Well, we were expecting some sort of news this morning at Rick Hahn’s 11:00 call with the press. We weren’t expecting anything beforehand, and certainly anything to this extent.
In many ways, a lot of fans got what they wanted today. The White Sox announced that Ricky Renteria and the White Sox have mutually agreed to part ways in a statement.
Renteria was the 40th manager in team history and managed his first season in 2017. Much like on the North Side of town, Renteria was tasked with guiding a rebuilding team through the rough days of a rebuild. However, at the first sign of a competitive team, Renteria was no longer considered the man for the job.
Personally? I think he deserved one more crack at it. I’m not mad they moved on from Renteria – in general, I did not have nearly as strong of feelings as most fans did about Renteria. But clubhouse culture is important, and certainly Renteria developed a positive one. It will be just as crucially important for the next manager to be able to do the same.
However, what stuck out to me was this from James Fegan:
This could mean everyone’s jobs are up for re-evaluation – including Don Cooper, Curt Hasler, Joe McEwing, and Frank Menechino. I do hope the White Sox go outside of the organization for this hire – to do otherwise would be an extreme oversight in my opinion.
For now, this 11:00 call with Rick Hahn becomes all the more interesting. This will be the first in a long string of important decisions for the White Sox this offseason.
Follow along with us @SoxOn35th for more news and updates as they become available.
The effect of this somewhat surprising announcement will depend upon the quality of the replacement. Cooper also must go, if not the entire coaching support staff. Sadly, Renteria displayed a complete meltdown during the playoffs, particularly in the final game’s pitching fiasco. His visible demeanor was extremely tight, tense and isolated in the dugout. He is a perfect AAA manager but not quite up to the task of managing an elite team which is what the White Sox have the potential to achieve next year.
The first step needed to make the Sox a better team next year was made by letting Renteria go, imo, and I think it was time for Cooper to retire also. Now, lets see where the Sox go to fill these slots and hopefully make more moves to shore up their obvious shortcomings for next season. As an after thought, I wouldn’t mind see Ozzie Guillen brought back as manager again. I think he would fit in really well with the players on this team.