Tony La Russa cleared to attend Dave Stewart event Sunday in Oakland

OAKLAND, Calif. — White Sox manager Tony La Russa has been cleared by his doctors to travel to Oakland to participate in the pregame ceremony Sunday in which the Athletics are retiring Dave Stewart’s number.

While it serves as a potential stepping stone for a return to the dugout, La Russa’s doctors haven’t cleared him to manage. He will travel with the team to Chicago after the game Sunday.

La Russa, 77, has undergone medical tests in Phoenix and has missed the Sox’ last 12 games.

In his absence, the Sox are 9-3 with bench coach Miguel Cairo serving as acting manager after their 10-2 rout of the Athletics on Saturday and enjoying their best stretch of a disappointing season.

“As far as winning percentages, he’s the winningest manager in White Sox history, right?” closer Liam Hendriks noted with a grin after the Sox scored five runs in the ninth inning Friday to defeat the struggling A’s in perhaps the most riveting win of the season.

While La Russa hopes to return, and it remains to be seen if he’ll get clearance to jump into the high-stress work of running a baseball team during a September pennant race, he also is conscious about disrupting a good thing.

“I’m sure looking from the outside, it’s tough to ignore,” third-base coach Joe McEwing said, “that we’ve been playing extremely well, that we’ve been playing as a unit, playing with energy. And every day, we’re coming to the ballpark expecting to win.”

The Sox are enjoying a good thing, and while it has as much to do with hitting more homers, scoring more runs and getting good pitching, there’s no getting around the different vibe with the upbeat Cairo at the helm.

“It’s a combination of all of it,” McEwing said. “It definitely helps that you’re winning, a snowball effect where you start believing as a team, believing individually, and you don’t want to let anyone down. We’re playing extremely well. The energy has been there day in and day out.”

“We want Tony to get better and healthy and make sure we’re firing on all cylinders,” Hendriks said after the team’s 5-3 comeback victory Friday night, “but Miggy stepped up admirably into that role.”

Players also have stepped up since a team meeting held shortly after La Russa departed. More accountability and challenging each other, Hendriks said, have come into play. The coaching staff, meanwhile, is working cohesively, Cairo said.

Cairo said he doesn’t know how much longer things will remain as is.

“I’m managing today,” he said. “Tomorrow is another day. I just go day by day.”

La Russa was getting ready to manage the Sox’ game against the Royals on Aug. 30 in Chicago when he was instructed by doctors not to.

After a medical evaluation the next day in Chicago, he went to Arizona for tests ordered by his personal physicians.

Cairo and McEwing were encouraged to know La Russa is well enough to allow him to be in Oakland on Sunday. He is expected to talk with media.

“He’s flying today, and I’m excited to see him and to hear that everything is well and he’s healthy,” Cairo said. “So looking forward to seeing him. I’ve been with him for two years, so I’m excited to see him, and I know the team is excited to see him.”

“It’s definitely a positive, and [his health is] what’s on our minds,” McEwing said.

La Russa managed the A’s from 1986 to 1995. A number of his former A’s players will attend the ceremony Sunday, which was planned for when the Sox played the A’s.

“Just knowing he’s healthy is amazing,” Andrew Vaughn said. “It’s always scary when health issues happen. Just glad to have him back.”