If you're KW, who's on your BIG BOARD to replace Ozzie?

[WCSox]

My man love for Davey Johnson is unabated. He's hasn't coached in the majors in 10 years but he's been managing internationally and now works in the Nat's front office. He's a man made of fire and passion with a heart insulated in steel that was forged in the bowels of hell. He also studies the game, is willing to take risks in the Weaver-Ball mold, knows how to run an offense, and has as many rings on his fingers as Ozzie does.

 

I don't know, Johnson got pushed around pretty hard by both Ripken and Angelos in Baltimore. Granted, both of those guys can be real passive-aggressive assholes at times, and that not an enviable position to be in, but I don't really put Johnson in the same league as Earl Weaver. Still, he might not be a bad manager under a decent guy like JR and with players who don't try to undermine his authority.

 

[harfman77]

I like Sandy Alomar as a candidate. Catchers seem to have a little more success because they understand what goes into hitting and also are accustomed to handling pitchers. He has ties to the Sox. Has some coaching experience now with the Mets and Indians. He could be a great asset to have in mentoring younger guys, especially Flowers and Phlegey.

[Jerksticks]

I wonder if all these candidates could make the players hit above .200 and force Peavy to hold the lead he was given a couple of times. New manager needed instantly.

[The Ginger Kid]

sparky anderson. I used to see him at sunset hills golf course, i'll ask him if he's interested.

[jenksycat]

I wonder if all these candidates could make the players hit above .200 and force Peavy to hold the lead he was given a couple of times. New manager needed instantly.

 

Clearly it would. All this team needs is a re-order of the lineup and they'd be in first place. f***ing Ozzie

[caulfield12]

So you're telling me you would have trotted out a line-up in Arlington with Vizquel in the 2 spot, Kotsay prominently featured (or featured at all)...with no Beckham and it was either Rios or Quention/Konerko that were also sitting? Honestly?

 

I know Vizquel/Nix/Kotsay starting along with any combination of Paulie/Rios/Jones/Beckham/Quentin sitting (2 of them) is asking for a beatdown.

Edited April 30, 2010 by caulfield12

[jenksycat]

So you're telling me you would have trotted out a line-up in Arlington with Vizquel in the 2 spot, Kotsay prominently featured (or featured at all)...with no Beckham and it was either Rios or Quention/Konerko that were also sitting? Honestly?

 

I know Vizquel/Nix/Kotsay starting along with any combination of Paulie/Rios/Jones/Beckham/Quentin sitting (2 of them) is asking for a beatdown.

 

And yet we f***ing won with Kotsay, and put up more runs with Vizquel than without, woopdeedoo. People need something to blame, so its the lineup. Yeah it makes a bit of difference, but with only 3 sometimes 4 guys hitting, it doesn't make a damn bit of difference.

 

Baseball is such a one on one sport, freaking out over the few little things the manager does control is stupid. I'll freak out over Lubbie's s*** coaching, less of VDN, and even less of Ozzie. It all falls on the players. You think the Royals/Pirates/etc fans scream about the lineup all season? If you have s*** players and/or players playing like s***, it doesn't matter

Edited April 30, 2010 by Jenksy Cat

[caulfield12]

So then, you think KW should be more on the "hot seat" than Ozzie Guillen...? Since the line-up is lacking in overall talent and ability, yes?

 

Agree/disagree?

[Dick Allen]

So then, you think KW should be more on the "hot seat" than Ozzie Guillen...? Since the line-up is lacking in overall talent and ability, yes?

 

Agree/disagree?

I'm starting to think Ozzie may have been given more responsibilty for roster decisions from JR. In an interview this winter JR said it was only fair to give Ozzie the type of team he wanted. Maybe he was dismayed at not being .500 and picking up a bunch of money last offseason. It was no secret he was pissed, and maybe Ozzie's pushing for this kind of team caused the relationship between him and KW to be strained, and JR decided to listen to Ozzie. Its just a theory, but technically KW is Ozzie's boss. If the roster truly is his responsiblity he should be held accountable. We just don't know who really makes the final decisions. Maybe its a group vote. Whoever had responsibilty for this current roster and thought there was enough offense with Kotsay and Vizquel and Pierre needs to have at least some of their pull taken away. This is the second year in a row that an average fan could have told you a major part of their team that they were counting on to produce was a pipedream. Wise last year was ridiculous. I'll never forget the interview KW said Lillibridge would steal 40 bases. The guy hit .220 in AAA the year before.

 

KW needs to upgrade the offense and the sooner the better. If it takes him 60 games to determine his offense is short, he needs to hire someone to help him or hire better helpers. I think this current group will improve, but name a top 3 pitcher on a potential playoff team that you wouldn't think could shut the Sox offense down? Pierre, Teahen, Kotsay, Vizquel, they may all be nice guys and professionals, but the Sox need better hitters than these guys. Quentin is hurt, who would have seen that coming? Jones is most likely going to get hurt. Its time to bring in a big bat Kenny.

[jenksycat]

So then, you think KW should be more on the "hot seat" than Ozzie Guillen...? Since the line-up is lacking in overall talent and ability, yes?

 

Agree/disagree?

 

I don't believe in a "hot seat", but with the soxtalk logic of "someone must be fired" I guess agree.

 

I still trust KW, I still trust Ozzie, and anyone who thinks bringing in a new GM or skipper would make this team a contender is an idiot. I like having an aggressive GM, he's gonna win some and lose some but in the end its still on the players. The problem with that is, you can't really "fire" a player, so we as fans need something to blame no matter how stupid it is. But the fact still remains, on paper, KW has put together some solid teams that just didn't work out and some that did.

[greg775]

Isn't the organization currently in love with Buddy Bell? He'd be the new skipper and would make not a bit of difference in our play.

 

Why not sit back and let this play out until the all star break when KW can start rebuilding the team? Why the f*** would you fire Ozzie right now? And KW is going nowhere right now either. It'll be Ozzie fired or nobody fired and it would be dumb to fire Ozzie.

[knightni]

Bell does a great job in scouting but is mediocre as a manager. Why give him the job unless you're just pandering to him?

[caulfield12]

But I was reading somewhere around here (can't remember the poster, on the tip of my tongue) that many were pissed off with Buddy Bell because some of the off-season targets (especially Teahen) were ones that he really pushed hard for their addition, with the specific argument that Teahen could be a serviceable defensive 3B and everyday player despite bottom tier defense and 3rd quartile offensive upside at a power position.

 

Really, you have a guy who strikes out a ton, doesn't have very good power and can hurt you defensively (yes, he has a "plus" arm but that doesn't compensate for his lack of instincts, just like Fields). It comes as no surprise, then, that the Royals had tried him at 1B, 2B, RF and LF. None of those positions really "clicked" either, particularly 2B.

 

If Hahn is a great GM candidate, then it seems his voice has really been neutered...if Bell and Ozzie actually have more influence. How/why would you let those guys have more authority when you have one of the better GM's in baseball who did construct a roster which everyone around here concedes many SoxTalk posters could have led to a World Series title?

 

If Bell really wanted Vizquel (as a tutor for Alexei), then I would forgive him for that logic. At least that's a reasonably defensible position. But to argue for dumping Dye/Thome and replacing it with Kotsay at-bats...just not sound F.0. thinking. If EVERYONE here saw it coming 2 years in a row with rosters at the beginnings of the season, nobody internally in the White Sox organization challenged Bell and Guillen about their flawed institutional approach? Really? Makes me question what the heck is really going on, if we're conjecturing KW is more of a "figurehead/symbol" than the real MAN he always projects himself to be....maybe his brash/bold attitude is compensating for the fact that it's all kind of a charade??? I just don't know what to think anymore.