(670 The Score) Right-hander Lance Lynn joined the Cardinals as a rookie in 2011 hearing that St. Louis manager Tony La Russa didn't have a fond reputation with rookies.
Lynn found that to be false as he and La Russa connected well. He feels that was because of the approach they took to winning each day, something that resonated with La Russa. Now, Lynn and La Russa have been reunited with the White Sox, who officially acquired the 33-year-old Lynn in a trade with the Rangers on Tuesday afternoon. Afterward, Lynn explained on the Danny Parkins Show why he believes the 76-year-old La Russa will connect with the White Sox despite being out of the dugout since 2011.
"It's all about showing up, being there for your teammates, doing everything you can to be prepared to do everything you can to win the game," Lynn said of La Russa. "That's all that matters. He doesn't care about anything else. You do your job, you help the team win and you're there for your teammates. People think it's no nonsense this or that. No, he's able to have all types of conversations.
"You're going to see that come out of him, especially with today's game and the youth that the White Sox have. They're exciting, they're youthful, they enjoy the game and they have fun with it. I think he's going to really feed off of that.
"These guys also prepare and they really want to win. That's what he's all about. If that's the way that it is, everybody's going to be awesome and everything's going to flow together great."
The White Sox hired La Russa in late October after the team fired Rick Renteria. The move was immediately met with widespread skepticism, as critics doubted that he was the best fit to connect young team coming off a breakout 35-25 season.
Beyond that, news broke on Nov. 10 that La Russa had been charged with driving under the influence in an incident in the Phoenix area back in February. La Russa was formally charged when the case was filed to a court in Arizona on Oct. 28, one day before he was hired by the White Sox. La Russa hasn't spoke with reporters since news of his DUI charge surfaced.
White Sox general manager Rick Hahn declined to comment on the matter Tuesday, pointing to the ongoing legal proceedings. La Russa had previously pleaded not guilty to the two drunken driving charges but is scheduled to change his plea on Dec. 21 in Maricopa County Justice Court, the Associated Press has reported.
La Russa isn't scheduled to speak with the media next week despite all 29 other managers being set to do so as part of the virtual Winter Meetings festivities.