Tony La Russa appears to be driving Chicago White Sox change

The Chicago White Sox appear to be going backward after taking the right first step on Tuesday night in the firing of Ken Williams and Rick Hahn.

The firings of Hahn and Williams were meant to signal a reset for the White Sox front office as the team looks to part with their previous way of doing business and enter a new era.

That is not what is happening behind the scenes.

The news for the White Sox on Wednesday got off to a disappointing start with the report that the team is expected to promote from within to replace Hahn. Chris Getz, who has overseen the White Sox minor league system and player development in recent seasons, is expected to be named the next general manager of the team.

The changes do not stop with Getz as former Kansas City Royals general manager Dayton Moore is expected to join the team’s front office in some capacity. The working theory is that Moore will serve as the team’s president with Getz as his underling.

It was a rather deflating turn of events for White Sox fans as upon the initial reactions to the firing of Williams and Hahn, many fans were calling for the team to pursue Theo Epstein.

That would have been giving too much credit to owner Jerry Reinsdorf.

In fact, Reinsdorf wasn’t even the driving force of the change.

The Chicago White Sox have already botched the hiring of their new front office officials.

It, was Tony La Russa.

That is right. La Russa is back in an important role with the White Sox organization. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that La Russa was hired as a consultant to Reinsdorf for the White Sox and has spent the past few weeks scouting the team’s minor league system.

And, in case there was any doubt to the idea that La Russa was the one that gave the stamp of approval on Moore, look no further than this excerpt from Vahe Gregorian of The Kansas City Star in 2021.

"That includes his admiration of general manager Dayton Moore (“one of my favorite people in the game”), his longtime relationship with first base coach Rusty Kuntz (who played centerfield for him in 1978 at Class AA Knoxville in La Russa’s first managerial job and was called up weeks after La Russa’s first stint with the White Sox in 1979) and managing current coaches Cal Eldred and John Mabry in St. Louis.Read more at: https://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/vahe-gregorian/article250483471.html#storylink=cpy"

Wednesday has been a disappointing turn of events for the White Sox as the team had no interest in establishing a new way of baseball operations and La Russa remains the most important voice in the ear of Reinsdorf.