CC Sabathia Defends Yermin Mercedes, Rants Against Tony La Russa

Many White Sox fans aren’t too happy with manager Tony La Russa, who failed to defend Yermin Mercedes, who was intentionally hit with a pitch Tuesday night against the Twins. 

According to NBC Sports Chicago, White Sox manager Tony La Russa made a surprising remark that defended Tyler Duffey, the Minnesota Twins pitcher, over the 28-year-old White Sox rookie.

“I don’t have a problem with how the Twins handled it,” declared Tony La Russa. He then reiterated his outlook on Mercedes’ decision to swing for the fences on a 3-0 count when his team was up by 11 runs. “Big mistake,” stated La Russa in a post-game interview Tuesday night. “The fact that he’s a rookie and excited helps explain why he just was clueless. But now he’s got a clue.”

White Sox fans are outraged at La Russa, as is Yankees great CC Sabathia.

In an episode on his R2C2 podcast that dropped Thursday, Sabathia ripped La Russa for his remarks about Yermin Mercedes:

"Tony La Russa is out of touch with the game… He should not be managing one of the best teams in the American League, period. The fact that Tim Anderson, basically the captain of their team, had to go on Instagram and step up for his teammate like, 'Yeah, the game wasn't over.'" 

Sabathia joins other MLB players who have recently made comments about La Russa’s questionable judgment in this situation.

Yermin gave his own response to Monday night's homer.

“I’m going to play like that. I’m Yermin. I can’t be another person because if I change it, everything is going to change. … We’re just having fun. It’s baseball.”

Chicago White Sox lead the AL Central at 26-16, following three consecutive wins against the Twins.

The White Sox face the Yankees on Friday, beginning their three-game series over the weekend.