South Side Hit Men

There are things far more important than winning a game. Respect, dignity, honor. I rather the White Sox tank for basic human decency to remove this cancer from the organization and professional baseball than to move up a few draft slots as they did a few years ago.

I don’t agree. Totally believable with Jerry Reinsdorf and Tony LaRussa involved. The White Sox could literally have dozens of better candidates wanting to manage, setting aside Tony’s habitual criminal behavior, yet Jerry demanded Hahn fire Renteria and hire this disgusting drunken scumbag. If LaRussa is managing the team to start the season, I literally hope they lose every single game until this criminal piece of shit is flushed down the toilet. And don’t pay this racist drunk driving asshole a penny, pull the professional conduct clause and terminate him immediately, if not sooner. Regime change begins at home. RESIGN IMMEDIATELY JERRY REINSDORF, YOU HAVE LOST ANY SHRED OF MORAL AUTHORITY TO LEAD THIS ORGANIZATION FOR ONE SECOND FURTHER.

@WriteSox Fuck Jerry Reinsdorf forever.

I didn’t want this criminal scumbag driving on the streets of Chicago before this report. He needs to resign immediately. Same as it ever was. LaRussa last publicly known DUI before this latest DUI.

Among people alive today, Keith Richards is the clear favorite to break Methuselah’s longevity record and make it to the year 3000. That said, I never thought Jerry would have made as Chairman for forty years, and I would be less surprised if Jerry remained chairman of the Chicago White Sox decades from today, with continued advances in science. I agree it’s unlikely LaRussa will be with us by the time Abreu is eligible for Veterans Committee consideration, but Jerry will have others among his clique to do his bidding, perhaps possible future Veterans Committee HOF inductees Paul Konerko or A. J. Pierzynski, and Harold.

If Jerry and Tony stay alive long enough, they may get him through the back door in like they did Harold Baines. My favorite all time player, not a HOF career however.

The Commander was one of three people I ever asked for an autograph at Northwest Federal Savings Bank, a few years after he left for Oakland and then retired. Ernie Banks (at the same venue) and Carol Alt (at the Old Chicago Stadium - waiting for her husband from the god forsaken Rangers) were the two others. The station's radio signal is blasted straight your way, some people in the far western suburbs complain the signal can be spotty at times at night. We get Toronto's AM 740 and French Canadian broadcasts via AM 860 here on clear evening nights. Yankees Public Address Announcer Bob Sheppard, aka The Voice of God", can be heard at the start of the linked "Voice of Labor" broadcast below. Yogi Berra scored the only run of the game with his 6th inning home run. SoxTalk only existed in bars and basements during this time, it was universally agreed Rick Renteria was at fault for the loss. Steve Stone said it was "Ricky's Choice" to pitch to Yogi while playing catch in Euclid.

LaRussa is damned because his actions and statements over the decades, including last week. LaRussa was not asked if he was a racist, yet that is how he answered a question regarding his previous statements on protests. Instead of offering examples of how HE changed and learned to be more tolerant or changed his opinions over time, he said go ask those black people over there if I'm racist. It said a lot regarding his mindset and "thought" process. No amount of PR coaching can prevent these types of statements, especially at his age and temperament. It's the reason Tony is unwilling / unable to reach out to players or speak to media not employed by MLB since his hiring announcement. Yet Tony had plenty of time to speak out multiple times about how wrong it was for blacks to speak out on issues and protest, as recently as 2020 Black History Month, and then tripling down by stating several times during the Zoom conference he would deem whether a player is sincere and worthy of speaking. Tea Party supporters invading Diamondback Stadium, sure that's a protest Tony can support without qualifications. Tony LaRussa is a crony hire who has no business managing or being the public face of any MLB club, especially THIS ball club, especially in 2020. It's why 95% + of this board and fans across the country is absolutely disgusted with this hire.

Perhaps Tony has, not in reality but in his own mind.

Hope they can convert Eloy to DH or 1B ASAP, to keep him healthy and productive. Eloy's health and fielding challenges are due to a lack of ability to play Left Field, despite his best efforts and strong work ethic trying to improve to fill a enormous hole for the White Sox. Despite protestations by @ChiSox1917 for POC he disapproves of / does not meet his standards as giving a "minimal effort", Eloy cares about his team and it is widely known and documented Eloy works hard to be the best player he possibly can achieve. His hitting is undisputed, his personal sacrifice to fill a position the White Sox currently cannot fill without him is to be commended. Hope Tony LaRussa does not "stifle" Eloy like Archie Bunker stifled his wife Edith, when LaRussa evaluates and speaks of Eloy in Spring Training and beyond.

The top current front office leaders have zero baseball playing experience. Andrew Friedman and Matthew Silverman have no baseball experience, yet both lead the lowest payroll team to continued success, the former to continued annual excellence with the high payroll Dodgers. Fans of Rick Hahn will note he also had no professional baseball experience. Would say playing experience would help a manager empathize with what a player is experience, but it's apparent Tony LaRussa does not empathize with any players unless they obey and adhere to his viewpoint and dictates. I didn't hear him acknowledge HOF players like Ozzie Smith, or excellent players like Ron Gant, when he referenced "black people I managed" during his pathetic hiring press conference. Successful modern day managers are able to navigate the dictates / directives of the Front Office, while accommodating the personal and professional needs of players. I like Rick Renteria, didn't always agree with his decisions, but also was aware some of his decisions, but despite Steve Stone's pithy tweets, these decisions were not Rick Renteria's alone, and in some vital instances may not have been his at all. Those that worked Renteria did not get credit for, those that didn't the Chicago media and most posters here assigned 100% blame to Rick Renteria. Rick Renteria lead his team to the Chicago White Sox' best season in fifteen years, despite the fact he didn't have the experienced deep Starting Pitching staff Ozzie was fortunate to manage in 2005. Rick Renteria brought the White Sox to a playoff appearance, the extent Tony LaRussa did during his much longer tenure with the team. Ozzie didn't advance ever beyond the single season, yet people think he was/is a great manager. My post has exceeded the length for those who cannot or refuse to read more than 10 words per week by three paragraphs, unless they support pre-existing beliefs, but it is accurate.

Rick Renteria and Rick Hahn consulted on personnel. If anything, it will take more of an effort by Tony to consult with the Front Office, a significant adjustment to his previous gigs, and hopefully not try to do an end around to Jerry based on his personal relationship. Many here act as though Rick Renteria had Carte Blanche control over everything, and Hahn was an innocent bystander with little to no input. The playoff lineups and Game Three Opener scheme was a joint decision, or Hahn’s call if Ricky objected. With a short season, and few alternatives, it made sense to try to salvage Parrot. Rick couldn’t unilaterally bench him. Mazara was injured and there were other injuries including Eloy’s trying to play OF so not many options. Hell, Nicky Delmonico was a top three option at one point based on injuries. They also didn’t want to star the clock on Vaughn, will not likely start it next year until they can lock in six years of control, at least under the current CBA. What we cannot say is whether it was Hahn’s call to make a change at manager, or if Jerry stated he wanted LaRussa sometime during the season and Rick was instructed to make it happen. Ricky Renteria is not going to cry to the press like Ozzie would/did, about what transpired. Hahn just extended Renteria 63 games ago. Rick continued with the plan and managed the team under trying circumstances to their best record since 2005.

Very interesting story, though it seems the pension scheme for coaching is inherently unfair by limiting pension eligible coaches to four, and not having clear rules (seniority, top four coaching positions on an organization chart, etc.) versus discretionary selection as to which four of the several on-field coaches are entitled to pension benefits. It is rare to see a pension program where not all members of a designated class of employee are covered, even more so that senior management has discretion as to which coaches are covered. A better pension program covers all on-field full time coaches, fully funded by the team as a total compensation package.

Leaving the election out of it, these awards are voted on through year end, and they should all be announced during the playoffs/world series when you have the broadest / highest baseball attention span. The hard core fans are the only ones interested at this point, anyone else glances over them at best. The NHL is the only other sport that does it this way, and they are not known for any marketing savvy. The NBA and NFL announce their MVPs and other awards during the playoffs, with the NFL naming their HOF inductees Super Bowl weekend to maximize exposure. MLB should also have their HOF ceremony the day after the All Star Game, vs. a few Sundays later slated opposite a full schedule of MLB games.

I haven’t heard it either, have heard of these two Bernstein incidents. Never heard Holmes referred to as “creepy” before. If we had a poll here who was creepier, Bernstein or Holmes, I’d wager there would be a similar landslide for Bernstein as there was for SoxTalk posters voting Hinch/Other over LaRussa. Getting back on topic, I am looking forward to the announcement of the broadcasting team.

Bernstein is arrogant, painful to listen to, sanctimonious, and should have gotten shitcanned for his breast tweets a few years ago. The whole station is a dumpster fire, if it weren’t for the internet clips isolating White Sox discussion from the 95% Bears / Bullshit, wouldn’t listen at all. ESPN is even worse. Wonder if Carmen will get another shot at the Apple, in reference to the 2005 interview linked below. https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2005-04-06-0504060365-story.html

Yes, I think I got better as the short season went on, but there was some growing pains for sure. I do like analytics mixed in with "old school" perspective. I think the pair can improve over time, They had a weird and difficult short season to get up to speed, with road games broadcast via visiting team feeds on monitors. It had to be difficult at times just to ensure the technology worked. They weren't annoying to me at least, whereas Benetti and Stone's shtick at times is annoying when I watched via the internet feed.

I hope Laurence Holmes makes it over to the station as well, either as PBP and or a host. He's the only regular host left I listen to on The Score (Matt Spiegel is good covering baseball). Don't listen to sports radio otherwise, beyond select WSCR clips online covering the White Sox. Andy Masur seemed to improve over time, though I did miss Farmer. Would assume D.J. is returning. Dave Wills returning to Chicago would be nice as well. Plenty of good broadcasters should want to cover the White Sox over the next few years, assuming the pay is market rate.

He has 324 times minimum plus Spring Training to speak to the mostly lapdog Chicago media. If he can't face them more than once before March, it will definitely be an issue. He will assuredly slip in his "Deep Thoughts, by Tony LaRussa", unless the club restricts access to maybe once a series or week, and or has handlers there to shut down any questions or answers that make him or the club look bad. I'm not sure Hahn and Kenny had a say firing Renteria, or hiring LaRussa. They extended Ricky 63 games ago, and he managed them to their best record in 15 years. I hope Ricky wins Manager of the Year, and can be hired elsewhere. He did everything that was asked of him. Not sure if he'll ever know. Not sure if he'll make it to March either. Hell, in the 2000s, he didn't know the alphabet. The last time he managed, he didn't know how to use a telephone, or at least that was his excuse as to why he blew (no pun intended) Game 5.

Steve will bite his tongue when it comes to Jerry’s guy. Like LaRussa, nobody else is going to hire Stone after this gig is up. Ditto Frank and Ozzie, hawking penis pills won’t pay the bills. Tony has always been thin skinned and sensitive to any objective criticism, consistent with his level of entitlement and privlege as a crony hire. Tony has swung fungo bats at reporters with questions regarding steroids. He confronted announcers as recently as a few years ago when they mentioned his well known history of retaliation/ bean ball wars, another toxic LaRussa trait I dread watching with his return.

Had a great season this year, brought the team as a whole around well despite lack of starting pitching depth. Several players have praised the job Ricky performed after the season, and after the firing. Still haven't heard from a single player entering Day Six of the Crony LaRussa hiring. https://www.mlb.com/news/2020-bbwaa-awards-finalists Renteria: After a 10-win improvement from 2018-19, Renteria helped the White Sox return to the postseason in '20 for the first time since '08. Though Renteria and the White Sox parted ways after the season, Renteria is still receiving consideration after leading the White Sox to a 35-25 (.583) mark -- their best winning percentage since the '05 championship season.

Some one asked LaRussa during the hiring press conference whether he spoke to Tim Anderson, and he stated he did not talk to any players. In other news, MLB announced this evening Rick Renteria is a finalist for AL Manager of the Year.

This coming from someone with an ignorant political signature (I thought no politics were allowed on the board). An ignorant poster who states Moncada stuffs his face with 50 twinkies a week (a story from 2015, not a God Damned thing he is doing today) or "can't play through minor bumps and bruises", when it was obvious to anyone with a brain Moncada played the entire season in severe pain and health limitations including the ability to breathe due to COVID symptoms. You're the same Karen who wet their bed the entire season in game threads, posting endless ignorant comments regarding yelling at players as the correct way to manage. I'm linking this video specifically for you, so that you understand why all of MLB, including White Sox staff, the entire media not paid by JR, and baseball fans on this board and throughout the city are critical of this reprehensible hire. Listen and observe the pain in Kenny Williams's voice throughout the interview. For those who don't have 34 minutes, click the 10:50 mark to address criticism Kenny received from his white friend, perhaps his friend is Karen LaRussa, regarding Colin Kapernick, with the same ignorant opinions Tony LaRussa spewed 4 years ago, and again during Black History Month this year. "The same person who asked that question about what it is like to be Black, that same person I said two years ago. When Colin Kaepernick took a peaceful knee, not protesting our military, as it was portrayed, just some of the things you are seeing now. Police injustice and brutality. And I said "Listen, whether you agree or not, be careful. Because no group in the HISTORY OF MAN has ever been oppressed to the degree they felt like; are discriminated against. To the degree they felt like they had to take the initiative to protest in the first place, and to get it out there, and make their cases heard." No one group has ever reacted well to being told when, where and how to protest. You do that, it's a recipe for disaster." And now Kenny Williams has this reprobate worming his way back to the organization. Jerry has had to find employment for Tony as though he was a child his entire life, passing him off to Oakland before shit-canning his ass in the 1980s, and placing him with Jerry's owner friend in Arizona when Tony was too old to manage a decade ago. Crony LaRussa fit NONE of Rick Hahn's well thought out criteria for the next manager. No recent experience, not a modern manager familiar with analytics. Crony LaRussa's idea of "analytics" is hiring his Veterinarian pal of 35 years with no mathematical or analytical background as director of baseball analytics and research. Because Tony LaRussa and his pal have been the beneficiary of cronyism and privilege their entire life. They know no other way, and worse they are unsympathetic to those who have not been handed the same privilege in life, even though they are far more qualified. No other team in MLB was ever interested in Tony LaRussa managing over the past decade. There is only one team and only one reason he was handed the job on a platter, without any legitimate interview process. That is how cronyism works, the hallmark of a Jerry Reinsdorf organization. it's sad that a team which should be climbing the mountain of success is now divisive and backtracking due to self-inflicted wounds. Sad, pathetic, and par for the course. PS - Plays don't get more sloppy than this, thank you Tony for your well oiled machine. Tony was totally outclassed by Baltimore's rookie manager, and it went all downhill after that until Tony was ushered out and people were hired to clean up Reinsdorf's original mess.