Tony La Rossa’s managerial mistakes continue to escalate with White Sox

Talent is the ultimate deciding factor in winning baseball games. If you don’t have good players, you won’t win most of the time, it is the manager’s job to put these players in the right place for success. Today’s question is: How many extra wins does a good manager give to a team over a bad manager? It’s almost impossible to answer, especially with the growing emphasis that many teams’ front offices place on analytics that end up making some decisions out of the hands of their managers. Never miss a game: Subscribe to our daily sports newsletter now what happened? NL East was supposed to be the best division in the MLB however … we might get a more definitive answer this season than any answer in recent memory thanks to the Chicago White Sox. When 76-year-old Tony La Rossa was named manager of the Chicago White Sox this winter after spending the past decade as CEO and consultant, it raised questions about whether or not the game had overtaken him. These questions remain pertinent, as after the April 27 match, La Rosa admitted he was unaware that lead shooter Lucas Giuletto was tired in late innings and left him in the match for a long time. In another match, he chose not to hit light-striking Billy Hamilton, trailing three games with two and exiting because “he was looking for one”. Then came a Wednesday afternoon match in Cincinnati. In the National League Park with a 0-0 draw in the ninth game, La Rossa made a double substitution Liam Hendrix in place of left-wing Andrew Vaughn, who reached the final round at the top of the half. Bat at the top of 10th place, the Vaughn squad spot was the designated runner to be placed on second base. So I sent La Rosa Hendrix out as a possible bookmark. Under the MLB’s new Extra Roles rule, if the shooter’s place is due to start a game from second base, the manager can alternatively choose “the player who precedes the shooter in the batting order”. La Russa was not aware of the rule. When asked by a reporter about it, he replied, “I think you know the rules better. Now I know.” Hendrix advanced to third base at the top of 10th place, but did not score. Then at the bottom of the frame, he gave a match-winning solo to Jesse Winky of the Reds, so would Hendriks have done the same if he hadn’t broken the rules? No one knows for sure. But it didn’t make his job easier either. Even with a loss, the White Sox has a record of 16-13, which is the best differential in the MLS and is just a half-match outside of first place in the Central Division. But it’s hard not to wonder how far ahead they could be with someone other than La Russa who is leading the shots in the bunker. Diddy does, the Philadelphia Phillies is part of a mixed mess in the NL East division. They have struggled offensively and especially defensively so far, but they still find themselves the only team in the above .500 division with the start of play on Thursday. Shortstop Didi Gregorius was a major contributor to the Phils’ defense woes. Saved in passive defenses 7 that was saved with Eugenio Suarez of the Reds (third base player playing in short position) for the worst mark in the major leagues. However, the Gregory’s racket caused massive damage in their 5-4 win over the Milwaukee Brewers as the first run of the Grand Slams gave the Velez team enough support, and Gregory is also the answer to an interesting piece of trivia. Wednesday’s Grand Slam was the eighth in his career. No other active player has more. Waiting for you, the Cleveland baseball team in Cleveland is closely familiar with being forced to wait so long. After being defeated by the Chicago Cubs at the 2016 World Series, ending 108 years of drought without a title, Cleveland took charge as the MLB team with the longest running dry tournament. It’s been 73 years since Cleveland won the whole title in 1948, and with John Means of the Baltimore Orioles throwing the beating in Seattle, we take a look at the MLB record book and find which team has gone the longest without not having … you guessed it: Game Cleveland.Len Barker quintessential May 15, 1981, is the last match no-one dressed as Cleveland hits. Unless someone can throw one in the next nine days, the streak of no success will be up to a full 40 years, and it might be up to you, Shane Bieber, follow Steve Gardner on Twitter @SteveAGardner.