caulfield12

Salary: $4.2 million Team: Cleveland Indians (2020) Record: 1,667–1,409 Accolades: 2× World Series champion (2004, 2007), 2× AL Manager of the Year (2013, 2016) Terry Francona has proven to be one of the greatest masterminds in the history of baseball. He's got a bit of the Midas' touch when it comes to developing winning cultures wherever he's gone. That's why the Cleveland Indians don't mind paying him $4.2 million a year in hopes he can replicate the success he had at Fenway Park. He's going to be highly coveted once his contract runs out. Should also be noted Yost at $3.7 million, Scioscia at $6 million and Maddon at $6 million, Bruce Bochy at $6 million. https://us.bolavip.com/mlb/highest-mlb-manager-salaries-ever-20200723-0003.html Girardi and Maddon might both be higher than that right now, fwiw. Francona deal runs through 2022, right around the time Indians would lose Lindor and Jose Ramirez. Finally, should Sox fans now add up all the money we’ve wasted on free agency over that time, as well as Hahn/KW combined salaries and Don Cooper? Can’t we just once have a “top five” manager in our lifetimes? Why do we always get sloppy seconds, or thirds, in the case of Robin Ventura?

Bob Geren Mike Scioscia Justin Jirschele Ron Gardenhire Carlos Beltran Alex Cora (connection through brother) Alomar, Jr. AJ Hinch (former Sox draft pick, unlikely) Joe Espada Mark Loretta Sam Fuld Bruce Bochy??? Buck Showalter (Farmio would have been pissed) Hensley Meulens Ron Washington Jeff Banister Ned Yost (just because I think that we need to institute that aggressive style of play on the basepaths and defense/bullpen-first closing out mentality, not a great strategic manager by any sense) Nick Madrigal's former OSU head coach...just because nobody could be worse, at the moment, definitely a proven winner Jim Thome??? someone connected to the Cuban national team/Jose Contreras/El Duque, spitballin'...? Now we at least have a somewhat realistic list of names to discuss (from).

EXCEPT FOR SALARY.

Do we have the latest reports from Jon Greenberg on Sox tv ratings boost this year?

Thanking god I had classes to teach in China and could only follow the predictable debacle through Gameday. Hope we don't have to spend the entire winter ruminating on Robert's failures down the stretch. We can't even get a season ticket boost the way the world is trending... life as a White Sox fan never fails to come up with surprises on the downside, does it?

That will always by definition be the case for the fan bases of 29 out of 30 teams, yes? Yes, expectations being raised exponentially by last week's results and then falling off a cliff (and out of first so suddenly) certainly has something to do with it. Half of it's about Renteria, the other half over Moncada/Robert's "ongoing" (into 2020) concerns. That and the usual skepticism about adding significant free agents, RF, for example. We do at least have Vaughn/Kopech/Crochet to look forward to, in order to keep the excitement level dialed up a notch.

I'll just take the VS as Victoria's Secret Angels show and move on...

Indians ALWAYS seem to be better managed and their front office is Top 5 in the game for their limited resources. They've lost Kluber, Bauer and Clevinger now...for various reasons, and still managing to go into the playoffs as a VERY dangerous team despite so many offensive deficiencies across that roster. It's amazing when you look at how limited their budgets have been...and look at their record of success ever since Francona was brought into the fold. Yet we're always completely BLIND to the benefits of having that upper-tier manager and spending the money...we'd rather just give it away in FA to Manny's Friends and Family and this year to more mostly garbage after Keuchel.

Not even sure it can buy you two-for-one discount cockatoos or parakeets at the local PetCo...

Look how quickly the Indians pulled Bieber...if anything, the Indians SHOULD have cared less about that final result tonight than the White Sox, but they played like the much more relaxed team with nothing to lose. We're obviously pressing at this point.

If they can go 2-2 to finish the season, there's hope still. 1-3 or 0-4, that's all she wrote... Sure, momentum is defined by that day's starting pitcher, and we still have Giolito and Keuchel on our side, to hopefully win at least one of the first two games, individually, but is there anyone who actually trusts Cease/Dunning/Lopez in a possible 3rd game?

Yet if you were to conduct a poll RIGHT now, 90+% would still expect Renteria and Cooper to both be back next season, along with McEwing...god knows what's going on with Robert/Moncada, but it's hard for me to blame Menechino with the offensive numbers the team has put together this year, especially considering the Hahn FA acquisitions other than Keuchel and McCann has been BOTTOM 3 in all of MLB since he started as a GM with the now infamous Jeff Keppinger acquisition.

1. Robert 2. Moncada 3/4. Mazara/EE 5. Grandal isn't exactly lighting it up....he's been "okay" at best, overall, in the same way that David Robertson was "okay" considering how much he was being paid. He's definitely not KILLING the team, but he's far from the best catcher in baseball that his statistics recently would have indicated, with the exception of Realmuto in PHILLY.

Just put Crochet/Lopez in the Bummer role and go with it... Honestly feel like forcing Aaron onto the post-season roster is going to result in a more serious injury we can't afford...especially with Colome off the roster in all likelihood.

I honestly think 2005 Joe Borchard would have had a better chance in that post-season (had he been included on the roster) than 2020 Luis Robert with where his head is at right now...

EE and leadership this year....not seeing it. McCann has been a much more important leader IMO. You can't be a leader of anything hitting .170 and as a DH with an OPS well into the 600's. What would be the difference between Jay/Alonso DHing vs. EE this year? Except for about $5-7 million wasted...and Vaughn blocked.

Not to mention which Moncada are we going to get next season? 2016-18 and 2020, or the 2019 Yoan Moncada?

Look at Cameron's career fWAR numbers. I think the Trout comps and all the hype got to him...and the league's advanced scouts and pitching coaches dissected him so well. And he simply hasn't adjusted back. Something must be wrong physically, because he's not really making hard contact even when he is hitting the ball. If it's not physical, it's certainly psychological/mental. Every time you follow an at-bat, he gets behind in the count and you just feel an automatic strikeout coming. If not for that base hit against the Reds, he'd be closing in on the Mendoza line. It's crazy with all the talent that we have on this roster that we've never had a (position player) rookie put together a full season of success. Beckham, Tim Anderson and then Jimenez last year are the closest over the last 20 years or so.

Yet we beat them up pretty well last year when it didn't matter. What were we 13-6 or 12-7 against CLE, something like that....

2000 White Sox team says "hello!" Swept by the Mariners almost instantly, including that suicide squeeze at the end of 3rd game, was that Carlos Guillen who laid it down? That once-dominant offense shut down as well at the end of the year, pitching staff was LIMPING into the playoffs.

And you absolutely have to sit Luis Robert at least ONE game. He's just completely falling apart in every aspect. We'd be lucky to get Mike Cameron at this point...forget about Mike Trout for the moment.

Just announced. Rick Renteria signed a three year contract extension. I wonder how many Sox fans would give up this year's "playoff appearance" right now for the pick of any manager...?

I don’t think any White Sox fan over age forty could ever have this reaction...we have, out of the percentage of opportunities to make the playoffs, something like the third lowest success rate in MLB history. We might even be #1. We should just appreciate the opportunity and see what happens. Next year is the real test with Vaughn replacing EE, and hopefully a better solution in RF. The productivity over 2019-20 out of right has to be the very bottom of MLB, and not even all that close. We weathered a lot of injuries, the Kopech situation, McCann and Colome are likely to be the only two significant losses to the roster. Kopech/Vaughn/Crochet should more than balance that out.

Well, they finished 4-11 and you just knew all along the Tigers were waiting in the weeds. 2008 and 2012 were still MUCH more painful down the stretch, though. 2005 until the Crede homer against RISKE turned the tide finally of the Indians' amazing charge from behind. I had the game on my phone with 2 outs and runner on 2nd, Foster pitching, and just assumed we'd get the win...a bit reminiscent of a huge lead we had against the Royals in September 2005, and then woke up in the morning and they'd blown it was shocked and that panicked feeling arrived. All things considered, with where Robert and Moncada are at, and EE, and Mazara continuing to underperform even Kole Calhoun expectations, winning a playoff series would be a pleasant surprise...definitely need to get Bummer back and maybe Crochet can just "not think at all" out there and practically do anything until he gets hit around. Just going to have to approach it like 2008 when we faced the Rays without CQ. We might be the 2nd best team in the AL statistically, but we're going to really need a spark to come from somewhere. Does feel a bit like that last week of 2005....when we finally managed to get on a roll again. We've got only five games left to do it, maybe it (logically) happens against the Cubbies, which would be fitting.

It's almost too cruel to make the Twins face the Yankees again, right? Who knows, maybe a match-up with NY instead would be enough to wake up the White Sox...as it feels like we're kind of sleep-walking along in a bit of stupor, but that's always the case when an offense is starting to struggle as a unit. We aren't THAT far removed from five homers in a game, but it still almost feels like it happened a week ago.