Balta1701

If there was ever a time to retire the notion that the manager can’t make a difference it’s after the 2022 White Sox season.

Joy.

The guy drafted immediately after him, Shane Baz, was ranked as the 8th best prospect in baseball coming into the year by BP and Baseball America and 12th by MLB.com. Played in the 2021 Futures Game.

So you’d recommend the paper bag.

I’d rather go with unknown but good interview and insight into how to improve this team than Ozzie.

The White Sox literally open in Houston next year and I’ve never been to an opening day. I don’t know how to do this. White Sox jersey and a paper bag over my head? A sign that says fire Ozzie?

This was also for a team that had missed the playoffs 3 straight years and had 1 playoff win in 6 years, without ever saying that they were rebuilding. Those results did not deserve a contract extension. He should have had to play out his lame duck year for his job.

It would be a relief?

I will. 2010-2011 Ozzie didn’t care one iota about his clubhouse or his players. It was all about Ozzie. The game had to be played his way, with players he liked, and if he didn’t like you then he didn’t care about you. Where his son got drafted and his contract extension were way more important than having guys ready to go, he didn’t even want some of them.

And if you want evidence he hasn’t changed at all, look no further than him using his NBC sports tv spot to angle for LaRussa’s job. However bad Tony was, that was also inappropriate.

I would be genuinely confused about why literally any manager would want this.

This chatter exploded today because of confirmation that he got 2 interviews, which we’ve heard about very few people. We also have none of the so-called insiders saying that it won’t happen.

Almost everyone hated that move here at the time. Ozzie made that judgment call because he believed firmly that was how to play the game, guys who put the ball in play and go the other way are more valuable than guys who hit the ball out of the park. It’s an example of the kind of mistakes we would expect to repeat if this happened.

The Saints might not agree.

The reason that there was a revolving door of DHs is that the White Sox have been terrible at finding them since the idea of having Kotsay there led them to let Tony walk. They haven’t had anyone good enough with the bat to fill that spot since. Vaughn could well still be a solid pick if his bat improves, they clearly need offense right now.

That fire and passion was there at the beginning and a punchline by the end.

I’m still partial to Carlos Quentin starting 08 on the bench for Jerry Owens. That season was saved by Owens getting hurt. I also like the time in either 10 or 11 when it was clear Alexei Ramirez was one of the worst bunters we ever saw, he came up with 0 outs and runners on 1st and 2nd, and bunted into a triple play because the bunt can never fail.

That’s because Kenny kept going out and getting guys like Thome and Quentin who did that. But when Ozzie got his choices, it was Juan Pierre, Darin Erstad, Mark Kotsay.

Here is the Fire Rick Hahn thread. Ive long thought that firing him wasn’t enough. He should have been fired so many times that after 2016 he also needed to be tarred and feathered and paraded through the south side while fans curse and spit at him.

The hitting approach in general last year was very Ozzie.

Both TLR and Ozzie insist that there’s a right way to play the game and it’s how the game was played in the 1980s. That still even comes through in Ozzie’s commentary. Buntin. Stolen bases. Lead off hitter must always be short. Grindiness. Expect to see Leury leading off at least a few times. In Ozzie’s pair of good seasons, he had rosters that worked around that. Guys who hit home runs filled key spots and the rest of the league hadn’t figured out ways to neutralize them if the lineup was screwy. In the bad seasons, Ozzie’s tendencies kept hurting. In his good seasons, the thing Ozzie did bring was confidence to some guys. They were energetic and together. However, in his worst seasons, that same effect became distracting and grating - like the time Nick Swisher had them praying around a blow up sex doll. And on top of that, his last few seasons he began demanding more respect from the organization and refusing to work with the front office - you want to call up Viciedo? I make the f***ing lineups Juan Pierre is my starter and the HR hitter is benched. These personality conflicts started dragging down the same guys who he was supposed to be handling well, because he was more important than any of his players and they had to sit on the bench to demonstrate that. Maybe unlike LaRussa you get a team that isn’t asleep? But you still get a team that is terrible strategically and constantly outsmarted. This will almost certainly be worse today than in 2011 because the rest of the league has gotten smarter. But, we were constantly out coached the last 2 years, so maybe dumb but motivated is better than dumb and asleep.

As long as you believe that the key to victory is bunting.

I love that the ump called the phony HBP.