White Sox drop out of postseason contention as fans accept long-awaited fate - "The sweet release of death"
The Chicago White Sox are officially eliminated from postseason contention following their 3-2 loss against the Detroit Tigers in the rubber game of the series on Sunday night.
While the White Sox's elimination is heartbreaking news for the fans, the writing has been on the wall for a while now. The AL Central side has been one of the worst teams in the division, boasting a 55-88 record after their series defeat to the Tigers.
The game on Sunday was reflective of the White Sox's season. One one instance, the visiting team was primed to score with the bases loaded and just one out in the sixth inning, only for the inning to end after a double play from Tigers shortstop Zach McKinstry.
White Sox fans were quick to point out the abysmal record of the team under Jerry Reinsdorf as their side failed to make the postseason despite being one of the favorites at the start of the season.
Several fans were thankful that their misery was finally over and they could look forward to next season with renewed expectations.
Pedro Grifol reflects on the Chicago White Sox's disappointing season
Following the loss against the Tigers that brought down the curtains on the White Sox's postseason hopes, manager Pedro Grifol admitted that his side will still aim to win every game for the rest of the season.
“It hasn’t been a good season,” Pedro Grifol said. “We had high expectations coming into the year, and now we’ve had to flip our focus to make sure we see everything we can to get ready for next year. We’re still fighting to win every game, but we’re also looking at how things work at the major league level.”
Meanwhile, it was a memorable MLB debut for Tigers pitcher Sawyer Gipson-Long who threw 5 1/3 innings, allowing two runs and four hits on his big day.
“He had really good stuff, which is tough when you haven’t seen him before,” White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said about Gipson-Long. “That’s another arm added to their stable. They’ve got something good going on over there with a bunch of young starters.”