tray

Hahn made some bad moves last year (EE, Mazara, Cishek, Gio Gonzo) and failed to make any player moves during the season. Also in terms of judgment about Managers, Renteria probably should have been gone before the 2020 season. I don't want to dwell on ancient history but where was Hahn when LaRoach's kid was in running around the clubhouse and the practice field? Where was Hahn when Sale cut his jersey and refused to pitch? KW had to deal with those situations. Hahn is a blowhard who bragged that he could be a GM for the next 10 years. Hahn continues to promise multiple championships ....an almost unattainable goal in the modern era of baseball. The Yankees, Red Sox and Dodgers even have a hard time doing that. Cubs have one in what might be a 1,000 year stretch. Maybe Jerry no longer trusts Hahn to pick a Manager and wants to do what any good owner would do - consult with several people he knows and trusts - baseball people who have experience at various levels of management Jerry is trying to get this right. His first instinct was to not trust Hahn. I applaud him for that. Hahn is more of an accountant CFO type. OK good business executive bad baseball GM. Maybe the process should be to fire Hahn and bring in a new GM that Jerry has more confidence in moving forward.

The reply to your very well thought out response is that: 1.My thinking is that Robert's arm would be a more effective defensive weapon in RF than it is in CF. (Although your reference to KG Jr. made me think of his throw in the Black-out Game). 2. Robert had a few awkward plays going back to the wall and timing his leaps. That is Engel's thing or one of the things he excels at. 3. It is entertaining to watch Robert cover both gaps and dive for balls, but in in order to mitigate his risk for injury, switch him to RF with Engel in Center. 4. I don't see Engel as a corner outfielder. Hee looks like a decent CFer on the lines of Aaron Rowand. Engel has paid his dues, and I think he deserves a shot as a starting CFer during Spring Training 2021, if the switch with Robert is considered. Engel proved that he can hit the ball a long way and had a few clutch blasts. He also seemed to cut down on his sing and miss. 5. Hypothetically, let's say the Sox could acquire Byron Buxton. Wouldn't we then agree to put Buxton in CF and Robert in RF ? Engel is not in that category, but I am trying to illustrate that positioning players should not be something that is set in stone. Many people didn't realize that Moncada could make all the plays at 3rd so well until they switched him there. Now he is one of the best 3rd basemen in the game.

If LaRussa is hired, Hahn will be on a short leash...and he won't have any leverage to fire LaRussa. Anyway, there will be some changed dynamics in the organization, especially if LaRussa picks his own people

There were a lot of people who squealed when some us us suggested moving Moncada to third base in order to free up second for the eventual arrival of Madrigal. They argued that second base was Moncada's "natural" position. Others suggested moving TA to CF. None of those suggestions were crazy when they were made. Sometimes you just have to see how a player adjusts to a position and make a talent evaluation from there. . Fast forward to Spring Training 2021. I would like to see Engel start in CF and Robert in RF for a few games ....just to see how that works out. Just try it. Long term, I look at Luis Robert as a prototypical RFer. He is a big man who might put more weight/muscle mass on in coming years. Practically, I do not want to see Robert diving for balls in both gaps at high speed. I want to minimize his risk for injury by playing him in RF and that is where his plus arm would be more valuable. Engel has developed into a full time major league player...as a center fielder. Just my two cents. More cents: EE and Mazara are toast. Bring Leury back , try to sign McCann, and try to sign Cespedes.

I wonder if if Dan Plesac would be interested in managing the Sox. I think he might. A midwest guy who loves Chicago, pitched for the Cubs and wanted to pitch for the Sox. And while I am on the Plesacs, I really like Indians starter Zach Plesac but I don't think the Sox have players that they would be willing to trade for him.

Given that the buck should stop higher , at least as high as the GM. Rick Hahn should have done something about LaRoach instead of waiting for KW to confront him. Rick Hahn should have confronted Sale when he refused to pitch and cut up his jersey in defiance. This year, Hahn should have told Renteria to stop running Mazara and EE out there. Hahn should have offered to bring up Vaughn and Collins or should have just done that. Yes, the Manager gets blamed for a lot, but the guy that pulls most of the strings is the GM who is charged with executing the plans and policies of the Owner.

Y2JO: Hahn has no leverage and realistically he knows that the Sox would not miss a beat if he quit. I am enjoying the suspense created be the mere suggestion that JR might be meeting with LaRussa.

JR may not be done cleaning house.

Putting all posts and posters aside on the managerial issue, I would get a kick out of seeing LaRussa in the 1983 throwback uniform on Sundays. Realistically ,Tony is more well suited as an Executive in the front office at this point.

Dude, I don't appreciate you stalking my posts with sarcastic comments so I am putting you on ignore.

For Manager or for GM ?

Yes, perhaps JR just wants to meet with LaRussa to discuss something other than the state of the White Sox organization and the positions that have been or might be open. Personally, I would like to see JR complete the clean-up and get rid of Hahn and KW. LaRussa could find a new GM and Manager in consultation with Jerry. ....and if they make an "insular" selection for those positions so be it. Hahn, by his own estimation, is well qualified to get another GM job for the next 10 years.

Hypothetically, do you think it would make more sense for JR to : 1. hire his 76 year old friend to be an every day field Manager working under Hahn and KW, or, 2. hire LaRussa to replace/fire Hahn and/or KW with authority to pick a new field Manager and reorganize the organization as he saw fit. I'm asking.

Trump had a raspy throat in an interview with Hannity and reportedly suffered a drop in oxygen level after he was infected. Chris Christie spent several days in the hospital after admitting himself out of an abundance of caution. Other than that we have not heard much about other people who allegedly were infected in or around the White House or by WH staff. That has allowed Trump to maintain his narrative that "no one should fear Covid" and what appears to be his endorsement for a national herd immunity strategy. Unfortunately, I think Trump will be full speed ahead with that until the election, or until one of those in his inner circle get really sick from the virus. In short, he is not only doubling down on making Covid a partisan issue, he is now tripling down by using his claimed immunity and instant recovery as evidence that Covid is no big deal, .

I suspect Keuchel was deep throat.

I would like to know if Hahn questioned RR about continuing to put Mazara and EE in the line-up after they continued to fail. At some point a GM should alert a Manager when he sees a player or the team heading in the wrong direction. Instead Hahn waited to see how everything would work out (including Mazara, EE, Rodon, Csishek, etc) , and when it didn't , he laid all the blame on RR and Coop. That is what most bosses do to their subordinates, but it doesn't always make it right.

I began questioning whether Trump had even been infected when he went to Walter Reed, took a strange victory lap in a black SUV and announced that he would be released the next day. Now it seems like Trump and his D.O. would have us believe that Regeneron, Remdesivir, plus Dexamethasone blunted the virus (or at least any symptoms associated with it, even before the 10-14 day incubation period was over with. Is it possible that Trump , Giuliani, Christie and others were infected with a less virulent strain of Covid-19 than the one that has had other people with similar pre-existing conditions coughing and wheezing , gasping for breath, or eventually succumbing to it? Or, was the cocktail of antibodies plus steroids a magic bullet? Or, is Trump really Superman? Or does the stench of this lead to some kind of trumped-up Bulsh1t ?

Add Cisheck and I can't forget Shields quite yet.. Hahn and KW better get things right this off season because the window of contention with this core is open. Fill the RF hole for chrissakes and get at least one TOR starter. Unfortunately, Hahn seemed to indicate that the Red Sox would be high bdders for Bauer.

Why would Rick Hahn be fired for executing a rebuild and having it turn out - to date - exactly as planned? "Exactly" ? Who traded Tatis Jr. for Shields? Who acquired EE and Mazara and did nothing as they continued to flounder ? Who made no move to add to the pitching rotation after Kopech opted out? Who relied on Cease, ReyLo, Rodon and Dane Dunning coming off TJ AS 3, 4 and 5 starters? Why didn't they call up Vaughn and Collins? Why were they afraid to DFA EE and Mazara when they knew they would not be on the team next season anyway? ?

The buck stops at the top but not with this FO. Hahn and KW are untouchable.

Not the point. KW should be let go and so should Hahn. The buck stops at the top. Chicago White Sox said: What in the world are you rambling about? Oh, OK, you are a lot smarter than I am. How about adding a frown face to every one of my posts?

KW got JR to call Ozzie and explain why he wouldn't be Manager. That's pretty ridiculous. Again, KW and Hahn should have been fired and let the new GM tell Ozzie that the Sox would be going in a new direction. If I was Ozzie I would have told JR that he could never manage as long as KW was there.

Hahn came off a bit smug and arrogant in that presser. He thinks he can be a GM for 10 more years, blah blah. Thank you for your self evaluation. And kW made damn sure Ozzie would be ruled out (not that I think Ozzie should be the new manager). Of course RR should have been fired for all the reasons that Stone laid out ....but Hahn took no responsibility whatsoever for his personnel decisions and lack of them. It is hard to make a play-off run when you have only two healthy and competitive starting pitchers. It is hard to win when you have a DH that hits .159 and a corner outfielder that hit 1 HR all season. Hahn said he had numerous meetings and conversations with RR during the season. What were they talking about ? They Sox had Collins and Vaughn in Schaumburg. They had Engel ready to play RF instead of Mazara. McCann should have caught Giolito from Opening Day. McCann was a better catcher than Grandal according to Stone and either one should have been DHing on their off days instead of EE. ALL of that was mentioned by Stone but was RR and Coop responsible for all of that? They didn't have the horses this season and didn't try to switch things around or make acquisitions or trades. Hahn was asleep at the wheel after Kopech opted out. The Sox were never going to win in the playoffs with GIO, Kopech and bullpen starts . KW and Hahn are untouchable. I was hoping JR would start the clean up at the top with Hahn and KW and let the new GM do the rest of the dirty work.

Hahn stated that maybe on 10 years he would no longer be qualified for his job. He looked rather smug and self-absorbed in making these announcements. Meanwhile Hahn took no responsibility for player personnel decisions including acquiring Mazara and EE, playing them all season,. and failing to fortify the starting

Sounded like Hahn reluctantly admitted he would like McCann back.....but at the right price. McCann and other guys who are FA now are going to get screwed because the market for them is not going to be what it may have been pre-pandemic. On the other hand, that fact may help the Sox sign McCann, Bauer or other FAs for a reduced price.