Look, this frustrating White Sox season is all Tony La Russa’s fault.
Or maybe it’s Rick Hahn’s and Kenny Williams’ fault.
Or is it the players’ fault?
But wait: What about the man who sits at the top of all this? Is it Jerry Reinsdorf’s fault?
In this week’s “Polling Place” — your home for Sun-Times sports polls on Twitter — we asked who’s chiefly to blame if the Sox fail to reach the postseason.
“It’s so easy to pick the owner,” @ShawnaP79 commented, “but this is on La Russa. You see the difference since he has been gone.”
“La Russa is the problem,” @TimothyMccue2 wrote, “but the owner is who put him in charge.”
More voters were in line with the latter take.
We also asked about Notre Dame: Is this going to be a losing season for the 0-2 Irish? And, of course, we asked about Sunday’s Bears-Packers game in Green Bay. Dare we even consider the possibility of a Bears win?
Offered @VerbanEmil, “I’m drunk with hope.”
Bottoms up, and on to the polls:
Poll No. 1: Who is at the top of the blame list if the White Sox fail to make the playoffs?
Time again for this week’s “Polling Place.” Let us hear from you! Selected comments will appear in Saturday's paper.
— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) September 15, 2022
Q1: Who is at the top of the blame list if the White Sox fail to make the playoffs?
Upshot: The front office is getting an undeserved pass, according to @ScottTKennedy, who cites a weaker pitching staff than the Sox had in 2021. The players are the real problem, say @TFroehlig and @raulbarrogan43. Whatever the truth is, the bottom line is the Sox have to win like crazy the rest of the way or else they’ll go down in local history as the frustrating duds they’ve already been for five-plus months.
Poll No. 2: Is Notre Dame — off to an 0-2 start — headed for its first losing season since 2016?
Q2: Is Notre Dame — off to an 0-2 start — headed for its first losing season since 2016?
— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) September 15, 2022
Upshot: Saturday’s home game against Cal shouldn’t — again, shouldn’t — be a problem, but there are so many potential losses left on the schedule. You want us to name them? Fine: North Carolina, BYU, Clemson, USC. Wait, those are just the obvious ones. You’ll just have to take our word for it that there could be some other miserable Saturdays in the mix for the Irish.
Poll No. 3: The Bears are 9½-point underdogs in Green Bay on Sunday. What’s your pick?
Q3: The Bears are 9½-point underdogs in Green Bay on Sunday. What’s your pick?
— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) September 15, 2022
Upshot: Remember that one guy who was drunk with hope? He has lots of company. The Packers have treated the Bears like trash for a good three decades, but voters see a close game coming and — more of them than we can believe — a Bears win at Lambeau Field. We don’t want them to be wrong, mind you, but let’s just say we’re a tad less cautiously optimistic.
