La Russa arrested for DUI in Feb; charged day before hire

[Eminor3rd]

3 hours ago, Chicago White Sox said:

Thank you!!  As someone who actually works in professional baseball, I’m glad you came out and humanized the potential consequences.

Thanks -- it hits home because I've been on furlough since September. And while I'm told that "the plan" is to bring me back in January, it's abundantly clear that if some unforeseen event that reduces revenue far enough (such as substantial loss of corporate revenue due to an unpopular managerial hiring decision) were to occur, we furloughs will be fully let go. So I'm just imagining what my counterparts in Chicago might be going through.

[Jerksticks]

I liked Ricky but he got a lot of flack for trusting his gut too much.  I’m excited that LaRussa’s gut is going to be based on decades of managing men in high pressure situations and being able to read the players and the game, on top of a bed of the captain obvious analytics.  
 

I think the players are going to love playing for him. 
 

Glad he didn’t hurt anybody and I hope the law does what it’s supposed to do.  Hopefully he comes out of this better and ready to kick some AL butt.  
 

 

[greg775]

Looks like Tony will survive this, sadly. I know it has to go through the court system, but cmon. Tony is too old to be playing the "get out of it with probation" game. The reason I say he'll survive this is Sox would have rid themselves of him by now if that's what they were going to do. I know back in the old days DUIs were no big deal. The last 10-20 years they've been a huge deal and Tony at his age knows better and should step down.

Sadly, my guess is Sox are keeping him. He'd have stepped down by now or been fired if they were planning on booting him. Commish will probably just say "let it play out in the courts" where Tony is gonna probably get a wrist slap. Maybe the courts will come through and give him some jail time (if guilty as alleged).

[wrathofhahn]

4 minutes ago, Jerksticks said:

I liked Ricky but he got a lot of flack for trusting his gut too much.  I’m excited that LaRussa’s gut is going to be based on decades of managing men in high pressure situations and being able to read the players and the game, on top of a bed of the captain obvious analytics.  
 

I think the players are going to love playing for him. 
 

Glad he didn’t hurt anybody and I hope the law does what it’s supposed to do.  Hopefully he comes out of this better and ready to kick some AL butt.  
 

 

La Russa has a history of butting heads with players and the game has passed him by. I am not in favor of the hire. With that being said he's the manager and people are just going to have to deal with it.

[shakes]

12 minutes ago, Eminor3rd said:

How many people will be laid off because of the fans reaction to this? Depends on what that reaction is and how successful it is. If their reaction is pressure corporate sponsors to remove revenue, and they are successful enough that they get enough sponsors to jump ship that JR actually feels like he has no choice but to comply -- I imagine it will be a pretty significant number of layoffs. Is it worth it?

Another way to frame it: How many innocents do you think should lose jobs in order for TLR to lose his? I'm not gaslighting -- I'm firmly on the remove TLR bandwagon, but if doing so means any number of innocents have to go down with him, I'd rather he stayed. Put another way, I would rather try to find a different way to put pressure on the team, one without people's livelihoods as potential collateral damage.

Anyway, I think that's Texsox's point, and I would at the very least urge everyone to consider it before trying to cut the team's corporate revenue.

I'm sorry to hear about your work situation, I really am. I assure you I'm weighing real people into the equation. I've been fighting with my management for three weeks so I don't have to let two people go, and I've had to let people go before, it sucks and weighs on you. It's tough out there.

But I still think it's short sighted to pick Tony over potential others down the chain - and Jerry can also choose not to fire other employees(this isn't a clear binary choice). Advertisers may choose to leave on their own because of the situation, and ticket sales are just as likely to increase as soon as he would be let go. I've never heard Sox fans this angry. I think Tony staying is bad for everyone.

 

[Balta1701]

1 hour ago, shakes said:

I'm sorry to hear about your work situation, I really am. I assure you I'm weighing real people into the equation. I've been fighting with my management for three weeks so I don't have to let two people go, and I've had to let people go before, it sucks and weighs on you. It's tough out there.

But I still think it's short sighted to pick Tony over potential others down the chain - and Jerry can also choose not to fire other employees(this isn't a clear binary choice). Advertisers may choose to leave on their own because of the situation, and ticket sales are just as likely to increase as soon as he would be let go. I've never heard Sox fans this angry. I think Tony staying is bad for everyone.

 

Tony LaRussa stays. The team struggles this year because he’s a terrible fit and because they are being asked about his legal issues constantly. Hell maybe he does it again and Lance Briggs style they are making excuses for his behavior midseason. How many jobs are lost if revenue disappoints next year or if InBev realizes they have people they care about organizations like MADD protesting them specifically midseason? 

This team is well built. Literally no one of decent quality thought this was a good idea, and that was before they all had to deal with their coach’s alcohol problem. Do the wrong thing and that could well cost jobs, but hey, who cared about the job losses from the terrible moves from Rick Hahn’s tenure other than me? I’m trying to stop the bleeding. I could put enough pressure on JR through his advertisers to save jobs if everyone got on board. Join in and email InBev to save jobs. The earlier the better.

[The Hawk]

4 hours ago, Chisoxfn said:

That is up to TLR and has absolutely nothing to do with him being a Mgr of a White Sox. PERIOD.  TLR collecting checks from White Sox can be something as a Sox fan you don't like, but that isn't the driving force behind TLR choosing to get behind a wheel impaired or not.  That choice is TLR and TLR's alone.  Now if White Sox enable him and are pushing drinks his way and not supporting him to be in programs or whatever else, totally different story.

Reality is - we can disagree with Sox choosing to hire TLR despite the recent DUI, but most of you already concluded TLR was a racist who wasn't going to change the game. I don't know how or why or where it came to those ways that so many people jumped to such extreme conclusions out of the gate - but they did.  They took pocketed quotes to assume x, y or z and kept following the narrative that aligned to their opinion (not unusual - confirmation bias at its finest) and ignored lots of other data points...because they made up there mind. 

None of us actually know what TLR and JR said when this came out and how TLR said it. Did he go, Jerry I fell off the wagon a second time or third time or whatever it was back in February, since than I've been in a program and am 100% clean.  JR could have said - that was the wrong decision and you can not make those choices but I appreciate the fact that you've been transparent and are in a program and point blank, there will be zero tolerance for any F-up's. No other chance. We are committing to helping you through the program and will ensure we partner to do that.  

The point is - none of us know. The Sox blew it and everything else - but everyone out here getting all pissy is spending a lot of time looking for confirmation bias. If it was your sister or brother or best friend who got their 2nd DUI. Would you be calling their employer and saying they should be fired from their job - or would you be there trying to help them get the problem fixed so they never had to deal with it again.  

That's absolutely the truth of things. It's absolutely human nature and the way people look differently at things depending on their own belief systems and standards. I just come from a business perspective on this and to my mind, Reinny has been a bad business guy for a long time with the White Sox. He absolutely hires bad managers and his publicity department and public relations folks are awful. He lucked out in my mind in hiring Hahn who did yeoman work on this rebuilding job with the aid of being able to really dominate the influx of great Latin players.   But hiring Tony while knowing he had a second DUI was nuts unless he thought he could slide this through without the press finding out about it. IF Reinny doesn't take legitimate counsel from smart business people, his business is going to suffer greatly from this hire. The team might win but his business will not be nearly as profitable as it could have been. Fans may still support the players and the team but still hate the owner and his organization. Those two things can be mutually exclusive.

[Southwest Sider]

Amazing what a juicy rumor will do to a thread like this...

[southsider2k5]

1 hour ago, South Sider said:

Amazing what a juicy rumor will do to a thread like this...

Which is exactly why it was leaked. This is a coordinated effort to distract people from the drunk.

[South Side Hit Men]

2 hours ago, South Sider said:

Amazing what a juicy rumor will do to a thread like this...

Just waiting for TKKKLR's next drunk driving video and arrest documents to be released on TMZ.

In the interim, Jerry asked Kenny to add an additional job duty to his role to insure no future DUIs occur while Tony is manager. Below is a clip of Kenny's first day driving Miss Tony. Sorry, the part of Tony demanding Kenny kiss his HOF ring is not included.

 

[Chicago White Sox]

13 minutes ago, South Side Hit Men said:

Just waiting for TKKKLR's next drunk driving video and arrest documents to be released on TMZ.

In the interim, Jerry asked Kenny to add an additional job duty to his role to insure no future DUIs occur while Tony is manager. Below is a clip of Kenny's first day driving Miss Tony. Sorry, the part of Tony demanding Kenny kiss his HOF ring is not included.

 

This is way too much dude.  La Russa has said some bad, borderline racist shit and deserves to be called out for it, but you are taking it to another level completely.

[southsider2k5]

1 hour ago, South Side Hit Men said:

Just waiting for TKKKLR's next drunk driving video and arrest documents to be released on TMZ.

In the interim, Jerry asked Kenny to add an additional job duty to his role to insure no future DUIs occur while Tony is manager. Below is a clip of Kenny's first day driving Miss Tony. Sorry, the part of Tony demanding Kenny kiss his HOF ring is not included.

 

Footage probably won't be released until after the trial.

[pcq]

21 hours ago, wrathofhahn said:

La Russa has a history of butting heads with players and the game has passed him by. I am not in favor of the hire. With that being said he's the manager and people are just going to have to deal with it.

I don't foresee a lot of group hugs. He will expect respect without necessarily earning it. It could affect team performance. Right now he seems to be in hiding.

[Balta1701]

1 hour ago, southsider2k5 said:

Footage probably won't be released until after the trial.

Released officially ≠ leaked to TMZ. 

[YourWhatHurts]

I certainly hope TLR's lineup card sharpie will be kept locked up behind bulletproof glass and attached to a breathalyzer machine.  He shouldn't be able to fill out the lineup until he can pass a breathlyzer.  

[wrathofhahn]

9 hours ago, Chicago White Sox said:

This is way too much dude.  La Russa has said some bad, borderline racist shit and deserves to be called out for it, but you are taking it to another level completely.

It's literally defamatory. I hope he takes this site to court the mods are completely out of control they are supposed to moderating garbage like this not posting it.

I'll take it a step further there has been no evidence upto this point he is racist none. Not allowing showboating and holding players to a certain standard is not racist. Wanting Americans to respect the flag and anthem isn't racist. In fact he has been extremely hard on players like Rasmus shows he doesn't have two standards.

You may disagree with his politics as does the mod but you don't get to smear someone as racist for it. He's been in the game for decades if he was legitimately racist it would have came out by now.

Edited November 15, 2020 by wrathofhahn

[wrathofhahn]

7 hours ago, pcq said:

I don't foresee a lot of group hugs. He will expect respect without necessarily earning it. It could affect team performance. Right now he seems to be in hiding.

That is one of the major issues but for me the issue that trumps that is culture. The game is different. He was known as a hard ass even the era he coached/managed in.

His non-analytical approach to lineups is going to raise eyebrows as well as his focus on contact and old school managing. Sure he was a great manager but that was for that time it's a different era. It's also an open question how he handles the 162 game grind. I just don't see the fit he's a name but a name in the same way Phil Jackson was hired for the Knicks and I suspect he will fail for many of the same reasons

Edited November 15, 2020 by wrathofhahn

[South Side Hit Men]

2 hours ago, wrathofhahn said:

He's been in the game for decades if he was legitimately racist it would have came out by now.

It has, you are either unaware or choose to ignore it.  A Google search of "Tony LaRussa racist" comes up with 446,000 results.

Ron Gant, Ozzie Smith, Royce Clayton, Brian Jordan. "You do the math. Something's not right there." La Russa banned Ozzie Smith from the Saint Louis clubhouse as manager. Ozzie Smith truly is a "Legit" First Ballot Hall of Famer, but unlike Tony, Ozzie drives sober, so no need to flash his HOF ring during DUI arrests like "Jerry's Guy". 

Also, how many managers feel the need to deny being a racist at their introductory press conference, despite the fact Tony was prepped for weeks and was not even asked if he was a racist. LaRussa's performance and responses reminded me of a dying Governor George Wallace in Four Little Girls. Wallace referred to Eddie Holcey, his male Black nurse/caregiver, as his best friend. Eddie looked at Wallace with an expression of WTF?!

The lady doth protest too much, methinks. Tony LaRussa, sincerely committed to restoring the WHITE in Chicago White Sox.

[Chicago White Sox]

22 minutes ago, South Side Hit Men said:

It has, you are either unaware or choose to ignore it.  A Google search of "Tony LaRussa racist" comes up with 446,000 results.

Ron Gant, Ozzie Smith, Royce Clayton, Brian Jordan. "You do the math. Something's not right there." La Russa banned Ozzie Smith from the Saint Louis clubhouse as manager. Ozzie Smith truly is a "Legit" First Ballot Hall of Famer, but unlike Tony, Ozzie drives sober, so no need to flash his HOF ring during DUI arrests like "Jerry's Guy". 

Also, how many managers feel the need to deny being a racist at their introductory press conference, despite the fact Tony was prepped for weeks and was not even asked if he was a racist. LaRussa's performance and responses reminded me of a dying Governor George Wallace in Four Little Girls. Wallace referred to Eddie Holcey, his male Black nurse/caregiver, as his best friend. Eddie looked at Wallace with an expression of WTF?!

The lady doth protest too much, methinks. Tony LaRussa, sincerely committed to restoring the WHITE in Chicago White Sox.

You literally just cited an article on Tony La Russa giving playing time to one black SS over another black SS as proof that he’s a super racist.  Again, La Russa deserves to be called out for his shitty, borderline racist comments, but implying he is a KKK supporter or white supremacist is beyond fucking ridiculous unless you have much stronger evidence than anything you’ve posted so far.

[pcq]

The onus is on Tony to change his ways. He is not beyond redemption. Chicago is not St. Louis and that won't fly here. Jerry grew up watching the other JR. This is what we are left with assuming he is not removed. 

[Capital G]

On 11/13/2020 at 11:39 AM, Kyyle23 said:

Do you think the Sox, or any team for that matter, would be signing a player to a multi year contract one day after being  busted with steroids?

do you think there might be a bit of outrage if it happened like that?  How about if that same player was busted for steroids prior to this?

Steroid use is a straight slap to other players as it enhances your physical abilities. 

A DUI does nothing to the purity of the game. Being an alcoholic doesn't give TLR an advantage in-game. 

He also got caught while he wasn't a white sox employee. 

He'll be punished by the legal system like he should. But when it comes to the job I don't care as long as he manages the sox well and we have a winning team. 

[NWINFan]

I think this was the wrong hire for many reasons, but we fans are stuck with it. If there was any issue where the White Sox organization would be indifferent to fan opinion, this is it. We can only hope that the team has a good off-season and somehow things work out. But I am not looking forward to LaRussa pacing the dugout.

[ThirdGen]

8 hours ago, wrathofhahn said:

It's literally defamatory. I hope he takes this site to court the mods are completely out of control they are supposed to moderating garbage like this not posting it.

I'll take it a step further there has been no evidence upto this point he is racist none. Not allowing showboating and holding players to a certain standard is not racist. Wanting Americans to respect the flag and anthem isn't racist. In fact he has been extremely hard on players like Rasmus shows he doesn't have two standards.

You may disagree with his politics as does the mod but you don't get to smear someone as racist for it. He's been in the game for decades if he was legitimately racist it would have came out by now.

I will add on to this:

Bill Veeck was probably one of the most socially progressive owners in the history of the game.  Read up on him.  He participated heavily in the civil rights movement in the 60's, and was well know for his support of equality.  Veeck hired LaRussa.  He didn't just pick him out of the blue, he hired him based on what he (and Hemond) learned from his time in the minors and as a bench coach.  He knew LaRussa inside out, and was a good judge of character.  If you are calling LaRussa racist, you are also stating the Veeck knowingly hired a racist, and implicate him as well.

Say what you will about Reinsdorf, and there is definitely lots to criticize, his history has been one of promoting and supporting minorities, both in the office and on the field.  Again, I don't think there is an owner who has been more involved in baseball in programs and hiring decisions to promote equality.  Just read the comments by Kim Ng about him that came out this week.  Reinsdorf knows LaRussa inside out as well.  If you are calling LaRussa racist, you are calling Reinsdorf racist as well for his involvement with TLR.

Reinsdorf and Veeck have probably done more for the cause of equality in terms of actual action than the majority of "woke" message board attackers have done in total their entire lives.  I'll take their judgement on this issue over the screaming mob any day.

 

Edited November 15, 2020 by ThirdGen

[ThirdGen]

3 hours ago, South Side Hit Men said:

It has, you are either unaware or choose to ignore it.  A Google search of "Tony LaRussa racist" comes up with 446,000 results.

 

I just googled "Tony LaRussa time traveler"  428,000 results.  Hopefully he uses that skill to help the Sox.

[South Side Hit Men]

3 hours ago, ThirdGen said:

I just googled "Tony LaRussa time traveler"  428,000 results.  Hopefully he uses that skill to help the Sox.

Tony LaRussa DUI

About 3,430,000 results (0.40 seconds) 

Perhaps LaRussa can time travel to several decades, when old times were not forgotten (perhaps the 1940s or 1950s) before he began drinking and driving, and think about someone other then his selfish ass for once in his life.

Perhaps Jerry Reinsdorf can also travel back in time, though he only needs to travel a few months to the time he stated there was no reason for Tony LaRussa to go back to managing. Of course this was before Tony's latest DUI and need for the job to pay millions in bar tabs across the country.

"Managing, it just takes an awful lot out of you. There's nothing else for him to accomplish. You know, he's won three World Series, and uh, he's in the Hall of Fame. And so, there's no reason for him to go back to managing,  and have to try to deal with people 22 years old when you're 75 years old."

_ Jerry Fucking Reinsdorf, earlier this year.

6:23