dougthonus wrote:Peelboy wrote:I had historically thought that about JR, and been pissed about his penny pinching but generally positive on staying out of the way. Read a lot the last few years about how that's not really been the case, the most recent/glaring examples being TLR and Getz, but apparently he's had a hand in a bunch of other decisions over the years, not just "big ticket" (or what the Sox considered big) FAs, but also organizational decisions. I'll have to find the article, but some insiders who left the org basically said he was constantly interposing himself and his baseball sensibilities.
I actually think he used to be better at hiring, Schueler was a good move back in the day, Himes, and I thought Hahn was pretty good at the beginning of the rebuild in 2016. KW was a flop only rescued by a fluke 2005 season, and allowed to stick around far far too long. And I do believe that the AJ Hinch/TLR debacle was a huge part of the flop of the rebuild. But on the flipside, Hahn was apparently enamored of Grifol so WTF does he know......
But pairing good moves (cleaning house) with absolute trash moves (Getz instead of an actual search and finding more qualified/proven organizational builders like Kim Ng) has been the JR way at least of late. Almost any change would be at least marginally positive.
Should say my comments are related only to the Bulls. I've got no idea what's going on with the Sox.
There, I agree. With the Bulls, JR has generally (as far as I can tell), hired qualified people and gotten out of their way outside of big picture decisions I expect any owner to be involved in (signing top tier FAs, dipping into the tax, etc). His most questionable hire was Krause, who was a massive hit. Otherwise, GarPax was pretty good from a talent acquisition standpoint (albiet horrendous from a coaching/org standpoint), and when hired, whether it was Michael or Jerry, AK was pretty universally considered a solid hire. The loyalty/inertia factor is what's killed him with the Bulls, letting Krause torpedo the dynasty, letting GarPax stick around too long through organizational dysfunction, and now letting AK continue to flounder (Again, might be Michael, but the point holds).
Things seem different re: the Sox. Found the article I was thinking of: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5773947/2024/09/19/white-sox-failure-worst-season-history/
Some choice quotes:
His influence on the team is everywhere. It’s not unusual for Reinsdorf to text broadcasters in-game about what they’re saying, to attend offseason and spring training meetings (he lives in Arizona) or to solicit advice from his cabinet of handpicked advisors. Last offseason, Reinsdorf let Benetti out of his contract to go to another AL Central team, the Detroit Tigers. Reinsdorf didn’t like Benetti’s personality; he featured analytics, made jokes and wasn’t always effusive toward a losing White Sox team. (Benetti declined to comment, though he made references to feeling disrespected on a podcast with The Athletic.)
“He’s hands-on in every part of the organization,” said former White Sox player and team vice president Kenny Williams of Reinsdorf.
Why not at least interview people from other organizations, even just to learn how other teams operate?
“Jerry just thinks he has the answers,” said a former staffer.
“Friends of mine have (asked), ‘Why don’t you sell? Why don’t you get out?’” Reinsdorf said last year. “My answer always has been, ‘‘I like what I’m doing, as bad as it is, and what else would I do? I’m a boring guy. … And I want to make it better before I go.”
For now, as his franchise craters, Reinsdorf continues to conduct business in his preferred style, operating out of his suite, surrounded by old friends and memorabilia.
“The rumor was always we will never figure it out until ownership changes,” one former player said. “That the real thing holding it back isn’t the people and player development; it’s the owner.”
