Tony La Russa has faced some criticism this week for not defending his own player amid an “unwritten rules” controversy, and no one is more angry over the Chicago White Sox manager’s handling of the situation than CC Sabathia.
Sabathia, who hosts the “R2C2” podcast with Ryan Ruocco, absolutely shredded La Russa this week. He defended White Sox slugger Yermin Mercedes for belting a homer on a 3-0 count in a blowout game, blaming the Minnesota Twins for putting a position player in to pitch. Sabathia then said La Russa is “out of touch with the game” and should not be managing a team.
“You’ve got a rookie who has basically been carrying your whole f-----g team these first six weeks of the season,” Sabathia said. “This guy’s been carrying you. And now you don’t have a problem with the weird a– Minnesota Twins throwing behind one of your biggest hitters? That’s just f-----g stupid.
“He shouldn’t be f-----g managing that team. If you’re not going to step up and have your player’s back, what’s the point of being the manager of the f-----g White Sox?”
Sabathia also bashed the Twins for throwing behind Mercedes (video here) a day after his home run. You can hear the former pitcher’s full remarks here, but beware that the clip contains inappropriate language.
La Russa said Mercedes would face consequences for swinging away on a 3-0 count in the ninth inning of a blowout. The 76-year-old then said he had no problem with the Twins retaliating the next night by throwing behind Mercedes.
White Sox players have since come to Mercedes’ defense, but La Russa had a savage response for one of them.
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