This story was excerpted from Scott Merkin’s White Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

SAN DIEGO -- Whenever a friend or family member has reached out to me basically from early May moving forward, the conversation has rarely focused upon my health, my life, whether I have bought a new car (soon), the state of the University of Michigan football or my hopes and dreams.

The interaction quickly moves to one topic: How am I getting through this 2024 White Sox season?

I certainly appreciate the concern. But remember, I’m covering baseball for a living. I love my job, work with tremendously talented people and I don’t get paid by the number of White Sox victories. This 36-117 season has been far tougher on the players, the coaching staff, the front office and, of course, the fans.

Oh, I’ve heard from many fans, who understandably range from agitated to flat out angry. This current team enters the series vs. San Diego just two losses away from tying the ’03 Tigers for the most losses in an American League season in modern baseball history, three losses away from tying the ’62 Mets for the most losses in an MLB season and four away from holding that dubious mark on their own.

You don’t need to cover a team for 22 years to understand that’s bad baseball. Nonetheless, there are stories to be told about what is happening, why it’s happening and how we got here. And there also are good stories to tell beyond the wins and losses.

There was an in-season managerial change for the first time since I’ve been on the beat, aside from Miguel Cairo taking over for Tony La Russa when La Russa took a hiatus to -- thankfully, successfully -- battle cancer in 2022.

Pedro Grifol, who was replaced by Major League coach Grady Sizemore on Aug. 8, sat down with me the day before he left on his final road trip as manager and talked about his ability to handle this job and whether this year will affect him getting other jobs. Grifol had very revealing and honest comments.

Bryan Ramos not only could be an important part of the White Sox latest rebuild, but he also proudly became a United States citizen in ’24.

We’ve had more of a focus on the Minor Leagues, as the White Sox featured playoff teams from Double-A Birmingham and Single-A Kannapolis, with the Cannon Ballers losing the Carolina League championship to Fredericksburg in a deciding Game 3. Those are just a few tales told, not even counting Spring Training, when there was still some level of hope attached to the White Sox.

Yes, it was more captivating to cover the 2005 White Sox, who led from start to finish, winning 99 games and capturing the franchise’s first World Series title in 88 seasons with an 11-1 postseason run. There was more focus on the games at hand, which frankly weren’t as relevant for most of this season.

But this year’s pronounced struggles aren’t about me or any other reporter covering the White Sox, although talking about the losses and the future moves with my friends and colleagues in the press box is a bit of a catharsis. It’s about general manager Chris Getz and the front office doing whatever is needed to not let it happen again.