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Rosenthal: An Open Letter to Tony La Russa This whole piece is wonderful and spot on. More in the actual article, which I assume is paywalled. Quoted a bunch of what seems relevant. https://theathletic.com/3593415/2022/09/14/rosenthal-tony-la-russa-white-sox-manager-future/

The more info that comes out, the more pissed off all Sox fans should be regarding how much Tony destroyed this team. He deserves every critical thing written about him. It’s just too bad it took this long for a change to happen.

Ken on a rampage since getting dropped by mlb tv

That's because the chessmaster went for a closer who wasn't going to close and historically didn't do well in that role last year. And then double down on being dumb. Hahn needs to go.

After reading it again, so many things that stun me with how much of a “hit piece” this is (and not in a bad way). The point about Cairo communicating better with Latino players, some coaches not feeling comfortable to express an opinion and the belief that the injuries were caused by frequent laziness. It’s truly one of the more damming articles you will ever read regarding a coach’s status.

I don't buy that. We've seen way too much of Menechino's history with the Marlins for me to believe that it's a coincidence the White Sox are the exact same thing as the marlins were. I'm totally ok with the concept that Menechino and LaRussa are totally on the same page when it comes to hitting the ball on the ground the other way.

Well there goes Ken's access to the Sox.

Ken bringing the heat today! "But Tony, it’s more obvious every day: Cairo is doing a better job. Yes, the team finally is getting healthier, the offense finally is hitting with power, the players finally are responding to the urgency of their situation, three games out in the weak AL Central with 20 to play. Maybe all that would have happened if you were still the manager. But Cairo is bringing energy. Communicating with players. Holding them accountable. All things maybe you thought you were doing. But evidently, weren’t doing well enough." "Your relationship with coaches was another issue. Most staffs today are highly collaborative. Your style is far more autonomous. Some coaches were OK with that, I’m told. Others were not. Your emphasis on hits and contact ran counter to the hitting coaches’ goals for achieving power through patience. Cairo cited his respect for you in explaining why he refrained from calling out the team sooner; clearly, he did not feel empowered to take a stand."

They lost it in April when they got swept by the Guardians and Twins. And a lot of the blame for that goes on Keuchel, TA, and La Russa.

What an amazing and well written article, he said it better than anyone else could have. Impressed at how aware Rosenthal is on how dysfunctional this organization is

f*** his legacy. I want my team to be good again. The sooner he is no longer around the sooner that can feasibly happen.

Beautiful. What a mic drop.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen Rosenthal be that critical

For those that don't understand the joke: One of my all-time favorites.

Colas should be playing RF next year. Play the guy! Abreu gone. Eloy DH. Vaughn at 1B.

I realize this board only exists to collectively hate on every White Sox thing imaginable, but can we all take a second to recognize that Dylan is probably the best RH starter in the history of the franchise? Can we maybe take a second to celebrate that? The kid should be a White Sox legend. In his prime, he's better than Blackjack and he probably has the best repertoire of pitches in Sox history. He's just so incredibly nasty.

Ken Rosenthal: Stay Away Old Server

Server had some random issue (not sure what it was) - I was traveling so didn't realize it was out but it needed the old hard reboot.

Imagine if we hired AJ Hinch instead of the corpse. This to me is just as bad as the white flag trade, the lockout in 94. This is just JR destroying things. We assumed that the lockout would cost us years due to the principals involved. Its JR self destroying the team.

i take solace in knowing Jerry missed out on all that playoff revenue

I got nothing against Cairo, but they need to do a real managerial search this time around. Maybe playing better in the last 2 weeks gives the team some sense of direction, but the FO and managerial staff shouldn't be free from consequences for blowing this season so badly.

Given how bad Robert, Sheets and Engel have been for the last month, not calling up Colas was a huge mistake

Not only did the trades kill them last year, now it’s had a negative impact on 2022 and 2023.

I would say Kimble trade was a major mistake when we did not need a closer, and should have used those resources to get a quality LH outfielder instead.

When the Indians celebrate, they should force this group of players to watch it. Then KW should ask them the question, how in the f*** is this possible. How exactly did a team that tried to lay down beat you in your, checks notes, world series contention window.

Moncada is a disastre personal

Why is Robert playing? He clearly is still hampered by the hand/wrist. He's not adding anything to the team like this.

I would say the conditioning people will get canned. Then TLR gets a "never felt better in my life" and everyone stays the same. If anything Cairo might get bounced because TLR will see him as competition. Then more roster gymnastics will go on, and not in a good way.

I would still say that half of Kelly's terrible-ness is the fact that they keep rushing these guys back from being on the injured list without proper rehab. It's clearly not all of it, he is having another crappy run lately, but that first month he clearly needed more time in Charlotte.

19 left after today and they will be 5 out in the loss column. They have to sweep the Guardians and that still might not be enough. Large amount of people with this organization should be unemployed after this year with what has happened.

Yep, the Sox lost this division the first few months of the season.

The Indians are playing like they want to win the division. They are having moments. We cant figure out how to play fundamental baseball for 9 innings in a row.

It makes a ton of sense for this to be Hahn. He essentially got demoted when TLR was hired, and then has seen his reputation go from exec of the year to trash tier in a year. Then TLR finally leaves, the team starts to play to its talent again, he thinks he can save his job and his reputation, only for Jerry to try to enable TLR to come back again. If Hahn thinks he is on the hot seat anyway, or is just tired of being (in his mind unfairly) judged for the team's failures, why not take a shot on a hit piece like this. Maybe he finally got tired of taking Jerry/TLR's s%*# and lashed out.

With all the publicity this is getting, it would be extremely foolish to bring him back. Even more so than before. The front office would look incredibly incompetent and disconnected with reality. This has to be it.

This is what, the 2nd scathing piece by a national writer about TLR in the past week? Is it too tinfoil hat to think Hahn or Kenny are spilling the dirt now that everyone can see a tangible difference between TLR and even a semi-competent manager?

I have, as he penned a scathing piece on the Sox situation vis a vis the Cubs in the early 00's. I supplied him with information for it after getting reports from sources and former players about some things that were happening including fans angerly confronting JR at White Sox fantasy camp to the point where Bill Melton had to step in and try to cool things down. Here is his column: “While angst-ridden Red Sox and Cubs fans mutter about curses, White Sox fans are far more deserving of sympathy. Their franchise is in an inexcusable funk, and not simply because it operates with small-market restraint in the nation's third-largest city. As the Angels and Marlins proved, teams can win with mid-sized payrolls. But the White Sox, burdened by bloated contracts, are going backward. And though they face genuine disadvantages trying to compete with the Cubs, most fans don't want to hear it. They're fed up with a team that hasn't been to the World Series since 1959 or won it since '17. The first to go should be Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, the distrusted Brooklyn native who could re-energize the franchise by selling to Chicago interests. But because Reinsdorf gives no indication he wants out, the more likely departure is All-Star right fielder Magglio Ordonez, who will be a free agent at the end of the season. Then what? As the Cubs have continued their ascent with a series of impressive offseason moves, the White Sox have lost six free agents -- an especially troubling development considering their farm system no longer is providing impact replacements. Even in the weak A.L. Central, the Sox might not contend with Miguel Olivo at catcher, Willie Harris at second and Aaron Rowand in center. Their rotation will suffer from the loss of Bartolo Colon. Their bullpen could be OK ... if closer Billy Koch regains his velocity. The team's projected $64 million payroll reflects its poor home attendance, which ranked only 21st in the majors last season. But general manager Ken Williams has left himself little payroll flexibility, committing $53.375 million to eight players, including two disappointments, Koch and first baseman Paul Konerko. The anger in Chicago is palpable. Some fans confronted Williams during a heated question-and-answer session at the team's winter festival, and the G.M. sniped back. Others grilled Reinsdorf during a Q-and-A at the team's fantasy camp in Tucson, Ariz., and former Sox player Bill Melton reportedly tried to intervene before Reinsdorf continued taking questions. The negativity drives Sox officials’ nuts; the Cubs draw even when they lose, thanks to the party atmosphere at Wrigley Field. The Sox, though, had better attendance than the Cubs every season but one from 1951 to '67 and also from '81 to '84. The opening of their new park in '91 should have sparked a renaissance. Instead, the Sox have drawn fewer than 2 million for 10 straight seasons -- an incomprehensible streak for a team with a new park. U.S. Cellular Field is part of the problem; the White Sox opened their cookie-cutter facility a year before the Orioles launched Camden Yards, the retro park that revolutionized the sport. The Sox since have made extensive renovations, the latest being the removal of the top eight rows from the absurdly steep upper deck. Yet, even if they transform the park into an asset, better attendance won't be assured. U.S. Cellular is on the south side of Chicago, and inbound evening rush-hour traffic from the north and west has become oppressive. Wrigley is more accessible, and the Cubs start the majority of their games in the afternoon. They also draw a sizable percentage of fans from surrounding neighborhoods. The Sox, playing in a more depressed section of the city, soon might receive a similar benefit; the area west of the park is beginning to revive. Reinsdorf's cynical ownership, however, remains an enduring obstacle. After taking over in 1981, Reinsdorf and vice chairman Eddie Einhorn drove away popular legends such as Bill Veeck, the team's previous owner, and broadcaster Harry Caray, who left for the Cubs. In 1988, the owners extracted a new, publicly financed stadium from the state after nearly moving the Sox to St. Petersburg, Fla. And the team hasn't recovered from the '94 strike, a showdown advocated by Reinsdorf, a hawk on labor issues. The Sox had the third-best record in the majors when the season was canceled. It is not easy to categorize Reinsdorf: He ordered the notorious "White Flag" trade in '97 but also has authorized bold moves -- signing Albert Belle and trading for Colon. Friends and employees tell of his kindness and generosity. Still, the Sox suffer from a severe image problem, and it starts with an owner many perceive as arrogant and stubborn. Even at their worst, the Cubs always had likable players -- Ryne Sandberg, Mark Grace, Sammy Sosa. The Sox, by contrast, traded Sosa to the Cubs for George Bell, and now the White Sox's biggest stars are the quiet Ordonez and the self-absorbed Frank Thomas. One rival executive says Reinsdorf hired Ozzie Guillen as manager to give the team a personality. Williams never stops trying as G.M., but he failed in his goal to get to the playoffs last season and create additional revenue for the '04 payroll. The Cubs came within one win of going to the World Series, then added first baseman Derrek Lee and reliever LaTroy Hawkins. The Sox finished four games out of first place in the A.L. Central and added infielder Juan Uribe and relievers Cliff Politte and Shingo Takatsu while suffering major defections. Their fans have a right to be mad. The Cubs shouldn't own the town.” – Ken Rosenthal, senior baseball writer, The Sporting News, February 16, 2004.

You can call it ageism, but there really aren't a lot of ways 20 or 30 somethings connect with old school 77 year olds in any workplace.

Let the team rally around Cairo, the anti-TLR. It was obvious all year by different quotes that the players knew the clubhouse was awful. I know myself, and basically anyone that gets information passed along to them, has heard it’s a total mess.

Again, it is a public confirmation that everything about the Tony LaRussa regime has been a worse case scenario. [Qanon has entered the chat] I would not be the least bit surprised if this "information" that Rosenthal got came from Rick, Kenny, or both.

Rick and Kenny and JR hide. Every day the players and Cairo get asked about this guy. Take the burden off them. Rosenthal is right in so many ways, but because it's obvious, Tony won't go for it.

Menechino's reputation as a guy who preaches average over power is very clear though. However, he was also the hitting coach before Tony was manager and the team hit for power in 2020.

I think instead of moaning about Eloy's past injuries, we should be celebrating what he is doing now. Two major injuries yet who has been better in all of baseball this second half? Judge, definitely. Goldschmidt is doing other worldly things. Lowe? It's a short list and Eloy still isn't 100%. Just tell him, if he wants to play LF next year, come to camp in shape and be ready to have an MVP season. The player that should concern everyone is Robert. He is not rebounding well and this team needs both to truly be considered a contender. It's really why we area struggling .500 team. These two have not played together nearly enough. Need both to be healthy next year unless you trade for a Goldschmidt or sign a Judge.

I love that this thread has people listing Ed Walsh — rightfully so, mind you — and then you have Caulfield mentioning noted not-right handers Buehrle, Sale, Rodon, and Pierce.

Please no Robert today. He’s just embarrassing himself and a threat to reinjure

When the Cubs traded him, Rick Sutcliffe said he was the best Cubs pitching prospect he had ever seen. All time Sox great? Not yet, although this seaon will rank among the best in team history. Hes on his way. I'm so glad Dan Bernstein wasn't able to trade him and more for a couple of months of Joc Pederson last year.

I’d be more excited if Cleveland didn’t have the ability to pick names out of a hat and have those guys go 6IP 1ER

They (LaRussa) punted a minimum of 10 games (probably closer to 15) by "resting guys to stay fresh"/unplayable lineups. They so miscalculated this season that they were left in late August to then try to win at all costs. Their handling of Robert was horribly naive and borderline malpractice. He's going to be useless the last 5 weeks of the season because they didn't bite the bullet and IL him after the initial injury in Detroit. This falls on Hahn for not supplementing this roster the last 1 1/2 years with ML talent. He needs to go.

It would, but also I don’t want hear any complaining about how unfair it is either. They did it that way this year because the backup should be a wildcard spot. Since it’ll be lower than the 6-seed…shut up and go home.

The fact that Hendriks had to say that things wouldn't go back to the way they were even if Tony comes back isn't a good thing. It means they have to worry about him losing the team again. And again through all of this, not a single senior White Sox official has been willing to speak up on behalf of Tony. The tenure of Tony LaRussa has been a full worst case scenario.

Tony--read the tea leaves. You are the problem. Please walk away from this team.