Clearance sale, rebuild would be best option for White Sox

The Chicago media market had almost no experience with the World Series before 2005, so the Crosstown Showdown was sort of our surrogate. It generated massive coverage.

There were occasional similarities. As unlikely a World Series hero as Gene Tenace, Denny Doyle or Mickey Hatcher was, who could have foreseen moments of distinction for Mike Caruso, Brant Brown or Chris Snopek in the Crosstown?

And because it took place every season, we were always on the lookout for fresh storylines.

One year, we examined the numbers of the managers, coaches, broadcasters and executives who had played in the big leagues. Ron Santo and Dusty Baker ran the table as career leaders, but Ozzie Guillen (.264) was surprised and delighted to learn he had outhit Ken ‘‘Hawk’’ Harrelson (.239).

‘‘Hawk sits up there and talks like he was Mickey Mantle,’’ Guillen scoffed when apprised of the 25-point disparity.

A provocative recurring feature was the All-City team we chose each year, a position-by-position acknowledgment of which player from which club was having the better season. It was a good talker among the fans, though a player once asked me (in jest, I presume) if he’d be getting anything for being chosen — you know, a certificate, a trophy, maybe a windbreaker.

And Sammy Sosa was so miffed about being passed over for Magglio Ordonez one season that he berated a writer, an unsuspecting scribe from a rival paper who’d had nothing to do with the selections.

His Samminess. With bland now the prevailing color scheme on both sides of town, don’t you kind of miss the big lug?

Just as the Cubs would have been hard-pressed to have much All-City representation during their teardown, the White Sox are similarly bereft this season, save for obvious choice Chris Sale. Maybe Jose Quintana secures the No. 5 starter’s slot behind Sale, Jake Arrieta, Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks, but who else?

Todd Frazier? Not over Kris Bryant. And despite his American League-leading 28 home runs, Frazier’s Mendoza-line batting average would cost him votes. Even if Jose Abreu were having a Jose Abreu season (and he’s not), you can’t pick him over MVP candidate Anthony Rizzo. Shortstop Tim Anderson has added some juice to a team thirsting for it, but Addison Russell’s 55 RBI would rank second on the Sox, and he has been terrific in the field all season.

You could make a case for Melky Cabrera in left field over the relay team the Cubs have been using, but Melky’s 43 RBI have him on pace for about 74, and a middle-of-the-order AL hitter has to do better.

And you could argue for Adam Eaton over underachieving Jason Heyward in right field. But no matter how recklessly Eaton throws himself around, there seems to be an empty-calories aura to his play. A Sox-fan friend offered this: You’re a pretty good team if Eaton is your fifth- or sixth-best player. You’re not very good if he’s your third- or fourth-best, and the Sox right now . . . no need to overstate the obvious.

So what’s next?

There are more imitators than innovators in baseball. The current flavors of the month are a Royals-caliber bullpen and an Ivy League-educated general manager. The Sox are 1-for-2.

Most Sox loyalists rather would be waterboarded than credit the Cubs with a good idea, but the undeniable success of the Cubs’ ‘‘plan’’ prompts calls for a similarly drastic rebuild on the South Side — never mind that the Sox have trouble filling the seats in a good year. Everything must go, including Quintana, Anderson and maybe even Sale. That’s three rock-solid, still-young building blocks, but who else is going to bring back anything of value, Zach Putnam?

Consider this: The Cubs had no Sale-quality assets on hand when they backed up the truck, and the driver who backed it up was new on the job himself. The rebuild began at the top of baseball operations and extended throughout, with Theo Epstein in unfettered control and beholden to no one.

Unless chairman Jerry Reinsdorf suddenly and uncharacteristically alters his business model, a Sox rebuild would be entrusted to the same front office responsible for the current state of the team. The Sox’ patchwork approach struck gold in 2005 but has looked worn and outdated in the decade since.

Baseball being baseball, maybe the Sox rally and take it to the mighty Cubs in the Crosstown. It’s all they’ve got to play for.