Familiarity Breeds Contempt: Chris Getz Named White Sox Senior VP/GM

It was almost one year ago to the day that I penned a piece asking a very direct question about the nature of Project Birmingham.

Now, you didn't necessarily need to be a rocket scientist (or study rocket appliances) to connect some dots beginning last August. In fact, the whispers surrounding Getz moving up the chain within the White Sox organization haven't really been whispered that quietly for well over a year now. Many within the fan base didn't question if, so much as when this would take place. Well, that time is now.

One thing that can be said for the move is that Getz should have a more clear understanding of what talent is in this organization better than anyone. That isn't really an endorsement – just a statement of fact. I'm sure he clearly has his own vision for what players at all levels will fit into his framework going forward.

Some could view that firsthand understanding as a benefit; however, when you were the individual overseeing one of the weakest farm systems in the sport, you don't get any benefit of the doubt.

Path Of Least Resistance

A little over a week ago, we had hope that this organization would turn over a new leaf. Instead, we have gotten more of the insular, same-old White Sox from Jerry Reinsdorf. The decision to hire an internal candidate should make it very clear to everyone once and for all who the real problem is.

Jerry Reinsdorf doesn't want change. He doesn't want to have his baseball convictions that he's held since he bought the team four decades ago to be challenged. Even though those convictions have resulted in one of the least successful ownerships since he acquired the club, particularly over the last 15 years. 

Reinsdorf clearly does not subscribe to Einstein's theory that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again, expecting different results. If he truly cared about the depths to which the White Sox continue to sink on a daily basis, he would've cleansed this organization entirely from top to bottom. He would have removed any and all traces of the past regime and its failures. Instead, he opted to rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic because it was quick and convenient.

There is nothing about the tenure of Chris Getz overseeing the Sox minor league system that suggests he deserves to be the head decision-maker for a Major League Baseball team. Jerry Reinsdorf is the lone owner who would give Getz this opportunity at a time when his organization needed to be revitalized and completely overhauled.

Yet, we are stuck with a holdover from a previous regime of failure. A holdover that has played an integral role in this organization's inability to develop impactful talent at the big-league level.

Jerry Reinsdorf could've done something bold. He could've conceded that his business model is broken and needs to be changed. He could've looked to successful organizations like the Braves, Dodgers, Rays, or Astros for an outside voice to come in and complete a desperately needed overhaul across all levels of the organization.

He chose, however, to entrust the keys to the entire kingdom to a man who failed in his singular area of focus. That might make sense on some planets, this just isn't one of them. It is just another shining example of how out of touch Jerry Reinsdorf is today. But at 87 years of age, I guess it is too late to teach an old dog new tricks.

Sure, Getz will serve as the sole decision-maker for the organization going forward, which is a necessary departure from the Kenny Williams/Rick Hahn regime that has brought this franchise into the abyss. However, while the idea is the correct one, the execution cannot be described as anything but typical, uninspiring White Sox business.

The hiring also shows a greatly flawed process that has become a hallmark of the organization. The hope was that the team would look to external voices to try to learn how to compete in the modern game. Instead, we had the White Sox media mouthpiece, Bob Nightengale, telling us almost immediately that Getz was the man who would get the job.

It shows us that this team will truly not venture outside the box until there is an ownership change, something most of us feared. The decision to not even look at outside perspectives, minus the league-mandated ones we will surely hear about after the fact, clearly demonstrates that there is no deviation from the current course no matter how frequently it fails. Sure, the driver might change, but he will be just the next person in line to go behind the wheel with nothing but a blindfold, a hope, and a prayer.

Growing Angst

The decision to elevate Chris Getz, an individual who is undeserving of such a promotion, is just another in a long line of gut punches that the White Sox fan base has had to endure in recent years. The abject failure of "The Rebuild" is on display for all to see. The lead architects of that failure have finally been shown the door, only to have their junior associate get a promotion for his part.

For a fan base that was so desperate for positive news, this was not what we were looking for at this time. In many ways, Getz already has a negative PR image among fans because of his failures in overseeing the club's minor-league operations. For the few that say "at least he isn't Hahn or Williams," that will only last so long. Asking an individual to oversee all aspects of a major-league franchise when he wasn't successful in one small sector of the operation is not a winning proposition, in my view.

Sure, Getz could make me eat these words in due time. In fact, I want nothing more than for that to happen. I want nothing more for Chris Getz to be a competent GM and show that he should've been given this opportunity sooner. But I don't have any real reason to believe that is going to happen, sadly.

I along with so many in the fan base have been conditioned to expect more of the same, and for things to continue getting worse until Jerry Reinsdorf's reign of terror reaches its conclusion. In some ways, it's not fair to Chris Getz that he has this thrust upon him from a fan base whose vitriol goes much higher than him. However, he is now the public face of the organization and the man whose name will be attached to every move from this point forward.

We should've known better. We should've known that Jerry Reinsdorf would take the easy way out. We should've known that meaningful change will only happen when he is gone. I hope Chris Getz proves me wrong, but as Slipknot once famously said, "All Hope is Gone" as long as there is no change at the very top.