I wouldn’t want to lecture White Sox fans and declare that the sting of Thursday’s Game 3 loss to the A’s should be fading by now. That would deprive the fan base of its surly side, which would be like depriving a cactus of its spines.
But dare I suggest that perspective should be seeping into the irritation that you, the average Sox fan, might still be feeling? I’m not suggesting you take down the Fire Rick Renteria banner nailed across the front of your home, though you’re wasting your time with that message. He’s not going anywhere. What I am suggesting is that there are a ton of good things to warm your hearts until next season begins.
For starters, there’s the lineup. Here was Thursday’s: Tim Anderson, Yasmani Grandal, Jose Abreu, Eloy Jimenez, Yoan Moncada, Luis Robert, Nomar Mazara, Adam Engel and Nick Madrigal.
Man, that’s good.
You want better pitching, I know. You saw the Sox with two bona fide starters in the wild-card series, Lucas Giolito and Dallas Keuchel, and then not much else. You saw a bullpen that disintegrated in Game 3, handing out walks like Skittles to trick-or-treaters dressed as ballplayers. It was an absolute travesty, a crime against pitching … and something needs to be done immediately, general manager Rick Hahn!!!
But that lineup. Wow.
Anderson was phenomenal in the series, collecting nine hits in three games. He has been a great hitter two seasons in a row, and his ability to hit to all fields means that there’s a lot more to come. Abreu very well could be this year’s American League Most Valuable Player when the voting is announced. Robert hit a home run in Game 3 that has yet to land. And so on.
The young bullpen has some very good arms, starting with rookie Garrett Crochet, who can throw 100 mph while brushing his teeth. No one wants to say “Tommy John surgery waiting to happen’’ with this kid, but that’s what everyone is thinking. People who throw as hard as he does often get hurt, have the surgery and come back strong. Maybe he’ll dodge the surgery. If so, opposing hitters should be very, very afraid.
Michael Kopech, who was Crochet before Crochet, figures to be back, too. But if the Sox are serious about a World Series title, Hahn will be have to deliver a quality starter or two in the offseason
That brings us to Renteria because almost every discussion about the Sox does. Is he the right guy to take the team to the next level? In fairness to him, he did take them to another level. They went from 72-89 last season to 35-25 and the playoffs in a pandemic-shortened 2020. They hadn’t been to the postseason in 12 years. You have to point that out if you’re going to call him out for having a bad game, which he did Thursday.
To all the people calling for Renteria’s head, keep in mind that the manager position has been devalued across baseball over the past five years. Many of the decisions a manager makes in the dugout have already been discussed with the front office before a game even begins. The decision to start Dane Dunning in Game 3, pull him quickly and insert Crochet was made days before the first pitch, and it certainly wasn’t Renteria’s decision alone.
Look, I don’t think he has done much to distinguish himself during games, but neither have lots of other managers in the big leagues. That’s just the state of the position. The Sox admire him because he has established a “culture,’’ the buzziest of buzzwords in sports these days. His players like him and play hard for him. That matters.
The more sedate, seasoned Sox observer knows that Renteria isn’t going anywhere. He has another year on his contract. If this were another team, perhaps he’d be gone. But these are the Sox, this is chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and the sense of loyalty that pervades the organization tends to keep people in jobs well beyond their best-by date.
Can the Sox win a World Series with Renteria? That might sound like the most important question of all, but it’s not. It’s this: Could Renteria really derail a championship run all by himself? If the Sox shore up their pitching and the young hitters continue to improve, no manager is going to get in the way of their success. It’s just how today’s game works.
That’s not what an angry, vocal percentage of Sox fans wants to hear. It would prefer to hear that Renteria is the root of all evil. And that brings us back to perspective: What evil? The Sox have progressed from a painful rebuild to the playoffs. They have a ton of talent. They’ve accomplished a lot already. The future looks bright. Enjoy that. Don’t make Renteria into a massive storm cloud that’s not there.
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