White Sox are copying Cubs model, but no guarantee it pays off

The White Sox are in rebuilding mode and we won't know for a while if it works.

The problem is the rebuilding process is being orchestrated by the same guys who have given us a team with a .463 winning percentage over the last five years.

Now that isn't very convincing and Jerry Reinsdorf is a little older than Cubs' President Theo Epstein and General Manager Jed Hoyer combined. Reinsdorf runs the show with his loyal subjects Kenny Williams and Rick Hahn.

It looks like the Sox are playing “Copy the Cubs” but the South Siders actually had better pieces in place like ace pitcher Chris Sale than Epstein initially had with the Cubs.

When Epstein took over on the North Side, did he inherit a player with the quality of Sale? The answer is no and it's my opinion, if Sale or a player of that caliber had been with the Cubs, Epstein would never have traded him.

Epstein had to trade guys to acquire a quality pitcher like Jake Arrieta and then go out and get another solid pitcher like Jon Lester. Good starting pitching was a priority early on for Epstein.

Adam Eaton, a team-friendly player who was signed till 2021 with the Sox, was just traded to the Washington Nationals for two prospects.

With a spark plug attitude and a .290 average over the last three years, the Sox outfielder was a better buy than the highly overpaid Cubs' Jason Heyward. But the American League Central division of the Sox, the Kansas City Royals, the Cleveland Indians, the Detroit Tigers and the Minnesota Twins is winnable.

With a couple of pieces here and there, it's right there for the taking.

Look, signing fan-favorite Paul Konerko for a million bucks, Melky Cabrera for $14 million and Alexei Ramirez for $3 million haven't been productive moves and a 375-435 record over the last five years by the architect Kenny Williams reinforces that. The one-hit wonder along with Hahn, who suffers credibility issues because of Reinsdorf's corporate structure, didn't even look thoroughly for a new manager, just grabbing Rick Renteria and that was it.

I think they had some good pieces in place, but they are gone now.

Think about it, the Sox didn't even get a live major league body for Sale, just four prospects.

Epstein got four prospects for Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel, and Hammel returned to the Cubs. And there's no comparison between Sale and Samardzija.

Some Sox fans on Twitter seem ecstatic with the new direction, but I can't agree because we just can't have the same faith in Hahn that people had in Epstein.

Epstein had done it twice already!

The Sox are copycats, but they have a long way to go. I just keep thinking the Sox shouldn't have traded Sale. Would Epstein have traded a healthy Kerry Wood in his prime?

Unlikely. and if they had, there would have been war.

We'll see if trading Sale was the right way to go.

• Follow Mike North on Twitter @north2north. His column appears each Tuesday and Friday in the Daily Herald, and his video commentary can be found Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at dailyherald.com. For more, visit northtonorth.com.