Jim O'Donnell: Place blame on White Sox flop where it belongs: Jerry Reinsdorf

MAYBE IT'S NOT COMPLETELY fair to call all of the current Chicago sports media "mousey."

But if a block of cheese was thrown into any media room or sports talk show around town these days, the over/under on how long until it's a few small crumbs would be about 17 ½ seconds.

Nowhere was that reticence to call truth-to-power more evident than in recent post-mortems about the deflated 2022 season of the White Sox.

Here's a short memo to all of the gentle dissectors:

The buck for the gross MLB misadventure starts and stops with Jerry Reinsdorf.

End of summation.

HIS EGO AND UNCHECKED VANITY destroyed what could have been a World Series year for deeply deserving Sox fans.

He made Kenny Williams and Rick Hahn look like neutered squid.

The hiring of Tony La Russa - now forevermore the tragicomic Sleepy Senor - was perfectly in keeping with Reinsdorf's unbroken run as a horrible sports op decision-maker.

Chair Jer' is a great and successful capitalist - sports, business, real estate, now global security.

But if runs or points are used to keep score rather than profit and negotiating wiles, he couldn't win a fixed Baggo game.

FOR PAYING FANS, the answer is simple:

Unplug.

As long as Reinsdorf is White Sox chairman, don't spend a penny on the team.

Don't watch their games. Don't patronize their sponsors. And even let the sponsors know that the disconnect is on.

Merchandise?

Forget about it. Anyone wearing Sox trappings this winter is just telling the world:

Hey look! I'm a lobotomized stooge!

IF THE SPORTS ORGANIZATION that a fan gives her or his heart and soul to has such imperious and ineffective arrogance at the top, why hang around?

Why should the devoted Sox fan base be paying for the perceived sins of Walter O'Malley with Reinsdorf's beloved Brooklyn Dodgers 65 years ago?

Lack of MLB sophistication? Diminished self-esteem?

Enough.

As long as Jerry Reinsdorf is affiliated with the Chicago White Sox in any position of baseball decision-making authority, the true rebuild starts with every fan's ATM card.

And please hold the cheese.

***

THE GREAT OCTOBER PARLOR GAME in Chicago sports has already become, "What's wrong with Justin Fields?"

The Bears' No. 1 consistently: looks miserable, plays like a young man under siege and gives off a vibe as if a Kamela Harris supporter accidentally at a Herschel Walker-for-Senate rally.

But only beginning to emerge from the fog is the fact that Luke Getsy might be one of the poorest offensive coordinator hires in the history of the franchise.

And that's saying a lot.

DID ANYONE AT HALAS HALL check this madcap's resume before handing him a blank Staleys play card?

Sure he got to hang around Aaron Rodgers for a few seasons in Green Bay. Who this side of Marc Trestman isn't going to look OK in that spot?

But as an OC, what's are his game-tested credentials?

Answer: Three stops, four seasons - Indiana University of Pennsylvania (2011-12); Western Michigan (2013) and Mississippi State (2018).

That's it.

Not exactly a path guaranteed to thrill the nation with his Getsy formations.

HIS MOST RECENT PUBLIC CRITIQUE of Fields earlier this week was gut-splittingly hilarious.

Maybe George McCaskey can do the Halas Hall obvious:

When Ted Phillips does indeed retire next year, perhaps Getsy is the perfect overmatched fellow to step in and completely gum up the team's possible move to Arlington Park.

STREET-BEATIN':

Credible speculation that NBC is trying to come back as a broadcast partner of the NBA. It won't happen before 2024 and would wake up the golden echoes of Michael Jordan soarin' to go scoring in front of Marv Albert, Bob Costas and all back in the amazing 1990s. ...

Chuck Swirsky is putting the finishing touches on a tell-some book to be published by Rick Kaempfer, David Stern and Eckhartz Press. "The Swirsk'" made himself ripe for parody way back when. But he also remains one of the seven most engaging sports talkers in the history of Chicago media. ...

Steve Stone and Pat Hughes are among the finalists for The Ford C. Frick Award at Cooperstown. (Hey, if milquetoast Milo Hamilton received one, even languid Len Kasper may have a shot.) ...

Willie Gault left 'em chuckling Thursday night at the annual induction dinner of The Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame with a brief spoof of "The Super Bowl Shuffle." The evening went well, especially because no microphone was seized and held hostage by David "Chatty" Kaplan. ...

And Jerry Pike, on the Colts' amazingly insipid 12-9 OT win at Denver on "Thursday Night Football": "That game made the TV timeout the most important play in football."

• Jim O'Donnell's Sports and Media column appears Sunday and Thursday. Reach him at jimodonnelldh@yahoo.com. All communications may be considered for publication.