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La Russa has a 'reasonable' request for White Sox baserunners

Rick Renteria faced almost daily criticism when he was the White Sox's manager from 2017-20.

His decision-making with the bullpen generated the most heat, but Renteria was really roasted for benching Tim Anderson, Avisail Garcia, Leury Garcia and Welington Castillo for not running hard to first base during his first two years in the dugout.

"When you see me get upset like that it's because it's something that we preach and talk about all the time," Renteria said after pulling Anderson from a game in 2018. "We don't give in."

Tony La Russa, who came out of retirement to replace Renteria, doesn't like seeing his players dog it down the line, either.

"Once in a while we do trot to first base, which is not acceptable," La Russa said.

Instead of benching Anderson, Jose Abreu, Yoan Moncada or any other player that doesn't go full speed, La Russa makes one request.

"You've got to give it a reasonable effort," he said.

Benching players for not running hard has a Little League feel in the majors. La Russa, a Hall of Famer, does not do it.

"You're not running in the Olympics," he said.

La Russa is very aware the season is already five months old, and last year was an abbreviated 60-game schedule.

"There's some wear and tear after five months," La Russa said. "We tell them to be careful. At the same time, you've got to concentrate. You can't back the concentration off and if you really have to play at 75 percent, we need to know about it. I'll write you in because at 75 percent, we'll take it.

"But it's a slippery slope when you start saying, 'Hey, be careful with your legs but pay attention and play a good game.' So we try to strike the balance."

Take a break:

Center fielder Luis Robert got Saturday off as a scheduled rest day, and Tim Anderson and third baseman Yoan Moncada sat out Sunday.

Anderson is still dealing with sore hamstrings that recently sidelined him for four straight games. He returned last Wednesday and played four straight before Sunday.

"In Tim's case, his legs, they're barking so he gets today and tomorrow," said manager Tony La Russa, noting the White Sox are off Monday.

Moncada had played 14 of the Sox's last 15 games before getting a break Sunday. He also has a 14-game hitting streak.

"He's got a good strike zone and when he's good, he's aggressive in the zone," La Russa said. "When he's not, sometimes I think he's a little too tentative. I said in spring training, to me familiarity was the biggest obstacle. You get to know guys. Sometimes when you don't see the bat it's because he's tired and his bat speed slows down. He's been whistling it lately so he's feeling better."

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