The White Sox’ next manager and current front office must address multiple issues before Opening Day 2023, including defense, baserunning, hitting and hustle. The pitching staff would be all in on seeing more plays made in the field.
‘‘The saying goes, ‘Defense wins championships,’ ’’ closer Liam Hendriks said. ‘‘From what I read the other day, we are the 28th-ranked defense in baseball. We had the 10th-ranked pitching staff in baseball. So there were certain times where the pitchers made up for the . . . deficiencies in the field.’’
Not to pin run-prevention problems solely on the Sox’ fielders, Hendriks listed numerous things he needs to get better at. But catching the ball prevents outs and makes pitchers last longer. The Sox gave away too many outs this season.
‘‘You have to have the faith in everybody behind you,’’ Hendriks said. ‘‘And that goes into everything, whether it be offense, defense, pitching, and it all combines into one. There’s definitely room for improvement, but there’s room for improvement in every facet of our game.’’
What about Ozzie?
While support among fans and in some media circles has increased for the idea of moving 2005 World Series manager Ozzie Guillen from his TV chair back to the dugout, there are no indications Guillen would be considered for the manager’s job. General manager Rick Hahn answered a direct question about Guillen with a brief answer Monday.
‘‘I’m not going to get into specifics of candidates,’’ Hahn said. ‘‘I sort of laid out the general parameters, and you can go from there.’’
Hahn said the choice will be a collaborative process, with he, chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and vice president Ken Williams coming to a consensus.
‘‘I’ll be leading the process,’’ Hahn said. ‘‘I’ll be the one having these initial conversations over the coming months. Or coming weeks, I should say.’’
Squandered opportunity
The Sox’ failure to really be in the race for the American League Central, let alone contend for a World Series, was a lost opportunity of major proportions. Contention windows last only so long.
‘‘The squandering of this year is something I will carry with me for a while,’’ Hahn said. ‘‘There’s no one associated with this organization — at least on the baseball side, including the guys in uniform, scouts, player development — who doesn’t find this past year unacceptable. And extraordinarily frustrating and disappointing.’’
Anderson waits till next year
Shortstop Tim Anderson played his last game Aug. 6 because of a finger injury, but he wasn’t terribly missed because of replacement Elvis Andrus’ performance on both sides of the ball.
Andrus is a free agent, and Anderson, who has been quiet while on the injured list, will open next season healthy.
‘‘Definitely different not being able to be 100%,’’ Anderson said. ‘‘Just being up-and-down, battling through injuries. Definitely not a place you want to be at.’’
Anderson’s energy and vocal presence on the field were infectious, and he said he’ll be the same guy next season.
‘‘Yeah,’’ he said. ‘‘I’m definitely going to go out and have fun, for sure.’’
Anderson said playing for manager Tony La Russa was ‘‘definitely different.’’
‘‘Learned a lot from him,’’ he said. ‘‘Definitely competitive. Things that he brought to the game were different. He’s super-competitive. Just overall, it was good.’’
