As the White Sox continue to hunt for a new manager, one prominent name yet to be involved in the mix is Joe Maddon. The former Rays/Cubs/Angels skipper told the Cubs Talk podcast (on NBC Sports Chicago, hat tip to Tim Stebbins) that “I’ve not heard from [the White Sox] at all,” though Maddon would “of course…be interested” in chatting with the team. Maddon has yet to be publicly linked to any of the open managerial vacancies this winter, though he has remained in the news due to a publicity tour for his upcoming book.
For a White Sox team that is reportedly hoping to replace Tony La Russa with another experienced manager, Maddon would seem like an intriguing candidate on paper, given both his long and successful track record and his past Chicago ties. However, of the four candidates linked thus far to the Sox job, two (Ron Washington and Ozzie Guillen) have past experience managing in the majors, while the other two (Royals bench coach Pedro Grifol and Astros bench coach Joe Espada) would be first-time skippers at the MLB level.
More from around the AL Central…
- There is mutual interest between the Guardians and Austin Hedges in a reunion, Guards president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti told The Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Paul Hoynes and other reporters. Hedges is slated for free agency this winter, and was again one of the game’s stronger defensive catchers. For a Guardians team that has prioritized glovework and game-calling behind the plate, this has been enough to ensure regular playing time for Hedges, despite his lack of production as a hitter. Hedges has hit only .189/.247/.331 over 2001 career plate appearances with San Diego and Cleveland — his 54 wRC+ is the lowest of any player in baseball (minimum 2000 PA) since the start of the 2015 season. The Guardians have prospect Bo Naylor knocking on the door and another veteran catcher in Luke Maile until arbitration control, though Maile is a non-tender candidate. Hedges’ price tag shouldn’t be too prohibitive, which could allow Cleveland to create some competition in Spring Training and perhaps make Maile the odd man out even if he was tendered a contract.
- The Twins are looking for a new head trainer this offseason, once again looking to fill a position that has been a revolving door for the organization. As La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune points out, the Twins have already had three head trainers since 2016, and there has been plenty of other personnel turnover in the strength and conditioning departments. While it’s common for teams to regularly undergo some staffing changes, the lack of consistency stands out in regards to the Twins, given that they were buried by injuries throughout the season.
If it comes down to Ozzie and Joe, I say let them fight it out…literally.
Lol
Trumbojumbo
I suggest a duel. With hand grenades.
We could start with brass knuckles and if both are standing after 5 minutes break out the grenades..
Shouldn’t managers use baseball bats when dueling?
co-managers would more fun
Ozzie can handle the day-to-day and Joe can handle the big picture stuff.
I bet Ozzie’s a dirty fighter. I bet Joe gets mad easily.
Maddon is a lover not a fighter.
Rest of MLB hiring younger and younger managers, but the White Sox clueless ownership seems obsessed with senior citizens who should be relaxing, not working.
Hire Stephen Vogt you absolute clowns.
If Joe gets the White Sox job he better wear Kevlar on Chicago’s South side. The White Sox fans are not as tolerant of clowns as the North side fans.
Yeah I don’t know how well his hipster hippie schtick will fly out there.
Yes he has a track record of winning so you are right, he would not fly there.
Yeah. Too bad the Halos were too far gone for him to do anything with. Then again I wasn’t talking about his “track record.”
The Sox literally had a clown as a mascot for years. He would walk all over the park during games.
I do not like clowns. They all resonate John Wayne Gacy with me.
3 cannibals finish Freddie the Freeloader… on of the clowns as: Did that taste funny to you ?
Come again?
Trumbo,
I, too, dislike clowns, however there is a high kitsch film titled Killer Klowns from Outer Space. It’s a hoot.
Prunella, I’ve known about it for years and have just never pressed play. There is a Clown movie though called “Clowns” that has never been released. Made in late 80’s or early 90’s and it’s supposed to be completely psychotic haha. I would kinda like to see it..
And now for our English speaking friends please
Mr. Suntan, whom are you requesting to speak ingles? You must be replying to someone I have muted..
“Andy the Clown”!
If u got too close to his lapel flower… it squirted water in ur face!
“Let’s go White Soxxxxx”!!!
Cubs fans are FAR worse.
You speak of the clown who managed the Cubs to a World Championship?
I think he was talking about the mascot Fink. Everyone knows Maddon is a good guy. Nothing he could have done with the Halo’s.
No, he was talking about Maddon.
Haha It must be an inside joke I literally thought he was talking about some unsung mascot I had never heard of. Only mascot I am aware of is the rally monkey and the Phanatic. And Mr. Met.
Not Andy the Clown?
Every team has at least one mascot.
The biggest star was the San Diego Chicken
The most unique is perhaps the Washington Nationals President Racers.
Forget the uniqueness comment. The Milwaukee Brewers Sausage Race predates the Washington Nationals Presidents Race.
Piergorgi races in Pittsburgh
Championships are overrated, it’s all about winning trades!!! White Sox fans have another rebuild to look forward to after next season… bragging about getting a “haul” for Dylan Cease
Winning trades is a big deal but it needs to be a good fit. In 2005, the ChiSox sent Carlos Lee to Milwaukee for Scott Posednik and Luis Vizviano. Lee was better offensively and defensively than Posednik but the ChiSox needed him to get their big train rolling. That team was ONE of my favorite all time. No team compares to the 76 Reds, however.
Your point is fine, but calling Carlos Lee a better defensive outfielder than… um… anybody is probably not a hill you want to die on.
2005 Carlos Lee 307 PO 8 A 6 E
2005 Scott Podsednik 260 PO 3 A 3 E
It’s not that Carlos Lee was a great fielder. Scott Podsednik was a poor one. For someone with his speed, he didn’t get to many balls and had a poor arm. Lee actually was a leader in POs 5 years he played LF. He made errors but that is the consequence of many high chance defenders.
Come on, you aren’t really using putouts assists, and errors are you? I don’t LOVE defensive metrics, but Carlos Lee’s career dWar was negative 11 and that year he was -1.5. Pods wasn’t great, I agree, but if nothing else his raw speed got him to more balls.
I also go by what I saw. Those metrics based on statistics are flawed. If a player has 300 putouts in the corners, how can he be awful?
Well, he was a horse and played every game (I loved Lee as a player)… he played 340 more innings in LF than pods did that year, or the equivalent of almost 40 additional games, and only had 40 more putouts.
Earth to Fink Ployed: The Cubs have never won a “World Championship”!
I’m curious. Is this what you do all day? Wait for someone to use the term World Series, and then respond that only two countries participate?
LaRussa didn’t. He gone.
Better to be a has been like TLR than a never was like Maddon.
Yeah, Maddon was a “never was.” Cue extreme eye roll.
Maddon won two pennants, one World Series, and three MOY awards — never was what?
RJNarvick…what is that old saying about keeping your mouth shut so you don’t displat your ignorance?
I get it, you don’t like Maddon for whatever reason. But at least try to incorporate objective reality.
I think Joe hasn’t got any consideration because he’s mainly about how great Joe is at this point.
and you know this how. donny?
Interviews. He was a good manager, though.
I would say its because Joe appears to be a lot like Tony LaRussa in the way he manages, combine that with Joe having two of the best baseball players in the league on the roster and still doing nothing (though it can be debated about how the rest the of the team was built as well) and I think the Sox will pass.Or maybe the Sox are getting cute by not saying anything then will swoop in and sign Joe.. I mean with the clown show that is the White Sox FO, anything is possible at this point.
The Angels were a poorly constructed team. Maddon was fired in June. In the first half, the Angels were 26th in runs. In the second half, they were 26th in runs.
Do the ChiSox have an aversion to new blood?
What do you call 1st time managers Terry Bevington, Robin Ventura and Jerry Manuel as well as La Russa? Do some homework genius.
Ron Washington makes a lot of sense for that team.
If you want a guy who doesn’t know to put all of your outfielders deep enough so they can catch a ball with the game and World Series on the line, why not.
Washington> Guillen or Maddon
Guillen, definitely. If you ever listened to him on the pre- and post game shows, you’d know he’s the one. While the media were intimidated by LaRussa and lobbed softball questions to him, Oz told the truth about the shortcomings of the team and the players.
Cruz kept drifting in on his own that inning, while Washington kept putting him back into the correct no-doubles defense. On that fateful play, Cruz once again drifted in. Washington’s biggest error was simply not pulling Cruz and putting Endy Chavez in.
Even if were his fault, and not due to Cruz wandering in, he took Texas to their only World Series appearances in club history, which carries a lot more weight with me than where an outfielder was on one play.
also tex had 2 chances to k the batter in the 9th and 10th with 2 outs to win and failed to do so, it’s just as much on the players not executing as it’s on ron for making a few mistakes
Why not just hire Joe Girardi instead?
CWS would probably like Maddon too but what’s his asking price going to be.
Asking price as in?? Salary and contract length?? Who cares. 13 years 136 mil. With an option for years 14 and 15.
Maddon won a pennant with the Rays when they had the second-lowest payroll and won over 90 games with that underfunded franchise five times. I’d take him over Aaron Boone in a New York minute.
My only marginal concern would be how he’d fare after the shift is taken away, since he was the first one to standardize that strategy.
Pierzynski announcement soon.
I’m just saying.
Clean house on all The Pigs. Grandal and Moncada have to go. Take TA W you too. Such a tired act. All of them.
6 DH’s isnt going to do it.
Need to move some dead weight.
So long to Abreau too. He gone.
I wont pay attention until Grandal is moved. Such a stupid signing. They wanted a lefty bat to balance out the lineup.
Eloy full time DH. Vaughn @ 1st. Roberts in CF. Anderson @ SS. Those should be the only locks.
5 question Mark’s on Defense and w the Bat.
Mercy! Grab Some Bench! You’ve got to be Bleepin Me! Stretch! You can hang out all the drawers in Cook County on that one! They got my Money! He Gone! and one more…Mercy!
You confused me there. When you said “Take TA W you too,” I assumed you meant Tim Anderson, but later in the comment you said Anderson @ SS should be a lock. Did “TA” refer to some other player?
Same dude. I know hes good just not a fan. Hope he proves me wrong.
Got it.
TA needs to go and I was one of his biggest cheerleaders. However after this year- a year of him hitting pretty much nothing but singles, not being able to drive runs in, making silly errors in the field, including having 2 three error games this season, and this issue of a guy who relies on speed having nothing but leg issues for most of the season- he can go. The Sox should find some team they can dupe into thinking that TA will be more than he is now.. Oh wait the only team that would fall for that is trying to trade him now.
The mess, AKA The White Sox, isn’t the creation of any one manager. It was the result of the ‘plan’ of Reinsdorf, Williams and Hahn. And probably Stones fingerprints are somewhere on there, also.
Don’t Stop Now Boys!!
You’re so right. Grandal has got to go. He’s the worst catcher I’ve ever seen. How many balls hit off his shin guards and allowed the runner to advance?He’s terrible catching high, out of the strike zone pitches that went for wild pitches when they should have been passed balls. Roberts is a good center fielder but he’s afraid of the wall.Balls that he should’ve caught go for doubles. Moncada is an excellent fielder but can’t hit. Along with needing a second baseman (two utility players and a minor leaguer just doesn’t cut it), two outfielders and much better arms in the bullpen, they have a team that can hit but not field or can field but not hit. I told my friends before the season started that the Sox wouldn’t win the division or make the playoffs because they did nothing in the off season to make the team better.
Not really. Lou Boudreau may have been the first manager to use the shift when he did it against Ted Williams in the 40’s.
I’m aware of the early use of the shift. I said Maddon standardized it.
Twins Need a new front office.. changing the head trainer isn’t the problem… Its weight lifting… weight lifting is an anaerobic activity… while adding power they are short on endurance because anaerobic muscles don’t have their own blood flow… lack of blood flow means you muscles waste products build up.. and that leads to fatigue and that leads to injury.. leading to injury… Baseball is a marathon… not a sprint aerobic training is the only way… but it takes a lot more time…
Trainers take the blame for poor conditioning just like hitting coaches for poor performance.
1-Do you know any of this for sure? I assume you kind of have to be in the training room to know this.
2-Plenty of muscular people go a career without injuries.
there are different kinds of muscles… weight training doesn’t get you ready to run a marathon..
Surprisingly. training for a marathon doesn’t train you for other sports. You will have better endurance, but distance training does nothing for strength or the ability to move laterally. In terms of overall fitness, imho, distance training is not at the top of the list. In no particular order, you need:
Strength training
Sprinting
Aerobic
Lateral movement
Stretching
Balancing
It’s almost like the Twins prefer players with an injury history so they can pay less
WSox want a bi-lingual manager i expect…
And on another subject . . .how in the hell do the Guardians think they can compete with a catching duo of Hedges and Maile? Has to be the worst offensive catching corps in the majors. Pathetic, and they want to “reunite” with Hedges? Add Miles Straw to their lineup and you have two automatic outs in their lineup. I can see Straw with his glove, maybe. But Hedges/Maile? Please, that’s embarrassing.
Most of the Catchers that are strong defensively are currently awful offensively these days. Given the financial constraints its not like the Guardians were going to be swimming in Willson Contreras waters anyway. If not Hedges Christian Vazquez could be a possibility. Maybe Mike Zunino could be had relatively cheap, he will put up about the same Batting Average as Hedges but will probably hit 30 HR’s in the process
Rsox — I agree, Christian Vazquez makes the most sense; you still get the glove and arm (did you see the throw he made last night catching Bader trying to steal?) and a passable bat. He’s a free agent this winter.
I like maile. Hedges not so much.
Well if you take a peak at the year end standings, you’ll notice that the Guardians actually did compete, and won the division, with those two on their roster. The vast majority of teams these days have catchers who can’t hit. The Mets won 101 games getting almost nothing from their catchers offensively.
Right, but if the Guardians really want to contend, they need to give Terry a better catcher.
Hedges wasn’t the reason Cleveland didn’t “compete”. (They did, BTW). And Straw got off to a horrible start, but played well in September and early October. New York is clearly in his head. These 2 fit the kind of team Cleveland wants to be. They play defense, run the bases, and pitch. RF, 1B, and DH is where the offensive focus needs to be. I think you’ll see Hedges back with Bo Naylor at catcher. Hedges value is limited to teams like Cleveland, which aren’t many.
Hedges is OK defensively, but he doesn’t throw out nearly enough base runners. The man cannot hit, and that’s just a fact. Naylor won’t be ready until 2024. CLE needs a C who can hit NOW. Christian Vazquez will work. They won’t give Contreras half of what he’ll end up getting. The last C they had who could hit was Yan Gomes. As an organization they genuinely don’t care if their catchers can hit, and that’s a problem.
Bo Naylor is ready now. If you didn’t know it, Naylor was on the playoff roster after debuting in September. Naylor will be the starter with Hedges as the backup and teacher for Naylor.
At least that is my prediction.
I think that’s 24. I think Hedges will start with Naylor as the backup in 23. As the season progresses, Bo gets more and more starts. I really liked how Francona handled them down the stretch and in the playoffs. If Hedges comes up in a big spot mid-late game, pinch hit for him and put Maile/Naylor in.
Has to be the worst offensive catching corps in the majors.
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I’m not sure it is impossible. In terms of OPS:
#26 NYM
#27 HOU
#28 STL
#29 CLE
All four made the playoffs. In addition, NYY & TBR also had below average OPS.
Well, at #29 you are validating my premise. I want to see the Guardians get further, and Hedges/Maile are not helping.
I’ll give you: you normally don’t want to be 29th out of 30 in anything. But I feel we’ve lost sight of the importance a C plays on pitching. Changing to an Offensive Catcher priority changes who you are as a team. Finding a power hitter for RF, 1B or DH is an easier plug and play option.
Isn’t it possible to need all those things and still improve your offense at catcher? I think so. I don’t mean that Cleveland will go for a Conteras, but they can do better at the position.
i will never understand why so many people want an off. catcher, i know i’m in the minority here but give me a catcher that can play his position at a high level defensively, call a good game & manage the staff, and his a high bb iq. imo c is the most important pos next to ss and a good c with a high in is like having a manger on the field, and anything they can do with a bat is a bonus.
Clevel;and can have both, a good defensive catcher and a guy who can hit . Hedges is not so remarkable a defensive catcher and his bat is non-existent.
i’m in the minority here but give me a catcher that can play his position at a high level defensively,
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I agree. I think part of the issue is that it is difficult to evaluate catchers defensively. I’d bet just about no one in here knows how to assess how a catcher calls a game. And I am willing to bet that most of the professionals don’t know either.
And there is the weighting. Guys like Chapman (432 chances) or Judge (281) have have that big an impact. A catcher like Hedges had 3,423 defensive PAs. If you could steal a strike on 5% of the pitches, that’s maybe 850 positive plays. How often does a Chapman or a Judge make a player that a normal fielder couldn’t make?
“I’d bet just about no one in here knows how to assess how a catcher calls a game. And I am willing to bet that most of the professionals don’t know either.
JoeBrady;
Come ‘on.
You don’t think the manger and coaches (not just pitching coaches) that watch that team every day don’t know which catchers call better games and work with pitchers more effectively? (The same when they watch other catchers around the league when their teams them.) You don’t think most pitchers can tell the difference between catchers they’re throwing to? And that’s not to mention the broadcast teams that do every teams games, and talk to the players daily.
Just because there isn’t a statistic doesn’t mean that FO’s are lost here.
And as for stealing strikes – we’ve had posters here that caught professionally who wrote that the framing statistic was a joke. And it is. I watch a lot of games. Umpires constantly call pitches out of the zone strikes and pitches in the zone balls all game (not the same pitches – some don’t get a good view of balls down, up, one side of the plate or the other, etc.) Hitters adjust to it. To reward or penalize a catcher because he happens to be playing that day is ridiculous.
framing statistic was a joke
======================
Most defensive stats, imo, cannot be relied on season-to-season. But in the long-run, they are reliable. And the fact is, some catchers are better and some are worse. It is impossible that they are all interchangeable. I use to have this discussion when OPSa was a thing, and some folks refused to accept the idea that some catchers were better defensively, and some were worse.
I’ll say it again: the biggest issue is that we cannot assess catchers as easily as we can assess other fielders.
Pierzynski. Back up the Brinks Truck.
It’s coming. I have no doubt.
I’m just saying.
Yeah, cause Ventura did such a good job with no managing experience.. oh wait… Plus I doubt he will be a lapdog for Kenny and Crew in the front office, same reason why they are interviewing with Ozzie, they want to appease the fans calling for him, but with KW there I doubt they bring him back.
Maddon isn’t on the White Sox radar because Reinsdorf/Williams/Hahn don’t want to see their players cosplaying on road trips while the manager gets a Mohawk to build “team unity”. Maddon lost the Angels clubhouse in less than the equivalent of two seasons, and that was with two of the best players in the game right now. I doubt we will see his name linked to any team anytime soon
RSox, excellent take on Joe Maddon.
Maddon was just lucky to fit properly with the Cubs- at the time of the ‘perfect storm’ taking shape in Chicago.
Maddon would be a snake oil salesman, in past lives. His gimmicks are not likely to ever play again, anywhere.
If Reinsdorf would let Hahn handle the hiring and trades and stop stepping in and doing stupid things like hiring his old, very old, friend LaRussa, the Sox will be a much better team It was Hahn and Williams that built the team into a contender and LaRussa and Reinsdorf that tore it down. It was Renteria that got them to the playoffs in 2020. He was fired because Reinsdorf believed he could take the team to the next level. They should have stayed with Renteria.
So we will do nothing to build up a 92 win season, even with the upcoming 40-man crunch. Pathetic.
eh, I think there is a trade coming. just not at catcher. Get a power 1B to split between there and DH with Naylor. or move Gonzo to 1B and sign get a power RF. Trade Plesac, Miller, and Jones for him.
“So we will do nothing to build up a 92 win season….”
Long Suffering Guardians Fan;
Seriously?
Other than Jose, all those guys are young, and most are going to get better….and Jose will continue to play at a high level.
You want to be like the White Sox and now Jays? Trade multiple young players with upside for veteran players that want large contracts while their production is diminishing.
Keep watching what the Guardians and Orioles do. MLB isn’t rotisserie league where the combatants turn over their “teams” each season.
Cleveland is one full year the youngest in the AL in both hitting and pitching. I’d have thought Cleveland fans would be celebrating.
Do the White Sox really need a manager that screams LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT ME! at every opportunity? Oh, and he isn’t as great as he thinks he is either.
Ozzie Guillen is the guy
would ozzie even want to go back to cws, also other than tlr has there been a manger that went back to a former team after getting fired?
Billy Martin back and forth and back and forth again with NYY… duh
Can’t remember where I saw it but he claimed if they called, he would listen and he said no one knows the team better than he does.
Ozzie has been saying for years that he’d like to manage the Sox again.
has there been a manger that went back to a former team
================================
Gibbons.
sorry for my ignorance those mangers were before my time lol (i was born in 86), but sill in the long history of the game there are few examples.
Prediction: Yankees get swept tomorrow, fire Boone hire Maddon, lose Judge win WS 2023.
Don’t get my hopes up
I like it. It actually makes sense. That or Jeter.
Miguel Cairo didn’t embarrass the ChiSox as their interim skipper but it speaks volumes that their geriatric owner resorts to the Old-Boy Network.
What has the Old-Boy Network done lately? Getting fired midseason in Anaheim and Philadelphia. Another LOL season in Queens.
White Sox can’t hire Ozzie… and they can’t hire Joe Maddon because he managed the Cubs.
I don’t know what people don’t understand about that rivalry that exists thicker than bad pancakes.
LaRussa was the best option for the Sox, and AJ Hinch would have been good.
I like Don Mattingly for the Sox.
Yes….
L:ike the New York Giants couldn’t hire Leo Durocher as manager because he’d played for and managed the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Rick Renteria.
Next Twins trainer better buy bubble wrap for Buxton and a lot of ice for the pitchers relief ones!
Brad Ausmus
The White Sox are waiting for other teams to pick their favored manager. like usual, th White Sox will have their pick of the leftovers.
That’s exactly what I thought when the rangers hired bochy.
Love my Tribe. Hedgey… one of the premier defensive catchers in the league, great attitude and clubhouse leader, unbelievable teammate. But, let’s get real Antonetti… what team in the past 40 years has won a World Series with the worst offensive catcher in the league. Need at least SOME offensive output from the catcher position to contend for a WS.
Nope