WaitingforRuffcorn wrote:
Joe Orr Road Rod wrote:
Jaw Breaker wrote:
Halfway through May and Bummer already has four blown saves.
This is why I don't put any stock in managers. LaRussa is in the Hall of Fame. But if you're a manager who "matters", i.e. an interventionist who wants to control the game as much as possible, there's just no way you pitch to the guy who has already hit two out with first base open. That's what the "book" says. But no, the HOF manager just sat on his ass in the dugout while his pitcher blew the game. The unwritten rules are clear. Sano gets hit in that situation.
I don't think he did anything wrong with Mercedes. The Twins were clearly pissed, and he tried to put an end to it by saying it was poor sportsmanship. When they still throw at your guy it's time to retaliate, but it's a tough spot to put the tying run with one of your few performing relievers.
The bullpen has been a mess thus far. If you can't rely on Bummer and Hendricks to protect a 2 run lead it's a problem. If they hit Sano and Bummer is tossed, who would finish the 8th?
Almost all of this is trying to manufacture a crisis because LaRussa support kneeling for the anthem.
I get that that's what he thought he was doing. I just think in today's game it would have been better for him to keep his mouth shut. These beanball wars are now like fighting in hockey. They're not really supposed to be part of the game anymore. If LaRussa just keeps his mouth shut, he can ignore the whole thing. The Twins are gonna throw at Mercedes but the Sox can be above it and just pound them some more and win the games. But once LaRussa weighs in, he has created a duty for himself/his pitchers to retaliate when the Twins inevitably throw at Mercedes. Knowing who LaRussa is, I'm guessing the Sox hit someone today and there's probably a brawl. I hope no key Sox player gets injured in it. And as I said, if that's the way you want to play, Sano was the guy you were supposed to hit last night with first base open.
I completely agree with your last sentence. It's clearly the young woke fan that hates LaRussa because he's RACIST. They think the guy who had success managing Dave Stewart, Rickey Fucking Henderson, and Jose Canseco doesn't know how to talk to Tim Anderson and Jose Abreu. That's pretty dumb.