Reader senior writer Ben Joravsky riffs on the day’s stories with his celebrated humor, insight, and honesty, and interviews politicians, activists, journalists and other political know-it-alls. Presented by the Chicago Reader, the show is available by 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays at chicagoreader.com/joravsky—or wherever you get your podcasts. Don’t miss Oh, What a Week!–the Friday feature in which Ben & producer Dennis (aka, Dr. D.) review the week’s top stories. Also, bonus interviews drop on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays.
Chicago Reader podcasts are recorded on Shure microphones. Learn more at Shure.com.
Chicago Reader senior writer Ben Joravsky discusses the day’s stories with his celebrated humor, insight, and honesty on The Ben Joravsky Show.
Listen to The Ben Joravsky Show Read More »
Reader senior writer Ben Joravsky riffs on the day’s stories with his celebrated humor, insight, and honesty, and interviews politicians, activists, journalists and other political know-it-alls. Presented by the Chicago Reader, the show is available by 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays at chicagoreader.com/joravsky—or wherever you get your podcasts. Don’t miss Oh, What a Week!–the Friday feature in which Ben & producer Dennis (aka, Dr. D.) review the week’s top stories. Also, bonus interviews drop on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays.
Chicago Reader podcasts are recorded on Shure microphones. Learn more at Shure.com.
Chicago Reader senior writer Ben Joravsky discusses the day’s stories with his celebrated humor, insight, and honesty on The Ben Joravsky Show.
Listen to The Ben Joravsky ShowBen Joravskyon October 4, 2022 at 7:02 am Read More »
Tony La Russa announces retirement over health issues (1:04)Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon bid farewell to Tony La Russa after his announcement that he’s stepping down as manager of the White Sox. (1:04)
Following Monday’s announcement that Tony La Russa is stepping down as Chicago White Sox manager due to health concerns, general manager Rick Hahn has begun the search for a new skipper. Hahn’s criteria for the next manager included recent dugout experience as a coach or manager for a winning organization, good communication skills and an understanding of how the game has evolved over the last decade. He also added this twist:
“One thing that perhaps breaks from the mold of at least the last few hires, having a history with the White Sox, having some sort of connection to White Sox DNA is by no means a requirement,” Hahn said.
The description would almost immediately eliminate several names who had been speculated as possibilities, including former catcher A.J Pierzynski and former manager Ozzie Guillen. But it leaves several intriguing candidates as the White Sox look for a fresh voice. Here are some potential best fits for the role.
Miguel Cairo — Hahn indicated Cairo would be the one exception to the idea he could be looking outside the organization. As the current acting manager, he seems to have provided a burst of energy as the team played well under him for a short time. But that all came to a halt when the Sox were swept at home by the Guardians in a critical September series. The White Sox went on to lose eight straight under Cairo despite his attempts to instill some accountability in the clubhouse.
Davey Martinez — The current manager of the Washington Nationals has one year left on his deal, but could be a leading candidate for the White Sox job — assuming he could be lured to Chicago.
2 Related
Martinez, 58, played for the White Sox from 1995-1997 and was the bench coach on the other side of Chicago, in 2016, when the Cubs won a World Series. He also won a ring in 2019 as the man in charge of the Nationals. Despite his years with the team in the 90’s, he would fit the criteria of going outside the organization’s comfort zone.
Washington is at the beginning of a rebuild in an extremely tough NL East while the team is also up for sale. The timing might be right for Martinez to return to Chicago.
Sandy Alomar Jr. — Alomar left a great impression on the organization during three separate stints with the White Sox as a player back in the early 2000s. Though he hasn’t been around the team for over a decade — again filling the criteria of going outside the organization — he is still familiar with the market and team.
The current first base coach of the Cleveland Guardians, Alomar also has some recent managing experience. While manager Terry Francona dealt with health issues midway through the shortened 2020 season, Alomar guided the Guardians to a 28-18 finish and a playoff appearance.
Joe Espada — He’s been the hot candidate over the past few seasons having been the bench coach for the Astros’ current run. It remains to be seen if he’s in line for Houston’s job when Dusty Baker retires, but Espada has already interviewed for several recent openings — including with the Cubs and Rangers. It’s only a matter of time before Espada gets a top job, and he certainly would have an understanding of how the game has evolved having worked for an organization at the forefront of innovation.
There’s still a lot to pay attention to as the 2022 MLB playoffs quickly approach.
What to watch the final two weeks >>No more tiebreaker games?! >>
Will Venable — Venable is a name that is picking up steam across the industry as he’s well regarded as the bench coach of the Boston Red Sox. Now that he’s been back in uniform for about five seasons, the former major league outfielder should start getting more managerial consideration. His dugout experience for a franchise with recent success matches one of Hahn’s criteria.
Pedro Grifol — Grifol has seemingly done everything else as a coach or coordinator after playing eight seasons in the minors, and it might finally be his time to manage whether in Chicago or elsewhere. As a current bench coach in the division with the Royals, he’d be familiar with White Sox personnel. One admirer called him ‘the complete package’ and noted that his experience working with Latin players could make him a strong fit in Chicago’s clubhouse.
Don Mattingly — The former Marlins and Dodgers manager checks a lot of the boxes Hahn is looking for after having just announced he won’t be returning to the dugout in Miami.
Joe Maddon — OK — this a longshot candidate, but it wouldn’t be the first time the White Sox hired a former Cubs manager. Ricky Renteria managed the Cubs in 2014 then the White Sox from 2017-2020. Maddon brings experience, but his best managerial years came while growing a culture with younger teams and the White Sox should be past that stage.
Plenty of bands do a lot with compact lineups, but few can match the huge black-hole vortex of sound that Petbrick creates. The London-based duo of British multi-instrumentalist and producer Wayne Adams and legendary Brazilian metal drummer Iggor Cavalera came together a few years ago with a plan to make “horrible noise” without compromise. But as Petbrick peeled away self-imposed limits, they wound up making something magical—and yes, as far as I’m concerned it’s magic when a band can bundle together cinema-worthy synth composition, D-beat, and experimental electronics and leave me wanting more. On their new second album, Liminal, Petbrick break their own mold again, exploring a planet in the throes of self-destruction while twisting a mix of styles—industrial, noise, samba, hardcore, hip-hop—into their futuristic diatribes. Some of those sounds might seem like unlikely bedfellows, but despite Petbrick’s disorienting atmospheres, listening to Liminal feels a lot like reading a page-turner of a sci-fi novel. Assisting them in their mission are a handful of guest vocalists who enhance their explorations: Converge’s Jacob Bannon peels the paint off the walls with his performance on “Grind You Dull,” while New York rappers Lord Goat and Truck Jewelz drop verses on “Lysergic Aura,” which could soundtrack a hallucinatory voyage to the underworld and back. One of the most powerful tracks is “Distorted Peace,” a doomy, droning missive featuring vocalist Paula Rebellato of Brazilian psych trio Rakta. Petbrick’s alternate world might be a dystopia, but it still offers an excellent escape from the daily realities of the one we’re in now.
Petbrick’s Liminal is available through Bandcamp.
Plenty of bands do a lot with compact lineups, but few can match the huge black-hole vortex of sound that Petbrick creates. The London-based duo of British multi-instrumentalist and producer Wayne Adams and legendary Brazilian metal drummer Iggor Cavalera came together a few years ago with a plan to make “horrible noise” without compromise. But as Petbrick peeled away self-imposed limits, they wound up making something magical—and yes, as far as I’m concerned it’s magic when a band can bundle together cinema-worthy synth composition, D-beat, and experimental electronics and leave me wanting more. On their new second album, Liminal, Petbrick break their own mold again, exploring a planet in the throes of self-destruction while twisting a mix of styles—industrial, noise, samba, hardcore, hip-hop—into their futuristic diatribes. Some of those sounds might seem like unlikely bedfellows, but despite Petbrick’s disorienting atmospheres, listening to Liminal feels a lot like reading a page-turner of a sci-fi novel. Assisting them in their mission are a handful of guest vocalists who enhance their explorations: Converge’s Jacob Bannon peels the paint off the walls with his performance on “Grind You Dull,” while New York rappers Lord Goat and Truck Jewelz drop verses on “Lysergic Aura,” which could soundtrack a hallucinatory voyage to the underworld and back. One of the most powerful tracks is “Distorted Peace,” a doomy, droning missive featuring vocalist Paula Rebellato of Brazilian psych trio Rakta. Petbrick’s alternate world might be a dystopia, but it still offers an excellent escape from the daily realities of the one we’re in now.
Petbrick’s Liminal is available through Bandcamp.
Plenty of bands do a lot with compact lineups, but few can match the huge black-hole vortex of sound that Petbrick creates. The London-based duo of British multi-instrumentalist and producer Wayne Adams and legendary Brazilian metal drummer Iggor Cavalera came together a few years ago with a plan to make “horrible noise” without compromise. But as Petbrick peeled away self-imposed limits, they wound up making something magical—and yes, as far as I’m concerned it’s magic when a band can bundle together cinema-worthy synth composition, D-beat, and experimental electronics and leave me wanting more. On their new second album, Liminal, Petbrick break their own mold again, exploring a planet in the throes of self-destruction while twisting a mix of styles—industrial, noise, samba, hardcore, hip-hop—into their futuristic diatribes. Some of those sounds might seem like unlikely bedfellows, but despite Petbrick’s disorienting atmospheres, listening to Liminal feels a lot like reading a page-turner of a sci-fi novel. Assisting them in their mission are a handful of guest vocalists who enhance their explorations: Converge’s Jacob Bannon peels the paint off the walls with his performance on “Grind You Dull,” while New York rappers Lord Goat and Truck Jewelz drop verses on “Lysergic Aura,” which could soundtrack a hallucinatory voyage to the underworld and back. One of the most powerful tracks is “Distorted Peace,” a doomy, droning missive featuring vocalist Paula Rebellato of Brazilian psych trio Rakta. Petbrick’s alternate world might be a dystopia, but it still offers an excellent escape from the daily realities of the one we’re in now.
Petbrick’s Liminal is available through Bandcamp.
Plenty of bands do a lot with compact lineups, but few can match the huge black-hole vortex of sound that Petbrick creates. The London-based duo of British multi-instrumentalist and producer Wayne Adams and legendary Brazilian metal drummer Iggor Cavalera came together a few years ago with a plan to make “horrible noise” without compromise. But as Petbrick peeled away self-imposed limits, they wound up making something magical—and yes, as far as I’m concerned it’s magic when a band can bundle together cinema-worthy synth composition, D-beat, and experimental electronics and leave me wanting more. On their new second album, Liminal, Petbrick break their own mold again, exploring a planet in the throes of self-destruction while twisting a mix of styles—industrial, noise, samba, hardcore, hip-hop—into their futuristic diatribes. Some of those sounds might seem like unlikely bedfellows, but despite Petbrick’s disorienting atmospheres, listening to Liminal feels a lot like reading a page-turner of a sci-fi novel. Assisting them in their mission are a handful of guest vocalists who enhance their explorations: Converge’s Jacob Bannon peels the paint off the walls with his performance on “Grind You Dull,” while New York rappers Lord Goat and Truck Jewelz drop verses on “Lysergic Aura,” which could soundtrack a hallucinatory voyage to the underworld and back. One of the most powerful tracks is “Distorted Peace,” a doomy, droning missive featuring vocalist Paula Rebellato of Brazilian psych trio Rakta. Petbrick’s alternate world might be a dystopia, but it still offers an excellent escape from the daily realities of the one we’re in now.
Petbrick’s Liminal is available through Bandcamp.
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