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Will La Russa manage again this season? Will Anderson return? Sox have questions to answer

Finally, there's some clarity with White Sox manager Tony La Russa.

Speaking to reporters in Oakland Sunday, the 77-year-old Hall of Famer said he had a pacemaker inserted to address a heart issue after abruptly leaving the Sox on Aug. 30.

La Russa said he also had a heart issue in spring training.

So, there's that.

What remains unclear is this — will La Russa manage the White Sox again this year?

This isn't a hamstring strain or a sore pitching arm taking a physical toll on a young baseball player.

“Health is nothing to mess with,” La Russa said. “They addressed it, fixed it. Now it's just a question of regaining strength.”

The guess here is La Russa does not return to the Sox's dugout this year. Only 21 games remain on the regular season schedule and time is running out.

“Don't mess with health,” said La Russa, who flew back to Chicago with the White Sox from Oakland Sunday. “I'm mending. It will depend on the experts. Reading the situation, they ask me how I feel because I do a little more, and how you respond to a little more affects it. So I think it's uncertain.”

Miguel Cairo took over for La Russa two weeks ago and he's guided the White Sox to a 9-4 record.

Managers matter, but the Sox are focused on catching Cleveland in the AL Central no matter who's in the dugout.

“We've got to keep showing up, we've got to keep pushing and pushing,” outfielder AJ Pollock said. “We know we've got the group. We know we've got players that can make that run. Just keep building and see what happens.”

Anderson update:

When he had surgery Aug. 11 to repair a sagittal band tear on his middle finger, Tim Anderson was expected to be back in six weeks.

That would be a week from Thursday, and 13 games would be left on the schedule.

Given the lengthy absence, the All-Star shortstop would need to go on a rehab assignment with Class AAA Charlotte before rejoining the White Sox.

Even though he was in an 0-for-15 slump before injuring his finger on a check swing at Texas, Anderson is a dangerous hitter and his return to the lineup could give the Sox a major boost when they need it most.

The worst case scenario, obviously, is Anderson needs more time to recover and doesn't make it back this season. He's scheduled to see a hand specialist Tuesday, so stay tuned.

Plan B:

If there's one player that's really stepped up during the White Sox's recent surge, it's Elvis Andrus.

Signed by the Sox on Aug. 19, two days after being released by Oakland, Andrus stepped in for Tim Anderson and has been sparking the offense out of the leadoff spot.

In 11 September games, the 34-year-old shortstop is hitting .333/.385/.646 with 4 home runs and 14 RBI.

If Anderson does return, the White Sox have an interesting decision to make. Sliding Andrus over to second base is seemingly the obvious option, but he's played 1,894 games on defense over his 14-year career — all of them at shortstop.

Andrus said he could make the switch to second with no problem, and he's basically played the position at times during defensive shifts.

Again, stay tuned.

Eye on the schedule:

With the season winding down, the Sox are going to get four more cracks at the first-place Guardians.

They play a makeup game at Cleveland on Thursday afternoon and host the Guardians for three next week.

It would behoove the White Sox to catch Cleveland as quickly as possible. Due to the schedule revision caused by the lockout, the Guardians play six straight home games against the Royals to close out the season.

The Sox have three games at San Diego and three at home vs. the Twins, a much tougher finish.

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