The Chicago White Sox are one of the best teams in baseball. However, they're currently dealing with some goofy controversy because manager Tony La Russa can't stop saying dumb stuff about sportsmanship, unwritten rules and all that garbage after slugger Yermin Mercedes drilled a 3-0 pitch for a home run in a blowout victory against the Minnesota Twins earlier in the week. Oh, the dinger was also off a position player throwing eephus pitches.
La Russa then doubled and tripled down on his old-school outlook, even after the Twins threw behind Mercedes in Tuesday's game. The White Sox manager initially called out his player for making a “mistake” after he blew off a take sign on 3-0 to hit that home run, and he didn't back him up after getting thrown at.
Wednesday, La Russa wasn't budging with his silliness:
Tony La Russa: "What did I say publicly? I said a young player made a mistake. Which, by the way, he did and we need to acknowledge it. Did I say that he's being ostracized? … I actually did it in a very positive way."
— Chris Emma (@CEmma670) May 19, 2021
Tony La Russa: "I would be willing to bet there's not anybody in that clubhouse that was upset that I mentioned that's not the way we compete. … I walked around the clubhouse last night, the day before after the game, and nobody was giving me a Heisman."
— Chris Emma (@CEmma670) May 19, 2021
Tony La Russa stands his ground on criticism of Yermin Mercedes saying it was mistake to swing on 3-0 pitch in 15-4 game.His rule of thumb: "Do you think you need more [runs] to win, you keep pushing. If you think you have enough, respect the game and opposition. Sportsmanship.''
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) May 19, 2021
More Tony La Russa: "If you're going to tell me that sportsmanship and respect for the game of baseball and respect for your opponent is not an important priority, then I can't disagree with you more.''
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) May 19, 2021
But I did like this line today, when told Lance Lynn basically said 'all bets are off' with a position player out there, lets get the game over with.
Tony: "Lance has a locker, I have an office."
Tony is either really tight with these guys or…..fill in the blank
— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) May 19, 2021
Yikes!
Mercedes' White Sox teammates have been coming to his defense, as have other players around MLB. The fact that a position player was on the mound throwing trash up there isn't exactly a show of “sportsmanship” either, so Mercedes going yard on him in a blowout should really be a whatever. This is especially true given Mercedes' situation as he continues to light up MLB in his first full season at 27 years old.
Blowing off the take sign may not have been ideal, but that's something that can be handled internally instead of blowing it out of proportion and helping it become such a big deal. Then, not backing up Mercedes after he got thrown at was ridiculous.
There has already been quite a bit of controversy with Tony La Russa this season. The fact that the White Sox are so good helps mask his issues, but he has cost the team several games already and is bringing silly drama to the clubhouse. It will be interesting to see if this young team fully turns on him.
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