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Anger, injuries and La Russa's futurePosted Monday, July 23, 2007, at 8:11 AM
Stop me if you've heard this one before. St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa is angry over media reports. This time, the skipper was "irritated by media descriptions of the club's treatment of injured players."
It doesn't take a genius to solve this riddle. On Sunday, Bernie Miklasz wondered aloud about the Cardinals handling of injuries to Scott Rolen, Mark Mulder and Chris Carpenter over the past few seasons. I thought it struck the right tone, raising some questions and asking for answers. Nothing controversial there. Read it and judge for yourself. Here's the really interesting part of this. The Cardinals manager either arranged to have a copy of the Sunday paper sent overnight to Atlanta or he spent part of his day surfing the Internet for imaginary enemies. The man who calls Bobby Knight a close friend has shown to be hypersensitive to media critiques this year. Just last week, he lashed out at a reporter who dared to question why Albert Pujols got a late break out of the batters' box on a ball hit to shortstop. And don't forget his two major blow-ups this year. One of his first statements after the death of Josh Hancock was to threaten reporters with a fungo bat if he witnessed any insincerity in their coverage. That was followed by his silly tantrum over a tongue-in-cheek article aimed at the Chicago Cubs. Bitter, angry and paranoid is no way to go through life. Seemingly every day, there's a different angle on the implosion of the Cardinals. When Tony's not busy adding to his enemies list, there are stories about "underappreciated" Walt Jocketty or if/when Tony will decide his future in St. Louis. This is more than just a story of a team that's battling injuries and struggling to reach .500. It's about an organization that has a crisis in confidence at the top -- and for good reason. When it comes to free-agent signings and contract extensions, they've been wrong at just about every turn since winning the World Series.
There you have it -- the five biggest offseason contracts engineered by the front office. Some smaller deals, such as signing pitcher Ryan Franklin and re-signing Scott Spiezio, have proved to be solid moves, but a two for seven performance is just not good enough, especially when the big money is factored in. La Russa and Jocketty have had a marvelous run in St. Louis. We can all admire and appreciate what they've accomplished. But all good things must end. I wish them luck in 2008. But I hope it's not in St. Louis. The sooner the Cardinals reach closure on their management issues, the better off everyone will be. It's time to turn the page. Comments Showing most recent comments first [Show in chronological order instead] |
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I think Bobby Cox is a great manager and this a little off of the subject but did anyone notice when he fell asleep for a moment during Sunday nights game.
Larussa ticks me off with some of his moves, but Torre a better manager? Have you forgotten who was here before Larussa? Anyone could be a good manager with a $300M payroll. Bobby Cox a better manager? He can't win the big games. Leland I must agree is close.
Maybe this has already been said, but it seems clear from DeWitt's comments that he wants La Russa back. The question is whether La Russa wants to return. He'll probably want a commitment from DeWitt that the team will not use 2008 to rebuild for 2009. This will mean, among other things, that the team will have to spend big money or trade prospects for 2008 pitching. I'm not sure how far the team will go in that regard.
If we need a new manager, Oquendo will definitely be a finalist. He's Pujols choice. Some have expressed that this could be a problem--that Pujols would end up making too many decisions. And there is also a concern that other players are too buddy-buddy with Oquendo, which could compromise him as a manager.
Terry Pendleton's name has come up.
Pendleton and Oquendo might be good choices, but they have little experience as a manager. Oquendo managed the Cardinals' Class A team for a short season in the late '90s. I don't think Pendleton has any managerial experience.
A guy who would also be interviewed is Pop Warner, the young but highly respected manager at Springfield. He is a favorite of many in the organization and has done an excellent job with a very young AA squad. Since the youth movement will soon be underway, he will receive serious consideration.
Replace La Russa? Oquendo might be the most likely. He's served his dues as 3B coach for quite a few years and has a touch of managerial experience leading the Puerto Rico national team. As manager he would be a huge plus in recruiting and communicating with the Latino players. And heck how many managers have major league experience at all nine positions?
There are some other strong candidates floating around too. My favorite dark horse manager is Cito Gaston. In 9 seasons as a manager he won 2 World Series, reached 2 other ALCS and did it all in a division with Boston & New York. Sure he hasn't managed in 10 years but he's got a great track records and he's still no older than guys like Cox & Leyland.
Question comes down to this: who could possibly replace TLR? We may want to give some of these young coaches a break, but when it comes to the end of the day, we all would sleep better if we had a proven winner at hand.
I am sure Luhnow (GM of 2008 season) is moving towards developing young talent. Mainly so DeWitt can have more money. But I prefer a team that utilizes veterans. It is a proven success. With rookies, you get a huge question mark. It is hard to stand behind that.
Be careful about what one wishes for. LaRussa manages a solid game, and expects his players to act like grown men. The latest flap with Rolen is mindboggling, not because of anything LaRussa has done, but because Rolen proves again to have a stupid level of stubborness. Unless there's something more to this story, I can't fault LaRussa for this one. As for comparing him to Torre, Leyland, etc., certainly, Tony is right in there as one of the top five. And that, as I said early, isn't easily replaced. Anyone else would be a decision on faith.
I would make a multi-player trade and give up mattstl, hugh m beam, TheCamp, and simple for whitey11 and FalconMan67
I think we can agree that larussa the the best manager ever in stl to have this many haters. Just look at all the comments on this site, especially the admins.
LaRussa is a very good manager, there is no doubt about that. I would maybe concede that Torre isnt better, but if he isnt, he is very close. You cannot tell me that Cox isnt better though. The guy is a legend. No I am not a Braves fan. Infact I cant stand the braves, but he is really good.
At this stage in the career, I would even say Eric Wedge and Mike Soccia are doing a better job than LaRussa. I dont know if they will have as much success as LaRussa at the end of their career, but I would with out a doubt pick them over LaRussa for my team.
Leyland maybe. But Torre and Cox are definitely no better than LaRussa. Really, LaRussa probably needs to move on at this point with all that has happened this year, but you cannot take away from what he has contributed during his tenure. The Cardinals are definitely better off that he has managed the last several years.
We've all been hoping for 5outta7 since April!
Here's a suggestion. Let's review this question 'next' Monday. This week let's drop the negitive and put all of our postitive karma with the Cardinals and let Tony manage the team he has. I'm hoping for at least five wins out of the seven games.
The Cardinal ownership is not perfect but you cannot deny the improvements they have made to baseball in St. Louis over the past 12 years. Sure, they are making money hand over fist but this is a business whether we like it or not. The payroll is more than enough to field a competitive team. LaRussa and Jocketty have also been great for St. Louis but the ownership is committed to developing young players so we don't have to pay $4M for average or worse pitchers like Kip Wells. My main problem with Tony is that he doesn't have the patience to develop those type of players.
That's exactly right. The organization is clearly moving toward developing more homegrown talent. Unfortunately, most of it is still a few years away, but it is coming. La Russa's better suited to manage a veteran club - another reason why a different manager would be a better fit in St. Louis.
Bobby Cox is a pretty good manager. Leyland is up there as well.
Torre is only good because of the players he has to manage.
3 managers better:
1. Bobby Cox
2. Joe Torre
3. Jim Leyland
There are more than 3, but these were the first that came to mind.
Cheap ownership is prevalent in the "blockbuster" signing of the All Star Kip Wells!
Family members make mistakes...
Give me three managers that are better than TLR... that are active.
Constant riding by Big Boy Miklasz is ridiculous. If the media wants to play it tough with TLR, then they will need to take it whenever he lashes out. It is a two way street.
And I can remember the days when not re-signing or acquiring the five that didn't work out so well (so far...) added up to "cheap ownership". Like the old saying goes, hindsight is usually 20/20...
TLR has no right to be bitter about the media covering his every move. Celebrities, and that includes pro athletes, thrive on media coverage and they know, or should know, that such coverage is what keeps their sport in the public eye and increases ticket sales. If you want the coverage in good times, you've got to take it in bad as well.
As for the players being his "family". Well, he certainly didn't treat family member Albert very well at the All-Star game, did he?
I don't know if TLR is the best manager in the game or not. I think he's arrogant and makes bonehead moves.
If the stress is so horrible for this close friend of Bobby Knight (how's that for a character endorsement), why doesn't he practice what he preaches -- meditate!
It is time to turn the page. We need new owners. TLR and Jocketty are working with what they were given. DeWitt can't expect to build another championship caliber team if he keeps playing chicken with the trades.
As for TLR, wouldn't you bitter if the media constantly questioned your every move?
Wouldn't you suspect the media of being insensitive about Honacock's death after dealing with the DUI fiasco in Flordia?
Wouldn't you be protective of these players that are under-performing? Especially when they are literally your family for 9 months out of the year.
Cut the guy some slack. He IS the best coach in baseball...you can't deny that!
Bernie has had a history of opening his mouth and spewing nothing but garbage. He makes some points but he is there mainly as a feather ruffler. Sure he can tout himself as trying to keep the management on their toes. It is extremely easy to sit back and through darts at the team.
Again, if Jocketty, TLR, and Duncan take off, then who could fill those shoes? Baker...that would be a riot! Maybe we can get Sweet Lou after he gets fired from the Cubs in September (Bernie would love that!)? Sure we could have Girardi come in with his two years of experience.
If anyone, we should give Oquendo or Matheny a chance. They would be cheap and would play into the hands of the new GM Luhnow (whom Bernie says is not in line to take Jocketty's job).