Offensive

The White Sox have an offensive coordinator, whatever that is. At least I know who Grady Sizemore is. Which is more than I can say for the other hires on new manager Will Venable’s eleven-coach staff. By my count, five of twelve have major-league experience, with Sizemore and Venable leading the way. The other three are variations on a cup of coffee, or a pot at best. The last time the Sox lost 100-plus games was 1970. The housecleaning afterwards brought in new manager Chuck Tanner and three coaches to join holdover Luke Appling. Two of the new hires were Tanner buddies, base coaches Joe Lonnett and Al Monchak. The other one? Pitching coach Johnny Sain. I’ll be over the moon ecstatic if Venable comes anywhere near Tanner in ability. But holdover pitching coach Ethan Katz is no Johnny Sain, and none of the other guys except Sizemore can come close to Appling. Maybe ol’ Aches and Pains just stood there in the third-base coaching box, but Walt Williams once told me, “I liked him,” and I suspect he was talking about more than a pleasant personality. Appling could hit, and he no doubt shared what he knew with anyone willing to listen. Did I mention that a team that ranked near the bottom in every hitting category—including runs, hits, homeruns, batting average and on-base percentage—kept its hitting coach? Tanner and his four coaches took the Sox from 56 to 79 wins. Let’s see if Venable and company can come close to that.