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Originally Posted by joefromchicago
1. I agree that LaRussa mishandled the press conference. He just should have said "I'll be talking with Yermin about this later." The only reason why he made a big deal about dressing down Mercedes was, I think, to send a message to the Twins that he was trying to handle the matter himself. If that was the case, he was actually trying to save his player from retaliation (which didn't work anyway, but hey, that's baseball).
2. Well, if Mercedes missed a take sign, then what Mercedes thinks doesn't matter. A player gets a sign. It's not optional. It doesn't matter whether he agrees with it or not. In the good ol' days, a manager would fine a player who swung through a take sign, regardless of the outcome.
3. Again, it's the manager's call. If LaRussa wanted to pile on against a position player who was pitching in garbage time, he would have given Mercedes the green light to swing on 3-0. He says he didn't. Talk about unwritten rules all you want, but in the end it's the manager's call.
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I don't disagree with your points but is LaRussa going to publicly call out every player who misses a sign? I understand this may be a special case but it sets up a situation where some players may have a different consequence for breaking the same/similar rules. That's not good for team unity.
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RichW
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“Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition …There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.” Frank Wilhoit
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