The White Sox named Tony La Russa the team’s manager on Thursday. The initial reaction was mostly negative from the fan base. The FutureSox Slack was blowing up with our raw, honest reactions so we decided to put them into a longer-form post. Enjoy?
Sleepy Harold (Steve Hasman)
This move is so White Sox that it hurts. The team is on the cusp of great things. After breaking past stereotypes about not rebuilding, not spending internationally, not trading with the Cubs, etc., they go right back and revert to their old habits. The White Sox had their pick of the litter with their managerial search. They could’ve given a rose to anyone that they wanted, and they chose to go with one of Jerry’s buddies, trying to correct a wrong from 34 years ago.
“But, Sleepy, they’ll bring in the manager to learn under TLR and eventually take over the role from him in a couple years.”
I get the thinking, but this team is poised to make a long run starting NOW. How does making another managerial change in a couple years make sense? I truly wonder what the clubhouse feels about this hire. Change the Game, huh? Yeah, we’ll see about that in 2021.
I want to be very clear here, I in no way, shape, or form want La Russa or the White Sox to fail. I love this team and follow along with everything that goes on, in both the major and minor leagues. I just feel that this move is so tone deaf and makes the White Sox look like a joke of an organization once again. Jerry has the power to quell the plummeting morale of the fan base by spending big dollars to get the big ticket free agents. However, as “on-brand” as this managerial hire was, we know that spending big on the top free agents is also something that, typically, this organization doesn’t do. Will big free agents even want to come here after this? Heavy, heavy sigh. I need to go on a walk.
Jasper Roos
I mean, what is there to say that hasn’t already been said on social media, by my co-writers in this article or on various White Sox blogs? The decision to hire La Russa is a damper on the excitement that 2020 brought to the South Side. No, it’s worse. Jerry Reinsdorf just took that excitement behind the shed and shot it. Sure, Tony La Russa is an absolute legend in the game of baseball. He was truly a force from the late 80s to the early 2000s.
But it’s 2020 now, and that same Tony La Russa has no business managing any baseball team, let alone these White Sox.
La Russa has not managed a baseball game in almost a decade. While ‘retired’, he spoke out against a lot of things that drive this White Sox team. Social justice awareness. Swagger. Bat flipping. Celebrating. Having fun. La Russa appears to stand against everything that made the 2020 White Sox enjoyable and interesting – and that’s putting it mildly.
Tim Anderson is great and fun and loves to flip his bat. Looking forward to his 2-game internal suspension for Not Respecting the Game after he hits a walk-off to beat the Yankees and pumps his fist a little too hard.
— Ken Tremendous (@KenTremendous) October 29, 2020
The White Sox seemed to be on the right track over the past few years. Instead of getting the young, exciting, modern manager we were kinda sorta promised or hoping for, Sox fans are now served up Jerry Reinsdorf’s old buddy. I feel so, so bad for Rick Hahn and the other front office employees who now have to defend this indefensible move of an owner so out of touch with his own organization that he’s willing to upset almost his entire fan base just to wipe his conscience over a decision made 30+ years ago clean.
We can only hope for one thing, and that is that this is what finally drives Jerry Reinsdorf to spend like a big league owner. That in order to give his friend the best possible chance to succeed, he blows out all the stops. So Jerry, if you read this: Go get Bauer. Go get Springer. Go get Hendriks. Make this team so invincible that not even this crazy managerial hire can screw the team out of success. There is one thing, and one thing only, that could maybe make this currently devastated and broken fan base forgive the organization for this absolute disaster: win the World Series. Anything less and it’s going to be really tough to come back from this.
Dan Santaromita
I have so many gut reactions and thoughts racing through my head and none of them are good. After enduring a number of mediocre second-place seasons and a rebuild where the White Sox barely existed at all in my mind, the White Sox are finally looking to be good. Good for years. And fun. They finally excited the fan base with a good, fun team in 2020. How do they respond? By doing something the fan base, with almost complete unanimity, hates.
I’ve never been this embarrassed to be a White Sox fan before. I could shrug away bad managers, bad free agent signings or just plain bad teams. This is worse than all of that. For all the hope a young, fun team brings, this dampens it.
Tony La Russa has had a ton of success as a manager, but on paper it feels like an oil and water fit for this team. La Russa is old guard baseball. The White Sox have Tim Anderson, who is at the forefront of the modern push to expel that way of thinking from the game. It makes no sense to bring him into this team.
I am trying to repress my reflex responses to this because the things floating around in my head are caustic. The thing I keep coming back to is this tidbit from ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
On the upside, it shows not everyone in the organization has lost their minds. On the downside, it shows internal strife. Thanks, Jerry.
The talking myself off the ledge version is this: La Russa can win baseball games as a manager. He can win championships as a manager. He has proven that. Whether or not he can do it now remains to be seen. It’s fair to be skeptical about that. His fit for this team appears to be awful at first glance, but people can change. Let’s hope La Russa has and will.
Mike Rankin
Tony La Russa wasn’t the guy I wanted to see manage this White Sox team, but who cares what I, or any of the overwhelming majority of the fan base thinks? The organization does what it wants how it wants.
My immediate reaction went straight to Rick Hahn, who I firmly believe wanted to conduct a thorough managerial search that would include AJ Hinch as a favorite — if not THE favorite — to earn the job. I can’t get myself to believe he was on board with this move based on his comments from the end of season press conference, specifically citing he was looking for a candidate with recent postseason experience. Plus, there’s this:
How the hell is he supposed to convince Jerry Reinsdorf that Tony La Russa isn’t the guy? Hahn was handcuffed again. I hope this doesn’t lead to a tumultuous ending to Hahn’s tenure on the South Side because I believe he is among the best in baseball at his job.
As for La Russa the manager, I’m sure he’ll do just fine, as long as the grind of spring training, 162 games and potentially the postseason doesn’t affect his day-to-day approach. La Russa literally has a Hall of Fame managerial pedigree. Yes, the game has changed, but I believe he is someone who will adapt, as he always has throughout several eras.
I’ll also take him for his word about social issues that are more and more prevalent among today’s athletes.
What I am concerned about, though, is his old school baseball takes. His stance on Fernando Tatis Jr. swinging on 3-0 with his team up seven runs in the 8th inning, which resulted in a grand slam, is an example of an opinion that is incorrect. I hope examples like that don’t come into play when managing this White Sox team.
Other than that, things are just peachy.
Ken Sawilchik
By now, you’ve heard all the arguments against the hiring of Tony La Russa as the White Sox manager.
- Can he relate to today’s players?
- Is he able to adjust to the changes in the way the game is played?
- Will his past transgressions haunt him?
- Will the White Sox be able to attract free agents with him at the helm?
- Can he effectively use the new analytics, so prevalent in today’s game?
- How will he hold up physically and mentally throughout a grueling 162-game season, spring training and hopefully a deep playoff run?
- And for how long?
All of the above points are valid. For the White Sox to win another World Series, he probably needs to be successful in all of these areas. Can he? My initial reaction is no. There are just too many things working against him.
So why was somebody with so many question marks hired? Because he was a great manager nine years ago? What are his other attributes? The owner feels bad about him being fired 34 years ago. What else?
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You know this wasn’t Rick Hahn’s idea because he said that he was excited about the interviewing process to learn what other teams are doing from talking to the applicants. Then he made damn sure he didn’t interview anyone else to put a stamp on the hiring as a Reinsdorf hire.
How do you know nobody else was interviewed ? Don’t forget there is a pandemic going on so any interviews would have taken place via phone or video call, not in person… Hahn said that others were talked to and considered and I believe him… Seems like Sox fans are all upset with the hire but listen to baseball people outside of Chicago and they think it is a great hire…