(670 The Score) NBC Sports Chicago analyst Ozzie Guillen believes it's time for White Sox manager Tony La Russa to get more aggressive in lighting a spark in his team, even if it means intruding on his players in the clubhouse and rubbing them the wrong way.
"Sometimes you got to push the players the right way," Guillen said in an interview with Mark Grote and Tom Thayer on 670 The Score on Wednesday morning. "Sometimes you have to push the players the wrong way. That's how it works. And I don't see that from him. And we need that from him. We do really need Tony La Russa to step up and make those players go after it."
The White Sox have been MLB's biggest disappointment, having entered the season with championship expectations but sitting at 42-45 after splitting a doubleheader with the Guardians on Tuesday. The White Sox are in third place in the AL Central, five games behind the division-leading Twins.
La Russa has come under a great deal of scrutiny amid the White Sox's stagnant play. That criticism is primarily centered on his lineup decisions and his penchant for riding starters deep into games as their performance fades, but questions have long lingered about whether La Russa could do more to spark a team that has too often played flat.
There's "unrest" in the White Sox locker room, Bob Nightengale recently reported. Nightengale's sources for that report were opposing MLB players who had discussed the topic with White Sox players.
Guillen believes La Russa could do more to straighten out his clubhouse.
"The manager is the boss in the clubhouse, whether they like it or not," Guillen said. "The first guys to come to the ballpark is the manager and coaches.
"I hear some teams like, 'The manager doesn't walk in the clubhouse.' Really? 'This is my clubhouse, I'm the boss of this clubhouse. Why are you going to tell me I can not be in the clubhouse?' Managers being in the clubhouse is a good thing – to root for the guys, to help them, to just see (how they're feeling)."
Guillen managed the White Sox from 2004-'11, leading them to a World Series championship in 2005. He noted the role of a manager has evolved in the past decade and that La Russa letting his clubhouse reside on an island is the trend across MLB these days.
"Now, managers, they spend all the time in the office reading papers," Guillen said in explaining that he had a better connection with his players.
"It's a fact. They're not talking with the players.
"Was I a good manager? Hell yeah. Did I get along with my players? Hell yeah."
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