It isn’t that I never thought much of Gene Lamont as a manager. I never thought of Gene Lamont at all.
He will not be missed. The White Sox can finish last without him.
It was not widely known, but Lamont was the manager of the Sox, the greatest team to have ever been cost a championship by the labor pugnacity of its owner.
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Somewhere among the souvenirs of the World Series That Didn’t Happen must be the Jerry Reinsdorf Memorial Spite Cup, suitable for long trips in closed cars.
Since an owner will never blame himself, he kicks the softest thing within leg length, usually the manager, and Lamont was a veritable pool toy.
The Sox have come back from the baseball strike in a pout, nursing their disappointment like a pacifier. If not then, when?
Why should they play for the man who cost them so much agony and the greatest opportunity any of them might have? Why should they play for any of his helpers? Why should they play for Terry Bevington, another chip off the same brick of cheese?
The Sox have holes in their gloves, quirks in their arms and peace in their bats. This was not the fault of Lamont, though as is always the case, it was his responsibility.
Lamont now has the distinction of being the first poststrike manager fired, and to be honest, it may be the most remarkable thing on his resume.
Frank Thomas, the most famous and valuable of the Sox, insists that this is not the same team that was denied the chance to win it all last year, which is hardly the way to start an argument.
This team resembles that team the same way John Kruk resembles a jockey, or any other actual athlete.
Many changes have been made, and none were by Lamont, including his expression.
Julio Franco and Darrin Jackson are in Japan rooting for the exchange rate. Joey Cora is gone, and even Chris Sabo, the first pig out of GM Ron Schueler’s poke, is already history. Waddling to the rescue would be the aforementioned Kruk, and the best of luck to him.
This does not even get into the matter of Jack McDowell, the point pitcher of a staff that used to be among the best in baseball. McDowell is no longer a Sock but a Yank, and those he left behind are showing their sympathy for him by putting lots of people on base as McDowell used to do, though they do not know how to keep them from scoring as McDowell did.
When Alex Fernandez or Wilson Alvarez were the second and third guys into the fray, they were effective. But having to take the first blow, they are pretty much your basic speed bags.
What the Sox staff lacks is not only control but also arrogance, something McDowell always had, not to mention his ability to take a punch.
The reason McDowell is no longer a Sock, but is a Yank, is because of Reinsdorf, ex-manager of the team, who, if you have already forgotten, was Lamont.
Lamont did not make a single error in the field, though he had a good view of them all. He had not struck out nor walked anybody nor been picked off base. And the last passed ball he allowed was 18 years ago in Evansville.
This is the classic manager’s defense, of course, echoed through the Sox clubhouse. The Sox said they let Lamont down. And they did, in the same way an executioner lets down a condemned man.
There was no wage too low for which Lamont would work, and the value a man sets on himself is what he is worth. Your high-profile managers–that is to say, someone who does not need to wear his name on the back of his street clothes–your genuine managers, such as Tony La Russa or Jim Fregosi or the at-liberty Jeff Torborg, cost real money, so maybe Bevington will be around awhile.
Plus, all of those mentioned have worked for Reinsdorf and have been dismissed, La Russa and Fregosi going on to the World Series.
Torborg got to bank a healthy stipend from the Mets and has a good gig these days on the radio. Throw Doug Collins into this group, and considering Collins is now the czar of the Detroit Pistons, it could be argued that being fired by Reinsdorf is a terrific career boost.
Schueler should find this out before long.
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