Tony La Russa named Manager

[southsider2k5]

1 hour ago, runtheballdown said:

So players typically get on Twitter and give an opinion when I new manager is hired? Yea ok. 
 

lol next

There are guys on this team who get on Twitter and give an opinion when they cross the street.  They sure had opinions when RR was fired. And now? Nothing. 

[Look at Ray Ray Run]

1 hour ago, runtheballdown said:

So players typically get on Twitter and give an opinion when I new manager is hired? Yea ok. 
 

lol next

Player will usually say something like:

Excited for the opportunity.

Excited to meet coach!

Lets go!!! 

Silence is defeaning in a situation like this.

[JoshPR]

This has been in Reinsdorfs head for a while. So obvious. You think he was gonna fire Ricky and even more coop if this hasn't been brewing all along. Reinsdorf is such a retrograde. Thanks for making the white sox the laughing stock and joke of baseball Damn geezer

[tray]

When you are twenty five you have  arguably 4-5years of experience as an adult. ...arguably in the sense that  you are using your teenage  experiences as a frame of reference to place perspective on things. 

Major league players are mostly twenty somethings who  could benefit from others experience, if they are willing to listen and learn.

Ironically, some of the harshest critics of TLR do not appear to have an open-minded bone their bodies.  Read your own posts when you have a moire sanguine moment to reflect on what you have said.

Ray - give it a rest man.

[Rowand44]

22 minutes ago, bmags said:

I can’t stress how much I would hate Yadi

Don't even fuckin get my started on that.  I turned on sports radio down here after work yesterday(I like Rongey's show) and legit the first thing I heard them talk about is if Yadi and Waino would be a good fit for the Sox.

[Rowand44]

41 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

This is such a Boomer mentality.  Its like if you aren't doing well its because you aren't getting abused enough.  The 50s are gone.

TLR is the cure to COVID.

Edited October 30, 2020 by Rowand44

[QBBrian13]

I don't have time to catch up from where I left off yesterday at Page 92, so maybe I'm repeating some points here, if so, I apologize in advance:

First to be clear, I was "all in" on the A.J. Hinch bandwagon. But I was fine with the idea of TLR.

Now we look at A.J. Hinch, and I'm playing devils advocate with even myself here ... If he was such a profound commodity in Major League Baseball and a clear cut "win now" guy, why have the Padres, Cubs, Reds, Twins, Blue Jays, etc. not fired their inexperienced Managers to bring him in since they are all in "win now" mode? Why is the only team that wants him currently, the team that is 5-years away from winning? What if, some people (Jerry, maybe Kenny, etc.) didn't want there to be speculation of cheating after EVERY SINGLE win the White Sox have in 2021. Now again, I wanted A.J. Hinch too! But could you imagine the court of public opinion, if the White Sox won the World Series in Year 1 of A.J. Hinch being off suspension? Perhaps some people didn't want that potential story-line to take away from the players.

In regards to LaRussa ... Sure, he is old, but what does that matter really? Do we need him to throw the 7th inning? Please! Age is merely a number. At the end of the day, he was/is the most successful/experienced baseball manager walking the planet currently. Does he relate to younger players? I don't know. NONE OF US DO! You see the tweets from Bruce Maxwell and emails from Red Sox prospects, maybe he tries to, maybe he is successful. At the end of the day, you know how you relate to players (at any level of competitive sport)? Give them the tools and put them in position to win games. These players do not need an Godfather to their children, they need a Manager to help them win more baseball games. If Tony and Tim Anderson enjoy a nice card game and a chat on the team plane to New York, awesome. If their families enjoy Thanksgiving dinner together, even better (but not for longer than 2 hours per CDC Guidelines). But at the end of the day, if their relationship is only about how to better play baseball, how to improve here or there, and then to give each other a high-five and a hug at 4:15pm each afternoon or 10:15pm each night, what is the issue? Both parties are satisfied and have accomplished what they are being paid to do!

Lastly, four weeks/months/years ago, the overwhelming consensus was that the Manager/Coaching Staff in Major League Baseball is inconsequential. "Analytics drives decisions", "the hitting coach isn't swinging at the slider low and away", "the pitching coach isn't the one walking the leadoff hitter", blah blah blah. Now all of a sudden, we are acting like it matters? At the end of the day ... it DOES NOT matter if the decision was A.J. Hinch or Tony LaRussa, or anyone else, if the White Sox use this off-season to spend real American dollars on better players, the White Sox will be a better baseball team! This league, and every other sports league is player driven! The team with better players will win 75-80% of the time. If we have a legit #3 starter this season, any one of us, are smart enough to pencil that player in as the Starting Pitcher in Game 3 of the ALWS.

So, again, so my point isn't lost. Am I disappointed that A.J. Hinch isn't the Manager? Yeah, that might be the right word. Am I mad? Absolutely not!

To those people who are acting purely out of emotion, saying you aren't going to be a fan anymore and calling their Season Ticket rep and being taken off the distribution list, etc. I'll do you one better ... I'm looking for an extra seat in Section 158 to add to my plan, I'll buy that seat off you +20%

 

[TheFutureIsNear]

20 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

While he said a lot of the right things, to have such divergent opinions from what he said very recently seems suspicious at best. It comes off as unauthentic at best and lies for the press at worst. The non- reaction from the playoffs tells me they feel similar. 

Feels very similar to the Mike McCarthy situation in Dallas...he admitted to lying about adopting analytics into his coaching style just to get the job. Now he’s up to his same old tricks from a decade ago and the team is a dumpster fire.
Can’t imagine it’s any different with LaRussa- he might be old but he’s not stupid. It would be crazy of him to say that he doesn’t support analytics at this point, so he just lied and told people what they wanted to hear. (Although I will say that I think the Sox are too talented to be a dumpster fire like the crappy cowboys)
 

Not to mention JR making decisions (clearly) by himself and not consulting the actual baseball people around him is starting to get very Jerry Jones like as well.

[iWiN4PreP]

I'll be mad when the Front office decides to bring in Quintana as our top 'get' this offseason and we go into the season with a hole in RF and no real added pitching stars. 

I'll give you TLR if you give me good players! Do it. 

[QBBrian13]

4 minutes ago, iWiN4PreP said:

I'll be mad when the Front office decides to bring in Quintana as our top 'get' this offseason and we go into the season with a hole in RF and no real added pitching stars. 

I'll give you TLR if you give me good players! Do it. 

That's all it is!

A.J. Hinch OR Tony LaRussa aren't going to win with Adam Engel/Nomar Mazara as the starting Rightfielder (Engel as the 4th OF, yes!). They aren't going to win with 2 legit starting pitchers. The organization needs to recognize "Win Now" mode and spend accordingly on good baseball players.

[Chicago White Sox]

36 minutes ago, oneofthemikes said:

This is absolutely terrifying to me. I can see it now. Wainwright as the number 3 starter, Molina as backup C/DH, Harold Baines as Bench Coach. 

The Bench Coach and Pitching Coach hires are going to be SO important because when Tony loses the clubhouse (I'm expecting sooner than later) we are going to need guys that the team believes in. But we won't go out and get a guy like Espada or Quatraro or even a guy like Zaleski as PC. Tony will call up all his buddies to try to get them out of retirement and get the band back together. 

I think Hahn needs to hold his ground on this.  I personally think the pitching coach hire is the most important one because of the amount of young arms we’ll be relying on in the coming years.  I definitely don’t want Don Cooper 2.0.  As for the bench coach spot, we’ve got a golden opportunity to bring in a high potential candidate and let them learn in a low risk for a couple of years before being handed the reigns.  It also adds another young coach that can help bridge the gap between 76 year old La Russa and our 20 & 30 year old players.

[Superstar Lamar]

45 minutes ago, South Side Fireworks Man said:

I remember that too.  The following season Jimmy had a role on the White Sox post game show and Reinsdorf had him fired from that after Jimmy criticized some of La Russa's in game moves after a frustrating White Sox loss.

I loved Jimmy Piersall and despise Jerry Reinsdorf. 

Let's also not forget that Jimmy denigrated all Sox wives/girlfriends on the air, saying something like that they were gold diggers and specifically calling them "horny broads", so there were some other for cause issued with Jimmy.

 

[EloyJenkins]

You may hate Dan Bernstein...but in his score op-ed he just nailed it:

"The White Sox were so close to breaking through as a buoyant example of player-first sensibility and openness to all the newest and freshest ideas.

The hiring of Tony La Russa, alas, has changed the game."

[Superstar Lamar]

6 minutes ago, EloyJenkins said:

You may hate Dan Bernstein...but in his score op-ed he just nailed it:

"The White Sox were so close to breaking through as a buoyant example of player-first sensibility and openness to all the newest and freshest ideas.

The hiring of Tony La Russa, alas, has changed the game."

What did he nail...poor sentence structure?

and yes, I do dislike him

[Dick Allen]

The Sox should still make the playoffs with Tony at the helm. There is a minuscule chance of a mutiny like when Bobby V took over in Boston.

Besides not being a fan of his managing 34 years ago, my problem with it is the Sox had an opportunity  of a lifetime. How many teams in their situation have a managerial opening?  They probably had their choice of anyone available. They didn’t even interview everyone available. Why not hire a guy who you can see managing this team through their window? LaRussa is here 2 years tops. You could sense the disappointment in RH yesterday. He tried to be a good soldier and sell the company line, but his heart wasn’t in it.

Edited October 30, 2020 by Dick Allen

[Balta1701]

1 hour ago, bmags said:

There are a lot of interesting ( not necessarily in good way) dynamics here but a big one to me is how is LaRussa going to handle having to prove himself for the first time in 35 years?

He has been deferred to for years with his success, now he not only doesn’t have that, he has to prove it...at age 76.

But, I think we have a great group. If Tony is ready to work, I think the guys will rally anyway.

He got the job while barely having to interview and ownership overruled objections of their now-demoted general manager. In what sense does he have to prove himself, or expect that he won't be deferred to?

I think he'll be walking in expecting to be deferred to, and whenever someone doesn't...he'll win, eventually, probably while ripping apart a few relationships in the process.

[GreenSox]

I'm concerned about the goofy crap that this FO will do to fit the LaRussa 2 year window.

[bmags]

2 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

He got the job while barely having to interview and ownership overruled objections of their now-demoted general manager. In what sense does he have to prove himself, or expect that he won't be deferred to?

I think he'll be walking in expecting to be deferred to, and whenever someone doesn't...he'll win, eventually, probably while ripping apart a few relationships in the process.

Okay so yeah a manager deals with players. So you just described what I was talking about while acting like you were disagreeing for some reason.

[JoshPR]

18 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

I think Hahn needs to hold his ground on this.  I personally think the pitching coach hire is the most important one because of the amount of young arms we’ll be relying on in the coming years.  I definitely don’t want Don Cooper 2.0.  As for the bench coach spot, we’ve got a golden opportunity to bring in a high potential candidate and let them learn in a low risk for a couple of years before being handed the reigns.  It also adds another young coach that can help bridge the gap between 76 year old La Russa and our 20 & 30 year old players.

Great post. Only way they make this better if someone like Sam fuld or one of those younger modern managers is brought in too be the heir apparent. It could be the case Tony doesn't hold up and says I can't do this. Wanna go back to retirement

[Balta1701]

1 hour ago, southsider2k5 said:

While he said a lot of the right things, to have such divergent opinions from what he said very recently seems suspicious at best. It comes off as unauthentic at best and lies for the press at worst. The non- reaction from the players tells me they feel similar. 

Just to stress this - LaRussa's answer on kneeling was the answer you give to satisfy white people who don't want to have to think about it but who saw the video this spring and realized it was really bad. It wasn't the answer of anyone who has put genuine thought into the subject, and we have people on the roster who are smart enough to recognize the difference.

[bear_brian]

What if the plan is to have LaRussa manage the team for two years, while mentoring either Jirschele or Ewing, who would then take over in Year 3? Would that make more sense?

[Look at Ray Ray Run]

36 minutes ago, tray said:

When you are twenty five you have  arguably 4-5years of experience as an adult. ...arguably in the sense that  you are using your teenage  experiences as a frame of reference to place perspective on things. 

Major league players are mostly twenty somethings who  could benefit from others experience, if they are willing to listen and learn.

Ironically, some of the harshest critics of TLR do not appear to have an open-minded bone their bodies.  Read your own posts when you have a moire sanguine moment to reflect on what you have said.

Ray - give it a rest man.

What am I giving a rest? I take this stuff much less seriously than it appears many of you do. This is just baseball; a fun way to get away from day to day life.

I can't stand la russa going on 33 years. I was born saying TLR sucks. But I also know it means very little and the team will be fine and I'm excited for next year. Not even Bevington could ruin these guys.

As for being open minded, you need to take your own advice pal. I affiliate with no one but for evidence, science and facts. I dont play politics, I discuss people, feelings and emotions. I was once a patriot as a child and realized I had been brainwashed over time; mainly when I witnessed first hand how heinously the system treated my wonderful wife - who was born in Colombia and moved here 6 years ago. Watch your wife cry while being degraded by government officials, only to be threatened with arrest and jail when trying to defend her and then tell me about the greatness of the USA. I was being treated like a criminal for loving someone born somewhere else; a brilliant engineer with an advanced degree and compassionate soul. I wish more Americans were like my wife. I've witnessed the evil of "politics" from both parties. I align myself with people and causes, not parties and power.

I respect your archaic views even though I know some breed the very ignornace and hatred that has caused pain for my wife and I. I try to listen; but in some cases its you who needs to listen. People are screaming loudly and it's not for attention; its out of pain and misery. Thanks for reading my tedtalk.

[bmags]

8 minutes ago, JoshPR said:

Great post. Only way they make this better if someone like Sam fuld or one of those younger modern managers is brought in too be the heir apparent. It could be the case Tony doesn't hold up and says I can't do this. Wanna go back to retirement

Is Sam Fuld going to be that much better prepared in 2 years joining here vs. learning in another org? I'd rather he not get poisoned by the conflict they are setting up here.

Good lord, being the analytics coordinator under TLR. He's going to be viewed as a Randy Brown.

[oneofthemikes]

44 minutes ago, tray said:

Major league players are mostly twenty somethings who  could benefit from others experience, if they are willing to listen and learn.

Ironically, some of the harshest critics of TLR do not appear to have an open-minded bone their bodies.  Read your own posts when you have a moire sanguine moment to reflect on what you have said.

I won't speak for everyone because it isn't my place to do so, but my concerns with this hire don't have anything to do with TLR's ability to manage a bullpen or fill out a lineup card. He is the antithesis of everything that this team has become over the past few seasons.

Tim Anderson has been an outspoken advocate for racial equality and sits on the board of the Players Alliance. Six players knelt on Opening Day and as recently as February of this year, TLR doubled down on comments that he made in 2016 about being opposed to that. I know that TLR said all the right things yesterday at the press conference but I’m going to need more convincing before I believe that he’s completely changed his opinion on something like that in such a short time. In August when Tatis hit the grand slam in a 3-0 count TLR was vocal about his distaste for it.

“It’s just not sportsmanlike,” La Russa said. “The way it was described to me was, it’s team against team. That’s what our sport is, with these very talented individuals matching up. What it isn’t, though, is an exhibition of your talents. You swing 3-0 in that game, and you’re up by seven, you’re trying to drive in more runs.”

That’s pretty jarring to hear from the new manager of a team that is having a Tim Anderson bat flip bobblehead giveaway in 2021. The slogan for last year's team was "Change the Game" because they wanted to make baseball less about the unwritten rules and more about having fun and that's not the guy that got the job.

[Chi Town Sox]

1 hour ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

The whole things reminds me of my uncle. My uncle hates that Tim Anderson kneels and fights for a cause, but he loves that he helps in the community.. he hates that he spoke out against cops, but loves that he helps kids and lives on the SOuth Side. I try to tell my uncle over and over that he clearly agrees with Tim's mission but he attacks him for it anyway because he's been brainwashed to think Kneeling is awful and that cop shaming is bad because the media he consumes told him so. 

There's some Chicago Police Blog that wrote a scathing article about Anderson - the comments section was riddled with racist and vile garbage and threats that were emboldened by authors and cops alike and not deleted. My uncle sent it to me as a "joke." There was nothing funny about it. 

The good thing about athletes becoming more vocal is that their fans are having a harder and harder time ignoring the issues they are bringing forward. They have two options, listen and try to understand or close their eyes and ignore it all. Because they love baseball, or football, or basketball so much it's incredibly difficult for them to leave it behind. 

People like Tim are making progress; slowly but surely. Keep that grind going Timmy!

I'm not saying this is OK, I love Tim, his game and what he does for the community but for added context, this came out after Tim posted pictures of him standing in front of a "F**k 12" tag so not entirely surprising to see a negative reaction on a police blog to that.    Personally, I don't agree with the Police Blog comments or with Tim posting a public picture like that.  

Edited October 30, 2020 by Chi Town Sox