Tony La Russa refuses to back Yermin Mercedes after Twins throw at him

Chicago White Sox manager Tony La Russa might be in hot water after his latest comments, in which his refused to have his own player’s back.

La Russa may not agree with Yermin Mercedes’ assessment of the unwritten rules of baseball, but he ought to at least side with his own player in a dispute such as the one which occurred on Tuesday night.

The Minnesota Twins threw at Mercedes in response to the 28-year-old slugger hitting a home run on a 3-0 count while up by a wide margin. Oh, and a position player was pitching. La Russa was insistent pregame that Mercedes did not see or ignored the sign from the dugout, which was not to swing 3-0.

On Tuesday night, Mercedes received his “punishment” from the Twins, which led to the ejection of Tyler Duffey and Rocco Baldelli.

White Sox: Tony La Russa sides with Twins in Yermin Mercedes debate

It’s one thing for La Russa to be vocal while disagreeing with Mercedes, it’s another to downplay and even insist the Twins were in the right to throw a pitch directly behind him. La Russa opted to take the latter approach.

“What did they do? He tried to get a sinker in. You don’t read minds. I’m not going to read their mind and I also don’t second guess the umpire when its his judgment. If the ball is thrown at someone’s head you don’t give them the benefit of the doubt,” La Russa said, per Jesse Rogers.

La Russa went on to say he didn’t have a problem with “how the Twins handled it,” whatever that means.

It’s a manager’s job to keep matters like this in the clubhouse, and have his players’ backs when necessary. Mercedes is a key piece of this White Sox lineup.

La Russa may be a member of the old guard and in the Hall of Fame, but he’s failing on all accounts right now.