Party like it's 1983! Tony La Russa named White Sox manager

This offseason, the White Sox need a manager, a designated hitter and a right fielder, preferably one that can swing from the left side of the plate.

Hey, maybe the answers are all right here on a shelf in my man cave! (See picture at right.)

OK, so maybe Harold Baines isn't coming back to play right field, and Greg Luzinski probably can't handle the DH role anymore. The question is whether Tony La Russa can still manage at a championship level.

We're going to find out, because the Sox hired him Thursday in a controversial move, to say the least. I'm not sure I know one single Sox fan who is happy with this decision, and I am no different. 

You can't knock La Russa's credentials. He's in the Hall of Fame as a manager. He's won three World Series and six pennants. He ranks third all-time with 2,728 wins -- and he only needs 36 wins to move into second place.

Thing is, La Russa is 76 years old, and he hasn't managed since he led the St. Louis Cardinals to a World Series championship in 2011. Sox general manager Rick Hahn is on the record as having said the ideal managerial candidate would be someone who has "experience with a championship organization in recent years."

La Russa checks the box on experience with a championship organization. The recent years part, not so much. I do not consider 2011 to be recent. Maybe others do, but I don't. The game has changed a lot in the past 10 years. 

The worst part of this hire, for me, is that the Sox didn't seem to conduct anything resembling a thorough search. They fixated on one guy and, of course, it's La Russa, a longtime favorite of owner Jerry Reinsdorf. 

La Russa managed the Sox from 1979-86. That's a long time ago, folks. We're going back to my childhood, and I'm a 44-year-old man now. La Russa was the Sox manager when I attended my first game at old Comiskey Park ... 39 years ago.

Reinsdorf is on the record as saying his biggest mistake was firing La Russa ... in 1986. So apparently, the big priority here is righting a wrong that happened in 1986. That's a shame, because I thought the big priority here was for the Sox to win a World Series in 2021.

Maybe La Russa can do that, but color me skeptical that a 76-year-old man who has been out of the game for nine years is going to relate well to players who are 50 years younger than he is. 

I actually have no doubt that La Russa is a smart enough man to combine new-school and old-school thoughts on the game. I think he'll pay attention to analytics, but he won't be a slave to it. Both the old school and the new school have their place in my view. The in-game management itself, I think La Russa can do that part.

The problem here is, will guys want to play for him? I'm not sure.

But I think the thing that pisses fans off most is that this is another "insular" hire. Jeff Passan's tweet from earlier today summed it up. Here's the tweet:

"The hiring of Tony La Russa has ruffled feathers in the White Sox organization. A number of employees have concerns about his ability to connect with younger players and how he will adapt to the field after being away 9 years. .... This was a Jerry Reinsdorf decision. Simple as that."

Yes, this was not a decision by baseball operations, as it should have been. It was a decision by a weird, octogenarian billionaire owner whose main interest has always been to surround himself with friends and loyal soldiers.

Sure, Reinsdorf wants to win, but he wants to win his way. And I don't think his way is going to work.

Some key MLB offseason dates to remember

The World Series is over, so here are some key dates to remember this offseason:

Nov. 1. The deadline for exercising or declining options and extending the qualifying offer, after which free agents can sign with any team. 

Nov. 2. Finalists are announced for Most Valuable Player, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year awards.

Nov. 3. Gold Glove winners announced.

Nov. 9. Rookie of the Year winners announced.

Nov. 10. Manager of the Year winners announced.

Nov. 11. Cy Young winners announced.

Nov. 12. MVP winners announced.

Nov. 20. Deadline for adding players to the 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 draft.

Dec. 2. Deadline to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players.

Dec. 6. Winter meetings begin, most likely in online format.

Mookie Betts is the difference between the Dodgers and Rays -- and about that Blake Snell decision

Mookie Betts

Both the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Tampa Bay Rays are considered elite, forward-thinking organizations by most people around Major League Baseball.

But here's the key difference between the two: The Dodgers have the resources to acquire -- and pay -- a high-end baseball player such as Mookie Betts.

Los Angeles won its first World Series championship since 1988 on Tuesday, beating the Rays, 3-1, in Game 6. 

Betts, a five-tool player who can beat the opposition in multiple ways, led the Dodgers in the decisive game. He went 2 for 4 with a double and a home run. He scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth inning and gave Los Angeles some cushion with a solo home run off Tampa Bay reliever Pete Fairbanks in the bottom of the eighth.

The Rays took a 1-0 lead into the sixth inning, and their ace, Blake Snell, was dealing.

Austin Barnes, the Dodgers' No. 9 hitter, singled off Snell with one out. It was only the second hit off the Tampa Bay left-hander, who struck out nine of the 18 batters he faced.

But apparently Rays manager Kevin Cash decided Snell was only going to go through the Los Angeles batting order twice. Snell was removed from the game in favor of right-hander Nick Anderson, even though he had only thrown 73 pitches and seemed to have plenty left in the tank.

Up stepped Betts, who doubled Barnes to third base. Anderson's wild pitch allowed Barnes to score the tying run, with Betts advancing to third. The contact play was on as Corey Seager grounded to first base, and Betts used his speed to score the go-ahead run on the fielder's choice. 2-1 Dodgers.

The Betts home run in the ninth put it away, as Tampa Bay batters had no chance against Los Angeles left-hander Julio Urias, who faced seven men and retired them all -- four by strikeout.

But back to that Snell decision ... I don't think too many baseball people thought it was a good choice. Why would you take out your ace, a former Cy Young winner, when he's dealing in a must-win game?

Well, the Rays believe in their analytics, and the numbers say it's best not to let your starting pitcher go through the opposing batter order for a third time. 

OK, I don't like it, but I get it. But let's say you agree with the idea of taking Snell out. If that's the case, then why was Anderson the choice? 

Anderson has made 10 appearances this postseason. He has been scored upon in eight of them -- EIGHT!!! -- including seven appearances in a row. His playoff ERA is 5.52.

He has been pitching poorly by any measure. In what baseball universe is he the best choice to face Betts and Seager in a 1-0 game with a World Series championship on the line?

No universe that I'm living in. 

Analytics are all fine and dandy, and the Rays have used them to great success. You can't argue with a 40-20 record this season, nor can you argue with an American League pennant.

But sometimes you have to trust your eyes a little bit. Even a blind man can see that Anderson has not been pitching well. You just can't go to him there, although the Dodgers and their fans are very happy that Cash did.

Clayton Kershaw has pitched well for the Dodgers this postseason

Clayton Kershaw

If you look at regular season statistics, Clayton Kershaw is the best pitcher of his generation, and there isn't even much of an argument.

The Los Angeles Dodgers' left-hander is 175-76 with a 2.43 ERA in his career. He has 2,526 strikeouts. He's won the Cy Young Award three times. He was the National League MVP in 2014, a rare accomplishment for a pitcher.

Five times Kershaw has led the NL in ERA. He's had the lowest WHIP in the league four times. He's led the league in wins and strikeouts three times each.

The blemishes on his career? Well, the Dodgers win the NL West Division every year, but they've yet to win the World Series during the Kershaw era. And Kershaw himself has a pedestrian postseason record -- he's 13-12 with a 4.19 ERA. 

Kershaw is the all-time leader in postseason strikeouts with 207, but you would expect a better record under the playoff lights from a generational pitcher such as this.

Thing is, Kershaw has quieted some of that criticism here in 2020. Four of those 13 career postseason wins have come this year -- the latest a 4-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 5 of the World Series on Sunday night.

The Dodgers now lead the World Series, 3 games to 2, and Kershaw is on the verge of finally getting a championship ring to finish off his Hall of Fame resume. And, he has been a significant contributor to this Los Angeles run. Here is a breakdown of his five postseason starts this year:

Oct. 1 vs. Milwaukee: 8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 13 Ks, 1 BB -- WIN

Oct. 7 vs. San Diego: 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 6 Ks, 0 BB -- WIN

Oct. 15 vs. Atlanta: 5 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 Ks, 1 BB -- LOSS

Oct. 20 vs. Tampa Bay: 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 8 Ks, 1 BB -- WIN

Oct. 25 vs. Tampa Bay: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 6 Ks, 2 BBs -- WIN

That totals up to a 4-1 record, including two World Series wins, with a 2.64 ERA, 37 strikeouts and five walks in 30.2 innings pitched.

I'm guessing Kershaw's 2020 postseason is over, unless he pitches in relief in a potential Game 7, and while you can't erase the struggles and disappointments of previous years, you have to give credit where credit is due. 

Kershaw has been good in the playoffs this year.

5(!) White Sox players among finalists for Gold Glove

Luis Robert

The finalists for the 2020 Gold Glove awards were announced Thursday, and much to my surprise, there are five White Sox players on the list.

Five!?

I can't remember another year when this many Sox players were considered candidates for this honor. Here are the players on the list:

C: James McCann

C: Yasmani Grandal

2B: Danny Mendick

3B: Yoan Moncada

CF: Luis Robert

Of the five, I'd rank Robert as the most likely to win, even though he's up against some tough competition in Minnesota's Byron Buxton and Oakland's Ramon Laureano. 

Buxton won the Gold Glove in 2017 and is widely known as a great defensive outfielder, but he did miss time because of injury this season. Also in Robert's favor: He led all center fielders in MLB in Outs Above Average at +7.

McCann and Grandal are finalists at catcher, along with Cleveland's Roberto Perez. But can either McCann or Grandal really claim the award when they shared the position throughout the season?

Mendick, to me, also didn't play enough to merit serious consideration. He played only 226 innings in 33 games at second base. That's fewer than the other finalists -- Cleveland's Cesar Hernandez, Detroit's Jonathan Schoop and Kansas City's Nicky Lopez.

Over at third base, Oakland's Matt Chapman is usually a slam dunk for the award. But he got hurt this year, so Moncada has a shot, along with New York's Gio Urshela and Texas' Isiah Kiner-Falefa.

Toughest White Sox offseason decisions: Alex Colome and Leury Garcia

Alex Colome

Over the past two seasons, the White Sox are 92-1 when leading after eight innings. They were a perfect 32-0 in that situation in 2020, after going 60-1 in 2019.

A won-loss record like that is a clear sign that your closer is doing his job. As annoying as it can be to watch Alex Colome work slooooooowly on the mound, the veteran right-hander has had back-to-back successful seasons on the South Side of Chicago.

This year, he went 2-0 with a 0.81 ERA with 12 saves in 13 opportunities. Over the past two seasons, he's appeared in 104 games, going 6-5 with a 2.27 ERA with 42 saves in 46 chances. 

Unless you've got Mariano Rivera on your team or something, you can't really expect better from your ninth inning guy.

However, the Sox face a tough decision on Colome this offseason. He's a free agent, and by the time next season begins, he'll be 32 years old. He was scheduled to make $10.53 million in 2020 before the pandemic reduced everyone's salary, and since he had a strong year, there's no doubt he'll be seeking more on the open market.

Should the Sox prioritize Colome, knowing they have other quality relievers in their bullpen? Aaron Bummer and Codi Heuer both have closer stuff, and both could do the job for much cheaper.

That said, 2021 is a win-now season for the Sox, and can they afford to go into it without a proven closer? Sure, we *think* Bummer and Heuer can do the job, but we don't *know* they can do the job. They haven't been given the opportunity yet.

A strong case can be made, too, that the Sox have bigger needs than the bullpen. They are certainly a starting pitcher short. They need a right fielder and a designated hitter, as well.

But even though Colome likely is heading toward the regression phase of his career, I'd like to see the Sox re-sign him if the price is right. 

The guess here is free agents aren't going to make a whole heck of a lot this offseason. The big-name guys, George Springer and Trevor Bauer, are going to get paid, but second-tier and third-tier guys -- such as Colome -- may not command as much as they would in a normal year. Teams didn't get any revenue from ticket sales in 2020, and spending is going to be down. That's just a reality.

If the Sox were to offer Colome two years, $20 million right now, he'd have to consider it. But if they wait out the market, they might be able to get him at an even cheaper rate -- perhaps two years, $16 million.

It will be interesting to see how the Sox play it with their closer situation this offseason.

The other tough decision ahead? How about oft-injured utility player Leury Garcia? He has a $3.5 million option with a $250,000 buyout.

If Garcia could reliably stay healthy, I think that option gets picked up. However, he missed most of the season this year with torn ligaments in his thumb. And despite all his positional versatility -- and his ability to switch-hit -- the Sox could carry Adam Engel as a backup outfielder and Danny Mendick as a backup infielder, and probably get the same production for less money.

Then the Sox could put that $3.5 million toward filling the aforementioned holes, or trying to entice Colome to return.

I would buy out Garcia, but I'm acknowledging that it's not an easy decision. He's been a good soldier during the rebuild, and he has utility as a bench player. I'm just feeling as though that money would be better spent elsewhere.

White Sox help fans commemorate Lucas Giolito's no-hitter

I was at the game April 18, 2007, when White Sox left-hander Mark Buehrle pitched a no-hitter against the Texas Rangers.

I have friends who were there July 23, 2009, when Buehrle pitched a perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays.

No-hitters are a rare thing -- only four of them have been thrown in the 30-year-history of Guaranteed Rate Field -- so if you get to see one in person, that could be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It's a story that gets told and told again for years and years among family and friends.

It's just a shame that one of the aforementioned four no-hitters occurred Aug. 25, 2020, during the season of COVID-19, with no fans in the stands. No one will ever be able to say they were at the game when Lucas Giolito struck out 13 and thoroughly dominated the Pittsburgh Pirates.

One Sox fan I know tweeted, "My cardboard cutout has seen a no-hitter, and I have not. F**** 2020." 

Indeed.

But the Sox did make a nice gesture by sending out replica tickets to all their season-ticket holders to commemorate Giolito's no-hitter. These have my actual seat location on them, and we were able to frame them and put them on display in our home.

I criticize the Sox plenty on this blog, so let's give the team credit for doing something right this time. Thank you, Sox, for giving us something to help us remember one of the happiest moments of the 2020 baseball season.

Dodgers back in the World Series for 3rd time in 4 years

Cody Bellinger

The Los Angeles Dodgers lost the 2017 World Series to the Houston Astros, and they lost the 2018 World Series to the Boston Red Sox. 

Will the third time be the charm?

The Dodgers are National League pennant winners for the third time in four years, after they beat the Atlanta Braves, 4-3, on Sunday in Game 7 of the NL Championship Series.

Los Angeles was down 3-2 after five innings, but it tied the game in the sixth on Enrique Hernandez's pinch-hit solo home run off A.J. Minter. The Dodgers went ahead to stay in the bottom of the seventh, when center fielder Cody Bellinger homered off Chris Martin.

Both Hernandez and Bellinger homered on 2-2 pitches to cap off eight-pitch battles.

The big defensive play, not surprisingly, came from right fielder Mookie Betts, who robbed Atlanta's Freddie Freeman of a solo home run in the top of the fifth inning. If that ball gets out, the Braves go ahead 4-2, and who knows how that changes the game and the strategy moving forward?

Interestingly, the Dodgers won this game without using longtime ace Clayton Kershaw, or longtime closer Kenley Jansen. Los Angeles used five pitchers, none of whom worked more than three innings: Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin, Blake Treinen, Brusdar Graterol and Julio Urias.

There aren't any household names among those five pitchers, but that list shows the depth of the Dodgers, and it's shows the diverse way in which Los Angeles built its team.

May and Gonsolin were drafted and developed by the Dodgers; both are products of the 2016 draft class. Treinen was a free-agent acquisition. He was coming off a down year with Oakland in 2019, but he found new life with the Dodgers. Graterol was acquired from the Minnesota Twins in a three-team blockbuster last offseason -- the same deal that brought Betts to Los Angeles and had the Dodgers sending pitcher Kenta Maeda to Minnesota.

And Urias was signed as an international free agent out of Mexico at age 16. Now 24 years old, the left-hander finished the game Sunday with three perfect innings. Frankly, it would have been foolish for Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to go to Jansen, although the veteran right-hander was warming up in the bullpen when the game ended.

Urias was cruising, and there was absolutely no reason to believe he couldn't protect that one-run lead. Protect it he did, and now we'll see how the Dodgers fare against the Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series.

The Rays are making their first World Series appearance since 2008, when they lost to the Philadelphia Phillies. The Dodgers are attempting to win the World Series for the first time since 1988, a remarkable drought when you consider the overall success of the organization.

Los Angeles will turn to Kershaw in Game 1 on Tuesday night. Tampa Bay will counter with right-hander Tyler Glasnow.

Tampa Bay Rays win American League pennant in unconventional way

Charlie Morton

The Tampa Bay Rays have scored 71.9% of their runs this postseason on the home run. That probably doesn't surprise you, right? This is, after all, the era of home run-or-nothing baseball.

The Rays posted a team batting average of .202 in a five-game AL Division Series against the New York Yankees -- and they won. Then the Rays batted .201 in a seven-game AL Championship Series against the Houston Astros -- and won again. They are going to the World Series for the first time since 2008.

Tampa Bay defeated Houston, 4-2, in Game 7 on Saturday night. Their offense was fueled by, what else, the home run ball. Randy Arozarena hit a two-run homer in the first inning, and Mike Zunino hit a solo shot in the second off Houston starter Lance McCullers. The Rays took an early 3-0 lead, and their pitching made it stick from there.

Arozarena, the rookie outfielder, hit seven home runs all season. He has seven home runs and 11 extra-base hits in the playoffs, including a remarkable .382/.433/.855 slash line. It's difficult to swing the bat much better than that on the big stage.

But here's the thing about the Rays that shows how the game has changed: Not a single one of their starting pitchers worked into the seventh inning during this ALCS. When a team bats .201 as a team and still wins, you would think they were being carried by dominant starting pitching. Not so.

Here's what the Rays got from their starting pitchers in each game:

Game 1. Blake Snell -- 5 IP

Game 2. Charlie Morton -- 5 IP

Game 3. Ryan Yarbrough -- 5 IP

Game 4. Tyler Glasnow -- 6 IP

Game 5. John Curtiss -- 1.1 IP

Game 6. Snell -- 4 IP

Game 7. Morton -- 5.2 IP

This is a far cry from the 2005 White Sox, who threw four complete games in the ALCS and needed only two outs from their bullpen in a five-game series win.

Things are much different than they were 15 years ago, and if you watched Game 7, there was every reason to believe Morton could continue pitching. 

Through those 5.2 innings, the veteran right-hander had allowed only two hits and one walk. He had six strikeouts and had thrown only 66 pitches -- 48 of them for strikes. At one point, he retired 14 consecutive Houston batters.

You could make the case he was "in trouble" in that sixth inning. The Astros had two runners on for the first time in the game -- on a walk and an infield single. There was no sign that Morton was tiring, and 10 or 15 years ago, there's no question he would have been allowed to pitch out of his own jam.

But not in 2020. Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash wanted a high-leverage reliever, Nick Anderson, to face Houston's Michael Brantley with two on and two out in a 3-0 game in the sixth inning. Anderson did, in fact, retire Brantley on a routine grounder to second base to end the threat. 

Anderson and Pete Fairbanks worked those last 3.1 innings. They gave up two runs, but they didn't surrender the lead. Ultimately, the Rays won, so you can't really second-guess Cash's decision-making. He stuck with what he's done throughout the season, and there's no arguing with success.

But hey, how about Morton? He was a member of the Astros in 2017 and 2018 before joining the Rays for the past two seasons. And in that time, he's pitched four winner-take-all playoff games and won them all, while posting a 0.46 ERA.  

That guy is good in the playoffs, and generally underrated overall -- just like the Rays often have been as a team.

It's time for everyone's favorite game show: White Sox player comparisons

Here are two season stats lines for two White Sox position players, one from 2020 and one from the past. Can you name them?

Player A: .256/.333/.314, .646 OPS, 139 plate appearances, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run, 8 RBIs, 10 stolen bases

Player B: .228/.295/.294, .589 OPS, 149 plate appearances, 6 doubles, 0 triples, 1 home run, 15 RBIs, 0 stolen bases

While you ponder that, we'll play some baseball videos from YouTube. Scroll down when you think you have your answer ...

Got your answer? Player A is Willie Harris, a backup infielder, the 25th man on the 2005 world champions.

Player B is Nomar Mazara, the starting right fielder for the 2020 Sox.

That's right, 2005 Willie Harris had a higher OPS than 2020 Nomar Mazara, and he had the same number of home runs in 10 fewer plate appearances.

I think that adequately answers the question of whether Mazara is a non-tender candidate this offseason. No way in hell he deserves a raise on top of the $5.56 million he was scheduled to earn in 2020.

Let him walk.

Sorry, White Sox fans, I think we'll have to live without James McCann

James McCann

It seems as though many White Sox fans want catcher James McCann, who is a free agent this offseason, to re-sign with the team for the 2021 season.

You can't blame those fans, because McCann has done his job both seasons he has been a member of the Sox. His partnership with ace pitcher Lucas Giolito is well documented -- we reached a point this year where we knew it would be McCann, not Yasmani Grandal, catching Giolito's starts.

And McCann was plenty solid with the bat, posting a .289/.360/.536 slash line with seven home runs and 15 RBIs in 31 games.

However, I'm afraid those fans are going to be disappointed, because McCann is going to sign elsewhere. The Sox have other holes to address in the starting rotation, in right field, at designated hitter and possibly the bullpen, and I don't think they are going to be able to afford the luxury of two starting-caliber catchers.

Furthermore, McCann has earned the right to be a full-time catcher somewhere, and that opportunity will not exist for him in Chicago as long as Grandal is on the roster and is making $18.25 million a year.

McCann will be the second-best catcher on the free agent market behind J.T. Realmuto. It just so happens that both New York teams might be looking to upgrade their catching situation this offseason. Realmuto could very well get paid by the Yankees, and if he does leave Philadelphia, we could see McCann as a member of the Phillies in 2021. 

It would make good sense for both parties. 

I read something online today where a Sox fan proposed "getting what you can" for Grandal, then re-signing McCann.

Umm, sorry, no chance that happens. 

I realize Grandal's .230/.351/.422 slash line did not impress some fans, but in a "down year," he still managed a 117 wRC+. A switch-hitting catcher whose offense is 17 percent above league average -- and whose framing is above average -- is not getting traded. If anything, the Sox need to get more left-handed offensively, so it makes no sense for them to part with anyone who can be productive from the left side of the plate.

I've also heard the idea of bringing back McCann as a primary catcher and kicking Grandal over to DH more days than not. 

There were seven games in 2020 where the Sox had McCann behind the plate and Grandal at DH. It seems like a good lineup choice, right? After all, Edwin Encarnacion had a dismal year, and Sox fans were justified in being tired of seeing him bat fourth or fifth in the lineup.

Unfortunately, Grandal just wasn't any damn good as a DH. He batted .087/.214/.130 with no homers and only one RBI, adding to the Sox's woes at that position. 

It's too bad if McCann has played his last game in a Sox uniform. He's been productive, and he's been a good leader. But the fit isn't there anymore, and it's almost certain he'll be moving on.

2021 MLB draft order is set

Just in case you were wondering, the 2021 Major League Baseball draft order is set. It's nice to see the White Sox closer to the bottom than the top for a change. 

The Houston Astros do not have a first- or second-round pick in 2021 because of the cheating scandal.

1. Pittsburgh Pirates
2. Texas Rangers
3. Detroit Tigers
4. Boston Red Sox
5. Baltimore Orioles
6. Arizona Diamondbacks
7. Kansas City Royals
8. Colorado Rockies
9. Los Angeles Angels
10. New York Mets
11. Washington Nationals
12. Seattle Mariners
13. Philadelphia Phillies
14. San Francisco Giants
15. Milwaukee Brewers
16. Miami Marlins
17. Cincinnati Reds
18. St. Louis Cardinals
19. Toronto Blue Jays
20. New York Yankees
21. Chicago Cubs
22. Chicago White Sox
23. Cleveland Indians
24. Atlanta Braves
25. Oakland Athletics
26. Minnesota Twins
27. San Diego Padres
28. Tampa Bay Rays
29. Los Angeles Dodgers

Call it what it is: White Sox fire Rick Renteria and Don Cooper

Rick Renteria

The news Monday was shocking. The White Sox stunned almost everyone in their fan base by firing manager Rick Renteria and pitching coach Don Cooper.

Sure, they called it a "mutual parting of ways," but don't be fooled by the semantics. This was a firing. 

Think about it: Why would Renteria and Cooper decide to leave now on their own accord? Two years ago, they were given a horrible roster than lost 100 games. They didn't step aside after that, so there's no reason to think they would want to leave now, just when the Sox are finally starting to field a competitive team.

General manager Rick Hahn is famous for his lawyer talk, and he's obviously dancing around the fact that these guys didn't get the job done. And, there's no reason to think they would get the job done in the coming years.

The Sox were 33-17 when they woke up on the morning of Sept. 18. A playoff position had been secured. Then, regular season and postseason combined, they went 3-10 the rest of the way. They lost the American League Central Division title to the Minnesota Twins, despite having a three-game lead with 10 games to play, and they made a quick exit from the playoffs against the Oakland A's.

You can't run from the fact that this was a collapse, nor can you run from the fact that decisions and development failings by Renteria and Cooper were significant contributors to that collapse.

A 5-4 loss to Cleveland on Sept. 24 is the one that cost the Sox the most in the division race. Renteria used Carlos Rodon in relief, trying to protect a 4-1 lead in the seventh inning. Rodon was just back from a significant injury, and he hadn't worked out of the bullpen in years. 

Predictably, Rodon lost the game. Renteria's defense for that move? Rodon "only needed to get one out" (he never got it), and the Sox wanted to see if he could handle such a situation before the playoffs.

OK, that's somewhat defensible. A playoff position had already been secured, and there is some merit to the argument of trying to see what, if anything, Rodon had to offer. Turns out, he had nothing to offer, so the correct thing to do is leave him off the playoff roster.

Instead, we saw Rodon again in relief, in a winner-take-all Game 3 in Oakland. The Sox were leading 3-2 when Rodon entered. Moments later, the Sox were trailing, 4-3. Once again, the justification was that Rodon "only needed to get one out." He never got it. The Sox lost, 6-4. Season over.

Making such an egregious mistake twice in a week, with a season on a line, that's the type of decision-making that gets a manager fired. Not to mention, Renteria started Dane Dunning in Game 3 of the playoffs, a defensible decision, but he had somebody warming up after Dunning gave up a leadoff single in the first inning.

If you have that little confidence in a starting pitcher, then don't start him. Dunning did not give up a run, but he was pulled with two on and two out in the first inning -- after throwing only 15 pitches. Not a good decision.

Renteria's moves in the playoffs had panic written all over them, and his body language in the dugout was quite bizarre. He was squatting in the ready position, acting as if he was playing shortstop, not managing the team. It made me anxious looking at him, so I wonder what his players thought of all that.

And let's not absolve Cooper. Yes, it's great that he resurrected the careers of Esteban Loaiza, Jose Contreras and Matt Thornton. But that stuff was 15 years ago now. 

Sox fans, how do we feel about the development of Dylan Cease and Reynaldo Lopez these days? Not good, right? At best, these two young right-handers have stagnated, and you can make a strong case they have regressed.

It's unfortunate that Dunning was put in such a tough spot in Game 3. He's a rookie coming off Tommy John surgery, yet he was still considered a better option than Cease or Lopez, who have more experience, but have failed to take the next step under the dinosaur Cooper, who had been with the Sox organization for 33 years -- 18 of them as pitching coach across four managerial regimes.

At some point, it's time for a different voice on the pitching front. That time is now. And at some point, it's time for a manager who is more than just a respected figure in the clubhouse -- Renteria was that. To win a championship, a team needs a manager who has some feel for handling a pitching staff -- Renteria was not that. 

It's time for Hahn to go find that guy.

Designated hitter situation likely bottomed out for White Sox in 2020

Edwin Encarnacion

When you look at the 2019 numbers for the White Sox, it's clear that designated hitter was a huge weakness for their offense. Luminaries such as Yonder Alonso, AJ Reed and Matt Skole combined to post an ugly .205/.285/.356 slash line with 17 home runs and 75 RBIs over the course of the 162-game season.

Obviously, designated hitter is a bat-only position, so there is no baseball universe where a .641 OPS is acceptable at that spot.

Last offseason, Sox general manager Rick Hahn correctly identified this weakness and signed Edwin Encarnacion to fill the void. On paper, there was nothing wrong with that decision. Encarnacion had 414 career home runs coming into the 2020 season, and from 2012 to 2019, he had hit 32 or more home runs every year.

And while Encarnacion was entering his age-37 season, he was hardly a liability in 2019 as a 36-year-old. He hit 34 home runs, drove in 86 runs and posted an .875 OPS in 109 games.

Sure, there was one warning sign: In his final six playoff games of 2019 with the New York Yankees, Encarnacion went 1 for 22 with 11 strikeouts, no doubt contributing to the Yankees being eliminated by the Houston Astros in the American League Championship Series.

Still, you could have argued that slumps happen, and perhaps Encarnacion had simply gone in a funk at the wrong time. The body of work suggested that he would easily clear the low bar set by White Sox designated hitters in 2019.

So, Hahn signed Encarnacion to a one-year, $12 million deal, with a club option for 2021 -- also for $12 million.

Umm, that option will not be picked up in probably the easiest decision Hahn faces this offseason. That's because Encarnacion somehow managed to lower an already low bar for Sox DHs. While he did hit 10 home runs in 44 games in 2020, his final season slash line was a terrible .157/.250/.377.

Encarnacion's strikeout rate jumped from 21.2% to 29.8%, and whenever a man produces only 19 RBIs while being allowed to hit fourth or fifth in the batting order all season, well, that's what Steve Stone would call a "dismal" year. 

If you include all players who served as DH this season, the Sox's slash line at the position finished at .148/.238/.350. Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, it did, and clearly, Encarnacion was the main culprit. 

It would be revisionist history to criticize the signing of Encarnacion, which seemed reasonable at the time. Furthermore, there is no buyout of his option, so the club can cut ties for nothing this offseason.

But here's where I will criticize the Sox: By about the halfway point of the 60-game season, it was apparent that Encarnacion had little or no bat speed left. Of his 10 home runs, only one came on a pitch of 93 mph or greater. Even casual observers could see that he couldn't handle high velocity anymore, but Sox brass lived in denial, claimed otherwise and continued to trot him out there game after game.

By the time the playoffs rolled around, it was clear that Encarnacion was not useful, and too many at-bats had been wasted on him. Could Zack Collins have helped the Sox in the playoffs as a DH? How about Andrew Vaughn, the top hitting prospect in the organization? 

We'll never know, because the Sox did not give many meaningful at-bats to Collins this season, and Vaughn spent all of his time at the team's alternate training site in Schaumburg.

Would it have killed the Sox to call up either Collins or Vaughn for the last two weeks of the regular season, give them some playing time and find out whether they were more useful than Encarnacion? I don't believe so, and I wish they would have done that. 

One of the key problems with the Sox is their insistence on sticking with struggling veterans for too long -- especially hitters. If a veteran hitter isn't setting a reasonable floor at a particular spot, what does it hurt to try a higher-ceiling young player at the position?

All Collins or Vaughn would have had to do is hit .180, and the spot would have been upgraded. There comes a time to find out what you have with certain players.

It sounds as though Vaughn will inherit Encarnacion's roster spot next season. He's a first baseman, so he and Jose Abreu will probably work in some sort of time share between first base and DH. You'd like to think those two players will combine for better than a .588 OPS, which is what the Sox got from their DHs in 2020.

After all that, the 2020 White Sox win nothing notable

The White Sox had a three-game lead in the American League Central with 10 games to play. The schedule down the stretch was fairly difficult: three at Cincinnati, four at Cleveland and three at home against the Cubs.

But knowing what we know now, the Sox only needed to go 3-7 in order to win the division. Of course, they went 2-8.

However, the Sox won their first game in the playoffs, and they had two chances to advance to the next round. Of course, they lost both games.

And in Game 3 on Thursday, they had a 3-0 lead in the fourth inning. They lost, 6-4, to the Oakland Athletics.

I don't even feel like going over the details of this game. The season is over, and it leaves a real sour taste in my mouth. They should have won the division. They didn't. They should have won this series with the A's. They didn't.

I'm very, very tired of listening to people tell me how great the Sox are going to be in the future. I cannot embrace this group of players until they win something of consequence. For me, this season is characterized by choking and failing.

To me, this looks like the same old stuff. When the chips are down and execution is needed, the Sox can't execute.