South Side Hit Men

100% I burst out laughing when he said this: When we, my mistake is if we are going to put one or any on me if you like, is that I perhaps overestimated the strength in that room to deal with adversity.

His podcast likely ended any chance, at least until Jerry is dead. Especially the Hawk episode where he said Jerry's word cannot be trusted at this point with guys like Boyer undercutting him. (Multiple people have come out after Boyer this Spring including the current and previous TV PBP announcers).

And with Rocky dead, it's a clear no brainer. Think they should just transfer the organization to Northwestern and give us a new name, owner, ballclub and laundry to cheer for. He was not OK then or now. Hahn should have been whacked after 2015, certainly in 2016 when he could not handle a 13 year old in a clubhouse and had to run to Kenny to take charge.

I documented it not to give credence to it, but rather to refute future untrue statements and gaslighting that will occur over the next several months and into Spring Training in the event the three amigos (KW, RH and PG) remain in place, which is likely unless Jerry takes a dirt nap in the bullpen.

@Chick Mercedes I believe Hahn mentioned this once at the Fourth of July 'scrum", where most people were celebrating family and other things rather than pay attention to Sox baseball. And Pedro said he was holding players accountable a few times over the past month, that there would be changes and so forth just before the deadline.

Not sure if there is anything else, but these are the 12 plus minutes aired at the 4:20 PM segment on 670. If I come across any additional statements, I will add to this thread. Here are Rick Hahn's comments this afternoon: Preamble After we spoke at the deadline, I actually didn't anticipate speaking again so soon, but obviously over the past 48 hours there have been a few things that require direct responses. Cleveland First lets talk about the incident over the weekend in Cleveland.. Obviously unfortunate, you never want to see anything like that unfold on a baseball field. We were fortunate nobody was injured on either side, and obviously understand the Commissioner's Office role in doling out discipline. At this time we will support the process and let it unfold before seeing what is meted out. I will say, which coincidently goes into the second topic of leadership and clubhouse culture. You did see a team on Saturday and Sunday rally around each other. You saw examples of leadership such as that from Andrew Vaughn in particular on the field. Michael Kopech playing peacemaker in that melee, and a team that faced adversity as a unit and had delivered two victories that hopefully is something to build upon. Team Culture Obviously late last night, early this morning, there were reports from a former player criticizing some elements of our culture. I will get at that in a moment, those specific comments, but first I think it's important to note that for the past month you've heard fairly directly from both Pedro and me and others, that we realize we have, we had a bit of a culture problem in this clubhouse. That we didn't have a group that was pulling in the same direction, that was necessarily supporting each other or going about their business the way we wanted this team to go about it. It was something we were upfront about for the last several weeks, something we feel we've been in the process of addressing, both at the trade deadline as well as since. and it's something we expect we will continue to improve over the coming weeks. As I mentioned at the deadline, it was something that was a priority. In Cleveland, there was already a team meeting where many people spoke on the topic in the club, or on the club, to each other about who we want to be going forward and how we are going to go about being that on and off the field. So again, I understand why this report is out there, but frankly a lot of this stuff is old news in terms of some of the potential issues in that clubhouse and something that we already started the effort to address. Middleton Frankly the first rule of the clubhouse is what goes on in the clubhouse is supposed to stay there. I'm a big believer in that tenant. However, when an individual player casts aspersions and puts his name on it, I feel a responsibility to respond. Quite frankly, it's a little bit ironic that Keynan is the one saying this because my last conversation with him face to face was a week ago in this clubhouse, where he sought me out to apologize for his own professional behavior. Unprofessional behavior that Pedro had called him out on and had an individual meeting with him about and Keynan wanted to apologize for. I told him at the time, I figured that was a one off and something that anyone needed to get into any greater detail of, and he shared that he understood there was a trade deadline coming up and that if we moved him he would be very interested in returning to us as a free agent. So, for a number of reasons, the sanctity of the clubhouse, his own personal experience here as well as what he expressed to me as his future desires, I was surprised to see the report this morning. As for the content of the report, unfortunately I mentioned to you a few weeks ago that there's probably going to be some palace intrigue around here and you had to be careful about sourcing and what kind of information was out there, and who was saying what and not getting both sides. As for the specifics he laid out there, I'll go one by one by them and explain why each of them are off. Sleeping Players: At no time over the course of the year has there been a reliever sleeping in the bullpen, during a game. That's just wrong. We do have a player, a position player, who has fairly serious sleep issues. and as part of our sports performance program of trying to address that issue, he has been given permission and in fact encouraged to sleep in the clubhouse at times. Earlier in the season, a couple of our veteran players approached me complaining about such behavior. To their credit, they thought they were trying to help the environment, and when I explained to them the background of the player and why we were doing that, they relented and understood. Perhaps that's something that got lost in translation in Keynan's report, but at no point have we had a player sleeping in the bullpen. Missing Practice: Young player missed infield practice and there were no repercussions. We did have a young player miss infield practice and for the next three days he was out there doing infield practice as extra work, as a means of breaking through and holding him accountable for missing the practice and showing the importance of being there. Meeting where only pitchers spoke: The meeting in Toronto where only pitchers spoke, that's not true. Andrew Benintendi spoke during that meeting, it was again something that was supposed to stay in the clubhouse, but once you open the door and subject us to criticism, we're going to be a little more candid about it. So again, no one in this organization for the last several weeks has run from these, the fact that we had cultural issues and that we needed to improve the leadership in that room. We're going to continue to strive to get better in that area, but one thing we're not going to do is stand idly by while false reports are put out there about the character of the men that remain in that room. Bruce Levine: Rick, is it fair to ask if you were addressing issues in May, June, and July, and before the trading deadline, the cultural issues on your ballclub? Is it fair to ask? You can ask me anything you want, you know that. It was absolutely a subject of frequent conversation between Pedro and players , between myself and players, Kenny had various conversations with various players. We knew where we were headed. Look, as I mentioned at some point in one of our recent scrums, you learn a lot about people's character during times of adversity, and unfortunately we got off to a retched start, and the way the room responded was not the way we had hoped. We realized we had some issues that needed to be addressed. Again, we started that process over the last several weeks and it's an area we expect to continue to improve on. Follow up question from someone about Kenyan's statement there no rules, no accountability, would you (Rick) dispute this? 100% Even if you have articulated before, whatever was said, can you do it now? What is the culture? People who are, again, the people who have been here around the room regularly has heard this repeatedly. The kind of culture we want to create is one that not only has accountability but has people all pulling the same direction. People that are willing to understand we have players from different backgrounds, we have players with different needs, we have players with different strengths and some weaknesses, and that we are all trying to pull the same direction and getting the best out of them all in terms of winning ballgames. Anyone who tries to sort (?) that effort, or makes it more about me than the team, meaning more about the individual as opposed to the team, doesn't fit for what we are trying to do. And those are the type of players we prioritize in the draft, that's what we preach in player development, and that's what is going to be a focus going forward and continue to be a focus on player acquisition going forward. So where are the White Sox on that? We are a work in progress. We've had a problem, we addressed a good portion of it, and we got to continue to do it. Where have you gone wrong, then, in trying to create a cohesive roster and clubhouse? Again, I think partial, part of the element in this is the adversity. I mean, when we were rolling in 2021, we had some issues. We had some clubhouse issues, we had some disputes along the way in '21, but things were going so well, we were able to overcome them. When we, my mistake is if we are going to put one or any on me if you like, is that I perhaps overestimated the strength in that room to deal with adversity. Again, we got off to a retched start and things snowballed from there. I thought we had the strength and the presence to pull ourselves out from under it and keep, you know, instead of throwing stones like pull together and bond over the adversity, us against the world kind of thing, and it didn't happen. Has that been, I'm being melodramatic, a great disappointment for you, the disappointment in your career? Look, I've made no secret about the level of disappointment , not just for myself but throughout this organization about this past season. You know I think somebody asked me about, Vinnie asked me about this about a month ago in terms of ranking the disappointments I rather just wait until the end of the year. You know, again we had two nice wins over the weekend and we are going to try to beat the Yankees tonight. I've got 26 guys and a bunch of coaches in there that hopefully their focus is strictly on beating the Yankees. I don't want to be out here talking about, you know future developments or disappointment or macro themes when frankly let'em win a ballgame. Let'em put on a good show and win a ballgame tonight. There were reports that Grandal slapped Tim Anderson? Yeah, I heard Grandal denied that happening, and he told you it didn't happen. Right? Yeah. That's accurate. You're not suggesting he lied to you, I hope? How concerned are you right now about (The Score cut it off - so not sure if this was a general question, or specific toward Tim) mental illness? Um, sigh, I worry about all of them. Look, that's a serious topic for anybody, any player who is dealing with being under the spotlight or dealing with underachievement or dealing with disappointment, that's a serious consideration for anyone. You see it leaguewide, I think this, I mean obviously this is the first year the league was permitting IL placement for mental health concerns which shows the progress we've made as a league to understanding the importance of helping players through issues like that. So it's real for everyone out there, it's not easy when there's a third deck out there, and you got everyone on twitter, or whatever that cesspool is called now, obviously giving you feedback instantaneously on your performance. It's not am easy way to live your life, so I'm glad that mental health is something that the league now acknowledges, that we're concerned about it in that room, and that you as a report acknowledge is a legitimate concern for people. How is the evolution of the culture of guys that were impacted by multiple managerial changes in your regime? Um, well look, let's talk strictly about Pedro's regime, cause that's the most important one right now, that's the one that has the most impact on where we are and we're moving forward. I do think it takes a little bit of time for any manager, whether it's their first job, or new to the organization, to implement the culture that they want. I know early on, especially being a very veteran club, a club that had some success together, that Pedro early on wanted to observe and get to know and sort of understand what the culture was before he started putting his thumbprints all over it. Again, toward the end of Spring and early in the season, we started having conversations about areas where we needed to get better and that again over the last several weeks and months have been a part of the effort he has undertaken to get us better.

Name names, provide links. The Whore 670 is about to play Hahn's comments now.

I understand frustration for several aspects regarding Tim the past two season. Don't think there is a person not disappointed in some of the things he has done or his performance, impacted at least in part due to injuries. What I didn't understand this weekend was the substantial support of Cleveland's actions, including their Division clinching clubhouse last season. Tim responded to a finger waived in his face. Tito and Ramirez's comments, Ramirez posing with boxing gloves, their team chant of f*** The White Sox in their clubhouse celebration , Josh Naylor's trash in October were all thought out / premeditated. These people are trash, and nobody including Cleveland fans should condone, embrace or excuse their actions.

Riordan is Hahn's mouthpiece. Sounds like the plan is to blame this all on the players (fine, many deserve it) and exonerate management, same as the plan last season. Garfien and Ozzie have taken the same line based on quotes in game threads (I don't have cable TV or would watch their s%*# if I did).

Sounds like a Brooks Boyer scheme.

See, Kenny was right. People are held accountable in the White Sox Organization.

2023 White Sox Team Photo

The problem is Hahn is too insecure and incapable of having an experienced and proven quality manager under him. It was reported Hahn had zero interest in Bochy this offseason, despite being the best fit both strategically and professionally.

Nobody could have predicted the White Sox would have so much local and national interest going into this game. Liveliest SoxTalk has been since Opening Day.

Playing peacekeeper. Eloy should have been fined for that jig he did.

Roid rage.

TLR did the opposite of what was expected beyond his treatment of rookies. Tony wanted to be grandpa and the veterans to love him. The players took advantage, with several players openly mocking him six weeks into the season. Then again, there was a lot to mock. Still glad he made it out of here in better shape physically and mentally, based on his final press conference, than how he looked and spoke his entire tenure. Glad he didn’t die trying to salvage Jerry’s dysfunctional organization.

He and others in that organization’s true colors emerged over the past year plus. Players and the manager I previously held respect for, despite being Sox rivals, have been exposed. Sox teams must keep this in mind when they face Cleveland in the future.

The bottom line is he and everyone else went along with the program established by Jerry and his C-Suite. In my eyes this has been going on since Ozzie’s final year or two, and has now encompassed five full time and multiple interim managers. The majority of the posts here are coming after the players or manager, which is fine, but the problem originates and can only be remedied by changes in ownership, KW, RH, BB and the others at the Board and Officer level. Yet, there is still time.

This reflects even more poorly on Gossip Girl Middleton. He's not man enough to say or do anything about it while here, but instead went and gossiped like a little b**** to the New York media the day before the Sox vs. Yankees series. In a way he is worse than Keuchel and his mommy running to the media to throw teammates, coaches and managers under the bus, or Lynn literally pointing fingers and pouting at players and coaches when his overpaid worthless ass s%*# the bed the one game that mattered, and sucked his entire extension. Should what Middleton mentioned be occurring with the White Sox? Absolutely not. Is Middleton correct saying this starts at the top? Yes. Has the Board or Officers been held to even a tiny level of accountability over the past decade? Absolutely not. Should everyone at the Board Level, Officers and Baseball Operations be s%*# canned immediately, if not sooner? Hell To The Yes. $54M 1.1 bWAR over three Seasons $36M Extension Negative 0.6 bWAR over two seasons Half of these people are near death, incompetent, incontinent, or 2-3 of these conditions. All 14 need to go for this organization to get a legitimate clean slate. Board of Directors Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf Board Member Robert Judelson Board Member Judd Malkin Board Member Allan Muchin Board Member Jay Pinsky Board Member Lee Stern Board Member Burton Ury Officers Senior Executive Vice President Howard Pizer Executive Vice President Ken Williams Senior Vice President/General Manager Rick Hahn Senior Vice President, Administration Tim Buzard Senior Vice President, Stadium Operations Terry Savarise Senior Vice President, Chief Revenue and Marketing Officer Brooks Boyer Senior Vice President, Communications Scott Reifert

I agree, but that was not the right way to broach the issue. The lack of discipline goes to the C-Suite. Nobody should be fighting or choking subordinates, especially your top management. Jerry not only tolerates it, but excuses/condones and possibly encourages it with zero consequences. Middleton is right, it starts at the top.

I joined here at the end of August 2020, and didn't understand where all the bashing of Ricky came from. Then I saw many links and quotes here of Jerry's asshole studio crew and Stone's twitter account. People are easily persuaded by corporate media, including MLB owner's paid broadcasters. It sounded like a ruse orchestrated by Jerry to open up a job he promised to Tony. Ricky should have been given the final year of his contract,. Rick Hahn should never have been allowed to stay and sign another manager.

Yep. Ricky is the only manager in the Hahn era who instilled any sort of discipline or accountability on the team. Before him, neither Robin Ventura or Rick Hahn could handle a 13 year old child, had to call Daddy Kenny in to resolve the situation which led to a team schism. Jerry should have fired Kenny, Rick and Cooper after Kenny nuked Ozzie's authority of his DRs by extending Kenny's clubhouse snitch Cooper behind Ozzie's back, despite having an agreement to jointly evaluate the coaching staff after the 2011 season. Kenny, Rick and Robin should all have been fired in 2015, certainly in 2016. Then again Paxson should have been fired for choking Vinnie Del Negro, Ditto Kenny's "heated exchange" with Greg Walker. This culture is Jerry Reinsdorf's MO. He cherishes it, keep the rubbish beneath him fighting each other so they don't raise a spear at him. https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2011/3/9/2038527/john-paxson-bulls-vinny-del-negro https://www.nbcsports.com/mlb/news/white-sox-gm-kenny-williams-has-heated-exchange-with-hitting-coach-greg-walker