This former White Sox believes in close friend Getz

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CHICAGO -- Gordon Beckham has a special interest in the Chicago White Sox.

The 37-year-old was the team’s top pick in the 2008 Draft and was immediately viewed as a potential franchise cornerstone. The talented infielder played seven seasons on the South Side and has since done outstanding work as a part-time television broadcast analyst, filling in for Steve Stone on 26 games this season.

He’s also a close friend of Chris Getz, the White Sox general manager. Beckham has an up-close look at a team with 114 losses entering the final 15 games of the season, a team needing to go 10-5 to avoid reaching 120 losses and matching the single-season mark held by the 1962 Mets.

Even with this level of record-setting futility in Getz’s first full season as GM, Beckham believes in Getz as the man to get things right.

“He’s got a lot of work to do, and I think he has a very difficult job to do,” Beckham told MLB.com during a Thursday interview from his Georgia home. “He’s going to have to build this thing from the bottom up. If he can do it, it’s going to be a really, really good story.

“I know the process is there and that’s the thing that gives me hope. There is a process in the room with Chris and [assistant general manager] Josh [Barfield] and the guys below them to where they are going to find a way to get it done.

“But it’s going to take a little time, and you can’t really judge Chris by what’s happened so far,” Beckham added. “You have to judge how he progresses forward and how you should see some sort of stair step improvement. A lot to be decided on his tenure, and hopefully it’s a long one. Listen, he doesn’t have a lot of margin for error, I can promise you that.”

A managerial search is underway, and Beckham provides an interesting option on paper with his knowledge of the game and his knowledge within the game as a one-time top prospect who found a level of high success while also dealing with failure in the spotlight. That hire isn’t likely to happen, with Getz still looking for someone currently in uniform, in another organization.

Beckham isn’t all talk, though. He wants to play a role with Getz in getting things right for the White Sox.

“Not only because I care about Chris, but I just want to see the White Sox be good and Chris just needs people around him that want that as well,” Beckham said. “When he was given the job, a lot of people disliked the hire from [chairman] Jerry [Reinsdorf]. I loved it, because I know who he is.

“He’s talented and has an eye for this stuff. He quit baseball when he probably could have played another three or four years, because he’s thinking, ‘I’m going to get involved with the front office. That’s where I belong.’ I would love to help him out and be a part of the rebuild and hopefully when they are winning again. The White Sox have always kind of been my team.

“They brought me up,” Beckham added. “It’s worth sticking around, sticking it out and finding a way to get this done. It’s not going to happen overnight, but we’ve got to change the culture where this is not a place to come to lose. This is a place to come and thrive and be every bit the player that you want to be.”

In this 15-minute conversation, Beckham highlighted the plethora of impressive young pitching coming through the White Sox system but the need to match that growth offensively. Those moves will happen through the Draft and trades, in an area where Getz can’t miss.

Depth and development are two key words in this far-ranging turnaround guided by Getz.

“Yeah, I do believe he can do that. I wouldn’t be trying to help him if I didn’t,” Beckham said. “Obviously, my help is coming from that longstanding friendship. There’s a process that maybe is a little bit more detailed than it has been in the past and they have an idea of where they want to go.

“I guess the only silver lining is if we can turn this around, it will be a great story. That’s what I keep thinking about.”