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.