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These White Sox looking like one of most disappointing teams in recent franchise history

Facing an Astros team that arrived at Guaranteed Rate Field with the best record (75-41) in the American League two weeks ago, it looked like the White Sox finally flipped the switch.

They rallied to beat Houston in the first of a four-game series and did the same thing the following night.

"Definitely, spirits are in a good place right now," Sox starting pitcher Dylan Cease said. "We've done a pretty good job of not getting down in general."

The gritty back-to-back wins over the Astros moved the White Sox a season-high 5 games over the .500 mark and left them only a game behind the first-place Guardians in the AL Central.

Instead of keeping the surge going, the White Sox lost the final two games against Houston, including a 21-5 tail kicking on Aug. 18.

They've lost 9 of their last 11 games, are 2 games under .500 and look like a team that's going to be playing golf instead of playoff baseball in October.

With such high expectations coming into the season, the Sox are the most underachieving team in baseball.

There is no reason to believe they're going to get hot over the final five-plus weeks of the regular season. Is this the most disappointing White Sox team in franchise history?

We'll wait until the final out before making that proclamation, but here are some of the other contenders dating back to the 1980s:

1984

The year before, the Sox were 48-46 on July 24 and looking like a team going nowhere fast.

Under manager Tony La Russa, the White Sox kicked into high gear, went 51-17 the rest of the way and won the erstwhile AL West.

Expectations were running high in 1984, but the Sox finished fifth in the West with a 74-88 record.

Offensively, Carlton Fisk, Ron Kittle and Julio Cruz had down years and the White Sox's pitching staff - which featured Tom Seaver, Richard Dotson and Floyd Bannister - was a liability.

1995

Like this year's Sox, the '95 unit was idle during a lengthy work stoppage.

When the season did begin in late April following a players' strike that ran nearly eight months, the White Sox were expected to pick up where they left off in 1994 (67-46).

The roster came back in less than ideal physical shape, manager Gene Lamont was fired following an 11-20 start and, after Terry Bevington took over in the dugout, the Sox finished the season 32 games behind Cleveland in the AL Central with a 68-76 record.

2000

The White Sox made the playoffs, but this was hardly a season to celebrate.

With Frank Thomas, Magglio Ordonez, Paul Konerko, Carlos Lee and Jose Valentin driving one of baseball's top offenses, the Sox won 95 games and finished first in the division in front of a powerhouse Cleveland team.

Injury issues with starting pitchers Mike Sirotka, James Baldwin and Jim Parque slowed the White Sox down the stretch.

In the AL division series, the Sox's vaunted offense vanished, scoring only 7 runs in three games while being swept by the Mariners.

2016

This season started going off the rails in spring training, when first baseman Adam LaRoche retired following a dispute over the amount of time his son Drake was allowed to spend in the clubhouse.

It continued when ace starting pitcher Chris Sale cut up the throwback jerseys the White Sox were supposed to wear in a July game against the Tigers.

When the Sox were floundering with a 46-48 record, general manager Rick Hahn accurately identified them as being "mired in mediocrity."

Soon after, relief pitcher Zack Duke was traded to the Cardinals and a full-blown rebuild was on.

The White Sox finished the 2016 season at 78-84 and manager Robin Ventura was let go, replaced by Rick Renteria.

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