Nitengale: La Russa "definitely" returning to the Sox

[hankchifan]

47 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

Does anyone know how to find the records of the entire league in games where no home run is hit? We see that stat for the Sox yearly but I have no context for it. I’m imagining many teams have that same issue of specifically losing on days where they ball stays in the ballpark.

I don’t have the stats but my concern is if you want to hit home runs you need to get the ball up in the air.  Sox have the third highest ground ball rate in the majors, not conducive to many homers.  Sox do not play small ball or have a running game to balance out the many ground balls they hit. So we need to adjust our strategy next season having more runners in motion, be more patient to look for pitches to get up in the air and to take more walks.  We need to activate more small ball as needed when we are not hitting the long ball.

[South Side Hit Men]

1 hour ago, caulfield12 said:

By the way, are we supposed to root for the Astros to win it all now to make the Sox look better, or for Sale despite being on the Red Sox but coming off an injury?  Challenging to find anything compelling to root for now, Just tepidly for ATL I guess.

Astros are the last team I have one reason to hope they win (a ring for Dusty). It may push Tony over the edge, either this offseason or next season.

I hate Atlanta, hate the Dodgers more, hate Boston the most. I am not wasting a second on the NLCS, or the WS if Boston advances.

[Balta1701]

34 minutes ago, hankchifan said:

I don’t have the stats but my concern is if you want to hit home runs you need to get the ball up in the air.  Sox have the third highest ground ball rate in the majors, not conducive to many homers.  Sox do not play small ball or have a running game to balance out the many ground balls they hit. So we need to adjust our strategy next season having more runners in motion, be more patient to look for pitches to get up in the air and to take more walks.  We need to activate more small ball as needed when we are not hitting the long ball.

See, I’d just say we need to hit more home runs.

[tray]

4 hours ago, poppysox said:

No...never a Cubs fan.  My threat is to join our group of FO/ownership detractors.  

That would be even worse.

[Balta1701]

3 minutes ago, tray said:

That would be even worse.

Nope. 

[Texsox]

“For me, yeah, I want him to be back. But at the end of the day, my decision don't really matter,” Anderson said. “So I guess it all depends on what the front office thinks, but from my half, as far as speaking from a player's standpoint, for sure. I definitely want him in.

“He did a great job with the way he managed and just being open. You know when we took the field, we were going to go out and play hard for him and give him everything we got.”

Obviously Tim Anderson doesn't know shit about managing baseball or the White Sox. Trade him. 

[chetkincaid]

13 minutes ago, Texsox said:

“For me, yeah, I want him to be back. But at the end of the day, my decision don't really matter,” Anderson said. “So I guess it all depends on what the front office thinks, but from my half, as far as speaking from a player's standpoint, for sure. I definitely want him in.

“He did a great job with the way he managed and just being open. You know when we took the field, we were going to go out and play hard for him and give him everything we got.”

Obviously Tim Anderson doesn't know shit about managing baseball or the White Sox. Trade him. 

Again, I don’t know what y’all are expecting the players to say. They’re asked these questions and do you think they’re going to shit on the manager who’s coming back next year? They won’t do that. 

[Texsox]

20 minutes ago, chetkincaid said:

Again, I don’t know what y’all are expecting the players to say. They’re asked these questions and do you think they’re going to shit on the manager who’s coming back next year? They won’t do that. 

A simple it's not my call instead of writing a love letter. It's like he actually likes playing for a Hall of Fame Manager.

[ron883]

15 minutes ago, Texsox said:

A simple it's not my call instead of writing a love letter. It's like he actually likes playing for a Hall of Fame Manager.

How do we know that TLR didn't have a gun to his head during that question?

[iWiN4PreP]

Tlr was the wrong choice and still is the wrong choice. Hes done better than I expected, but also hasn’t been the great savior promised.

im so over it and every single day since his signing it has been a little constant torture, today no different 

[Look at Ray Ray Run]

1 hour ago, Texsox said:

“For me, yeah, I want him to be back. But at the end of the day, my decision don't really matter,” Anderson said. “So I guess it all depends on what the front office thinks, but from my half, as far as speaking from a player's standpoint, for sure. I definitely want him in.

“He did a great job with the way he managed and just being open. You know when we took the field, we were going to go out and play hard for him and give him everything we got.”

Obviously Tim Anderson doesn't know shit about managing baseball or the White Sox. Trade him. 

Tim said the same shit about Renteria. Yet you had this to say about Rick:

 

On 8/24/2021 at 6:50 PM, Texsox said:

 

 But he was a bust as a first round draft pick and he was a bust as a manager. If anything his three and a third seasons as the White Sox manager highlights how long the team will keep people around. The Cubs only needed one season to know he wasn’t the guy.
 

 

 

So... I thought Tim Anderson knows shit about managing? I guess that only counts with TLR? Even though the team got worse in a lot of manager led aspects in 2021 vs 2020.

Edited October 18, 2021 by Look at Ray Ray Run

[Tnetennba]

3 hours ago, Texsox said:

A simple it's not my call instead of writing a love letter. It's like he actually likes playing for a Hall of Fame Manager.

Honestly, No player is really gonna say ‘it’s not my call.’  They are professionals and part of being a professional is saying the right thing, overly and untruthfully effusive as that might be.  Players might genuinely like playing for the man but also know that they aren’t in the best position to win because of him.  They aren’t gonna trash him if they already know he’s coming back.  Players not overtly trashing their manager =|= him being the best thing since sliced bread.  That’s not too hard to figure out. 

Edited October 18, 2021 by Tnetennba

[joejoesox]

37 minutes ago, Tnetennba said:

Honestly, No player is really gonna say ‘it’s not my call.’  They are professionals and part of being a professional is saying the right thing, overly and untruthfully effusive as that might be.  Players might genuinely like playing for the man but also know that they aren’t in the best position to win because of him.  They aren’t gonna trash him if they already know he’s coming back.  Players not overtly trashing their manager =|= him being the best thing since sliced bread.  That’s not too hard to figure out. 

especially after other guys in the clubhouse didn't go the "it's not my call" route, his hands were tied after Abreu vouched for LaRussa

[Buehrle>Wood]

It's so hard to admit for some that their made up narratives about Tim Anderson and TLR were not true.

[Texsox]

7 hours ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

Tim said the same shit about Renteria. Yet you had this to say about Rick:

 

 

So... I thought Tim Anderson knows shit about managing? I guess that only counts with TLR? Even though the team got worse in a lot of manager led aspects in 2021 vs 2020.

Let's follow the logic. Tim said Renteria was great. I said Renteria was horrible. Tim says Larussa is great, I say he's horrible. 

I say Tim still doesn't know shit about managing. 

But hey,  I get you agree with Tim. Tony isn't all horrible and perhaps there are a few guys Tony can manage well. 

[CentralChamps21]

There are two aspects of managing - managing the people and managing the game. Both RR and TLR were/are good at managing people. They create an environment where players want to give 100% and succeed.

Both RR and TLR are bad at managing the game. Ignoring data when making lineup, pitching and defensive positioning decisions. Liking a manager and wanting to play for him may cause players to dismiss a manager's shortcomings in this area.

[StrangeSox]

TA could genuinely think TLR is wonderful. It doesn't make TLR an actually good manager in 2021 or 2022.

[Y2Jimmy0]

On 10/15/2021 at 1:33 PM, Dick Allen said:

I agree. I understand tanking, but it really sucks. It would be a lot better if everyone was trying to win every year. Tanking has always been around, it's just that there are a lot more tankers now than ever before.

I agree that too many teams are losing intentionally but the blueprint works if done properly. These leagues incentivize losing and sports executives are smarter than ever. Young, cost-controlled players are the currency of the sport. You often need to be really bad in order to get those players. The Dodgers spend the most $$ but they also develop the most players. Not everyone can do that. I think teams owe their fans titles. Every move they make should be getting them closer to a championship. The Orioles are a great example. They were carrying $150-$180 million payrolls and had no chance at winning a title. What they're doing right now gets them much closer to truly competing. Now, everyone won't win a title of course. Teams aren't just trying to lose to pocket all the money. It's often because you need to get bad to get good sometimes. 

[tray]

The  Sox won the Division handily. They missed getting Home field advantage narrowly to Houston,  a team that proved that they had a demonstrably superior pitching staff.  McCullers started two of the four games and had little trouble with the Sox line-up.  Meanwhile, the Sox starters looked like they were worn down or worn out. That was  something that LaRussa, Katz, Cairo and McEwing and no doubt, the Sox training staff had concerns about. So did the fans after seeing some of their final starts which foretold their poor performance in the playoffs.

Meanwhile, some fans wanted the Sox to go all out for home field advantage. That was simply not possible given a  pitching staff with several pitchers  with marginalized arm strength/ and health/durability issues. . Kopech seemed like he was always a question mark as was Rodon . Giolito and Cease had less than stellar outings leading to the play-offs.  Keuchel did not even make it to the finish line.  Not enough bullets in the holster at the end and a glaring lack of the one big gun that could do what McCullers did to us.

Scapegoating on management is baseball fan's version of Monday morning quarterbacking. Some blame LaRussa for ignoring his coaches, scouting data, and positioning algorithms but we don't know exactly what Tony knew, what data he was given, or what advice his managers provided him with. Defensive positioning is never set in stone. All teams have access to spray charts for hitters but defensive positioning can easily be foiled by hitters or by pitchers who miss location.

Anyway, I hope Tony retires or takes a position in the Front Office, but I do not blame him for the Sox losing to the Astros.  They are just better than the Sox as are the Dodgers. The biggest discrepancy is starting pitching.  The White Sox need to make at least one trade to obtain a true Ace or they may have the same results next season.

Edited October 18, 2021 by tray

[Balta1701]

1 hour ago, Y2Jimmy0 said:

I agree that too many teams are losing intentionally but the blueprint works if done properly. These leagues incentivize losing and sports executives are smarter than ever. Young, cost-controlled players are the currency of the sport. You often need to be really bad in order to get those players. The Dodgers spend the most $$ but they also develop the most players. Not everyone can do that. I think teams owe their fans titles. Every move they make should be getting them closer to a championship. The Orioles are a great example. They were carrying $150-$180 million payrolls and had no chance at winning a title. What they're doing right now gets them much closer to truly competing. Now, everyone won't win a title of course. Teams aren't just trying to lose to pocket all the money. It's often because you need to get bad to get good sometimes. 

At the same time though, you cannot convince me that there aren't teams (Pittsburgh, Miami, Cleveland, Texas, Baltimore) that aren't making money hand over fist. In 2018, every team received nearly $120 million in revenue shared dollars, before they even sold a single ticket or had a single person tune in to their games. Those teams had payrolls between $40-$50 million this year, and many of them stay that low every year. 

[Y2Jimmy0]

20 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

At the same time though, you cannot convince me that there aren't teams (Pittsburgh, Miami, Cleveland, Texas, Baltimore) that aren't making money hand over fist. In 2018, every team received nearly $120 million in revenue shared dollars, before they even sold a single ticket or had a single person tune in to their games. Those teams had payrolls between $40-$50 million this year, and many of them stay that low every year. 

Why would they spend more $$ to win more though? Getting top 5 draft picks is the whole point of the thing. Now, more teams should be taking on bad salaries to get assets in return. I'd agree there.