South Side Sox Reacts: In Defense of the Defense

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across MLB. Each week, we send out questions to the most plugged-in Chicago White Sox fans, and fans across the country.

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According to the latest SB Nation Reacts survey, 80% of White Sox fans are confident the team is headed in the right direction. The survey, asked before the doubleheader sweep in Boston on Sunday, was down from 94% last week and 98% to start the year.

A part of any fan’s confidence in the team is based on how well the team can get outs. White Sox fans have a low level of confidence in the team’s defense.

Defenses around the league are dealing with a couple of changes this season. One change theoretically should help, while the other makes defense more difficult.

After a few years of rising home run totals, the league reportedly made a change to deaden the baseballs used in games. However, if this has happened, fans haven’t yet noticed.

One undeniable change is a carryover from last season, when MLB decided to start each extra inning with a runner on second base. The rule was implemented to increase the likelihood of scoring in extra innings and prevent long, taxing games.

While there is no doubt fans have taken notice of this change, it doesn’t mean they like what they see.

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