As many have quoted, including the adorkable fictional character Ted Lasso, “it’s the hope that kills you.” While Chicago White Sox fans have virtually no hope for their team this year, Justin and Mat Ishbia, the notorious billionaire brothers and the supposed franchise godsends, continue to provide the tiniest amount of hope — even if it’s false.

The Ishbias’ investment in the Sox is back at the top of the Chicago sports gossip pages. Nearly two months after it was confirmed that the Ishbias increased their stake in the team without anything being formally announced, 670 The Score host Matt Spiegel divulged the Sox’s ownership structure on April 14: Justin and Mat own 35%, Jerry Reinsdorf’s sons own 30%, Reinsdorf himself owns 20%, and the limited partners who didn’t sell their shares to the Ishbias own the remaining 15%.

This news is just smoke and mirrors, meant to excite fans even though there are no front office actions to indicate progress into new ownership. The Sox still have the lowest active payroll in the league, and there aren’t a busload of players from Charlotte who will bail out this 4-14 team since the Ishbias became the largest shareholders. All this Ishbia news does is serve as a diversion to distract from the broader issue: The Sox still suck, and Reinsdorf still holds the keys to this sad, disheveled kingdom.

It’s time to end any hope that the Ishbias can miraculously turn this group of players into a playoff-caliber team until Reinsdorf is laid to rest, to put it delicately, or hell freezes over (he sells the team).

Actions speak louder than words, so it’s best to save your hope for something else. In the end, it’ll just make watching the Sox more painful.

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