SAN DIEGO — Underneath it all, there is a sense around the White Sox clubhouse that a new voice will be a good thing.
There is also enough respect for the resume of baseball’s second-winningest manager that players won’t point at Tony La Russa, who will officially have the curtain drawn on his career Monday, as the prime reason for the failure of 2022.
“It’s a big blow to us,” Sox closer Liam Hendriks told the Sun-Times Sunday of La Russa not coming back for the final year of his contract in 2023. “Tony was a big reason I came here [as a free agent]. Having that experience in the big chair was something I wanted to relish and take advantage of. I learned a lot from him.”
But the Sox (79-80), who defeated the Padres 2-1 to take their final series on the road behind seven innings of one-run ball from Lance Lynn, a home run by Elvis Andrus and an RBI single by Adam Engel, fell well below expectations during La Russa’s turbulent season. And while fans are overwhelmingly happy a new manager will run the show in 2023, the common reaction in the clubhouse to news that La Russa’s retirement will be announced Monday for health reasons was personal concern for a man who will turn 78 the following day.
“He needs to take care of his health, that’s first and foremost,” Andrew Vaughn said.
When bench coach Miguel Cairo took over for La Russa Aug. 29, the team responded to Cairo’s “bring it or get out” message with a 13-6 record. It seemed to say plenty about the personality of a field boss rubbing off on players. It suggested a new leader is needed to replace La Russa’s serious, stone-faced demeanor.
“There’s always that possibility,” Hendriks said, “but the onus doesn’t lie with the manager, the front office or anybody except these people in this clubhouse.”
“I mean, we are still .500,” said Joe Kelly, who was signed to a two-year, $17 million contract in the offseason and has pitched to a woeful 6.08 ERA in 43 relief appearances. “We still have the same talent and the same team. It’s gotta be from the players.”
Who were injured often and under-performed as a whole when they were not.
“The disappointing year we had, the players didn’t play to our potential,” Vaughn said. “It’s on us to play as professionals, put on a show, and with the talent we have we should definitely have won more games and got into the postseason, but it didn’t happen. We have to go home hungrier and think about that.”
Hendriks, who closed out Sunday’s win with a scoreless ninth for his 36th save, said go home, take what was learned, reflect to a man individually on what wasn’t done well and address those things in the offseason.
“We need to make sure we realize where our deficiencies were as an organization, as a player group, whatever,” Hendriks said. “Those are things that don’t fix themselves.”
Hendriks, who missed time with a forearm flexor strain, said he needs to make sure he’s healthy all year and be better with inherited runners and in tight games.
“There is always something to learn and improve,” Hendriks said. “No one in this clubhouse is out of that.”
ON DECK
TWINS AT SOX
Monday: Bailey Ober (2-3, 3.18 ERA) vs. Johnny Cueto (7-10, 3.39), 7:10 p.m., NBCSCH, 1000-AM
Tuesday: Josh Winder (4-5, 4.31) vs. Lucas Giolito (10-9, 5.00), 7:10 p.m., NBCSCH, 1000-AM
Wednesday: Louie Varland (0-2, 4.71) vs. Davis Martin (3-5, 3.65), 3:10 p.m., NBCSCH, 1000-AM
