BBTF's Newsblog Discussion :: White Sox manager Tony La Russa said costly decision to intentionally walk Trea Turner on 1-2 count ‘wasn’t a tough call’

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Friday, June 10, 2022

White Sox manager Tony La Russa said costly decision to intentionally walk Trea Turner on 1-2 count ‘wasn’t a tough call’

White Sox manager Tony La Russa said that while Max Muncy did break open the game with a three-run homer in the sixth inning after he ordered an intentional walk to Trea Turner with a 1-2 count in Chicago’s 11-9 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday, he defended the thinking behind the call.

Down 6-5 after Freddie Freeman hit an RBI single in the sixth off left-hander Bennett Sousa, who then bounced an 0-2 slider for a wild pitch that allowed Freeman to take second, La Russa ordered the intentional walk to the right-handed-hitting Turner, who had singled in a run in the fifth.

“He’s got two strikes, Tony!” a fan yelled.

Muncy, whose two-run double off Dylan Cease put the Dodgers ahead 5-4 in the fifth, worked the count to 2-2 and sliced a slider to the opposite field and into the left-field seats, his fourth home run this season.

La Russa said after the game that he doesn’t think he did anything wrong.

“Is there some question about whether that was good move or not?’’ La Russa, a 77-year-old Hall of Famer, said. “Do you know what [Turner] hits against left-handed pitching with 0-1 or two strikes? Do you know what Muncy hits with two strikes against a left-handed pitcher? Is that really a question? We had an open base and Muncy happened to be the guy behind him and that’s a better matchup.

“Somebody disagrees, that’s the beauty of this game, they’re welcome to it. But that wasn’t a tough call.”

RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) Posted: June 10, 2022 at 12:02 AM | 26 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: tony larussa, white sox

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1. Dillon Gee Escape Plan Posted: June 10, 2022 at 09:49 AM (#6080981)

Turner is hitting much better than the league average in two strike counts (.232/.295/.330; league average is .167/.242/.260), but we're still talking about a .625 OPS.

2. baerga1 Posted: June 10, 2022 at 09:55 AM (#6080982)

Turner is career .620 OPS once the count reaches 1-2. There were also two outs. The cherry on top is that Muncy has a reverse platoon split for his career. I can only imagine what the players think of playing for LaRussa.

3. Barry`s_Lazy_Boy Posted: June 10, 2022 at 10:04 AM (#6080985)

Do you know what [Turner] hits against left-handed pitching with 0-1 or two strikes? Do you know what Muncy hits with two strikes against a left-handed pitcher?

FYI, Tony, the count on the batter doesn't carry over to the next guy.

The lefty pitcher also has a reverse split in his brief career.

4. snapper (history's 42nd greatest monster) Posted: June 10, 2022 at 10:23 AM (#6080987)

FYI, Tony, the count on the batter doesn't carry over to the next guy.

Those quotes make LaRussa seem totally out of it. Not a tough call? Your right Tony, it wasn't a tough call, and you still blew it.

5. Nasty Nate Posted: June 10, 2022 at 10:30 AM (#6080988)

There is speculation that he didn't know the count.

6. Moses Taylor loves a good maim Posted: June 10, 2022 at 10:53 AM (#6080990)

I'll just repeat what I said in the chatter yesterday: Just as arrogant as always, but now also senile. I'm sure the players love listening to this old ass moron.

He's been criticized all year for his lineup construction, even allowing for the fact that lineup order doesn't matter as much as most people think, but putting Leury Garcia in the top 3 (which he's done many times) is always inexcusable. His bullpen usage has been also constantly criticized (he IBB'd a worse hitter to get to Buxton and Buxton hit a walk off HR). His handling of the starters has been criticized (he had no one ready yesterday when Cease was absolutely laboring - he got up to 46 pitches that inning). There's been plenty of examples of those, but this thing yesterday is very clearly a new low.

The team has been pretty unlucky with health *and* have a bunch of underperformers. So kinda similar to the Girardi and Maddon situations, firing him doesn't immediately fix everything. But it's also pretty clear he's lost whatever he had after a decade of retirement. Most fans hate him, the local media has turned on him. But he's bulletproof and isn't going anywhere.

7. Barry`s_Lazy_Boy Posted: June 10, 2022 at 11:41 AM (#6080999)

LaRussa is lucky that an older even more senile guy is his boss.

8. What did Billy Ripken have against ElRoy Face? Posted: June 10, 2022 at 11:43 AM (#6081001)

LaRussa is lucky that an older even more senile guy is his boss.

It's like the two campers running into a bear.

9. For the Turnstiles (andeux) Posted: June 10, 2022 at 01:15 PM (#6081013)

Give him a break, he had just woken up from his nap.

10. asinwreck Posted: June 10, 2022 at 01:44 PM (#6081017)

This would never happen if Jerry Reinsdorf was still alive.

11. What did Billy Ripken have against ElRoy Face? Posted: June 10, 2022 at 01:53 PM (#6081018)

Give him a break, he had just woken up from his nap.

That can't be true. He was in the dugout, not his SUV at a red light.

12. The Yankee Clapper Posted: June 10, 2022 at 03:02 PM (#6081026)

The LaRussa criticism would probably be more persuasive without the blatant ageism. I’m not really interested in defending LaRussa, but the move should be put in context. 1st base became open because of the wild pitch on the 0-2 count moved the runner to 2nd base, in scoring position. According to ESPN, Turner is a .254 career hitter after a 1-2 count against a lefty pitcher, and this season he’s hitting .333 (5-for-15) in such situations. Muncy has pretty much stunk this season, was hitting .150 when he came to bat, and even after yesterday’s performance is only hitting .146/.314/.244 for a .558 OPS against lefthanders this season. The move didn’t work out, but that happens sometimes even when the odds suggest it’s the better move.

13. What did Billy Ripken have against ElRoy Face? Posted: June 10, 2022 at 03:08 PM (#6081027)

I’m not really interested in defending LaRussa, but the move should be put in context.

In the context of cherry-picked small sample sizes, you mean?

Ben Clemens at Fangraphs does the real math.

14. snapper (history's 42nd greatest monster) Posted: June 10, 2022 at 03:09 PM (#6081028)

The LaRussa criticism would probably be more persuasive without the blatant ageism.

He's 77 years old. Literally no one should be in a stressful position of importance at that age. I don't think that's ageism, that's just playing the probabilities. Many 77 y.o.s. are fully with it, but many aren't, and there's no easy way to tell, unless you're giving cognitive tests.

15. .

Posted: June 10, 2022 at 03:19 PM (#6081029)

Literally no one should be in a stressful position of importance at that age. I don't think that's ageism

So what exactly do you fancy ageism is, if it isn't that?

16. snapper (history's 42nd greatest monster) Posted: June 10, 2022 at 03:29 PM (#6081030)

So what exactly do you fancy ageism is, if it isn't that?

Ageism is refusing to hire people in the older ages of work force participation (50's and 60s). 77 is deep into retirement age, and well into mental decline for many many people. For most jobs that's not a big issue, but for stressful jobs that require late hours and lots of travel, it's just too old.

Would you go to a 77 y.o. surgeon? Or want a 77 y.o. flying your red-eye across the Pacific. I don't see anything wrong with mandatory retirement ages where they make logical sense. It's like we don't put 16 year olds in stressful jobs either. That's not ageism.

If employment law allowed mandatory aptitude and cognitive tests, I'd probably feel differently.

17. Cris E Posted: June 10, 2022 at 03:44 PM (#6081031)

This would never happen if Jerry Reinsdorf was still alive.

I love this trope.

18. Cris E Posted: June 10, 2022 at 03:49 PM (#6081033)

Lots of careers end with age caps, mostly for expected physical limitations but some for the stress or anticipated cognitive challenges. Heck, the Catholic church sends bishops to their rocking chairs at 75. If your MLB team thinks that anyone could be a Trader Jack McKeon that's their business, but you'd want them to treat that move as a risky prop and be ready to pull it back if it's wrong.

19. cHiEf iMpaCt oFfiCEr JE

Posted: June 10, 2022 at 04:02 PM (#6081034)

Would you go to a 77 y.o. surgeon?

I went to see a urologist in his late 70s once. Let's just say the doc's mental acumen wasn't the issue... :-0

20. Moses Taylor loves a good maim Posted: June 10, 2022 at 05:07 PM (#6081045)

In this case, age also matters in the sense that the game has passed him by and he's not up to speed on the current game and/or players. Which has also literally happened: Tony La Russa admits not knowing extra-inning rule that may have cost White Sox a game.

21. phredbird

Posted: June 10, 2022 at 06:33 PM (#6081060)

reinsdorf notwithstanding, it does feel like it could be a tipping point. or at least that is probably what some observers are hoping.

i thought he was smart for stepping aside from StL after 2011, not so much when he took this gig.

22. The Yankee Clapper Posted: June 10, 2022 at 06:51 PM (#6081063)

If employment law allowed mandatory aptitude and cognitive tests, I'd probably feel differently.

But in the absence of such tests, you (and others) appear to be willing to rely on stereotypes, which is discriminatory.

23. Brian C Posted: June 10, 2022 at 07:06 PM (#6081066)

When did Clapper turn into the forum's resident SJW? I missed this development.

24. Walt Davis Posted: June 10, 2022 at 07:21 PM (#6081071)

When he turned 60? :-)

25. JJ1986 Posted: June 10, 2022 at 07:42 PM (#6081074)

this season he’s hitting .333 (5-for-15)

Jesus ####.

26. Walt Davis Posted: June 10, 2022 at 08:42 PM (#6081095)

ESPN now has an article up with the Benthamy headline asking whether it was the worst IBB ever. Spoiler alert: it doesn't really even try to answer that question as in "the single worst IBB in history" but rather discusses the IBB in general and the situations where it's worst. But it did remind me that one reason Maddon is gone was his IBB with the bases loaded to Seager.

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White Sox manager Tony La Russa said costly decision to intentionally walk Trea Turner on 1-2 count ‘wasn’t a tough call’

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