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I want to hate this but Bernstein hates it and I'll be damned if I'm going to be in a position of agreeing with him

We live in the United States of America. The very idea that there is compulsory actions that must be taken to properly be labeled as "patriotic" is so anti-American that it hurts. If someone has a cause that they want to get recognized, and feel that kneeling during the national anthem is the way to achieve it, more power to them. Even if I don't like the ideals being espoused, people have the right to do it. No one should have the right to take that away from them. Sure you have professional considerations, in place, but those professionals also have the ability to take their talents elsewhere. And you are already seeing indications of that from a professional black athlete. Even if you don't believe in it, they do. Instead of telling people what they should be allowed to do, maybe you should spend more time listening to people like Tim Anderson when they tell you WHY they kneel, and not buy into some artificial construct designed to distract you from the underlying issues by pitting you against them personally. If Tim Anderson wants to kneel to protest racism, more power to him. If Trevor Bauer wants to kneel to protest BLM, more power to him as well. NO where in this country is compulsory patriotism a thing.

Kinda like your time on this board?

A requirement of a manager is absolutely to not tell a player from an oppressed group how he should express himself and/or protest. Glad we could clear that up.

Shut up, Greg.

The last 2 managers Hahn have hired are Ventura and Ricky. Maybe it is better that he didn't make the hire.

So just checking in. Looks like Fathom has reached the acceptance stage. I commend you, man. I'm dying to get there too.

Even for you weirdos who like this move, there was absolutely 0 leg work done on this. Your 800 year old owner had his mind made before even pretending to go through this process. This is what this fuckin organization always does and it's just infuriating.

And North Koreans are taught that their dear leader shoots an 18 in a round of golf. The pledge of allegiance is propogandist BS. There's no difference between a human born in America and born in Colombia; the person born in America isn't superior because of some piece of fabric. They don't have a "right" to the flag, or a right to tell people how to express their pain and suffering. To, at this point, be against kneeling is flat out racist. You can deny it all you want, but it's simply not true. The troops and military DO NOT own the flag; they have explained repeatedly that they are not disrespecting the military. Kaep even asked a decorated military official the best and least offensive way to protest. I said it before but willful ignorance does not excuse bigotry. Period, end of story. Freedom is for all. People hated how Malcolm X protested; they hated how MLK protested. They ask for peaceful protests and when they are given that, they ask for protests that white people approve of. It's complete nonsense. It's an excuse to degrade a movement.

Stars and scrubs team at the top of their budget that just needs a few pieces to scrape into the playoffs? Sounds like a job for Rick Hahn.

On the bright side, Guaranteed Rate now has a slam dunk crossover to endorse reverse mortgages.

I am so happy. Tony LaRussa back where he belongs ... with the Chicago White Sox. Folks, our team is in the best hands to win multi WS titles. Hopefully the cards will fall right, no pun intended, and we bag 2-3 titles. Tony LaRussa!!! What an early Christmas/Halloween/Tgiving present. Great news amid a horrific Covid year! Trust me, people. You will be happy with this move. Sox will use analytics but have a pure baseball mind to not be beholden to all moves suggested to him. Celebrate people. Barring bad luck (injuries, etc) we are the champions (not saying next year, but it's coming).

On record, f@ck this move and JR for making it happen. This is the absolute worst hire we could have possibly made, and that includes Hinch, Guillen, Ricky, and any other real candidates for the job.

You saw the way he responded to being called “my guy” and the proceeded to call him sensitive and address him as “bud” and “champ”? You’re instigating just to instigate. You’ve got some respect issues.

Tony La Russa is getting a bad rap in some areas. He's not some dinosaur traditionalist. He'll use all the analytics used in the modern game. He always has. I have no doubts that he can manage from the dugout and be fine. He's also dealt with lots of players. If Tony can coach Ricky Henderson, he can coach Tim Anderson. My issue is it essentially would be a short-term commitment. It makes more sense to find a guy that could be here fora decade instead of hiring Tony. Also, regardless of what some posters are willfully choosing to believe, it suggest disharmony in the ranks. Rick Hahn didn't have the end of season press conference, describe his ideal manager, zero in on his buddy AJ Hinch and then be totally fine with the owner swooping in and hiring his buddy. Will Hahn leave? Probably not. There are only 30 GM jobs and he has one but it makes thing even harder to decipher going forward. We never know who is responsible for which moves and that will absolutely continue. At this point, if Jerry wants to run the team, he should get on the phone with the agents and start working on free agent deals and trades. He apparently doesn't need a General Manager. That's my issue. Tony being the manager on a random Tuesday is the least of my issues with this.

I don't really give a shit what you're buying or not buying.

It’s baffling to me that they didn’t even interview Hinch. This organization is such a disaster from top to bottom

Oh f***. I thought it was real. Thanks Jack.

It’s showing up as Golden Girls on my TV Guide

This is uncalled for.

Big fan of this guy now.

Imagine putting in a year to prepare to climb Mt Everest. You train, you work, you spend a month in basecamp to acclimate. You buy tons of expensive equipment. Then we you get past the last camp, mere hundreds of feet from the summit, you tear off your cloths and start making snow angels, suffocate, fall off the mountain and die. Then you get left there as a rotting corpse because it is too dangerous to rescue you after your stupidity. That is our last five years.

Why was Jack Nicklaus not told to shut up and swing a golf club yesterday? Because he's a white athlete who expressed an opinion that the bigots agreed with. Why are black athletes told to shut up and dribble? Because they're black. There are some things in life that are so obvious they can't really be refuted.

This is because context is not a thing in this country. Being against kneeling because you think it disrespects the flag is not racist. As I've said before, Americans are taught since they are 5 to stand for the flag out of respect. It comes across as racist because Black issues are tied into kneeling. This doesn't mean there aren't racists against kneeling, but being against kneeling isn't necessarily racist in itself. Just like I wouldn't call a man sexist because of his views on abortion if it is about the baby and not an issue with a woman's right to choose. If someone's disagreement with kneeling is truly about respect for the country and not about disagreeing with racism, they are not being racist. My problem with TLR is that he said he wouldn't want them on the field at all protesting. He may think the baseball field and anthem is not the spot to protest, but it is anyone's right to do so until baseball bans it (which they would never do).

I'd be cool never seeing barstool Dave here again. We got enough blowhards.

I would have done a legitimate managerial search and chosen the best candidate - not begged a troglodyte to come out of retirement for the comfortable nepotism hire.

When I called my Cubs fan friends to congratulate them after they won the WS.

I can't believe this is how we end our rebuild. It's like waiting years through puberty, finally getting in bed with some girl.... and then promptly punching yourself in the dick.

This fucking franchise actually made me wish it had been Ozzie and that is fucking unforgivable. I'm about as numb as I've ever been as a fan of this team. They are determined to fuck things up any way possible. I said it from the start of the rebuild: we are trusting the same people that drove the franchise into the ground with rebuilding. And now here we are.

The only ones who love this are boomers who are in their golden years and think 80 year olds are just as mentally fit and actionable as 42 year olds. The same people also forget that the accelerator pedal and the brake are two different instruments.

I hate this move so much. I couldn't be more disappointed in this organization.

Such a great call to hire Tony. I was against it until I heard Dan Evans speak about this potential move. He was one of the first to use analytics. He's going to be great for the team. I am all aboard on this move.

Blaming any manager is stupid. What were they supposed to do, unilaterally impose drug testing in direct conflict with the basic agreement?

I'm done supporting Jerry's BS. I'll watch on TV, and go to whatever free games I have via friends and family. Only place a fan can show displeasure is by hitting the teams pocket books.

I love it. I cant wait to watch this board eat crow a year from now

I'm literally sick to my stomach over this. For all the hard work...the seemingly forever of building this young team of studs...for the the patience of a fan base that's waited for a team like this to arrive...for Reinsdorf to absolutely kick everybody in the nuts for his own personal bullshit is a little more than I can fathom. What an absolute kick in the nuts to everybody from Hahn...to the young players...to the fans. Fuck you Jerry!

Everyone talking about this causing "locker room issues" is just talking out of their ass. There is ZERO evidence that it will be the case. LaRussa is well liked.

He's allowed to want to stand for the anthem and he's allowed to think it's the right thing to do but he's not allowed to tell a black person they can't kneel and if they're going to that they have to do it in the clubhouse. That's fuckin bullshit.

Being of the opinion that standing for the anthem is the right thing to do, does not make one a racist. Bernstein is a massive liberal race-baiter. Who cares about his opinion?

I’m not trying to push for more info here, but don’t let a couple haters get you down. The vast majority of us appreciate your reporting on these matters.

Pro: LaRussa won't take Giolito out of an elimination game after 5.1 IP and 73 pitches Con: ........

This is the least surprising post of this thread

Good lord. @fathom was right, this does feel like Tennessee. Can't we just have nice things? I'm telling you they should have just hired Thome. Everyone would be like "it goes against everything hahn said...but hey I love Jim Thome"

Just don't get your heart set on it. I'd hate if you had to move again.

He should just stick to Soxmath.

I'm not exactly sure how people can sit there and say this hire doesn't matter. It clearly does.

It’s crazy to see how many Sox fans on twitter are saying they will stop being Sox fans if they hire TLR. Like seriously, you put up with the last decade of mostly horrific garbage to quit now when it’s going to be good?