If you’re going to have a horrid season, you may as well make it a record-setting one. After tying the 1962 New York Mets for the most losses in a regular season with 120, the Chicago White Sox will likely lose one of their final six games to set the new modern-era record for baseball futility.

If you were a fantasy baseball player, you surely streamed many a starting pitcher against the White Sox this season. Not only did fantasy teams benefit from the ineptitude on the south side of Chicago this year, but so did their real MLB counterparts.

And unlike the White Sox, the Toronto Blue Jays have a shot to win the first overall pick in next year’s draft lottery. So, at least the Blue Jays will get something for all their pain and suffering this year. The White Sox? Not so much.

Looking across to the suddenly sexy AL Central playoff race, it got me pondering whether the four non-White Sox teams in that division are getting fat by feasting on the Central’s cellar dweller.

Due to the balanced schedule, the Guardians, Royals, Tigers and Twins have benefited from playing the White Sox 13 times. Even some teams outside the Central have buoyed their win total thanks to the ChiSox.

For the Blue Jays, if ever there was a season that screamed “division realignment,” this would be it.

No shocker here: the Twins, Royals and Tigers have at least 10 percent of their 2024 win total against the White Sox, with the Twins’ 12-1 and Royals’ 12-1 records leading the way. And at 9-1 against the White Sox, the Tigers aren’t far behind.

With three games against the White Sox later this week, Detroit’s postseason fate could be determined by how they finish against one of the worst teams in MLB history, which makes that White Sox-Tigers series a must-watch affair this weekend for fans of baseball chaos.

The Blue Jays went 5-1 against the White Sox this year, outscoring them 33-14 in their six contests. By virtue of facing them fewer times, the Blue Jays didn’t pad their winning percentage by beating up on a doormat because, spoiler alert, they were the doormat this year.

Back before this iteration of the Baltimore Orioles became a perennial contender, the Blue Jays made it a habit of punishing their feathered friends in the AL East. 14 of their 91 wins in 2021 came against the Orioles (15.38%), so the Blue Jays are familiar with having a weaker brother in the division.

Knowing what we know now, any Jays fan would prefer avoiding the Twins in the AL Wild Card series last year, but as the weakest division winner, that was the matchup most people preferred. The Astros are the AL division leader with the lowest winning percentage, but the second Wild Card team might prefer to face the Guardians instead of the Astros.

As great as the resurgence of the Kansas City Royals has been for baseball, their records (along with a few of their division mates) look a little suspect against winning teams. The Royals are 47-55 against teams above .500, the Tigers are 49-51 and the Twins are 42-60.

When your team is gearing up to head into the postseason, when you’re facing the best of the best heading into the Fall Classic, those numbers look a little scary for the Royals and especially the Twins.

Of all the remaining playoff contenders, I’d have to say the Twins are the closest thing to a “fraud,” but it’s not their fault they face bad teams all the time, and they just don’t play well against good teams. Having said that, watch the Twins squeak into the playoffs and go all the way to the World Series because, baseball chaos.

Call it a hunch, but I think this is partially why the Royals loaded up this offseason, spending $110 million in free agency, which was the sixth-highest total in MLB. Combined with their $288.8 million contract extension for Bobby Whitt Jr., the Royals’ front office saw a window of contention and capitalized.

Meanwhile, the Twins operated like a small market team, spending $7.7 million in free agency and acquiring only Trevor Richards at the trade deadline. One team is going for it, while the other is just treading water.

Looking over to the Central, that’s what should make Blue Jays fans a little more optimistic about the future than some of their brethren in the American League. This organization spends money, they are active in trade and free agency, and if the Blue Jays make a big move by extending Vladimir Guerrero Jr., it will send a clear message that this club wants to win not just next year, but several years beyond.

As the regular season wraps up, considering in some cases, close to 15% of AL Central teams’ wins have come against the White Sox, I’m not confident about any of those teams lasting beyond the ALDS.