South Side Hit Men

Fuck small ball.

Yes, managing like it's the 1970s and 1980s.

Pen, no need to keep pushing Rodon @ + 100 pitches. He needs to stay healthy all season.

Nice inning Rodon. Someone wake up Tony and get someone up in the bullpen (90 pitches through 6).

Oh yeah! Still MVP!!!

Up and Adam, Adam Ant!!!

SpaghettiOs!

Collins should be getting more games behind the plate, for his offense and defense.

These two tweets didn't age well, the second because rather than "I'll tell you what I think", he just blocked Sox fans who followed up for a comment,.

Defensively I agree, but by keeping him on the bench you have a late inning defensive replacement or runner option. When he starts, your stuck with four poor at bats. Garcia isn’t an everyday player, but there are sadly no other CFs on the roster. It’s why I wanted the Sox to go after Jackie Bradley Jr. for RF with flexibility to play CF. 1. He is rumored as a bad clubhouse presence, playing on three teams his final two years. 2. Missed 2020 after getting COVID as a free agent (just before signing with Atlanta). 3. He’s currently facing sexual assault lawsuit (not a criminal case) from a 2018 incident. Even if a team signs him, he very likely could be placed on suspension while MLB investigates. A criminal conviction is not required for MLB to suspend a player for these types of incidents. https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/31257025/yasiel-puig-denies-accusations-sexual-assault-lawsuit

I’m less concerned at this point with who bats where vs. keeping Hamilton and Lamb on the bench for 90+% of games. Also like seeing Collins catch Rodon regularly, as he is much more competent catching his slider than Grandal. Collins should also be paired with Lucas, with Grandal catching Keuchel, Lynn and Cease. When I look at the past three lineups, I believe there is reason to believe Hahn spoke to La Russa in Cincinnati regarding the importance of regularly playing your best players, especially when two of your best are out until late Summer.

Yes, but his consideration and hiring of Tony La Russa is more of an indication of Jerry's personality traits. His hire is similar to Gar/Pax, Kenny/Hahn, Hawk Harrelson and others. Can't say he wasn't lucky, with Portland selecting Sam Bowie which changed the course of history.

You should really consider installing a good ad blocker, there is no reason for ads or pop ups in 2021.

People assume Jerry remains lucid at age 85, but unlike Tony, Jerry can continue to operate as a recluse and the public will never know if he has diminished capacity. The last time Jerry was videotaped for an interview was February 2020, he explicitly stated Tony La Russa has no reason to return to managing. I wonder if the White Sox are considering controlling or pulling media access to Tony. In nearly five decades of watching sports, I don’t ever recall a similar incident of a reporter reading and teaching a manager or coach the rules of a game, or a response that the media knows the rules better than the manager. I hope the White Sox don’t pull James Fegan’s credentials for the audacity of doing his job.

I went to the popcorn vendor and asked if they knew whether Tony could have inserted Jose Abreu instead of Liam Hendriks as the 10th inning runner. She laughed and said “That’s not my job, that’s the manager’s job.” PS - Listen to DJ’s radio broadcast during the 10th if you have access. DJ, who is nearly always positive, was livid. He said multiple times he didn’t know what the Sox were doing and criticized at least three TLR decisions.

A smart manager saves a good runner and pinch hitter in a close game. Tony intentionally made a move to insert Liam Hendriks as his extra inning runner, questioned by his coaches and possibly players, and had Hamilton bat at the most critical juncture. It doesn’t get more pathetic. 2021 White Sox extra inning hitters: (Fangraph offensive rank among 18 White Sox hitters in 2021) - all one at bat except Grandal (2). Madrigal (5th) Collins (9th) Eaton (10th) Grandal (14th) Lamb (15th) Hamilton (16th) Williams (17th) Garcia (18th and last) Tony’s runners: Nick Williams; Yoan Moncada and Liam Hendricks.

How could they possibly learn more from anyone going beyond Tony La Russa*? Tony knows many of the rules baseball, and is an expert on the unwritten rules. (* setting aside the shameful token interview conducted of Willie Harris to “comply” with the Selig Rule). Jerry Reinsdorf on Tony LaRussa returning to managing, February 2020: "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."  6:23 mark

The Angels and 27 other teams (Sox 29th, Miami 30th), have a better record than GM Rick Hahn’s White Sox. Miami’s Kim Ng is working to pass the Sox. She is much more qualified than JR’s crony FO. At least Anaheim is trying by spending, and hiring managers with recent post season experience. Compare against the White Sox who went with the manager who became the last to intentionally walk Albert Pujols. The Angels owner interceded to offer that contract in part to market the team.

In what alternative universe is Tony La Russa not the beneficiary of cheating? Oakland was ground zero for the steroid era, and he brought his buddy Mark with him to Saint Louis. Not to mention Jack McDowell’s accusations. Hawk rightfully fired him. With his current performance, it doesn’t appear he’ll be able to improve much on his .507 White Sox record. Reminds me of sanctimonious John Wooden. Sam Gilbert, not John Wooden, was the pyramid of UCLA’s success.

Definitely has better sprint speed than Grandal.

Hahn's Sabotage began on Day One

https://www.businessinsider.com/ceos-often-have-psychopathic-traits-2017-7?op=1 Profile fits Reinsdorf 100%, Tony on a lot of levels.

When exactly does Sox management speak? La Russa's hire was reported weeks before the press conference. The Score (Speigel and Parkins) discussed rumors that Hahn and the FO are possibly intentionally sabotaging the La Russa hire, letting him hang out to dry. That's pure speculation, but at the same time if Hahn signs Pujols, coupled with Lamb's continued existence leads credence to this theory. Many here want to absolve Hahn with speculation he has "no say / power, Tony calls all the shots", replacing the "All bad trades/signings/draft picks are Kenny's fault, the few good moves were Rick Hahn's" groupthink. A fair honest assessment is neither are performing on an acceptable level in their respective roles.

Tony La Russa's "A Lineup" Player (2021 fWAR) SS Anderson (0.9) RF Eaton (0.5) 3B Moncada (1.0) 1B Abreu (0.4) DH Pujols (-0.3) C Grandal (0.3) LF Lamb (0.0) CF Garcia (-0.3) 2B Madrigal (0.5) Bench: Mercedes (1.0); Vaughn (0.4); Hamilton (0.0); Collins (0.3). AAA: Mendick (0.3)