3 former White Sox to replace Tony La Russa as manager

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Tony La Russa has been back to his old tricks proving that he is not a good candidate for the job as Chicago White Sox manager. He has been someone that is an all-time great manager and coach of this game but he no longer has it the way that he once did.

There have been bad lineups, bad strategy decisions, and bad bullpen management over the entire year and a lot of it has caused the White Sox to lose games that they should win.

A few examples have been coming up as of late and they are not good. One that comes to mind is the fact that he intentionally walked yet another hitter who had two strikes on him again. He doubled down on it the first time that he did it and tried it again just last week.

The latest blunder came on Monday when he left Michael Kopech in the game when he was clearly hurt. He had big pain, no velocity, and his command was off but Tony let him potentially hurt himself even worse.

The Chicago White Sox are letting Tony La Russa ruin this team in every way.

This move not only could have hurt Kopech, but it spotted the Kansas City Royals a 4-0 lead. There is no way they fire him now but it is fun to think about as they are still within striking distance of the division lead.

If the White Sox are serious about winning next year and beyond, they need someone new. They could go for a former player who once played for them. If they did decide to go that route, one of these three would be perfect:

(Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

1. AJ Pierzynski

AJ Pierzynski is someone that may make sense as a Chicago White Sox manager.

One of the most beloved players in the history of the franchise is AJ Pierzynski. He played for the White Sox from 2005 all the way until 2012. He also had stops with the San Francisco Giants, Minnesota Twins, Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, and Atlanta Braves.

During his amazing career, he has been a Silver Slugger, an All-Star, and a World Series champion. Of course, he was the main backstop of the greatest Chicago White Sox team of all time. Winning the championship with the 2005 group is the highlight of his amazing career.

AJ certainly isn’t a Hall of Fame player or anything like that but he was very good. His name appeared on the ballot during his first year of eligibility. He should absolutely be remembered for how good he was on some very good teams.

He was very talented which is a must for Major League Baseball but he also used his brain to help himself. You might remember the play where he helped the White Sox win a playoff game because he was the only one on the field that remembered the dropped third strike rule.

He was also the type of person to get heated during games with people who challenged him. This is the type of fire and smarts that this White Sox team needs right now. He is currently a broadcaster that has expressed interest in managing one day. The White Sox would make sense for him.

2. Sandy Alomar Jr.

Sandy Alomar Jr. would make the perfect manager for the Chicago White Sox.

The Chicago White Sox is a team looking for a spark. Someone that can help them with that spark is Sandy Alomar Jr. He has been waiting in the wings for a manager job for a long time as he is with the Cleveland Guardians as their current first base coach.

Alomar Jr. would make a perfect manager for this Chicago White Sox team. He might be next in line for a lot of teams but the White Sox is a likely candidate for him when that time comes. He played for them a couple of different times over parts of five seasons.

He is clearly someone that knows the organization well. He might not be as in touch with the White Sox as he is with the Guardians but they are in second for him. If he wanted to come to manage a team in the same division as his old mates, this organization would be perfect.

It would be the first time in a long time that the White Sox had a manager like this. He can bring a lot of fresh ideas to a team and be relatable which is just what they need.

Like AJ Pierzynski, he wasn’t a Hall of Fame catcher but he was a very good one. He had a Gold Glove, an All-Star Game MVP, a Rookie of the Year, and was an All-Star six times. Catchers usually go on to make great MLB managers more than any other position and he would be great for the Sox.

(Photo by Brian D. Kersey/Getty Images) /

3. Ozzie Guillen

Now would be a great time for the Chicago White Sox to bring Ozzie Guillen back.

Unlike AJ Pierzynski and Sandy Alomar Jr., Ozzie Guillen was not a catcher. However, like both of them, he played for the Chicago White Sox. Ozzie played shortstop and played his first 13 years in the league on the south side. He finished with short tenures in Baltimore, Atlanta, and Tampa Bay.

Guillen, of course, also managed the White Sox already in his career. He would be perfect to come back right now. Ozzie is the greatest manager in the history of the Chicago White Sox and Chicago sports in general because he is one of the few to win a championship.

Ozzie Guillen led the White Sox to a World Series title in 2005. As mentioned before when talking about AJ Pierzynski, it was the greatest team in the history of the incredibly historic franchise and he was the biggest part of it as he led the way.

He knows what it takes to win the final game of the season as a manager. With the roster that the White Sox currently has, he would be so perfect. There are a lot of players that would likely respond to his managing and take their game to the next level. We saw that with multiple guys in 2005.

We don’t know if Ozzie or any of these guys would actually be considered but they are good candidates for this team that played for them at one point in time. Tony La Russa has been brutal so pretty much anyone replacing him at this point would be a win.

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