Well, if you thought things were bad when the Sox hired TLR, they just got worse after this most recent Jeff Passan bomb shell.
Chicago White Sox manager Tony La Russa was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in February and charged with DUI a day before the team hired him, according to court records obtained by ESPN.
News with @pinepaula and @MoynihanCharles: https://t.co/C1lHlik4Zl
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 10, 2020
This is La Russa’s 2nd DUI since February. After reportedly not calling any of his players yet, he hasn’t exactly had a great start in his role as manager.
The White Sox could (and should) do the right thing and fire him. It isn’t a great look for the organization after many criticized the team for hiring him in the first place. The only problem is that A.J Hinch and Alex Cora are no longer available, as the Tigers and Red Sox hired the two most sought out managers.
Who Could The White Sox Hire In His Place?
Should the team decide to sever ties with La Russa before they even begin, they could turn to Bruce Bochy. Bochy was rumored to be next on the list of options for the Sox if La Russa didn’t want the job.
Bochy is obviously well regarded, having led the Giants to 3 World Series Championships in 2010, 2012, and 2014. He’s not as old as La Russa, has more recent success, and would probably have a better chance of meshing with the team.
Did The White Sox Know About The DUI?
Unfortunately, it sounds like the answer to that question is yes.
White Sox spokesman Scott Reifert says the team was aware of La Russa’s arrest before naming him manager. https://t.co/fXQYSccDSw
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 10, 2020
Rick Hahn has to be fuming right now. La Russa being hired was a Jerry Reinsdorf move that looked bad then and even worse now. For a team that has such promising expectations in the future, there are way too many negative stories popping up. Two steps forward, 1 giant step back with this organization.
Furthermore, since the team already knew about the DUI charge, it seems unlikely that La Russa will be fired for his actions.
The bigger question that needs to be asked is how will the players react to this news? I’m sure many have already lost some respect for TLR because of this news, and it will take a lot to earn that back.
The organization and/or Tony La Russa needs to hold a press conference and try to salvage what is already a very sticky situation.
Another concern is how potential free agents will react to the news. Sure at the end of the day money talks but anyone with half a brain can see that the White Sox front office is a pretty big mess.
The timing of this news just sucks because it seemed like people were calming down a bit and willing to give La Russa the benefit of the doubt. But now that he has multiple DUI’s, those concerns will flare up again, and not that he was just a questionable hire. Now fans around baseball will argue that he doesn’t care about potentially putting other lives in danger. It comes off as selfish, arrogant, and flat out irresponsible.
Regardless of what the organization says, no one will forget this or brush it off to the side any time soon. Not a good day for the White Sox and their fans.
