With Jeff Samardzija, David Robertson, Adam LaRoche, Zach Duke and others in the fold, White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper seems to suggests the onus is now on the fans to push the team into the playoffs.

Coop: “I’m hoping our fans are excited. If they are not, there’s something wrong. Now we need them to support us, it’s as simple as that.”

— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) December 9, 2014

When you have to get to US Cellular on the South Side of Chicago, the Samardzija, Roberts, LaRoche and Duke names are not going to be that much more of draw than Abreu and Sale.

The White Sox were 28th in attendance last year, drawing just 20,896 fans a game (but still better than the Indians and the Rays!). The Sox were 24th in 2012 and 2013.