Rozner: The irony of the White Sox in free agency

No good deed goes unpunished.

That might just be what Rick Hahn is thinking after the White Sox GM made a run at Bryce Harper and Manny Machado, only to see half a billion in offers go by the wayside.

The Interwebs are ablaze with anger as Machado chose the Padres and Harper the Phillies, social media running hot with fury as the South Siders came up empty.

The irony is that if the Sox had never flirted with two of the best free agents in baseball history, the fan base would still be where it was when last season ended, generally pleased with the progress of a rebuild after two years and remaining surprisingly patient.

So if you're keeping score at home, Cubs fans are mad that the Cubs didn't even try, and Sox fans are mad that the Sox tried -- and failed.

That's a lot of anger. Welcome to the world of 2019.

If you think back to last September, yes, there was disappointment with the Michael Kopech news -- a significant organizational setback -- and frustration with the number of injuries in the minors during the 2018 season.

But optimism was still the flavor of the day. It was, after all, only two years after a teardown.

The resentment today is understandable given that free agency hopes were raised and doused. Dreams became another nightmare, fans wondering, "If you weren't willing to go all in, why go in at all?"

Maybe the real problem is related to all the talking coming out of Glendale. The less said about such things, the better.

The reality, however, is that the Sox are ahead of schedule in this rebuild. They've promoted some players and have a loaded farm system with some potentially great players on the way.

Yes, it's merely potential. Guess what? That's what a rebuild contains much of, potential. Ask the Cubs, Astros and Royals, to name just a few.

Nevertheless, not that many months ago, White Sox Nation was enjoying the progress and visualizing big things for 2020.

The disappointment is that the dream suddenly included Machado -- Harper was never joining the Sox -- which would have been a big add at third base and answered one very big question.

Assuming Tim Anderson is the same guy who played the last two months of last season, an infield with Machado and Nick Madrigal made the questions about Yoan Moncada seem a lot less important.

Talk about a crucial piece of the puzzle.

Now, Moncada must become the player the Sox expected him to be when they made the deal with Boston, and falling short on Machado has brought Moncada's 2018 season back into focus.

That's not helpful.

But Moncada is 23 with 796 career at-bats. Hardly a career to judge today, though 2019 is a big year for him and the club.

The disappointment in free agency also rests in the limits on how far the Sox were willing to go to sign one of the big names, which is a matter of perspective.

Fans want no limits, which is to be expected, but teams are aware of what happens to most players who aren't pharmaceutically fortified once they reach a certain age or number of reps.

The game is getting younger and most teams have modeled limits on dollars or years. Like it or not, analytics back the clubs on this.

Just so you know, you're preaching to the choir if you believe these are two guys worth paying the price for -- even overpaying for -- as they fit into a very small group of the youngest and most elite free agents ever.

So the Sox took a shot and came up short. It doesn't signal the end of a process that isn't at the halfway mark yet. It's a gut punch, for sure, but the Sox entering this market was a surprise anyway, regardless of what the Sox say about how long ago they planned for this.

White Sox fans are unhappy, but if the Sox get to where they want to be two or three years from now, this entry into -- and exit from -- free agency will be forgotten.

Right now, you have to believe they're sorry they even bothered.