Yesterday I met the only man in America (not named Chris Getz) that doesn’t believe Getz was a poor selection for Sox G.M. And while Getz wasn’t responsible for selecting, drafting and acquiring the talent that currently pollutes their ecosystem, he was charged with developing them.
One of my favorites, an under-used sports term is “jettison.” The better sportswriters use jettison in lieu of “cut,” “pink slip,” “fire” or waive. It’s a far more active word as launching one from an aircraft or ship is far more dramatic and indicative of an earned fate.
If Chris Getz really wants to get his owner a WS championship before he dies, he’s going to have to jettison 90% of the current roster and his underlings in player development and scouting.
It’s ironic that his previous bosses did just that with 1/2 the pitching staff and the one guy nobody wanted before he ever donned a Sox uniform, Mike Clevinger who very well might be the best starter on the team this season. Supposedly, when they recently waived him, nobody showed any interest. Objectively speaking: of 20 starts made to date, 9 were quite good-excellent. -2 runs or fewer.
Getz and company will have to decide sooner than later if Clevinger is going to be a part of the 2024 roster. If he isn’t, they’re going to need to find another starter with some experience-gravitas might help as well. I think pitching coach Ethan Katz has lost some credibility and should be jettisoned.
Even for those of us without a rooting interest, watching this soap opera play out in real time should be entertaining if not instructive to future generations of GM’s attempting soft rebuilds.