#Fantasy baseball fallout of Tony La Russa’s ridiculous Yermin Mercedes rant

When White Sox outfielder Eloy Jimenez crashed into the wall and needed to be helped off the field by trainers, there was an eerie silence that blanketed the south side of Chicago in late March.

This was supposed to be the White Sox’s year. They had the power, the speed, the defense and the pitching, both on the front end and in the bullpen. Dreams of a World Series championship were, once again, becoming a reality. When the diagnosis of a torn pectoral muscle that would require surgery with a six-month recovery period came through, all hope seemed lost. How do you replace that kind of power?

Like a knight in shining armor, Yermin Mercedes came to the rescue. The 28-year-old career minor leaguer, in grandiose fashion, opened the season with a six-game hitting streak with three doubles, two home runs and seven RBIs — including a record-breaking eight hits in his first eight at-bats. Obviously, the loss of Jimenez still hurt, but the pain subsided as Mercedes closed out April with a .415 average then proceeded to maintain a near-.370 average more than two weeks into May.

It was such a torrid pace, baseball analysts, both reality and fantasy, immediately dug through the underlying metrics to figure out when the South Side Savior would come crashing back down to Earth. They cited a weak hard-contact and barrel rates, and noted that the exit velocity off his bat was good, but not great.

They also said his .400-plus BABIP was too high and unsustainable. Despite all of that, Mercedes continued to produce. That is, until his manager, Tony La Russa, intervened.

When Mercedes parked a 43 mph fastball from Twins catcher Willians Astudillo over the fences to extend the 11-run lead the White Sox already had Monday, it was the beginning of the end. La Russa publicly chastised Mercedes for missing the take sign, swinging at a 3-0 pitch and disrespecting the game of baseball. He went so far as to demand Mercedes apologize to the Twins and to say he had no problem with how Minnesota handled it when they threw behind Mercedes the next day.

These archaic, unwritten rules La Russa is citing have no business in the modern game. It isn’t 1965 anymore, and players celebrating their success on the field should not be condemned. La Russa’s actions are reprehensible, and if Mercedes, who went hitless in his first game following the incident, subsequently struggles, fantasy owners can blame his manager, for the mental abuse, instead of any underlying metrics.

Howard Bender is the VP of operations and head of content at FantasyAlarm.com. Follow him on Twitter @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the award-winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays from 6-8 p.m. Go to FantasyAlarm.com for all your fantasy baseball advice.