The Chicago White Sox were left reeling following a 5-1 loss versus the Chicago Cubs on Saturday night. They couldn’t get much going against the Cubs offensively and their pitching kind of let them down. Johnny Cueto didn’t perform as well as he did against the New York Yankees just a few days ago and the Sox lost because of it.
Cueto started out the game giving up several hits and several runs but things calmed down a bit and the game wasn’t that far out of reach for the White Sox. All they had to do was hold the Cubs with Cueto’s pitching while scoring on offense to help bring the score closer. But the White Sox faltered.
More definitively it was manager Tony LaRussa and his decision-making that failed the Sox. The White Sox may have been able to get back into the game but Cueto gave up a hit to the Cub’s Frank Schwindel which made it 5-1 and put the game just out of reach for the White Sox. The question now is, did La Russa leave Cueto in too long?
The answer is yes. Cueto should have been pulled about two batters before Schwindel. Leaving him in too long didn’t cost them the game, they had just about already lost at that point.
The Chicago White Sox needs to get better managing from Tony La Russa.
However, it did hurt them in the fact that they were put further behind and it made it more difficult to mount a comeback should they have been able to do so. But, in true White Sox fashion, no comeback was made.
La Russa’s decision-making on Saturday night was poor. He should have done much better than he did making the decision to pull Cueto earlier.
The decision-making coming from LaRussa has left a lot to be desired and his actions are making fans upset. He could easily make better decisions but has failed to do so time and again. He’s either not thinking clearly or thinks what’s best for the team is not anywhere close to what’s the best.
One of the biggest factors for this season’s struggles is the poor management by La Russa. He needs to either get things straight with himself and manage better or he needs to be replaced ASAP. The White Sox will not win many games or make it to the playoffs if they aren’t managed better.