Rick Hahn: White Sox need to improve ‘brand of baseball' quickly

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Sounds like the 2015 White Sox are quickly approaching Last Chance City.

At least in their current form they are.

Frustrated and disappointed by his team’s play, White Sox general manager Rick Hahn suggested Wednesday afternoon the window to turn things around is rapidly shrinking.

The White Sox opened a five-game homestand a season-worst seven games under .500 and in the midst of their second five-game losing streak of 2015.

Bothered most by an offense that has been shut out six times and scored three or fewer runs 33 times in 63 games, Hahn said changes are likely to occur if the White Sox don’t become the team they expected to be when the opened spring training four months ago.

[SHOP: Gear up, White Sox fans!]

“There does come a point though where you can only look at the back of the baseball card for so long and say it’s going to get better,” Hahn said. “You need to start seeing some results on the field before you have to start making changes.

“We are all in this together. Until a player is traded or there’s been a change on the staff or in the front office or with an advanced scout or whatever, we are all in this 100 percent together. We are all accountable together and we are all doing everything in our energy and efforts to put ourselves in the best position to win. “Should we get to the point where any of that changes, you’ll know and we’ll explain why.”

It’s not hard to see why the White Sox have underperformed so far this season despite spending $137 million on free agents.

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The offense has scored the second-fewest runs in the majors while the defense is ranked last in Defensive Runs Saved and Defensive Efficiency. The White Sox pitching staff ranks 25th in the majors with a 4.25 ERA and the team has run into 30 outs on the bases, which is second-worst in the majors.

The White Sox have had a few good moments mixed with a bunch of bad. But it hasn’t been enough for Hahn’s taste.

“I’m not seeing the brand of baseball we want to see on a consistent basis,” Hahn said. “We’ve had spurts, nice little stretches …

“But it’s been too erratic and when you’re not scoring runs and you’re not catching the ball it is a tough watch. And that’s not who we want to be or who we’re striving to be.”

While Hahn knows his players need to start making plays, he also put some of the onus on the coaching staff and front office as well.

“Communication is key,” Hahn said. “Making sure the right information is available. Making sure the right effort is being put forth. Making sure guys are healthy. Making sure they are getting the support they need in every element of their preparation.

“Ultimately, it is the players between the lines who bear the responsibility for their own performance. We need to make sure we are giving them everything we can from a coaching standpoint and from a scouting standpoint and from an objective analysis standpoint to succeed. We don’t have a lot of control over what happens between 7 and 10, but we have a great deal of control over putting these guys in position to fulfill their potential and we’ve got to make sure we are doing that.”

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