The Chicago White Sox have had a terrible season in 2022. They certainly aren’t one of the terrible teams in the league though which is why this season is terrible for the way that it has gone.
They are now eliminated from division title contention and they will soon be eliminated from postseason contention. It is going to take a big offseason for them to get back on track and be ready for 2023.
Over the weekend, the White Sox announced that Tony La Russa is going to miss the remainder of the 2022 season due to his health concern. Of course, despite all baseball opinions, we wish Tony nothing but the best with his health.
With that said, he should stay away from this team in 2023 as well. For one, he doesn’t need to be doing it anymore if he couldn’t even finish out this season. His health should be the first thing on his mind. There are plenty of other jobs there for someone with this condition.
Tony La Russa should not return to the Chicago White Sox dugout in 2023.
He also just did a flat-out lousy job managing the team when he was healthy. The lineups, in-game strategy, and bullpen management were all terrible this year. The team was also given a breath of fresh air when he left and it was clear on the field.
Miguel Cairo didn’t do well as a replacement once things really started to matter last week but before that, he did a significantly better job getting these guys ready to play than Tony did. Neither of them should return in 2023 if we are all being honest with ourselves.
All of the blame doesn’t fall at the feet of La Russa either. Rick Hahn and Kenny Williams should both be relieved as well as they both constructed a very flawed roster in a year that was supposed to be a winning one. It is time to get some new faces in the organization.
The training staff should all be fired twice too. The White Sox have had so many injuries to consequential players in 2021 and 2022 that they need to make a change there too. This team cannot keep getting hurt the way that it does and expect to succeed.
It isn’t Tony’s fault that these guys always get hurt but he doesn’t handle them right when they are healthy anyway. After the way that 2022 has gone, it is obvious that Tony La Russa has no business being back with the team next year. Hopefully, the team sees it too.