South Side Hit Men

Based on how this all went down, there's a possibility Jerry reached out to Tony in September, though publicly they are going to say nothing transpired until after they dismissed Renteria. Basing this on the harshness of Guillen, Thomas and Stone's comments during the final week of the season and playoffs. I don't recall even Harry and Jimmy ever being as critical of a manager. I don't expect a single word of public criticism from the trio toward LaRussa, regardless of what transpires during his tenure, unless the Chairman issues another smoke signal. The White Sox had at minimum 1-2 weeks plus to come up with better spin, and more importantly, reach out to key players like Tim Anderson, Jose Abreu, Lucas Giolito and allow conversations with Tony, and be available for conversations with Rick and Kenny, before the roll-out. There was no rush to announce this, as there was the single legitimate candidate with no interest in anyone else. I don't recall a Front Office managerial/coach hire announcement from any team that was so unenthusiastic. Hahn sounded like a close relative died. Then you have Tony having to deny being racist, never a good sign. Perhaps there will be player outreach this week. Jerry may not care, but I imagine Kenny and Rick care, since they invested years to get to this point, and based on reports there is a high level of internal strife across the entire organization over this hire. Also, we don't necessarily know whether Kenny and or Rick had any say on either side of this equation (Renteria or LaRussa). Posts here addressed Hahn having his hands tied. However, I haven't read posts addressing Kenny Williams. Kenny has been a prominent proponent and activist in terms of civil rights and addressing racism over the years, including an extensive interview this year after the June protests. It had to be a hard pill to swallow for Kenny to bring in Tony LaRussa, especially after all that transpired this year. https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/white-sox/white-sox-executive-ken-williams-opens-about-personal-history-facing-racism

Yes, modern day managers are there to write out a lineup card, make pitching changes, and adhere to front office dictates on player utilization. They are not the player's father, or in Tony's case great great grandfather. They are not there to dictate how a player should "speak" or "think" outside of conveying baseball fundamentals / strategy. It's not the manager's role to determine whether a player is "sincere" in their personal believes, or to assess or grant a player "permission" to live as an adult based on Tony's whims, beliefs, or experiences during his 20s in the Jim Crow South. The days of Massa Tony dictating what players can say, think, or believe, and what they can do outside of actual game performance are long gone. It's been a very very very long time away from experiencing the day to day of a clubhouse. Based on the press conference answers given, it doesn't appear this reality has sunk into Tony's head yet, but brain synapses slow when one reaches this stage of atrophy. However, that mindset must change by Spring Training, or you can start printing "Tony's Boys Done Quit" tee-shirts to reflect the toxicity of imposing "old school" mentality to "fix" a player, a slump, or a ball club. Lot's of inane comments in game threads imploring Ricky to "yell and scream" at players, or have then run laps until they drop. A select few here may want that, but it isn't happening or you may see Tony shit-canned a second time mid-season.

What does the D stand for? DUI? Depends? Dementia?

Also released during Tony LaRussa's tenure with the White Sox. I feel like Martha Quinn tonight.

Actually, Tony also has trouble operating a phone. Not sure if Western Union still does telegraphs. Here is a link to one of Tony's "senior moments", ten years ago, which Tony chalked up to "phone issues" after completely blowing Game 5 of the 2011 World Series. https://www.espn.com/mlb/playoffs/2011/story/_/id/7145762/tony-la-russa-bad-call Unrelated to phones, but on the subject of the process, I couldn't find a transcript of the Rick Hahn 10/12 Press Conference posted online or here. However, transcribed below are the exact words of Rick Hahn when he stated the criteria for the next manager. Unfortunately for Rick, Kenny, and everyone else who works for or likes the White Sox, none of it was followed. Emphasis SSHM's in bold. "I don't think I'm going to get into too much detail in terms of specific attributes. I don't want to say anything that's going to influence what we hear from any candidates when we go though this process. I will say that this is an opportunity for us as an organization. We've obviously been somewhat insular in terms of our managerial hirings over the last several years. This is an opportunity for us to speak to individuals with other organizations that have had success, and learn from them, and get their sort of outsider objective perspective on our organization. Ultimately, I think the best candidate, or the ideal candidate is going to be someone who has experience, with a championship organization, in recent years. Recent October experience with a championship organization would be ideal. But we're going to keep an open mind, and, you know, over these next several weeks we will diligently pursue who's on our list and go from there. " Hahn's was asked if managerial experience was a prerequisite in the search and how an understanding of metrics is going to matter. "Managerial experience is probably ideal. It's not essential, we're not going to unduly limit ourselves. I believe six of the eight managers that are still playing as of last week were in their first jobs. Obviously, we've seen others within our division, Rocco Baldelli did a wonderful job with Minnesota his first job, his first chance in the big chair. So we're not going to cut off any avenues, but ideally having that October managerial experience would be a plus. As for being a modern manager, yeah that's going to be important. Having an understanding of the clubhouse, the rhythm of the game. A good gut feel, but at the same time being able to balance that with modern analytics is a plus for any candidate. But again, I don't want to go too far down the path of laying out traits of what we are looking for, because that could potentially color how the conversations go when we get in a room with a candidate. But those are sort of the broad strokes." Either before, during or after Rick stated the words above, Jerry Reinsdorf, not Rick Hahn, took it upon himself that very same day to reach out to Tony LaRussa and inquire about his interest. The White Sox hired him shortly thereafter, with former White Sox player Willie Harris the only other candidate the team formally met with to cover the "Bud Selig Rule". I hope Willie gets a White Sox Ambassador job for complying with the perfunctory interview. Will close full circle with a music video tie-in to Tony's phone troubles, which was released when Tony LaRussa was still wearing a White Sox uniform in 1985. Has definately aged better than Tony.

My thoughts were and are with my grandfather. He was born in 1918, stayed with me overnight on a cold September Friday evening in 1983 at Comiskey Park to purchase $6 SRO tickets for the ALCS Games 3 and 4 on sale Saturday morning. He brought me to numerous White Sox games over the years and died in 1998, with the 1959 AL Pennant the closest he came to celebrating a White Sox World Series championship. I'm sure a lot of us have similar stories. Experiencing the joy and memories over the years was what it made it a special moment for fans. I was very fortunate to be able to attend the home playoff games in 2005. Win or lose, it is the memories with friends, family, and at times complete strangers over the years you cherish most, but it was sure sweet to finally see the White Sox finally win it all.

And with all that cheating, pills and syringes, and with the self proclaimed genius Tony LaRussa entering three World Series as a heavy favorite, he managed to lose 2 out of 3, one to a team reduced to one Ace pitcher and a crippled pinch hitter, the other to a nazi swastika wearing KKK owner and her favorite dog running the show. Also lost to the rookie Orioles manager here in 1983. Tony did improve and learn over time, and did an excellent job over the last six years with the Cardinals, though credit must also be given to Walt Jocketty and the solid MLB and ML foundation he built for those teams. For the record, Hinch did not establish or even support the scheme. The players and one or more coaches started it. Hinch learned of it and tried to stop it when he destroyed the monitor used to relay the signals. The front office and owner (who denied knowledge) supported the scheme, overruled Hinch's objections, and bought a monitor to replace the one Hinch destroyed to keep the scheme going.

I wouldn’t consider Ozzie for manager, but the one valid defense for his resignation or “quitting” was the fact Kenny Williams undermined him and the organizational structure when Kenny worked around Ozzie to extend Don Cooper’s contract without his knowledge or input. Ozzie quit once he found out what transpired. Ozzie should have taken the high road and stayed the final two games, for his legacy and for the players he was paid to lead. His anger/disappointment with how that played out was legitimate, his handling of the situation was not, but then again he didn’t handle many situations well without consequences over the years.

While I didn’t expect Tony LaRussa to be the poll winner, I am somewhat surprised at the near unanimous (3 vs. 59) support of a different hire.

Correct. In fact, the White Sox have no players under contract who were on a Major League roster in 2011, the last time Tony LaRussa managed (unless team options on Edwin or Gio are exercised). Baseball has changed a lot over the past decade, both on the field and in the clubhouse. “It’s been a long time since I rock and rolled.” - Robert Plant, who is 4 years younger than Tony LaRussa

I wonder what role Tony’s Veterinarian pal will have with the White Sox. https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/30220736/why-tony-la-russa-sincerely-curious-choice-white-sox-manager In November 2014, six months after the Arizona Diamondbacks named Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa their chief baseball officer, the organization announced that it had hired Dr. Ed Lewis as its first director of baseball analytics and research. His experience in the field was nonexistent. His doctorate was in veterinary medicine. Lewis came to the Diamondbacks because he possessed a quality far more important than developing algorithms or building models: For 35 years, he had been Tony La Russa's friend. The hiring of Lewis prompted snickers around the game. At the time La Russa was stripped of power three years into the job, the Diamondbacks had gone 212-274. His handpicked GM, old friend Dave Stewart, had been fired. Lewis was replaced. Cronyism in the game is as old as the spitball, and an inner circle of powerful men -- they're all men -- has spent decades in the game fomenting it. When they want something, they tend to get it.

Valid criticisms, but that was not the reason LaRussa confronted Piersall, it was his on point criticism of LaRussa’s in game management.

In a perfect world, Rick Hahn would resign, Ken Harrelson would be hired to replace him and Hawk would fire Tony LaRussa on June 19, 2021, 35 years to the day he last fired him. The fact that it would be on Juneteenth would be icing on the cake. Tim Anderson, benched multiple times throughout the 2021 season for transgressions such as hitting a grand slam on a 3-0 count with a six run lead, flipping his bat after a game winning home run, and stating his support for the thirteenth and fourteenth amendment to the US Constitution, flips his bat over the roof to celebrate and the team joins him. Sadly, Eloy Jimenez tears his ACL during the celebration and is lost for the season.

Is there’s reason the White Sox didn’t reach out to Bochy? Was there anyone else interviewed, the Score said there may have been one other candidate. Even people happy with the hire should ask why didn’t the Sox perform due diligence and use the interview process to learn the approach of other successful franchises and managers. Theo, who won two WS titles stated he learned a lot during the process, especially from Joe Espada who nearly unexpectedly won the job over favorite David Ross. 2012: Sox managerial search consists of White Sox begging Robin Ventura to take the job. Robin hesitates but ultimately signs. 2016: For some unexplained reason the White Sox once again beg Robin Ventura to stay after a dismal and embarrassing four year stretch. Robin says no and within 24 hours, the Sox sign Rick Renteria, the extent of their managerial search. 2019: After the season, the White Sox like what Rick Renteria has done, the team has developed well under Rick’s guidance, and he is given a contract extension through 2021. 2020: White Sox improve further and qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2008. Development and growth of several players continues under Rick Renteria. Lack of pitching depth and failed acquisitions at DH and RF prevent the White Sox to advance further. There were questionable bullpen moves during a few games, but for the most part the bullpen over performed during the short season, and likely would have imploded due to lack of depth under an 162 game season. The FO acquired nothing of consequence at the trade deadline, and literally did not have confidence in more than two starting pitchers heading into the playoffs. October 12: Rick Renteria is fired, Hahn announces there will be a broad EXTERNAL SEARCH conducted with an EMPHASIS on interviewing managers with RECENT championship experience. That same day rumors are reported Tony LaRussa is a candidate for the job despite the fact he hasn’t managed in a decade. October 29, 2020: In a day that will live in infamy, the White Sox send an announcement with A. J. Hinch’s signature, a candidate they did not even interview, and Tony LaRussa’s picture, announcing Tony LaRussa will manage the White Sox in 2021.

I remember when LaRussa confronted Jimmy Piersall, who Jerry ultimately fired after the season for upsetting his Prima Donna manager. Wonder if Tony will go after Stone or Jason and demand announcers more to his liking. Thom Brennaman and former White Sox Steve Lyons come to mind. Jimmy The Greek did as well but I believe he is dead at this point. Then again, I thought the same of Tony LaRussa, until earlier this month. Heard many players defend and say they loved the leadership and playing for Rick Renteria, including Lucas Giolito yesterday on the Score. Lucas also praised all the veteran signings last year, with one notable exception (hint - he signed the largest contract in club history). Still haven't heard a peep of praise for LaRussa from any player or anyone beyond non players who receive checks from Jerry Reinsdorf. Hope JR doesn't crack the whip and demand players praise LaRussa like Hahn was forced to today. Hahn at the press conference reminded me of John McCain's Hanoi Hilton interviews. That's OK, Jerry and Tony will elect Rick Hahn into the Baseball Hall of Fame when the Vetaran's Committee meets to vote on "today's era" in 2022 .

Did Renteria have a say in calling up Rodon? Don Cooper was higher on the organization chart last season (reporting to Kenny) over their manager (reporting to Hahn).

Drake LaRoche may have been a better candidate, despite his lack of postseason experience when he last managed the White Sox. The New York Mets are grateful to relinquish their top spot as MLB / Professional Sports laughingstock.

Who will break the news to LaRussa he must leave a reliever in for three batters?

Not surprising, they gave their largest contract ever to fWAR Grandal, the extent of his work ethic is popping a pill and or a syringe.

I didn’t want to start the thread with my choice, but I selected other. Joe Espada, if available, would have been my first choice, at least to interview. I would have conducted a broad search, and let the interviews combined with prior experience dictate the hire. I agree @SouthWallace at minimum there should have been a thorough and legitimate managerial search. Have to go back to either Ozzie or Jerry Manuel as the last time the White Sox conducted a legitimate search of multiple external candidates. At minimum, an extended search gives you ideas outside of the organization. Hahn stated the search would not be insular during the Renteria firing press conference, which was obviously not the case. Disappointed, but not surprised, because this team was always run as a fiefdom vs. a legitimate professional organization.

Poll as to who you would hire as the next manager of the White Sox.

And this is an example of why the Chicago White Sox have advanced in the playoffs a single year entering the fifth decade under Jerry Reinsdorf. What a complete and utter joke this franchise is.

Not to mention the fact that some try to compare a league which is pro player run by media savvy professionals like the NBA, vs. a league which where JR staged a coup of any semblance of independent leadership by installing his puppet used car salesman boob commissioner after Bart died and JR eliminated Fay Vincent. JR and his puppet "brain trust" proceeded to cancel the 1994 season and destroy interest in the sport which has never recovered. Interest continues to decrease each season, dwindling like horse racing, boxing, cockfighting and bullfighting. MLB is also anti-labor/player, and JR is among the firmest hardliners. JR was happy to cancel 1994, and will be just as happy to cancel 2022 and beyond if it means a few dollars more. Compare and contrast to the NBA, where there are enough forward looking professional owners (i.e. not Jerry Reinsdorfs and the Knick's "brain trust") backing progressive leadership to work and seek a healthy relationship with their players, the only reason anyone flips a switch to watch the product. You don't see endless acrimony, cancelled seasons, or dwindling interest with the NBA. Leadership matters. Failed leadership, largely the result of JR successful coup against Fay Vincent and installation of his puppet commissioner, is why MLB has dropped over 75% in television ratings during JR's 40 years as owner. Compare and contrast to sports run by competent professionals like the NFL (Pete Rozelle) and NBA (David Stern), who ate their lunch, and then some, over the same period. JR sabotaged the NHL by recommending Count Dracula as Commissioner to $ Bill Wirtz, an older version of Jerry, who held power in the NHL to install him three decades ago. Once Bettman is gone, the league may also pass the MLB in fan interest. One league embraces intelligent independent media savvy owners like Mark Cuban, whereas Reinsdorf and MLB will fight to the death to prevent owners like Mark Cuban from purchasing a MLB team. JR voted against Cohen with the Mets not because of any concern with his business ethics, he is JR after all, but because he wanted the more malleable / controllable ownership group lead by JLo and ARod. JR is the reason the Bulls Gar/Pax era lasted as long as it did, and why White Sox fans are stuck Hahn/Williams until JR is gone. Hahn thought Renteria was such a great manager he extended his contracted less than one year ago, and then like a 13 year old girl, dumped him after two bad months. This is what happens when you have lackeys at the controls, who take less due diligence to hire a manager in 2016 than your local Dairy Queen does to hire an ice cream server. The Friends of Jerry Program is the only "thought" process with the White Sox, it's why we are reading about Tony LaRussa being a "leading candidate" by the "South Side Brain Trust". Even the pathetic Bears ownership wouldn't consider bringing Mike Ditka back, who unlike Tony LaRussa, actually won a championship in Chicago. "Baseball is a mess right now and they have zero vision to see them out of it. I’m thankful they didn’t let me buy a team." https://t.co/W6lIF7mlws — Mark Cuban (@mcuban) February 18, 2020