The season consisted of such a dog fight with the Guardians in the first half, and finally resulted in the squad coming together and pulling away late. The Tigers actually came out in 2nd by the end of the year, which just shows it's very hard to win games when you don't ever get around to scoring any runs, as Cleveland struggled with.
Even the Royals, paced by Bobby Witt Jr. seemed to come alive a bit late in the year. If not alive, then at least they showed enough to get some fans to the stadium next year. It's clear they are near the beginning of a reset.
Vibes were less good in Chicago, where the White Sox were expected to compete, and potentially win the AL Central, thanks to a good rotation and an emergent core. It didn't hurt that the team finally decided to shake loose of Tony La Russa at the helm for those that saw success for Chicago in 2023.
And then, the season was an unmitigated disaster. Despite the expectations for Chicago and Kansas City, they finished only 5 games apart in the standings. It was so bad that the White Sox are bringing La Russa back (to the front office).
What is the most frustrating aspect of a team whose rebuild didn't work? Like I said, the White Sox had a bunch of prosects that seemed ready to make the jump. I was fearful, as a Twins fan, of the White Sox potential. They stocked up in their trades of Adam Eaton, Jose Quintana and Chris Sale, and really seemed poised to move into a golden era.
But after that promise, some of those prospects just weren't successful, like Yoan Moncada who had a bad season. Eloy Jimenez has never repeated his rookie season, and only seems to get worse in the field. Michael Kopech has never seemed to rein in his terrific stuff. Is it more frustrating that these guys aren't producing as expected?
Or is it more frustrating to watch Luis Robert explode for 38 home runs and realize the hitter he's always been capable of being? Or to have Dylan Cease become one of the top starters in the league, and know that having these two stars reaching their potential just isn't enough? Knowing that the rest of your cast of characters was too mediocre to allow your stars to execute in important moments?
The AL Central was derided for it's mediocrity this season. The Twins proved, at least, that they could compete in the post season, and the Tigers and Royals were about as expected, maybe a bit better. Cleveland wasn't able to maintain their fortune from last year, but the real problem with the division was a White Sox squad that just didn't have it. Now, though, we should know what to expect in 2024.
An uphill battle.
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