It’s Sunday, which means Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY usually has something interesting to say about the White Sox – and oh boy did he drop a major piece of news today.
According to Nightengale’s Sunday Notebook, former White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski has “quietly” emerged as a serious candidate to be the next manager of the Chicago White Sox – again following the assumption that Pedro Grifol will not manage this club following the 2024 season.
Pierzynski, 47, spent eight of his 19 career MLB seasons with the White Sox, slashing .279/.318/.424 over that period. Well-known for being either well-liked or quite hated, Pierzynski would bring a personality that fans were drawn to (and are still drawn to) during his time in Chicago.
The least surprising part about this report is the continuation of the idea that Pedro Grifol will not be the manager of the Chicago White Sox following the 2024 season despite having one year remaining on his contract. The White Sox are 88-181 under his guidance – an issue that is partially his to own, but also partially the front office’s to own for the historically losing team they allowed to be fielded this 2024 season.
Pierzynski’s credentials are solely on the field, as he has no managerial nor coaching experience at the major league nor minor league level. He’s spent his entire post-playing career in the broadcast booth. Pierzynski was hired by Fox to be an analyst for the 2011 MLB postseason on the pregame and postgame show. He joined Fox again for the 2012, 2013, and 2015 postseasons. In 2017, Fox announced he would be a full-time analyst. He was in the booth for Saturday night’s loss to the Seattle Mariners.
On his Foul Territory show, Pierzynski recently went off on the White Sox, including mentioning that, of course, he no longer works for the team in a previously held role because of some of his frustrations with the team, as described below:
“No minor league coordinator picks the players and every other team has developed guys,” Pierzynski said. “So, that excuse might fly for White Sox fans, but they haven’t developed anybody. I mean, Colson Montgomery is supposed to be coming, right? He finally hit a Triple-A home run the other night and it was like the Red Sea parted again, right? Because he has struggled in Triple-A so far. Noah Schultz is supposed to be coming, right? I mean, I haven’t heard much about him. They got (Nick Nastrini) pitching tonight. He’s supposed to be their other big prospect guy. I like Andrew Vaughn, but he hasn’t happened to a point where you’re like, ‘Oh, wow, he’s the third overall pick.’ He’s been OK, but this year has been a struggle, which I get it’s early. But you look at the team and you’re like, man.
“And I no longer work for the White Sox because of this exact conversation we’re having. But the facts are the facts. Like, my whole point has been – listen, I like Chris Getz, I played with Chris Getz, whatever. But every other team finds a 20th-round pick. It’s like, we developed this guy. You can blame coaches, you can blame drafts. But once you get past about the 10th round, everybody is like, ‘We’ll take him.’ It’s not like you’re like, 13th round, you’re going to steal a first-rounder. So, I don’t know. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t know. I’m kind of fed up with the Rick (Hahn) and Kenny (Williams) excuse, I’m kind of fed up with the, ‘Oh, we didn’t draft right excuse,’ because they switched scouting directors in the middle of that. Let’s not forget, it’s not the same guy doing all the drafting. They’ve switched everything, and the results are only work.
Because of these comments and likely many others, it would appear to be a bit odd to see Pierzynski in charge of the dugout come next season. For now, however, consider Pierzynski a true candidate for the job, given that the last time anyone shrugged off a Bob Nightengale report on a White Sox managerial opening, he happened to be the only person correct about Tony La Russa.
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This would be a terrible idea. Don’t get me wrong… I liked AJ… he was pivotal player for the Sox. Bit he has zero experience coaching. No experience working with young players. This will be another Ventura fiasco.
Next manager needs to be someone who has experience working with a rebuild and young players. I know I’ll probably be bashed for this… Maybe see if Renteria would be interested in a return to the dugout. Yes the record wasn’t great. But he did keep the players motivated.
First, I don’t think AJ would take the job if it was offered to him, which I also can’t imagine. Jerry doesn’t want anyone who speaks truth to power. I’d take Ricky Renteria back in a heartbeat. He was right on the edge of the “competitive window” Williams and Hahn set up, and then they ditched him. Never understood that move.
Can we finally get a manager who has won before and is not a 100 yrs old.
Worst team in memory