(670 The Score) After winning the AL Central crown in 2021, the White Sox have floundered this season, sitting at 41-43 through Sunday. A club that was billed as a World Series championship contender is in jeopardy of missing the playoffs if its play doesn't drastically improve.
On Sunday, Audacy Sports MLB insider Bob Nightengale wrote in his USA Today column that there have been “a lot of whispers of unrest, cliques and the lack of player leadership inside the clubhouse tearing apart this talented team.” On the Parkins & Spiegel Show on Monday afternoon, Nightengale shed more light on that report, explaining that his source for it was from White Sox players talking to other players around the league.
”Everybody is asking themselves, ‘What’s wrong with the White Sox?’” Nightengale said. “The most disappointing, underachieving team in baseball. The answer I get just inside the clubhouse, I mean, guys are complaining about Tony La Russa, guys complain about the front office and things like that. But when it comes down to it, everybody is saying there’s really no leadership in that clubhouse.
“It seems like a relaxed atmosphere, like, ‘It’s early, it’s early.’ And there’s nobody to really jump on guys and say, ‘What are you guys doing here? You’re embarrassing yourselves wasting this kind of talent in a very mediocre division.’ So, players and teams have been talking about this a lot the last few weeks.
“They’re all saying the same thing. It’s inside that clubhouse.”
The White Sox won back-to-back games against the Tigers on Saturday and Sunday but could only salvage a split in their four-game series. Chicago is five games behind AL Central-leading Minnesota entering play Monday.
The White Sox face the Guardians in a four-game series beginning Monday in Cleveland, a set that includes a doubleheader Tuesday. Chicago then visits Minnesota for a four-game series beginning Thursday.
Listen live to 670 The Score via:
Audacy App | Online Stream | Smart Speaker