" too, but there's something we need to consider here.
DeleteBy 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.