Column: The White Sox, still reeling from past misteps, have a chance to get the hard part right
CHICAGO - The White Sox thought they'd seen this film before.
In 2017, the Sox had its firesale. It brought Yoan Moncada, Eloy Jimenez, Dylan Ceasev and other stars to the fold.
Everything was in place. Rick Renteria was fired after leading the team to a playoff spot, giving the White Sox a chance to pick the right person to manage a playoff-caliber team.
That pick was Tony La Russa. It was a mistake the White Sox cannot afford to make again.
The White Sox now have a chance to not only move past that mistake, but they have ample time to make the right decision.
"We want to do this as quickly as we can, but we don't want to take shortcuts either," White Sox general manager Chris Getz said Friday. "The shortcuts don't lead to something that's going to be long-lasting."
The La Russa hiring, at the time, felt like the team trying to take a shortcut.
The then-76-year-old who had been out of the game for nine years. ESPN reported it was Jerry Reinsdorf, not general manager Rick Hahn, who made the decision. USA Today the Sox never really considered anyone else, even with the likes of AJ Hinch and Bruce Bochy available.
Reinsdorf wanted to erase what he said was his biggest regret by re-hiring the manager who got his managerial start with the White Sox in 1979.
That hire lasted for two years. Then, La Russa was gone. Pedro Grifol entered and the White Sox began losing a lot games before selling, yet again.
That led to Friday, where Grady Sizemore, a noted thorn in the White Sox's side in the late 2000s, is in charge of the program. Sizemore hit 12 home runs in his MLB career against the Sox, including three in four days against the Southsiders in 2007.
Maybe it's like some reverse voodoo?
White Sox interim manager Grady Sizemore didn't see himself managing, but brings plenty to hapless White Sox
Ready or not, interim manager Grady Sizemore took the spotlight Friday with his debut coming against the Chicago Cubs at Guaranteed Rate Field just a day after the Sox fired Pedro Grifol.
Still, Sizemore convinced Getz to be the interim manager with his connection to the players on the roster. That connection will seep into the younger players Getz said the Sox will eventually call up from the minor leagues in the coming weeks.
That hope also plays into the message Getz wanted to give to Sox fans everywhere about the future of the team.
"There will be better days ahead," Getz said. "I know it's grueling to go through this right now, but we're determined to get it right."
Right now, I know Sox fans will settle for not being the worst team to ever don a MLB uniform.
Getting right starts with avoiding the title of "Worst Team to Ever Play Major League Baseball." They're currently ahead of the 1962 New York Mets' record for worst record of all time, too.
The team wants to take it a day at a time, but that record is in the back of the team's mind.
"I don’t think anyone in this organization wants to be associated (with) a record we could potentially have," Getz said.
All this to say, there's a lot the White Sox are thinking about right now.
But, even in the middle of one of the worst seasons baseball has seen in the history of the game, there lies a silver lining.
The Sox cannot afford to make a La Russa-style mistake again. This is a much different situation, to be clear. This team is years away from contention. The manager that Getz will hire has to balance patience with the massive amounts of player development that needs to happen.
Getz has a chance to right that misstep.
He knows what the pay-off can be if his vision comes to light.
That vision starts with getting the hardest part of this rebuild right in getting the right manager.
"Ultimately, when we get this to where it needs to be, although there were struggles along the way, it can be special for a lot of people, when we accomplish something great," Getz said.