Chicago White Sox: 3 reasons to praise Tony La Russa

3. Pitching

Tony La Russa has handled Chicago White Sox pitching very well for the most part.

The Chicago White Sox has the best rotation in all of baseball. The bullpen was a little shaky early on but it is starting to come together so you can make a solid claim that they have the best pitching staff as a whole. That comes with guys like Lucas Gioltio and Dallas Keuchel having “April arm” before their last few starts and Dylan Cease still needing a bit more work. Now, all three of them are guys you would be totally fine going into a playoff series with.

There were a couple of occasions where La Russa left Lucas Giolito in too long or pulled someone too early but that is going to happen with starters. There have also been a few cases of bad bullpen management but he always seems to learn from it. Now you can confidently say that he has a pretty good grasp on the arms in his rotation and bullpen.

The way that Michael Kopech has been handled this season so far has been magnificent. He is a superweapon reliever that has been given a few starts as well. He is one of the most important pieces to the entire project and will be a superstar name in no time. By the end of 2021 or into 2022, he will be one of their frontline starters. Hopefully, La Russa can keep handling this pitching staff well as they get into the summer and work towards the playoffs.

La Russa isn’t done getting criticized. That is going to happen when he deserves it. However, when you see that he is the second-winningest manager of all time, you have to look at why. He has had some triumphs this season as mentioned and all we can do is hope that the good play continues.