‘We failed the city’: Hendriks laments White Sox collapse as losing streak reaches 14 games
This was a fitting start to a dreary night for the White Sox.
Liam Hendriks and Lucas Giolito was were both in town with the Boston Red Sox. Before the White Sox extended their losing streak to 14 in a row with a 14-2 defeat, the two former South Side pitchers talked about the way things used to be.
“Obviously, I signed with the intention of it being a long-term window of contention and it didn't quite come through that way,” Hendriks said. “We failed the city, we failed the front office, we failed everyone around, including the fan base. That's a tough pill to swallow.”
Yes, it's hard to believe the White Sox had arguably the most exciting young team in baseball three years ago, before the blunders and bad luck stomped out all success.
“That's one regret as I think back on our time,” Giolito said. “We had that window where we really could have done something special, we just didn't capitalize on it. That's always something to look back and you're like, 'Dang, I wish we could have done that.'”
These days, the dream is to end the longest single-season losing streak in franchise history. The White Sox also had a 15-game skid, which spanned the end of the 1967 season and start of '68.
The White Sox returned from an excruciating road trip, losing five games in a row where they held an early lead against the Brewers and Cubs.
This game never came close to matching that storyline. While Red Sox batters pounded 24 hits to the White Sox' 4, Boston right-hander Tanner Houck didn't allow a hit through five innings. The hit totals were 16-0 before Lenyn Sosa led off the sixth with a sharp single up the middle. Zach DeLoach followed with an RBI double for his first major-league hit and the Sox at least were on the scoreboard.
Andrew Vaughn homered in the seventh to set off the fireworks. The few fans that remained got a kick out of infielder Danny Mendick pitching a scoreless ninth. Mendick threw 7 pitches in the comically slow 34-36 mph range.
Neither Hendriks nor Giolito are pitching right now. Both are recovering from Tommy John surgery, with Hendriks hoping to return in August, while Giolito is out for the year.
Both players mentioned the White Sox clubhouse not being much fun last season. Hendriks even suggested there's been some addition by subtraction since he left town.
“The wins aren't exactly coming as expected, but it's a better clubhouse to be around than it was last year,” Hendriks said. “That's the first step. You've got to get the right kind of mentality coming in and everything will grow from there.”
The White Sox went from 93 wins in 2021 to 101 losses in '23 to who knows how bad it might get this year. Nobody is enjoying the process, from fans to players.
“I felt like the culture at the very end started to really — we were trying to develop something and it started to really kind of dwindle,” Giolito said. “In my personal opinion, it was kind of sad to see. I'm not a finger-pointer. I'm not a name-namer. I don't do that kind of thing.
“I do think back on that time and there's some things. I know the question is asked, 'Why did this happen? How did it not come together?' It's like, sometimes it just doesn't. We all move on.”
Well, the players move on. For fans, they can stay home if they want, but it's tougher to move on from a team you might have followed for decades.
Twitter: @McGrawDHSports