How low can they go? White Sox losing streak hits 7
The White Sox continued playing a dangerous game on Wednesday.
Call it: "How Low Can You Go?"
When the Sox were rebuilding in 2017-18 and losing a combined 195 games, they had an excuse for all of the poor play.
This year's team came in with fairly high expectations under new manager Pedro Grifol, but the marathon season already feels like a lost cause.
The White Sox mailed in another game in Wednesday's 8-0 loss to the Blue Jays.
They limp home with a 7-18 record after going 0-6 on a road trip to Tampa Bay and Toronto, and have lost seven in a row.
The Sox have also dropped 12 of their last 14 and are off to their worst start since 1986.
Grifol has tried the positive approach, but it's a difficult sell when the Sox are not hitting or pitching and showing zero signs of life. They haven't even won two games in a row yet.
"I really didn't anticipate it being this way," Grifol told reporters. "But you don't control the cards you're dealt. You control how you respond to it and that's the only thing we can control. I've been on teams that you go through a streak like this and you know the season is over.
"This doesn't feel that way. It doesn't feel that way at all."
Grifol took over for Tony La Russa after spending the last 10 years with the Royals in a variety of coaching roles.
Kansas City is well on the way to its sixth straight losing season, so Grifol does know what a bad team looks like.
If the ship isn't righted soon, the Sox are going to fit that profile.
"We're in a funk," catcher Seby Zavala said. "We have to come together as a team and figure out how to get out of it, because this isn't fun. We have to find a way to start winning and we can't curl up in a ball.
"If you curl up in a ball then you leave our locker room. I don't think we have any of those guys. But if anybody does feel that way, it's going to definitely bring us down."
The White Sox's offense has hit rock bottom, and that's been the biggest issue during the first month of the season.
The Sox have been shut out in back-to-back games and they've scored just 3 runs on 14 hits in their last four while striking out in bunches.
The White Sox went down on strikes 17 times in Wednesday's loss.
"It's frustrating," Grifol said. "It's something we talked about today. We've got to clean it up. We've got to be tougher outs."
Michael Kopech started for the Sox and gave up 4 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks over 5 innings.
"I didn't feel like I threw the ball terrible, but the bottom line is I've got to throw better," Kopech said. "We're in a tough spot right now and we needed a better start than that."