NEW YORK — Even as the Twins threw behind Yermin Mercedes and Mercedes’ own teammates defended him, Tony La Russa has doubled and tripled down on ripping his own player for hitting a home run. The latest came when White Sox pitcher Lance Lynn said that the “unwritten rules” were mostly dead. “Lance has a locker. I have an office,” La Russa, the 76-year-old Hall of Fame skipper who returned to managing after a 10-year absence, said. “I don’t agree.”
That was enough occasion for Yankees legend CC Sabathia to absolutely unload on La Russa on his R2C2 podcast with Ryan Ruocco.
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— Sabathia: "He’s just so out of touch with the game, and most people are, cuz. ... He should not be managing one of the best teams in the American League, period! The fact that Tim Anderson, basically the captain of the team, had to go on Instagram and step up for his teammate, like ‘yeah, the game wasn’t over,’ if you’re gonna put a f------ position player in to pitch, guess what? If he’s gonna lob s--- over the plate, we gonna tee off. Put a 10-run rule up there, cuz! If y’all don’t wanna see people get embarrassed and position players pitch and all that s---, then make it a 10-run rule so the f------ game will be over and you don’t have these stupid-a-- unwritten rules. Now, you have a rookie that’s been basically carrying your f------ team these first six weeks of the season ... and now you have a don’t problem with the weird-a-- Minnesota Twins throwing behind one of your biggest hitters? That’s just f------- stupid. It’s stupid. Period. I’m sorry. This s--- is terrible. He shouldn’t be f------ managing that team. If you not gonna step up and have your players’ backs, what’s the point of being the f------ manager of the White Sox? S--- is stupid as f---. Sorry.
"I was so mad, cuz. I was re-pissed off yesterday when Duffy threw behind him. ... Even the Twins getting mad! Cuz, play better! You guys f------ suck! You’re three games under f------ .500! You’re supposed to be the best team in the Central! You suck!"
— Ruocco: "They’re 12 games under .500."
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Later in the podcast, Sabathia told a story about sweeping La Russa’s Cardinals when he was on the Brewers and the manager getting mad about the Brewers untucking their jerseys after a win.
“When I got to the big leagues, it was all about suppressing your personality, not being who you are,” Sabathia said. “And guess who was a manager in that era? Tony La Russa. So why is he now managing f------ 25 years later when none of that s--- applies, cuz. None of that.”
