Author: staff

Sports

Column: Tony La Russa’s intentional walk call generates disdain and makes the Chicago White Sox the talk of baseball

Former Cleveland Guardians President Gabe Paul once quipped that “a manager really gets paid for how much he suffers.”If that’s still the case, Tony La Russa deserves a raise.AdvertisementNo one has suffered quite like the Chicago White Sox manager, who still was the talk of baseball Friday one day after “the walk.”Not since Kevin Cash lifted starter Blake Snell in Game 6 of the 2020 World Series has a strategic move generated so much disdain.AdvertisementBy ordering left-hander Bennett Sousa to issue an intentional walk to Los Angeles Dodgers hitter Trea Turner with a 1-2 count and first base open in the sixth inning Thursday, La Russa inadvertently opened the door to a world of pain.When Max Muncy followed with a three-run home run, the second-winningest manager in history knew the decision would be questioned. Yet La Russa maintained a postgame posture of being completely surprised by the questioning, which made the moment exponentially worse.It was the intentional walk heard around the baseball world, in which a 77-year-old manager made an indefensible move, then got defensive trying to defend it. If this was just the usual Sox Twitter mob on his back, La Russa possibly could’ve shrugged it off as another bump in the road on his much-publicized comeback after leaving the dugout in 2011.From the Yermín Mercedes incident last season to Thursday’s intentional walk on a 1-2 count, he has been in a few crazy episodes but survived them all. Teflon Tony was real.But virtually no one agreed with La Russa, leaving him on an island. Even Fox News called it “perplexing” and mentioned a Sox fan yelling “He’s got two strikes, Tony!”NBC Sports Chicago analyst Ozzie Guillén told WSCR-AM 670′s “The Mully and Haugh Show” he was “shocked” by the move. MLB Network showed that 42.8% of hitters with a 1-2 count strike out, and former major leaguer Cameron Maybin brought up La Russa’s other head-scratching decisions.No one was under the delusion La Russa wouldn’t survive this. Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf is a loyal friend. Case closed. But it gave La Russa’s already sizable legion of doubters one more reason to call for a change.The move already has zoomed to the top of the charts on the “La Russa Top 40,″ surpassing “YermínGate,” the controversy over homering on a 3-0 pitch in a rout. Tumbling down the chart was La Russa leaving in closer Liam Hendriks as a ghost runner last season, not knowing the rule, and bringing in left-hander Tanner Banks to face right-handed New York Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton last month.AdvertisementUnless another manager calls for an intentional walk on a 1-2 pitch, La Russa will have the category to himself the rest of time. Imagine that.One decision in one game isn’t the end of the world. The Sox went into Friday’s game against the Texas Rangers knowing starter Lance Lynn would soon return, with shortstop Tim Anderson not too far behind. And La Russa is not the first manager to make some crazy moves.Former Cubs manager Don Zimmer, who was beloved in Chicago for ignoring conventional wisdom in the summer of 1989, said that season he never worried about fan or media backlash as long as he had a good explanation for every decision he made.La Russa had an explanation as well: A lefty on lefty matchup — Sousa vs. Muncy — had a better chance of succeeding than Sousa facing Turner, even with two strikes. La Russa challenged an MLB.com writer, asking if he knew Turner’s and Muncy’s numbers.As an MLB Network graphic showed, Turner had a .254 career average with a 1-2 count, and a .378 average this season, with a 31.4% strikeout rate. Muncy is hitting .146 versus left-handers this season (and was at .125 before the at-bat, one of the worst in the majors in that category). Over his career, MLB Network pointed out Muncy has a much more respectable .252 average against lefties.One stat both MLB Network and La Russa ignored belonged to the 27-year-old Sousa. Left-handed batters are hitting .364 off Sousa, who now has an 8.20 ERA. Just because he’s left-handed doesn’t mean he has been successful against left-handed hitters.AdvertisementNo matter. The deed is done. Now it’s time to watch the fallout.General manager Rick Hahn did not fire La Russa Thursday night while everyone was sleeping, in spite of the pleas by Sox fans on Twitter. Hahn, who didn’t personally choose La Russa, coincidentally discussed this week how he reacts when bad stuff happens to the Sox.“I throw (stuff),” he said. “I’ve been walking a lot. I leave the house when I’m not with the team. Actually here (at Guaranteed Rate Field), I walk in the tunnels a lot. My wife accuses me of acting like Jerry West in ‘Winning Time,’ which I think is (expletive). I don’t act like that. I think it’s slander, apparently West and me.”Hahn is not the first Sox GM to wander around collecting his thoughts when things go bad. When executive vice-president Ken Williams was GM in 2002, he went for a long walk around Edison Field during a 19-0 loss to the Anaheim Angels, the most lopsided defeat in team history.At the very least, Sox GMs traditionally get their steps in during times of stress.So what’s next for the Sox? Time to audible?AdvertisementCubs President Jed Hoyer talked about adding on last June before an 11-game losing streak led to the biggest sell-off in team history. Hahn said he doesn’t expect to be in “sell mode” at the trade deadline.“I really don’t hope I have to sit here in six weeks and eat these words,” he said.The Sox invented the “White Flag Trade” in 1997. Don’t expect likewise on the 25th anniversary this July.But at the very least it should be an interesting six weeks for the Sox, and for La Russa, who seems to live by the words of Gene Mauch.“I’m not the manager because I’m always right,” Mauch once said. “But I’m always right because I’m the manager.”

Sports

UCF settles on $18 million buyout, will start Big 12 competition in 2023

After accepting an invitation to the Big 12 Conference last September, UCF will officially start competing in the Power Five league for the 2023 football season, the school announced Friday.The Knights, who are joined by Cincinnati and Houston, will be departing the American Athletic Conference following this season.AdvertisementThe move becomes effective July 1, 2023, according to the conferences.The three university presidents — UCF’s Alexander Cartwright, Cincinnati’s Neville Pinto and Houston’s Renu Khator — issued a joint statement:Advertisement“It has been a privilege for our universities to compete at the highest level in the American Athletic Conference where our programs have grown and flourished, both athletically and academically.“To be part of The American’s climb to national prominence in recent years is something we’ll always look back on with great pride. We are especially grateful to Commissioner [Mike] Aresco and his staff for their efforts during this process and look forward to an outstanding year of competition in 2022-23.”When UCF first made the move to join the Big 12, the initial word from conference commissioner Bob Bowlsby — who is retiring later this summer — was that the three AAC schools would become members no later than the 2024-25 athletic year.Meanwhile, BYU, which is independent, could join in 2023.UCF, Houston and Cincinnati will pay $18 million over 14 years to exit the American Athletic Conference in 2023, according to sources. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)AAC bylaws made the arrival time uncertain. UCF, Houston and Cincinnati were required to give a 27-month notice to their league and pay a $10 million exit penalty.By that timeline, the three schools would just miss the 2023 football season. If they wanted to leave earlier, their payout would have to be larger.Each of the three schools will pay an $18 million buyout over 14 years to the AAC, a source confirmed to the Orlando Sentinel. The Athletic was the first to report the figures.When the University of Connecticut departed the AAC in 2019, the Huskies paid $17 million to join the Big East in 2020, the Hartford Courant reported.AdvertisementUCF athletics director Terry Mohajir told the Orlando Sentinel last month that the schools were still working through the negotiations, but he had hoped to have something finished by May.Despite the delay, the details are finalized and UCF will play its last season in the AAC this year.“It’s a fair deal and it’s sensible,” AAC commissioner Mike Aresco told the Sentinel on Friday. “We’re satisfied and we think it’s a fair amount. Ultimately, in these situations, when somebody wants to leave early, you try to work it out if you can because it’s always better to figure it out.“The best thing is that we ended up amicably. This isn’t personal. We said it a million times, but it isn’t. You may take it personally but it isn’t, and they’re doing what they think they need to do in their best interest.”Chicago Tribune SportsWeekdaysA daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute.Aresco said he’s enjoyed his relationship with the three departing schools, including UCF.“I’ll have fond memories of those championship games and the basketball run when they had with Tacko [Fall] and Aubrey [Dawkins],” he said. “We had a great relationship going right back with [former school president] John Hitt and to former athletic directors Todd Stansbury and Danny White and even Terry Mohajir, who I’ve gotten to know lately.Advertisement“I tip my hat, they’ve done a great job and I wish them well.”The move opens the door for the AAC to add future members UAB, FAU, Charlotte, North Texas, Rice and UTSA to its membership next season.FAU, UTSA and Charlotte announced they would officially be leaving Conference USA and joining the AAC on July 1, 2023.In anticipation of the turnover, the AAC reportedly reworked its media rights deal with ESPN. This comes after the league signed a 12-year deal in 2020 that was reportedly worth $1 billion.Email Jason Beede at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com or follow him on Twitter at @therealBeede.