Read on Twitter
I’ve been meaning to share this for a while now but today is as good as any other to explain why, after more than a quarter century of kicking me in the teeth, I am not gonna follow the Chicago @whitesox this season. You probably don’t care but if you do, here’s why... 1/X
Jerry Reinsdorf has been one of the worst owners in the MLB for a long time. So I have no reason to claim that I am shocked by how bad it’s gotten. There have been signs for a long, long time. 2/X
His unfailing loyalty to those who serve him has damaged the team before. GM Hawk Harrison is probably the most stunningly dumb example but there are lots. Like Ozzie. So much Ozzie. 3/X
The loyalty combines with his other worst characteristic, being cheap. The 94 season should have told me what I needed to know. The Sox looked World Series bound and Reinsdorf led the owners’ headlong charge into the strike and cancelled WS. Money won. 4/X
Between then and now there’s been plenty of dumb, cheap decisions. Lots of free agents unsigned. Lots of 2nd or 3rd of 4th options presented to fans as sufficient. Lots of underdeveloped players and insufficient MiLB resources. More examples than I can list. 5/X
But I stuck it out. Loved the players. Had my own loyalty. Loved every second of 2005. I was there for it. Bought a Buehrle shirsey. Subscribed to http://MLB.com . Planned life around how to watch games. Read whatever @SoxMachine was doing. On and on. 6/X
There were a few ups and lots of downs. The White Flag trade. L’Affair LaRoche. Chris Sale and his scissors. Lousy trades. Weird hiring. On and on. And on and on. But I was there. Then came the Sale/Eaton/Q sell off. Lots of fans hated it but I agreed. Time for a change. 7/X
And the players that came back were objectively great and exciting. Plus the La Pantera signing. There were talented young players here. There were a few good signings. We had every reason to feel good about the next few years. And 2020 gave us some real hope, Covid aside. 8/X
And then . . . in the midst of having this talented and fun young group of players this team hired Tony LaRussa. 76 years old. 9 years out of coaching. Outspoken about how players shouldn’t be politically outspoken. Perfectly wrong for this team. 9/X
But I’m a glutton for punishment so I’d probably stick it out if that was it. But no. That’s not it. LaRussa had a DWI in 2007. Plead guilty and said it “will never occur again.” Well, wrong. It happened again in February 2020. 10/X
And the case was filed in court in October. And the next day the Sox hired him. Despite it all. Reinsdorf and LaRussa are golf buddies and old friends. LaRussa is a few games away from 2nd place on all time MLB manager wins. His hiring is a favor to a friend. 11/X
Players and fans and everything else is secondary. The keys to this team have been handed to this dumb old drunk cause Reinsdorf considers him a pal. I know that owners are in charge but I don’t need to be a part of this farce anymore. I’m out. 12/X
Till the Sox gets sold or things dramatically change I’m done. I’m saddened but it’s not a hard choice. I’ll still root for individual players(like @TimAnderson7 ) but this isn’t my team. I can’t do it. 13/X
I’ll miss watching games and spending time with the wonderful @jasonbenetti I’ll miss @SoxMachine and @soxmachine_josh and all the other writers at SM. You all are great. But this sucks. And I’m not doing it anymore. JR can get even richer off someone else. 14/X
I hope that I get the chance to come back. I hope that this 84 year old man takes his billions in profit and sells the team to someone else. Till then, adios. 15/15
