The man who fired Tony La Russa was within the Chicago White Sox clubhouse Sunday morning, two days after the person who may hearth La Russa additionally made a cameo look.
But any resemblance between the clubhouse visits of Ken “Hawk” Harrelson and Ken Williams was purely coincidental.
Harrelson, who memorably fired La Russa in the summertime of 1986 throughout Hawk’s one-year reign as basic supervisor, was on the town in his position as workforce ambassador. He stopped by the clubhouse Sunday morning to talk with previous pals, together with La Russa.
Williams, the previous Sox GM who was promoted to government vice-president in 2012, made a visit to the clubhouse to handle the workforce about its underachieving season. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, who reported the information, tweeted that “no one was absolved, from staff to players, for the team’s woes.”
But whether or not Williams truly blamed La Russa or his workers for the irritating, mind-numbing and customarily uninspiring play of the workforce is questionable to say the least. La Russa stated Williams was there because the workforce was “celebrating” Tim Anderson’s All-Star recognition.
“There wasn’t anything he said I disagreed with,” La Russa instructed reporters Tuesday.
What was Williams’ message?
“We’ve had our ups and downs and the talent’s talent’s there to make it more ups than downs the second half of the season,” La Russa stated.
Didn’t sound like anybody was being blamed. If Williams truly thought the supervisor and coaches weren’t pulling their load, he ought to’ve let the digicam crew filming Anderson’s celebration for Twitter proceed to roll. It would’ve gone viral, and the message would’ve been despatched.
But in fact, Williams was not going to publicly say one thing vital about Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf’s hand-picked supervisor, or his personal hand-picked coaches. The reality the information leaked in any respect was embarrassing to everybody however Williams, who apparently believed he was the correct individual to present the speech.
Williams went again into his cocoon after Nightengale’s tweet, sending a message by way of a workforce spokesman that no matter he stated within the clubhouse was a “private discussion.”
The Sox went on to lose to Cleveland within the opener of a vital eight-game street journey, and play the Guardians in a cut up double-header Tuesday.
If Sox gamers really wanted a speaking to, it ought to’ve been La Russa’s job to say one thing. He supposedly was introduced out of semi-retirement due to his management abilities, so why would he want Williams to pinch-hit for him?
And if each the gamers and workers wanted to be known as out for the workforce’s sloppy play, it ought to’ve been GM Rick Hahn’s job.
Once once more, it’s one other instance of Williams attempting to show he’s nonetheless in cost, as he did seven years in the past in Detroit when he stated of Hahn after which supervisor Robin Ventura: “I take full responsibility for the underperformance right now. Believe me when I tell you this, the first phone call when the chairman is upset, it isn’t to any of those guys. It’s to me.”
That was Williams’ “Al Haig moment,” when he let Sox followers know he was nonetheless The Man. Ventura was his rent, and he was going nowhere.
Hahn finally let Ventura go after his contract resulted in 2016 and with out a job search employed bench coach Rick Renteria because the supervisor of the Sox rebuild. But when Hahn fired Renteria after the shortened 2020 season that ended with a playoff loss to the Oakland A’s, he was knowledgeable La Russa could be the correct selection as his alternative.
Theoretically, Hahn ought to have the authority to fireplace La Russa, like all GM in skilled sports activities. But it’s the worst-kept secret in Chicago that La Russa can solely depart by his personal volition due to his bromance with Reinsdorf. The longer the Sox wrestle, the more severe it appears to be like for Hahn, whose fingers are seemingly tied.
La Russa hasn’t confronted this sort of warmth in years, principally as a result of he’d been working in numerous entrance workplaces since leaving St. Louis, the place he was revered for his two championship seasons with the Cardinals. He additionally is aware of most managers in his place come underneath hearth for the disappointing play of their groups.
The buck stops there. It comes with the territory.
Former Cubs manger Dusty Baker, now with Houston, spent his last two years in Chicago keeping off rumors about being fired. In 2006 Baker coined the time period “blame black box,” referring to the gadget on an airplane that reveals whether or not a crash was due to pilot error or mechanical issues.
“The one thing you learn about in life, no matter what job you’re in, is you’re going to have your turn to be in that box, whether you’re a manager or a coach or a CEO or a president or a janitor,” Baker stated. “You know everybody is going to get a chance in what I call the black blame box, because that’s what it is.”
La Russa is now within the field, prefer it or not. But Sox followers don’t chant “Fire Tony” at Guaranteed Rate Field as a result of they really suppose it’s going to occur. They do it to indicate their outrage with the play of this workforce and for a few of his head-scratching selections. If additionally they may boo Hahn, you realize they might.
Before Monday’s sport in Cleveland, La Russa was requested to handle one other Nightengale report that “there have been a lot of whispers of unrest, cliques and the lack of player leadership inside the clubhouse tearing apart this talented team.”
La Russa denied the report, saying it was a “very tight club.”
“That’s why it’s more irritating,” he stated. “But more irritating if our fans buy into it at all.”
Without figuring out who’s doing all of the whispering, it’s arduous to take that report too critically. The Sox are like every other underachieving workforce within the post-Zoom period. Most of the celebs keep away from being round media members earlier than video games. Some gamers speak by appointment solely. The exception is outspoken nearer Liam Hendriks, which is why Hendriks so usually is used because the workforce’s unofficial spokesman on numerous subjects.
Either means, an absence of management from Sox gamers isn’t their largest drawback. The resolution to fill holes within the offseason with inexpensive journeymen place gamers as a substitute of bidding on the very best free-agent infielders and outfielders tops the record. When accidents hit, the Sox had little depth.
That’s on Hahn, or perhaps Williams if he’s nonetheless The Man, because the clubhouse tackle suggests.
There’s nonetheless an opportunity for the Sox to dig themselves out of this gap. But if not, Hahn has to significantly begin fascinated by unloading gamers.
The blame black field applies to them as properly.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com