Miguel Cairo shows praise for Tony La Russa amidst absence originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Miguel Cairo is ready to take on the manager spot.
Everyday skipper Tony La Russa will fly to Arizona on Wednesday night to undergo further evaluations from a heart specialist about an ongoing medical condition. He missed Tuesday's game against the Royals due to the issue.
Seeing as La Russa is 'out indefinitely,' Cairo will pop in the driver's seat for the White Sox. But, he doesn't believe it will be an issue.
"I think we have enough coaching," Cairo said. "I think we're gonna be fine."
Cairo managed Tuesday's 9-7 loss against the Royals, joking he got used to heading out to the mound to make the five pitching changes the game required.
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He claims he talked with Tony about Wednesday's lineup, which features shortstop Elvis Andrus taking on the lead-off spot. It also has Yasmani Grandal at the catcher position in his first game back from the left knee injury he sustained against the Cleveland Guardians.
Despite Cairo's confidence in handling the ball game, he claims he can't live up to La Russa's management skills.
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"I cannot be Tony La Russa. He's a Hall of Famer. He's got a lot of rings," Cairo said. "I learn so much from him. The way he handles himself, the way he handles the clubhouse, the players."
As far as Cairo's concerned, La Russa hasn't acted any different and hasn't gone through anything alarming.
"He's always been the same," Cairo said. "He was fine yesterday. I talked to him today. He was fine. His doctors in Arizona got all the info about his medical. We will know later in the week what's going on."
The players had their worries about La Russa on Tuesday. Gavin Sheets mentioned the team found out about the news about an hour before the game. Andrew Vaughn said he found out about Wednesday's news via the team's Twitter account.
RELATED: Vaughn, Sheets react to news on Tony La Russa
The team has conversed about the situation, but they know little to no information outside of the issue being heart-related.
"We're gonna be praying for him. I'm going to be praying for him that everything's fine," Cairo said. "We gotta go out there and perform. We gotta go out there and play the way we're supposed to play. We're gonna do it for him. He really cares about this team. We got to do this for him."
The clubhouse has consistently shown its praise for La Russa throughout his tenure with the White Sox. They've consistently backed up their positive, uplifting clubhouse and La Russa's professionalism.
La Russa called for a "leadership meeting" recently with "eight to ten" veteran players to shape up the aura in the clubhouse and keep the focus positive. The White Sox are currently three games under .500 and six games back on the AL Central lead.
Without La Russa, the team acknowledges they will miss him.
"He cares way too much," Cairo said. "He cares so much about the game. I'm telling you. We love him. I love him. He has so much knowledge about the game.
"He will be back."
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