For the Chicago White Sox, their worst start (4-9) since 1997 is a big problem.  In a division with two pretty good teams in Minnesota and Detroit, the Sox have dug themselves into an early hole in the AL Central.  Not that they don't have plenty of time to extricate themselves, but it is at this moment possible cause for concern.

One area of concern that has not been touched on by anyone, and I'm assuming because it is early is the financial impact that this is having on the team.  Unlike their neighbors to the North, the Sox depend on a huge walk-up business to meet their financial goals.  Already reeling from many recession related advertising cancellations, the Sox need fans to visit the ball yard to generate the revenue they need for players. 

Should this team entrench itself in the back of the AL pack and stay there, the Sox will not be a hot ticket.  At least in Wrigley, you have day baseball and a historical ball park.  Should the Sox not be able to draw the way they have the last few years, it will limit their ability to re-sign players like A.J. Pierzynski, whose contract is up at the end of this year.  It will also prevent the Sox from acquiring free agents in the off season and perhaps, if the Sox continue to play poorly and fans stay away, culminate in another infamous White Flag trade.

The bottom line is, well, the bottom line. 

The White Sox have always presented an admirable business model.  If the income isn't there, the team won't spend what it doesn't have.  In fact, White Sox fan number one could take a few lessons from the Chairman on how to stay away from large deficits, but I digress. 

The difference between the past and now is that the Sox currently are saddled with some pretty one sided contracts that most teams wouldn't touch with a ten foot bat.  It's a real catch 22 in that if the players are performing, there is no need to move them, but if their not, no one else wants them anyway.  The only pieces that the Sox could really move are pieces they really don't want to and the pieces they would like to move they're stuck with.  And players who may have potential contract hassles (Bobby Jenks, John Danks) could be moved to adjust next year's payroll downward.

Sox fans, it's up to you.  If you stay away from the ballpark, you hurt the growth and future of your team.  Hopefully, the offense will pull out of their funk and the Sox will play some good baseball.  If not, it's fire sale time, not out of spite but out of necessity.