Mammoo
09-26-2003, 08:10 AM
If it’s true that every cloud has a silver lining, White Sox fans have found theirs, namely, the possible end of the Jerry Manuel era. The White Sox manager sure sounded like a guy saying so long after Thursday’s victory over the play-off bound Yankees. In fact, the Daily Southtown is reporting that Manuel has already been informed of his imminent launching.
"It's somewhat sad," said Manuel. "And also probably empty, to a degree. Regardless, I'll rise again somewhere.”
There isn’t a manager alive that hasn’t rolled out a few boneheaded moves during his tenure with a team and Manuel has given us more than his share. The final nail in his coffin appears to be his incredible decision to start Neil Cotts against the Yankees on August 28th. The Sox pounded the Yankees on two consecutive days with Mark Buehrle due to pitch the finale. Inexplicably, Manuel started the rookie Cotts who was horrible, pushing Buehrle back to open against the Tigers the next day. Since then, the White Sox have gone 12-11, losing five of seven to the Twins along the way.
Many Sox players are backing Manuel as the manager for them, but it appears to be a case of the “devil you know is better than the devil you don’t know”. A replacement with a disciplinarian style would not be welcomed on 35th Street.
“I figure it would do a lot worse," opined Carl Everett. "I figure we would do a lot worse because we have some guys in here that don't take criticism well. As I said before, Jerry Manuel didn't lose this for this team. This is a team full of veterans.”
Therein lies the problem, they didn’t win for a guy they claim to like and respect and won’t play for a demanding type like Larry Bowa or Wally Backman. Sounds like GM Ken Williams needs to change some faces in the locker room.
"It's somewhat sad," said Manuel. "And also probably empty, to a degree. Regardless, I'll rise again somewhere.”
There isn’t a manager alive that hasn’t rolled out a few boneheaded moves during his tenure with a team and Manuel has given us more than his share. The final nail in his coffin appears to be his incredible decision to start Neil Cotts against the Yankees on August 28th. The Sox pounded the Yankees on two consecutive days with Mark Buehrle due to pitch the finale. Inexplicably, Manuel started the rookie Cotts who was horrible, pushing Buehrle back to open against the Tigers the next day. Since then, the White Sox have gone 12-11, losing five of seven to the Twins along the way.
Many Sox players are backing Manuel as the manager for them, but it appears to be a case of the “devil you know is better than the devil you don’t know”. A replacement with a disciplinarian style would not be welcomed on 35th Street.
“I figure it would do a lot worse," opined Carl Everett. "I figure we would do a lot worse because we have some guys in here that don't take criticism well. As I said before, Jerry Manuel didn't lose this for this team. This is a team full of veterans.”
Therein lies the problem, they didn’t win for a guy they claim to like and respect and won’t play for a demanding type like Larry Bowa or Wally Backman. Sounds like GM Ken Williams needs to change some faces in the locker room.