ESPN insider calls out specific Chicago White Sox players contributing to team’s losing culture: "Shipping out those players would be a start"
Between Tim Anderson's fight and Keynan Middleton's recent criticism, this has not been a good week for the Chicago White Sox. Not only are they well out of a playoff spot and 23 games under .500, their entire organization is coming under fire. Creating a good culture around a team is one of the most difficult but most rewarding things to do in sports.
They are one of the most historic franchises in MLB history but have not been competitive for some time. This cultural issue within the White Sox has clearly been brewing for some time but only recently came to light.
After being traded to the New York Yankees, former White Sox pitcher Keynan Middleton aired some of the team's dirty laundry.
Filed to ESPN: Former White Sox reliever Keynan Middleton documents dysfunction as he saw it in Chicago. ‘No rules': Ex-White Sox pitcher rips club's culture espn.com/mlb/story/_/id…
"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" - Keynan Middleton
Then, Jesse Rogers of ESPN went on the Kap & J. Hood show to discuss Middleton's article and called out some Chicago White Sox players by name.
Rogers named names this morning pic.twitter.com/K5CTcCEiR8
"It's the one's you know. (Yasmani) Grandal is no friend to the pitchers, (Yoan) Moncada is no hard worker who is there for his team or his teammates... Eloy (Jimenez) is kind of happy go lucky but really isn't a hard worker according to people I talk to. So shipping out those players would be a start" - Jesse Rogers
This is just about the biggest indictment of a team and culture that a reporter could make. Not only is he calling out the system, he is willing to put his neck on the line and name names. Things are far worse for the White Sox than anybody could have expected.
Are the Chicago White Sox's current culture issues solvable?
With all the issues facing the Chicago White Sox now, it seems like a full reset is called for. Allowing this kind of disrespect and losing mentalities to fester could easily be a fireable offense. If Keynan Middleton thought it, many other players in the league and on the team must too. Tim Anderson's fight with Jose Ramirez will take more of the headlines, but these are issues that destroy teams.
The Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Guardians and even the Detroit Tigers now look down on the White Sox. If they expect to change that anytime soon, they need to start making wholesale changes.