It’s been a … less than ideal 48 hours for the Chicago White Sox. Which piles on top of a REALLY bad season on the South Side.
But let’s focus on the fallout that’s come out of Tim Anderson’s fight with Jose Ramirez, a brawl that included other Cleveland Guardians and Chicago White Sox players.
Since then, there have been accusations thrown at the White Sox about the chaos — maybe anarchy is the right word to use? — in the clubhouse among the players, which has talk of in-fighting among teammates.
If you need to catch up, we’ve got you. Here’s what we know so far:
This all appeared to start with ex-Chicago pitcher Keynan Middleton
“We came in with no rules,” Middleton said. “I don’t know how you police the culture if there are no rules or guidelines to follow because everyone is doing their own thing. Like, how do you say anything about it because there are no rules?
“You have rookies sleeping in the bullpen during the game. You have guys missing meetings. You have guys missing PFPs (pitcher fielding practices), and there are no consequences for any of this stuff.”
Multiple sources, who corroborated Middleton’s account to ESPN, said a pitcher was seen napping during games as well as skipping fielding practice.
When contacted Sunday night about Middleton’s remarks, the White Sox said they had no comment.
GM Rick Hahn responded
Hahn emphasized that no reliever had been dozing in the bullpen, while adding the White Sox have a position player with a serious sleep disorder who is permitted to take naps in the clubhouse per medical direction.
“I was surprised to see the report this morning,” Hahn said. “At no point during the course of the year had there been a reliever sleeping in the bullpen during that game. That’s just wrong.” …
“Quite frankly, it’s a little bit ironic that Keynan’s the one saying this, because my last conversation with him face-to-face was a week ago in the clubhouse where he sought me out to apologize for his unprofessional behavior Pedro had called him out on,” Hahn said. “At the time I figured that was a one-off.”
There was a report of Yasmani Grandal and Tim Anderson getting into a fight before the All-Star break
The report, from 670 The Score’s Shane Riordan:
Grandal wasn’t in the lineup the day before the All Star break. Wanted to just leave early. Made it very clear. Paraphrasing, TA said: ‘[Expletive] him. If he doesn’t want to be here, I’ll pay for his flight.’ Grandal walked over to TA in the tub and slapped him across the face.
Grandal denied it:
Yasmani Grandal denies the report that he was involved in a physical altercation with Tim Anderson before the All-Star break
(via @NBCSChicago) pic.twitter.com/M5JjVlpkZO
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) August 7, 2023
But Lance Lynn didn't deny there were issues
The former White Sox starter talked about it:
Lance Lynn said he saw Keynan Middleton’s comments about the White Sox’s culture problems
His take: “I was there a lot longer than Key was. He’s not wrong.”
— Jack Harris (@ByJackHarris) August 7, 2023
Lance Lynn seemingly confirms Keynan Middleton's comments on the White Sox culture…
🚨 Watch the full episode here: 🚨
https://t.co/XrC0pBoZns pic.twitter.com/jpQO14hds5— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) August 7, 2023
There's another report of who is a "problem"
ESPN’s Jesse Rogers said it was Grandal, Eloy Jimenez and Yoan Moncada.
.@JesseRogersESPN leaked on ESPN Chicago this morning that Yasmani Grandal, Yoan Moncada and Eloy Jimenez are the alleged main cancers of the 2023 White Sox clubhouse 😬 pic.twitter.com/IBYiX0xcpS
— Calico Joe (@CalicoJoeMLB) August 7, 2023
