There is plenty of blame to pass around for the White Sox disappointing 2022 campaign. 

“We, like the fans, felt the level of disappointment with the performance this year,” general manager Rick Hahn told reporters earlier this week. “It’s been described to me at times as depressing, disgust, frustration, shock. 

“I think any of those adjectives are appropriate.”

He wasn’t the only one to express frustration. Tony La Russa took responsibility during his retirement press conference. 

“In the major leagues, you either do or you don’t. Explanations come across as excuses. … I was hired to provide positive, difference-making leadership and support. Our record is proof. I did not do my job.”

 Jose Abreu pointed to injuries. 

“This season, we weren’t healthy,” José Abreu said of why the Sox fell short. “And we as players, we didn’t do the things that we were supposed to do on the field, to do our jobs and to support Tony.”

Meanwhile Liam Hendriks said the players need to do some serious “soul searching.” 

“There’s a lot of things that we did this year that weren’t very good. And there’s a lot of things this year that we really need to improve on. But the only way to look in on that is to look in on yourself and realize what you struggled at.”

Plenty of people in the White Sox organization are to blame. But who deserves the most? Here is who deserves a share of the White Sox blame pie: 

Front Office

The lion’s share of the blame falls on the front office. The White Sox had two clear needs in the offseason, outfield and second base. There were plenty of outfielders available, but the White Sox opted not to pay any of them. Instead, they signed Josh Harrison and traded for AJ Pollock. While both are solid players, neither of them moves the needle. 

Hahn also shelled out money to Leury Garcia, Kendall Graveman, and Joe Kelly. Graveman posted solid numbers but never inspired confidence in the late innings. Kelly failed to stay healthy and was inconsistent, and Leury Garcia was…well, Leury Garcia. 

The White Sox depth was atrocious. Leury Garcia hit .210 with a -1 WAR. Adam Engel had a .579 OPS. Gavin Sheets couldn’t hit on the road. Romy Gonzalez struck out in 37 percent of his plate appearances. The list of mediocrity goes on. 

Rick Hahn also saw that the team was struggling. Instead of adding impactful talent to address the team’s issues at the trade deadline, he and traded for, drumroll, please… Jake Diekman. 

Hahn did nothing during the offseason and nothing during the deadline. He did sign Johnny Cueto and Elvis Andrus, but those came out of necessity, and they were really the only options available at the time.  

Besides getting good value for Chris Sale, Adam Eaton, and Jose Quintana, Hahn’s tenure as a general manager has been a failure. We are still waiting for the parade. 

Blame: 35 percent 

Underachieving Players

The White Sox, as a whole, showed up to Spring Training with a lack of hunger. After winning the divison the year before, the general attitude was they could show up, and their talent would carry them. They were sorely mistaken.

Throughout the season, there was a lack of hustle, energy, and fundamentals. What they did not lack were mistakes. They were first in the American League in errors, and there were base running mistakes aplenty. 

Yoan Moncada and Yasmani Grandal had the worst season of their careers. Lucas Giolito reverted to his 2018 self. AJ Pollock was underwhelming. Luis Robert was good but didn’t take the next step to superstardom that everyone thought he would. 

Josh Harrison was a non-factor for the first two months. Tim Anderson couldn’t hit anything but singles. Joe Kelly was not effective out of the bullpen, and Liam Hendriks took a step back.

 Overall it was just one massive group of underachievers. 

Blame: 30 percent

Tony La Russa

When Tony La Russa was hired, most people knew it was a bad idea. 

The White Sox slogan was “Change The Game,” so hiring a 75-year-old guy who has an old-school mentality didn’t exactly scream “great fit.” 

While he did lead the team to 93 wins, he had plenty of hiccups in year one. In year two, he bogged down the team with seemingly weekly distractions. He was caught falling asleep in the dugout, batted Leury Garcia in the three-hole, got called out by the Dodgers broadcast booth, and kept intentionally walking batters in bizarre situations. 

La Russa did nothing to provide energy and intensity. There seemed to be a disconnect in the clubhouse, and the strategic advantage expected from a Hall of Fame manager, never came to fruition. 

La Russa was bad. There is no way around it. However, he did not put together the roster nor instruct Yasmani Grandal and Yoan Moncada to have the worst season of their careers. 

Miguel Cairo proved that the White Sox are a mediocre ballclub regardless of the manager. La Russa did more harm than good, but he was far from the main problem.

Blame: 20 percent 

Injuries

The White Sox were bitten by the injury bug in 2021 and still managed to win 93 games. Heading into the 2022 season, many were optimistic that their bad luck was behind them. That couldn’t have been further from the truth. 

Before the season even started, the White Sox were dealt a gut punch. Garrett Crochet was ruled out for the season after undergoing Tommy-John surgery. Then Lance Lynn required surgery on his right knee after

landing awkwardly on the mound himself during his final start of Spring Training. When it seemed the White Sox’s luck could not get any worse, Yoan Moncada landed on the IL with an oblique strain. 

It seemed to knock the wind out of the White Sox, and they could never regain their breath. More key players followed suit. 

Tim Anderson was limited to 79 games and missed the last two months of the season due to a fluky ligament tear in his left hand on a check swing. To nobody’s surprise, Eloy Jimenez missed 79 games with a barrage of leg issues. Yasmani Grandal limped into the season after off-season knee surgery and then was sidelined with back problems. He played just 93 games. Danny Mendick was playing well at shortstop before he suffered a season-ending injury. Luis Robert was playing with one arm before being shut down in late September. 

Jose Abreu seemed to be the only durable position player. However, every team deals with injuries. It’s part of the game. Five playoff teams had more players on the injured list than the White Sox (Rays, Dodgers, Yankees, Phillies, and Mets). The team’s health was a factor but not the deciding one. 

Injuries: 10 percent 

Frank Menechino

The hitting coach is often the one to shoulder the blame for offensive struggles. Most of the time, it’s not justified. But there are some glaring patterns between teams with Menechino as a hitting coach and power issues. 

After leading the American League in home runs in 2020, the White Sox dropped to 19th in the MLB in 2021, and 22nd in 2022. However, the White Sox led the league in batting average. 

This is the problem with hitting coach Frank Menechino’s approach to hitting. He stresses hitting the ball hard for average. Hitting for average is fine and well, but modern-day baseball is all about launch angle and home runs. When Andrew Vaughn leads the team with 17 home runs, you know there is a problem. Vaughn didn’t even crack the 75 in the MLB in home runs. 

Only 29.9 percent of the White Sox hits this season went for extra bases. 

Of the White Sox’s first 1,000 hits this season, 705 were singles. 

The last three teams to finish a season with at least 70% of their hits being singles were the 2018,2016, and 2015 Miami Marlins. The hitting coach for those Marlins teams was Frank Menechino.

It’s obvious there was a problem with the White Sox approach, and some of that can be pinned on Menechino.

Blame: Five Percent