Levine: White Sox On Brink Of Season-Changing Decisions
By Bruce Levine--
CHICAGO (CBS) -- With 32 wins in the first half of the season, the White Sox must realistically win 53 of their last 81 games to be in contention for a wild-card playoff appearance.
Reality's a difficult thing to face when you have dug yourself as deep a hole as Chicago has.
If you think winning 70 percent of your games is easy, try to comprehend that the Sox must play on a pace that would equal 106 wins in a season -- just to win 85 in 2015.
That pace isn't impossible. Consider the 1983 White Sox, who won 56 games in the second half to rally and win the division by a game.
In the present, it appears these White Sox have the pitching to get the job done. The woeful offense and erratic defense must improve right away in order for the front office to hold off of a fire sale and change of organizational direction.
Chicago has 13 of its next 16 games at home. This portion of the schedule will determine what general manager Rick Hahn and the Sox front office do before the non-wavier trading deadline comes and goes July 31.
Hahn put everyone on notice Friday.
"We have put ourselves in a position where July is a very important month," he said. "We don't have the luxury at this point to continue to give away games or put ourselves in a deeper hole. Everyone in that clubhouse knows it."
The White Sox won't say it now, but impending free agents like Jeff Samardzija will be among the most sought-after players on the team. The onus will be on the players to get on a winning run the next three weeks or start packing for new destinations.
"We have spent a lot of time working on contingent moves," Hahn said. "We have looked at different paths we could travel. When we do head down those paths, I will sit down here and tell you why."
More than eight clubs have interest in Samardzija, with Toronto and Houston are at the head of the class in their scouting of him.
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.
