Rick Hahn's makes uninspiring comments hours before lockout

Rick Hahn

The lockout has begun in Major League Baseball. The sport is now in the midst of its first work stoppage in 26 years. 

I personally don't have a lot of interest in blogging about collective bargaining. It's exhausting listening to both sides try to win a public relations war, and like most fans, I just want it resolved so we can have a 162-game season in 2022.

There was a free agent frenzy in the days leading up to the lockout, with a lot of big names agreeing to contracts: Corey Seager (Rangers), Max Scherzer (Mets), Marcus Semien (Rangers), Robbie Ray (Mariners), Kevin Gausman (Blue Jays), Javier Baez (Tigers), Marcus Stroman (Cubs), Starling Marte (Mets) and Chris Taylor (Dodgers), to name a few.

Noticeably quiet during the activity ... the White Sox, who retained utility player Leury Garcia and added reliever Kendall Graveman to the bullpen. Serviceable moves. Both Garcia and Graveman are useful, but neither is the type of player who makes you believe the Sox have a higher ceiling than they've had in the past.

As the lockout begins, and rosters are frozen, the Sox still have gaping holes at second base and in right field. They could probably use another starting pitcher and another relief arm, knowing that Carlos Rodon and Ryan Tepera are free agents. Those two productive pitchers are likely to sign elsewhere, whenever the lockout ends.

General manager Rick Hahn held a press conference Wednesday before the lockout began, and he came off as rather defensive about the lack of a marquee move.

“You can't lose sight of the fact we have a damn good team,” Hahn said Wednesday afternoon on a Zoom call. “We are in a position to compete for a championship next year and beyond by what we have been able to do over the last several years. We have MVP and Silver Slugger candidates throughout that lineup. They are all controllable for an extended period of time thanks to some foresight and proactive work on our end. We also have Cy Young candidates throughout that rotation."

Hahn seems to be in love with his own creation. He thinks the team is better than it is, and it's disappointing that the Sox haven't acted yet to give themselves an improved chance of not only "competing" for a championship in 2022, but also actually winning it.

MVP and Silver Slugger candidates throughout the lineup? Ehh, spare me. The Sox did not have a single player win a Silver Slugger in 2021. And Jose Abreu was the only player to receive an MVP vote -- he finished 14th after appearing eighth on one ballot and ninth on another for a total of five points.

Cy Young candidates throughout the rotation? Well, let's be fair to Hahn -- the pitching was good in 2021, at least during the regular season. Lance Lynn was third in the Cy Young voting, Rodon fifth, Liam Hendriks eighth and Lucas Giolito 11th. 

So, while there may not be Cy Young candidates "throughout the rotation," there are two of them there in Lynn and Giolito. But I don't expect to see Rodon in a Sox uniform next season. I like Michael Kopech, but I'm not convinced that he'll finish in the top five of the Cy Young voting, as Rodon did. It will, after all, be Kopech's first season in a major league rotation.

And Hendriks, yeah, he's the best reliever in the American League, but the concerns in the bullpen are more along the lines of setup relief. The closer situation looks good.

There is really only one thing I can agree with Hahn on right now: The Opening Day roster does not need to be submitted Dec. 1, a fact the GM noted during his press conference. True enough. There are still good players out there in free agency, although none of them play second base. There still could be trades to be made before the season begins.

But as a Sox fan, it's hard to have faith in this regime, which has a history of half-measures, whether it's owner Jerry Reinsdorf not being willing to open up the checkbook, or Hahn not allocating his resources wisely, or leaving gaping holes in the lineup and hoping for the best.

We've been told as a fan base that we should expect October parades. That's all fine and dandy, but I'm still waiting for the day when I look at the Sox roster and truly feel like the team has a legitimate chance to win it all.