Hoge: White Sox Don't Need to Fire Anyone
By Adam Hoge--
CHICAGO (WSCR) The rumors are floating around and some of them are from somewhat legitmate sources: A coach is going to get fired if the White Sox don't turn it around starting tonight in New York.
And with Kenny Williams set to address the media later this afternoon at Yankee Stadium, fans on Twitter have run off with the idea that a move is going to be made today.
I have some bad news for those irrational fans with the quick trigger: nothing is going to happen today and if Williams knows what he's doing -- and I've always trusted that he does -- a move won't be made at all.
Fire Ozzie? Who are you going to replace him with?
The first person who says Bobby Valentine gets banned from the ballpark.
The White Sox can't possibly hire from the outside mid-season, which means promoting Joey Cora to interim manager makes the most -- and pretty much only -- sense. But let me ask you Mr. Die Sox White Fan, do you feel that much better about your team with Cora running the ship?
I got news for you. Cora already does a good chunk of the managing and is Ozzie's right-hand man. If you are looking for the "shake up" that wakes up the White Sox, bringing in mini-Ozzie isn't going to do anything.
That brings me to the hottest rumor, one that I cannot bring myself to consider as truth for more than a couple seconds: Joey Cora is going to be the first to go.
Of all the options on a long list of options that don't make any sense, this one takes the cake. Fire the bench coach? The only person that move is going to wake up is Ozzie Guillen, who is liable to resign if that happens. And we're not talking about a simple press conference where Guillen shows his support for his guy and politely exits the door with Cora. We're talking about a volcanic eruption that has been building since the Ozzie vs. Kenny feud first started.
The only move that would make any hint of sense -- and I believe it would be a mistake -- would be to fire Ozzie, but we're a long way from that point. I'm as sick of the "it's early" cliche as you are, but just look back at last year's 25-5 mid-summer run as evidence that this team can turn it around. Keep in mind that there is little question the 2011 White Sox have more talent than the 2010 squad.
But this is the year the White Sox are supposedly "All In", which means if there was ever going to be a drastic change made during the Kenny-Ozzie Era, it's likely to come this season.
Unfortunately, a drastic move like firing Ozzie may make the White Sox completely irrelevant, something they've rarely been since the late-80s. So for now, do yourself a favor and just sit back, relax and let this thing play out.
Do you agree with Adam? Post your comments below.
Adam regularly covers the White Sox, Blackhawks and college sports for The Score and is the Executive Producer of Hit & Run on Sunday mornings. He was born and raised in Lincoln Park and attended St. Ignatius College Prep before going off to the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he earned a Journalism degree. Follow him on Twitter @AdamHoge670 and read more of his blogs here.
