The 49ers are all paid up on Deebo Samuel.

Unwilling to grant his April trade request, they’re instead rewarding him with a three-year, $73.5 million contract extension, as first reported Sunday by NFL Network.

The deal is not officially done but it’s very close, according to a league source.

Samuel was the 49ers’ catalyst to last season’s NFC Championship Game, and although he’s conditioned on the side at training camp this past week, he did not participe in practice, which did not seem to fluster coach Kyle Shanahan.

“We’re good. And we understand our role,” Shanahan said Saturday. “I know there’s a lot of noise for five months and tweets and a lot of people are repeating what someone said and repeating and repeating and repeating.

“There’s a lot of negotiations going on. There’s a lot of money involved,” Shanahan added. “It’s a big business deal, but besides everything else, we’re good.”

How good of a deal will Samuel get? Well, his contract reportedly comes with $58.1 million guaranteed, and, initially, it seems similar to last week’s deal brokered by his agent, Tory Dandy, between the Seattle Seahawks and DK Metcalf (three years, $72 million; $52.1 million guaranteed).

What will the 49ers now get in return?

Samuel will be hard-pressed to repeat last season’s offensive fireworks, but he may not have to, if the supporting cast shines around new quarterback Trey Lance.

Still, Samuel’s physical style and dogged determination are a spark whenever the ball is in his hands, and that is why retraining him was a must for Shanahan’s offense.

Three seasons into his career, Samuel is absolutely unique in a profession full of talented play-makers, full of demands, and short on supply.

No one does what Deebo did in 2021, when he not only produced over 1,400 receiving yards and also ran for eight touchdowns, the most ever by an NFL wide receiver in a single season.

Such talents made him a First-Team All-Pro, and it’s why he understandably commanded a top-of-the-market contract in an offseason where receivers’ pay grades soared. His should be the final big-money contract to drop for this season. His agent, Tory Dandy, brokered an extension Thursday for fellow 2019 draft-class product DK Metcalf (three years, $72 million, per ESPN).

While awaiting his new contract, Samuel bypassed the 49ers’ voluntary offseason program from April to June. But he did show up for June’s mandatory minicamp, albeit mostly as an observer who did conditioning work on the side, just as he did upon reporting to training camp.

Samuel certainly deserved to cash in on a durable, versatile, commendable season that continued into the playoffs.

Remember when he strutted onto the field, hollered to coach Kyle Shanahan for the ball, and promptly ran 26 yards for a 49ers touchdown in a playoff win over the rival Dallas Cowboys? Or how he multi-tasked in their next win at Green Bay? He wanted the rock. Now he found financial paydirt.

WHY ALL THE FUSS?

This contract extension was budgeted for and publicly forecast by the 49ers for months. The team tried to broker a deal back in February, according to a source.

Things took a turn in April, however, with salvos from Samuel about discontent. He scrubbed all 49ers’ connections from his social media and then confirmed to ESPN a trade request.

Since then, Samuel hasn’t publicly spoken to the media, allowing speculation to run rampant that his issues were not finance-related, that perhaps he was upset over his dual use as a receiver and rusher, though that seemed far-fetched considering how much he craved having the ball in his hands.

It took 23 years for the 49ers to draft an All-Pro wide receiver after Terrell Owens. That relationship ended in a trade amid hurt feelings and fiscal demands.

Samuel, a 2019 second-round pick, is not taking the ball and going to a new home. Even if the 49ers’ brass insisted he’d stay, it was only two years ago they traded away a three-year veteran and All-Pro in DeForest Buckner, who merited a first-round pick (No. 13 overall) from the Indianapolis Colts.

Shanahan said during the draft that no prospective suitor came close to offering anything compelling enough to trade Samuel.

FUTURE USE WITH 49ERS

The 49ers’ offense thrives with Samuel’s versatility, physicality and yards-after-the-touch brilliance.

But a makeover is expected at the team’s most vital position: Lance is taking over in his second year for Jimmy Garoppolo, who remains on the roster after shoulder surgery stalled trade talks.

Lance’s strong-armed passing and zig-zag rushing should inspire creativity from Shanahan’s motion-based, matchup-crushing schemes. Of Lance’s five touchdown passes in limited action last year, three went to Samuel.

He remains the leader of the wide receiving corps, though 2020 draft picks Brandon Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings took strides this offseason, including work with Lance away from the facility. Ray-Ray McCloud could lessen Samuel’s snaps in the slot, and rookie Danny Gray will offer a deep-threat target for Lance.

The drafting of Gray and running back Ty Davis-Price with third-round picks is seen by some as a goodwill gesture to Samuel, that he won’t have to carry such a big load. Then again, it’s not as if Samuel is a deep-threat artist (see: Gray) or a between-the-tackles rusher (see: Davis-Price).

Running the football remains at the crux of Shanahan’s scheme, and the 49ers have back last year’s corps of Elijah Mitchell, Jeff Wilson Jr., JaMycal Hasty and Trey Sermon, the latter of whom barely factored as a rookie.

This offense isn’t a one-man band. The 49ers are paying top dollar at left tackle (Trent Williams), tight end (George Kittle) and fullback (Kyle Juszczyk) for Pro Bowl players who not long ago seemed as irreplaceable as Samuel.

SAMUEL’S UNIQUE ABILITY

Samuel’s third season with the 49ers had him become their first All-Pro wide receiver since Owens. But Samuel moonlighted. His eight rushing touchdowns were the most in a season by any NFL wide receiver.

Hence, Samuel crowned himself a “wide back” – a dynamic blend of wide receiver and running back who keyed the 49ers’ midseason turnaround and carried them to the NFC Championship Game.

His final touch: a 12-yard reception with 12 minutes to go and the 49ers leading 17-14. Then the Rams rallied for a 20-17 win en route to the Super Bowl and Lombardi Trophy.

“It’s amazing to be a part of this team, and all the guys, nobody has a problem with nobody,” Samuel said after that season-ending loss to the Los Angeles Rams. “It’s just a big brotherhood and I love it.”

That was the 49ers’ second appearance in the NFC title game in Samuel’s three seasons, and he was more responsible for this latest run than the 2019 season’s efforts that led them to the Super Bowl, where the 49ers blew a fourth-quarter lead just as big (10 points) as theirs in his past NFC Championship.

The next day, Samuel was crowned by teammates with the 49ers’ most prestigious honor, the Len Eshmont Award, to go along with his Pro Bowl and All-Pro accolades.

SAMUEL’S CONTRIBUTIONS

Samuel, the receiver, produced 1,405 yards, six touchdowns and an NFL-best 18.2 yards per reception last regular season, while missing just one game (groin injury). He had 10 catches, 154 yards and a touchdown in their three playoff games.

Just over 48 hours before the Tuesday MLB trade deadline, the Yankees got a reminder that despite their best-in-the league record and having all but clinched the American League East, they can get better. Royals catcher Salvador Perez went down and got a sinker to hit the first home run of the season off closer Clay Holmes for a come-from-behind 8-6 upset of the Yankees at the Stadium.

It was the first loss in four games for the Yankees (69-34) and their first loss to the Royals (40-62) this season, going 6-1 overall. DJ LeMahieu homered for the second straight game, his first time homering in back-to-back games since 2020. Anthony Rizzo hit his 25th of the season, giving him seven seasons where he hit at least 25 in his career. It was the first time since 2019 he’s hit 25.

Despite the loss Bombers still have the most wins in baseball and an 11.5-game lead in the division. They are percentage points behind the Dodgers for the best record in the majors. This week, however, being swept by the Mets and this loss to the Royals there were some flashing warning lights. The Yankees could use some pitching help in their bullpen and rotation. They are without Luis Severino, who will only begin playing catch on flat ground on Monday after a stint on the injured list. The Yankees lost Michael King and Chad Green for the season and Zack Britton is still working his way back from Tommy John surgery.

“I’m encouraged by a lot of things I’m seeing,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Obviously today, it was a tough day for us. Clay Holmes has been one of the best closers in the sport. Today notwithstanding, we feel great about him. I feel like (Jonathan) Loaisiga continues to make progress, (Aroldis Chapman) is  making progress. We’ve seen the likes of (Ron) Marinaccio  and, and Clarke Schmidt really take big steps and be real contributors to the bullpen. Wandy (Peralta) is reliable and we’ve seen Albert Abreu go to another level.

“So I think we’re seeing a lot of good things down there.  We’ve just got to keep refining, keep getting better and put ourselves in a good position moving forward.”

But for a team that has talked about a World Series Championship-or bust mentality since before spring training opened, that may not be enough.

The Yankees have been actively scouting pitching the last few weeks.

After the Reds dealt Luis Castillo to the Mariners, the Bombers have been on Frankie Montas and Paul Blackburn of the A’s. Among the relievers that are on the market, the Bombers have (good and bad) history with David Robertson and have shown interest in Michael Fulmer in the past.

It was at this time last year that they brought in Holmes, an under-the-radar reliever who they turned into as dominant a reliever as there is out there.

Holmes has been so good, but it’s his first year closing. He has blown three of his last nine saves opportunities. And Sunday it wasn’t just the home runs. He issued a one-out walk and then hit Bobby Witt, Jr. He had two strikes on Perez when he left the sinker too much over the plate.

“You don’t see many righties do that against him, if ever,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “So he probably didn’t quite have the bite on the sink that he normally does but Salvy’s a really good power hitter, and he caught him.

“It’s just one of those things you’re not going to see very often.”

It’s just the fifth time this season he’s allowed a run and the second time he has allowed multiple runs.

He wasn’t the only pitcher that struggled.

Jordan Montgomery went four innings, allowing four earned runs on four hits. He walked two and struck out six. Over his last two starts, Montgomery has allowed nine runs in 6.1 innings pitched. Marinaccio, who had not given up a hit since June 7, gave up his first run since April 28 when Hunter Dozier led off the eighth with a home run off the right-handed reliever. That snapped a streak of 19 scoreless innings and 56 straight batters without giving up a hit.

“Obviously we had a couple of big losses there with King and Green earlier in the year. We definitely have a lot of talent down there and guys that are capable,” Holmes said. “Obviously we’ll see what happens. That’s  obviously out of my control. I have full confidence that the staff and  management, they’ll o the best they can to put the best team and give us the best chances,” Holmes said. “We just look forward to go out and competing, whatever it  looks like or whoever it is.”

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Kitty Monahan, a beloved Santa Clara County preservationist, educator and historian who spearheaded efforts to protect the area’s parks for decades, passed away on July 25. She was 89.

Monahan, who died around midnight at her New Almaden property where she’d lived since 1972, left behind a long list of accomplishments, most notably helping lead the county’s purchase and preservation of the 4,000-acre Almaden Quicksilver County Park, where mercury mining in the 19th-century jumpstarted California’s Gold Rush economy.

Though Monahan was not married and did not have any children, those who knew her well said that the surrounding community stood as her family. In the days before she passed, Monahan had dozens of visitors coming to her New Almaden home saying goodbye.

“She was like our bonus mom,” said Kris Peretti, a close family friend of Monahan’s. “She never had kids…we were her kids.”

Peretti said that although Monahan had a difficult time talking in her last days, she said “thank you” to each one of her guests.

“She was always very loving,” Peretti said. “But she was a very strong, independent woman. Even up until she was older she could throw a bale of hay faster than I could.”

Born on Dec. 4, 1932, Monahan grew up in San Jose and attended Notre Dame High School. She then served as a nun for the next two decades and spent time teaching in various locations around the state, including in the south Los Angeles neighborhood of Watts. Friends say that she broke with the church after disagreements with Pope John XXIII’s leadership.

At the start of the 1970s, Monahan became a math teacher at William C. Overfelt High School. Mark Fleming, who was Monahan’s student during his junior and senior year, described her as a “dedicated and knowledgeable” educator.

“She would work with you if you were slow, which I was,” Fleming said. “Beyond her math skills, she cared about the students. They were personal to her.”

It was around this same time that Monahan also started to embark on her preservation efforts. Along with other community members, Monahan worked to get Santa Clara County to purchase the 4,000-acre Almaden Quicksilver County Park for around $4 million. The area had once been the largest mercury mine on the North American continent, with the element being utilized to separate gold from its ore. Mining operations started in the mid-1840s and lasted for more than a century, making $70 million in profits and turbocharging the region’s economy.

By the mid-1970s, she was known as the unofficial “Mayor of New Almaden” because of her advocacy for the region, said Michael Cox, who spent decades working with Monahan.

In 1983, Monahan, along with Cox, helped found the New Almaden Quicksilver County Park Association, or NAQCPA, which to this day serves as an educational resource for the historical site and has around 400 members. The group quickly began to bolster the park’s amenities and helped direct the county purchase of a private collection of the park’s historical artifacts and an 1850s revival-style mansion known as the Case Grande, both which eventually formed the Almaden Quicksilver Mining Museum.

“We were both obsessed with Almaden and both wanted the park to be developed into something else,” said Cox, currently vice president of NAQCPA. “Because of its rich history, it could become a center of learning for young people and people who shared in the social and geological history of the park.”

Cox described Monahan as having a “very positive outlook on things,” “tough,” “always smiling” and “tireless” in her quest to safeguard the area’s history.

“She kept a little calendar that she wrote in,” remembers Cox. “She would write little tiny print in each calendar square. There’d be eight or nine things in there. She was constantly hopping from one thing to the next.”

In the intervening years, Monahan would continue in her preservation efforts, founding various groups like the Friends of Santa Teresa Park. She also served as a member of Santa Clara County’s Open Space Authority and Horsemen Association.

Altogether, she spent 14,000 hours volunteering for the county’s parks, which she was recognized for in 2014 through a Presidential Volunteer Service Award. More recently, Monahan was given a lifetime achievement award by the Santa Clara County Preservation Alliance in May.

The splitter has been nearly untouchable this season for right-hander Félix Bautista, but at a certain point, even the best pitches can be clobbered. The Orioles reliever had thrown three straight elevated fastballs to Cincinnati Reds first baseman Brandon Drury, so ahead in the count, Bautista tried to change eye levels.

The splitter — which should’ve dipped beneath the zone — instead hung up for Drury. And with that one mistake in a 2-2 game, one of Baltimore’s best relievers was forced to turn and watch Cincinnati’s game-winning home run fly over the left field fence at Great American Ball Park.

Before that long ball, Bautista had allowed one homer in his previous 27 innings. The next was bound to come, but as he covered for an Orioles offense incapable of producing much, the margins left no room for error. Drury rounded the bases, Baltimore went down in the ninth and the Reds took a series victory with a 3-2 win Sunday.

“We’re not doing [the bullpen] any favors,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “We’re not scoring. You have to be able to score. You have to be able to get a lead and be able to add on. We’re not doing enough offensively, honestly, to help out our pitching.”

Half an inning earlier, a comeback seemed nearly inevitable. That’s what the Orioles (51-51) have done so frequently this season, with 23 come-from-behind wins on their ledger. Anthony Santander tied the game at 2 with a long blast to right field in the eighth inning, but the bullpen cracked, allowing three runs after a strong five innings from starter Austin Voth without much offensive support.

In three games in Cincinnati — one of the most hitter-friendly parks in Major League Baseball — the Orioles managed 10 runs. The Reds’ pitching staff entered Sunday with a major-league worst 5.16 ERA.

But the situational hitting wasn’t there, which added the pressure placed on Bautista and the rest of the bullpen. The Orioles struck out 10 times a day after punching out 11 times, requiring perfection from Bautista and the other relievers.

“I wanted [the sinker] a little bit lower than it was, and I left it up a little bit,” Bautista said through team interpreter Brandon Quinones. “It was still a good pitch in my opinion. I have to give credit to the hitter. He did a really good job hitting that pitch.”

With the loss, Baltimore dropped a series against a club that dealt its best pitcher to Seattle and is 21 games under .500. With the trade deadline approaching on Tuesday, the Orioles have a more complicated decision ahead of them. They could conceivably still push for a wild-card spot, but defeats to losing clubs don’t help that case.

A pitcher’s duel

One was a top prospect, another a midseason waiver claim. And yet when they met Sunday, there wasn’t anything separating Reds rookie left-hander Nick Lodolo and Voth.

They kept posting zeros on the board, managing more strikeouts than hits, and it resulted in the best outings of their seasons — if not careers. That’s especially the case for Lidolo, a 24-year-old who had made seven other major league starts. He carved through Baltimore’s order and weaved his way through infrequent trouble, punching out Ramón Urías with two runners on to end the sixth, for instance.

“We didn’t do much offensively until he was out of the game,” Hyde said. “He has a really good arm and [he’s] a good-looking young starting pitcher.”

But similar can be said for Voth, who ran out of opportunities with the Washington Nationals, was designated for assignment and now finds himself part of a rotation in Baltimore that’s competing for a playoff spot.

The average exit velocity off Voth on Sunday was 80.1 mph — the league average is around 87 — and he did most of his best work with his curveball. He induced four whiffs and drew six called strikes with that offering, throwing it over a third of the time.

“It was a weapon for me to use, for sure,” Voth said. “And then I was mixing in some changeups as well, and that’s a key pitch I’ll need to continue to use moving forward.”

The 30-year-old completed five innings for the second time this season and allowed four hits with no walks and six strikeouts — the first time Voth has pitched five scoreless innings since Aug. 8, 2020.

Before Voth joined Baltimore in June, the right-hander’s ERA had ballooned to 10.13. He had long been a spot starter or long reliever for the Nationals, but his career went sideways — then tipped over — when he allowed 21 earned runs in 18 2/3 innings for Washington this season.

He soon found himself on waivers, then with the Orioles, then in the rotation. On Sunday, it was the bullpen that uncharacteristically bent, with two runs off right-hander Bryan Baker and another from Bautista. But Voth laid the groundwork.

“In the past, it’s always been execution of my pitches to the middle of the plate,” Voth said. “Now, I’m trying to focus more on the four corners of the strike zone, and I think that’s really helping me.”

The issue for the Orioles, of course, was how well Lodolo pitched. Before the game, Hyde described Lodolo as “junior Sale-ish,” referencing Boston Red Sox left-hander Chris Sale. His three-quarter arm slot delivery offers a unique angle for batters, and he drew 17 whiffs between his sinker, curveball and changeup.

Ranked as the Reds’ second-best prospect, according to Baseball America, Lodolo worked through six innings before the Orioles broke through. Ryan Mountcastle, who led off with a walk, came home on Cedric Mullins’ sacrifice fly. Santander’s blast momentarily tied things.

The offensive output has been too meager of late, though, to cover for a bullpen that finally was less than perfect — a level it has competed at for much of the season.

Around the horn

>> Mountcastle was back in the lineup Sunday after receiving a day off Saturday. Hyde said Mountcastle is dealing with “bumps and bruises” as well as his slump, entering Sunday with two hits in 31 at-bats across his previous eight games. Mountcastle reached on an infield single in the second inning, the kind of break he’s been looking for.

>> Left-hander DL Hall, the Orioles’ No. 3 prospect according to Baseball America, was scheduled to start Sunday for Triple-A Norfolk before a rainout pushed him back to next week.

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Monday, 8:05 p.m.

TV: MASN2

Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM

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Here are our recommendations so far for the Nov. 8 election. Click on the links to read the full editorials. Bookmark this page to return to view additional recommendations as they are published.

Statewide offices

U.S. Senate (regular term) – Alex Padilla

U.S. Senate (short term) – Alex Padilla

Governor – Gavin Newsom

Attorney General – Rob Bonta

U.S. Congress

District 15 – Kevin Mullin

California Senate

District 10 – Lily Mei

California Assembly

District 20 – Shawn Kumagai

District 28 – Gail Pellerin

Alameda County

District Attorney – Terry Wiley

Contra Costa County

Board of Supervisors, Dist. 4 – Ken Carlson

Clerk-Recorder – Kristin Braun Connelly

Santa Clara County

Board of Supervisors, Dist. 1 – Johnny Khamis

Sheriff – Bob Jonsen

San Jose Mayor – Matt Mahan

San Jose City Council, Dist. 7 – Maya Esparza

Ballot Measures

Statewide

26 – Expand tribal casino gambling – No

27 – Online sports betting – No

29 – Kidney dialysis regulation – No

 

When an Oakland batter thought Dylan Cease’s pitches were going to break right, the ball veered left. Fastballs turned into sliders. Sliders slowed into curveballs.  Curveballs were actually fastballs. The A’s just could not figure out what the White Sox ace was going to throw. In a showing that was more reminiscent of their frigid first half than their scorching hot second half, the A’s dropped a second straight game at the White Sox ballpark, this time by a score of 4-1.

After looking like they were trying to use pool noodles to get the baseball into the outfield, the A’s have spent July doing their collective best impression of Aaron Judge. Oakland hit 36 home runs total in May and June before somehow developing the power needed to jack that many homers in just one month. Early on, the A’s appeared to be headed toward another offensive explosion.

Ramon Laureano’s second inning solo home run travelled over 400 feet, and was so well-struck that the A’s center fielder could take a few moments to admire his work before rounding the bases. Cease was fortunate to only allow that one run in the second, because Seth Brown and Stephen Piscotty both had long fly balls go a few feet foul of being round-trippers.

Majestic foul balls don’t count for anything though, unlike Jose Abreu’s home run in the bottom of the inning off Adam Oller that tied the game. A’s outfielder Tony Kemp momentarily prevented further damage when he left his feet to make a diving grab that killed a double. Despite being Kemp’s victim, Eloy Jimenez couldn’t help but tip his cap in appreciation.

The White Sox took the lead two batters later when a trio of two-out doubles got a pair of Sox across the plate. Cease settled in shortly thereafter, with the American League’s leader in strikeouts per nine innings carving through an A’s lineup that could not get a read on his bevy of breaking balls. Cease got Laureano to whiff on a curveball that gave him five k’s through his first four innings.

By the time Cease was replaced with Joe Kelly, the Cy Young award candidate had struck out seven and allowed only four hits. Meanwhile, Oller had also gotten into a groove after his rough inning, and had not given up a run after the second. That was, until the seventh.

As great a fielder as he is, even Tony Kemp could not deny Eloy Jimenez from getting on base for a second time in the bottom of the inning. Jimenez pounded Oller’s last pitch of the day over the wall and gave Chicago a 4-1 lead. The A’s could only muster six hits in the series finale, and will now travel to Los Angeles to face their division rival Los Angeles Angels. On a positive note, the A’s finished 14-12 during July, their first winning month of the season.

 

 

Jerry Reinsdorf sauntered through the Chicago White Sox clubhouse Saturday afternoon as a group of reporters waited in vain by Tim Anderson’s locker.

As he passed, the Sox chairman told us to come up with some good questions.

“Sure,” I said. “Come on over.”

Reinsdorf smiled and said to contact Scott Reifert, the Sox senior vice president of communications and gatekeeper to the chairman. It was the 86-year-old Reinsdorf’s unique way of saying, “No chance will I talk to any of you.”

The last time I recall Reinsdorf answering a question about his team in a group setting was during the 2019 winter meetings. When I asked if he was optimistic about the Sox moves for 2020, he replied: “I’m tired of being optimistic and then seeing my optimism was misplaced.”

There are many questions we’d like to ask Reinsdorf about the state of the Sox, a team that was built to be a World Series contender but is struggling to get over .500 as the dog days of August arrive.

Here are seven of those questions:

Are you still optimistic the Sox can make the World Series?

While still in contention, the Sox are nowhere near the team everyone expected to see back in March. “We’ve got to get a bunch of wins to really say we’re in contention,” manager Tony La Russa said Saturday.

Does Reinsdorf believe they can turn on a switch in October if they win the bad the American League Central? La Russa pointed out his 2006 St. Louis Cardinals won it all after 83 regular-season wins, but this team has shown no signs of a miracle finish.

Why aren’t the Sox one of the main bidders for superstar Juan Soto?

Only one player would instantly ease Sox fans’ pain over the dreadful first four months of the 2022 season. That player is Soto, the Washington Nationals outfielder who turned down a 15-year, $440 million contract offer and is being shopped by Nats President Mike Rizzo. The San Diego Padres and Cardinals are two of the reported pursuers, while the Sox aren’t even mentioned.

While the Sox don’t have a top farm system, their window for winning is open and they have several major-league-ready — and affordable — assets, including Eloy Jiménez, Andrew Vaughn, Michael Kopech and Garrett Crochet. It makes no sense the Sox couldn’t compete with the Padres for Soto. Or does Reinsdorf not think it’s worthwhile to acquire Soto because the chances of paying him to stay after 2024 are slim and none?

Are you satisfied with La Russa’s managing this season?

OK, we already know the answer to that one. Next.

Will La Russa return as manager in 2023 if the Sox don’t make the postseason?

Normally this would be a question for general manager Rick Hahn, but since Reinsdorf was the one who hired La Russa in the first place, it obviously would be his call. We know La Russa won’t be fired by Reinsdorf for a second time, but he could move into a front-office role and still have a hand in the team’s future, giving someone younger a chance to get this team on track.

The real question is whether Reinsdorf would be willing to sacrifice another year with La Russa as manager, knowing how polarizing he is with the fan base. Does he believe La Russa’s managing has anything to do with the Sox malaise, or does he put all the blame on the players?

How safe is Hahn?

While Hahn did a stellar job on the first part of the rebuild, finishing it off has been a challenge. Injuries have been a factor, but this Sox team has been lackadaisical on defense and the basepaths, while the bullpen Hahn constructed has been disappointing.

Reinsdorf has not fired a Sox GM since Larry Himes in 1990, when he said Himes got them from Point A to Point B. “We need to get to Point C,” Reinsdorf said. “It’s our opinion that Larry Himes is not the best person to get us to Point C — a world’s championship.”

GM Ron Schueler resigned in 2000 to make way for Ken Williams, who got to Point C in 2005 before being booted upstairs after the 2012 season to make way for Hahn. Now they’re back at Point B.

Is Anderson still the face of the Sox?

Reinsdorf has spent much of the last four decades dealing with his athletes’ missteps, from Scottie Pippen’s refusal to enter a Bulls game to Frank Thomas walking out of Sox camp because of the “diminished skills clause” in his contract to various Dennis Rodman antics. Anderson is just the latest.

The most popular Sox player has been suspended twice in the last year for making contact with an umpire, including a three-game suspension Saturday that he appealed. The Sox created their “Change the Game” marketing campaign around Anderson, who starred in an Adidas ad in 2019 in which he declared: “Baseball is boring. Watch me change it.”

Anderson had a one-game suspension for flipping off a fan in Cleveland reduced to a fine. Earlier this season on social media he told Sox studio analyst Ozzie Guillen, the former player who managed the 2005 champions, to “stfu” after Guillen criticized La Russa for sitting Anderson in the second game of a doubleheader in Cleveland.

Is that the change Reinsdorf is looking for?

Are you as frustrated by the 2022 season as most Sox fans?

Former Miami Marlins President David Samson said in 2019 that Reinsdorf once told him finishing second was the way to go: “He said, ‘You know what, here’s my best advice to you: Finish in second place every single year. Because your fans will say, ‘Wow, we’ve got a shot, we’re in it.’ But there’s always the carrot left. There’s always one more step to take.’”

The Sox released a statement saying Reinsdorf had “no recollection” of making the remark and that he “always considered the second-place team to be the best loser.”

The Sox remain in the postseason hunt despite their mediocre play. Is that a good enough carrot for 2023? How long is Reinsdorf willing to wait to win another championship?

Inquiring minds want to know.

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Bill Russell, the skinny Oakland high schooler who grew into the leader of basketball dynasties in San Francisco and Boston, died Sunday at the age of 88.

His family posted the news on social media, saying Russell died with his wife, Jeannine, by his side. The statement did not give the cause of death.

“Bill’s wife, Jeannine, and his many friends and family thank you for keeping Bill in your prayers. Perhaps you’ll relive one or two of the golden moments he gave us, or recall his trademark laugh as he delighted in explaining the real story behind how those moments unfolded,” the family statement said. “And we hope each of us can find a new way to act or speak up with Bill’s uncompromising, dignified and always constructive commitment to principle. That would be one last, and lasting, win for our beloved #6.”

With Russell at center, the University of San Francisco Dons won 55 consecutive games and back-to-back championships in 1955 and 1956. The 6-foot-11 kid out of McClymonds High then led the Boston Celtics to 11 championships in 13 years, the last two as the first Black head coach in any major U.S. sport.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement that Russell was “the greatest champion in all of team sports.”

A Hall of Famer, five-time Most Valuable Player and 12-time All-Star, Russell in 1980 was voted the greatest player in the NBA history by basketball writers.

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