The Chicago White Sox loss to the Oakland Athletics is proof that the manager Rick Renteria needs to be fired.
The Chicago White Sox were eliminated in the 2020 Major League Baseball postseason after their Game 3 loss to the Oakland Athletics in Game 3 on Thursday.
The loss and consequent elimination of the White Sox put an end to a 2020 season in which the White Sox were arguably the most exciting team in baseball.
However, the excitement over the White Sox quickly transformed into concern after the team went from the No.1 seed in the American League to the No.7 seed during the final week of the regular season. Criticism of White Sox manager Rick Renteria was prevalent during the final week of the regular season as many expressed concern over how the veteran manager created his lineup on a game-to-game basis.
Renteria seemed to have temporarily silenced his critics after the White Sox defeated the Athletics in Game 1 on Tuesday, 4-1. However, after the White Sox dropped two consecutive games and were eliminated from the postseason, Renteria is now on the hot seat and rightfully so.
More than Renteria’s inconsistencies with penciling a lineup on a game to game basis, Thursday proved that the postseason is too large of a task for the former Cubs’ manager and the reason why he needs to be fired.
The downfall for Renteria on Thursday was his use of the pitching staff.
Dane Dunning was the starter for the White Sox on Thursday and Renteria had a quick hook as he pulled Dunning in the first inning after allowing two hits. Rookie flamethrower Garrett Crochet was the next man up for the White Sox and he got the White Sox out of the first inning unscathed but was forced to leave the game with left forearm tightness after striking out the first hitter he faced in the second inning.
The seven pitchers that Renteria went to after Crochet’s injury in the second inning proceeded to allow six runs ( five earned) on six hits and nine walks.
While the White Sox bullpen has certainly not been a strength of the team in 2020, Renteria put the unit behind the 8-ball with his quick hook of Dunning in the first inning. It was a shining example of a manager having egg on his face during his first postseason series. It also confirms the theory that Renteria is not the manager to lead a team that has World Series expectations.
Let there be no mistake, the White Sox are going to enter the 2021 season with World Series expectations and rightfully so. But if the plan is for the White Sox to live up to those expectations, then the team must have a new manager when they take the field next season.
