Amid a disappointing start to the season for the White Sox – sitting 7-18 through the first 25 games of the season – the front office empathizes with the fan base surrounding their negative feelings about the team.
"They're not alone. We're upset," general manager Rick Hahn said to the media on Thursday. "We're feeling every emotion in the book ranging from rage to disappointment
"And we've done perhaps the exact opposite of what we set out to do in terms of regaining our fans' confidence and trust in what we're about here. At the end of the day we have to win, that's how we're gonna earn that back."
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Similar to the White Sox, the fans expect a winning ball club out of the South Side. Seeing as the roster is filled to the brim with talent on paper, they should be winning ball games.
Hahn mentioned during the pregame media session he has ongoing, continuous faith in the players in the clubhouse. Nothing has deterred him or the White Sox from believing in the roster they've put together.
Could that change? Of course. But 25 games aren't enough for the White Sox to smack the panic button. They might do something closer to that nature when the trade deadline approaches and decisions need to be made.
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But right now, the Sox are focused on winning the ball games in front of them.
"We can sit here and talk about how it's early, talk about all these other teams that had rough starts and still turned it around. But in the end, it's not gonna matter unless we start winning ball games. And we have the opportunity to start doing that tonight," Hahn said.
The White Sox have lost nine of their last 10 games, getting swept in back-to-back series against the Tampa Bay Rays – who the White Sox currently play at home over the next four days – and the Toronto Blue Jays.
Over the last five games, they've been outscored 36-13, recording six runs and 19 hits. As it stands, they have the sixth-worst offense in baseball and the third-worst run differential.
From Pedro Grifol's perspective, he isn't happy, but his confidence hasn't wavered.
"I'm not happy. But my confidence is not shaken," Grifol said. "Nobody in this clubhouse is happy about it. Nobody in this building is happy about it. But we have 130-something games left. And again, we have guys that have performed here. They're just not gonna not perform.
"The one thing I do know is they care. We all care. We're all here to get better. We have a plan in place to get better today to win a baseball game. We gotta go out and leave it on the field and execute as best you can."
It would take a historical season-long comeback for the White Sox to come remotely close to achieving the goals they set out before the season. The White Sox have never in franchise history made the postseason after being under .500 by 11 games at any point during the season.
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It's early, but it's already looking bleak for the South Siders this season. And they know they haven't earned back the fans in any capacity.
"The focus and commitment remain strong. But when you say 'We need to earn this back on the field,' we know we're doing quite the opposite of that," Hahn said.