That quaint period when John Danks was the Sox’ biggest problem

There was a time, not so long ago, when White Sox fans were in a lather about an issue they thought might bring about the demise of the franchise, if not the planet.

The burning, festering problem was pitcher John Danks. Remember? The Sox had gotten off to a very good start, except for the star-crossed Danks, who never could seem to do anything right. Sox fans, who thought of Danks as the love child of Satan and Ronnie Woo Woo, wanted him out of town immediately. The volume was earsplitting.

The Sox designated Danks for reassignment on May 3. They won that day, raising their record to 19-8. You would have thought it was a snow day for all the celebrating that went on. Guess what? The Sox never came close to that winning percentage (.704) again. Their record since that day is 34-50.

I bring this up now only because it amuses me. Not because I like to see the Sox do poorly or because I want Sox fans to be even unhappier than they already are. And certainly not because the Sox need Danks and his 7.25 earned-run average.

It amuses me how seriously we take things in sports, even an issue as relatively inconsequential as a fifth starter.

You would have thought it was the end of the world that Danks remained with the team as he continued to struggle. As it turned out, the end of the world arrived when the Sox traded for pitcher James Shields, who then got off to a terrible start. Then the end of the world came when the Sox ignored the public pleas for a rebuild and refused to trade Chris Sale.

The next end-of-the-world event should be here any moment now.