R.I.P. In Peace To The Fun White Sox, They’re Hiring Tony La Russa As Manager
The White Sox were fun.
They had guys like Tim Anderson…
They had guys like Yolmer Sanchez.
They had guys like Jose Abreu and Luis Robert.
Those guys aren’t going anywhere, don’t worry.
But the keyword here is “were” as in “The White Sox WERE fun.” Because now they’ve hired one of baseball’s biggest fun vacuums in Tony La Russa. Remember Tony La Russa? It’s ok if not. He hasn’t managed in the sport in nine years. I imagine Tony’s already devising a way to implement “The White Sox Way” where there will be no bat flipping, no ‘showing up’ your opponents, no chains or uniform flare of any kind, the White Sox will be fundamentally sound in all aspects of the game, and no more. dumping Gatorade coolers on yourself, Yolmer. Oh, and get ready to bring back bunting back to the American League. Tony’s more of a stiff than Adam LaRoche was after the team asked his son to stop showing up every day.
Remember when Fernando Tatis Jr. gave us the second greatest bat flip earlier this October? Well, here’s what Tony La Russa said about it:
“If you don’t think sportsmanship belongs in the game,” La Russa said, “you’re full of s—.”
via The Washington Post
Oh. Awesome. The old ‘sportsmanship’ argument. Want him to continue? Lol, neither do I. But he did.
“The reality of our sport is very simple,” said La Russa, who is a now a special assistant with the Los Angeles Angels. “You’re supposed to create entertainment for the fans the way one team competes against another. That’s all it is. Well, I was always taught, and I do believe, there is a level of sportsmanship for the game and for your opponent that’s at the core of the competition. You don’t abuse the game for personal value, without getting too hoity-toity about it.”
The sport has evolved, both on a societal and strategic level. The proliferation of offense, of course, changed the context of a five-run lead. “To me, it comes down to respect and a sense of sportsmanship,” La Russa said. “Where do you draw the line?”
“I know what these unwritten rules are, supposedly,” La Russa added. “Every one has a good sense of why they came to be. They do evolve because the game continues to change — slowly, usually, but at times not so slowly. You factor in how the circumstances are changing, and that affects the code of conduct.”
Even his quotes written down suck all the fun out of the room. I’m not against being a good sport, but I’m also for showing more emotion in the sport. Tony has about as much emotion as soggy piece of cardboard.
I haven’t been this confused by a White Sox decision since Chris Sale went Edward Scissorhands with those throwbacks. Like why Tony La Russa? Sure, this makes them the favorites to win the 2006 Central Division title, but he hasn’t managed a game since 2011. Think about how much the sport has changed since then. Hell, think about how much the sport has changed in the last 4 years. Does Tony know there’s now a three batter minimum for relievers? Because that may be a deal breaker for him. No one likes getting their 10,000 steps in by taking trips to the mound more than Tony La Russa. And I say that knowing he’s probably too old to know what a FitBit even is. Or what about the designated hitter? How’s he going to scratch his double switch itch every single game? Tony loves the double switch so much, he’d do a quadruple switch if it was possible.
I know we’ve all been railing against analytics since Kevin Cash made the pitching change heard round the world, but hiring a guy who manages solely from his gut is a bit of an overreaction. Tony is so old school, he probably thinks a spreadsheet is what you cover your mattress with.
Personally, I’m not a fan of this move. The sport is changing for the better. The sport is getting younger (no offense to old farts). And they’re bringing in Tony La Russa who isn’t only old enough to remember the Dodgers last World Series title, he was managing the team they beat! Plus, he’s just boring. The La in his name is, of course, short for Lame. So I can only imagine he’s going to give off some mad Agatha Trunchbull vibes as manager.
Plus, traffic in Chicago is already bad. They don’t need to make it worse by adding a blacked out Tony La Russa at stop lights.
And isn’t he involved in the team bringing MLB to Nashville? Conflict of interest? No offense to Tony La Russa or the White Sox (who I really like), but I’m not a fan of hiring a librarian in cleats.
Anyway, here’s a fun fact about the White Sox on the way out the door.
