There has been a lot of discussion here and elsewhere about the ongoing Tony La Russa – Colby Rasmus saga.
Some believe the manager has not adapted to the younger player of today like Rasmus. Others, like former catcher and current team employee Mike Matheny, label La Russa as difficult for many to work for, including veterans, while still praising the skipper.
One apparent issue with Rasmus in 2010 was inconsistency. Like every aspect of the subject, there are multiple dimensions.
The player led his team in strikeouts and went through several periods during which he looked lost at the plate and performed in a sub-par manner in the outfield. The manager moved Rasmus all over the lineup and did not play him every day until the trade issue came to a head in late August.
That trade request was clearly a polarizing issue. Some believed Rasmus was spoiled, lacked toughness and should have remained quiet. Others questioned why the information was aired publicly and wondered why the clubhouse environment fostered by the manager appeared unwelcoming.
It is currently unknown if La Russa and Rasmus will be together as manager and player for the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals, but if so, I wonder if the season previews will read like the following from one decade ago.
I ran across the 2001 Cardinals outlook from Sports Illustrated. Here is what it said about the team’s talented young outfielder, a former first-round selection.
“Is this the year Tony La Russa finally lets xxx xxx play everyday? xxx has averaged only 387 at-bats in his two full major league seasons. At 25, this could be the year xxx lives up to the hype that has followed him for his entire pro career.”
Of course, Mr. X is none other than J.D. Drew, then at the same point in his career as is Rasmus today.
For the record, Rasmus has averaged 469 at-bats over his two seasons to-date and will not turn 25 years of age until next August. Still, I found the ten-year-old comment striking.
Following that quoted article, Drew played three more injury-plagued years with the Cardinals. In Buzz Bissinger’s “Three Nights in August,” La Russa was quoted as questioning Drew’s commitment and passion for the game.
As many Cardinals fans know, Drew was dealt to the Atlanta Braves with one season remaining prior to free agency, in December 2003. Among those going to St. Louis was now-ace Adam Wainwright, a core member of the team ever since 2006.
Will Rasmus become the next Cardinals long-term homegrown star or be cashed out with the hope of acquiring another Wainwright? Time will tell.
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Supposedly Rasmus and TLR have worked out their differences.Talent wise and economics wise the Cards want Rasmus to be a fixture IMO.
I also think if the Cards get a cost effective trade offer where the team feels it can upgrade in a couple of positions (young starting pitcher and a position player) why not consider it?
Are there examples of a stormy relationship between Tony and a player where they in fact worked out their differences and went on to work together successfully?
Edmonds? I don’t know. I do suspect that the relationships that ended badly received the vast majority of the press.
Edmonds maybe. But then, he was snubbed after basically throwing himself at Mo’s feet last winter.
If Tony and Colby did not work things out, I would expect all the same people to say all the same things as were said, so who knows. But I think it is the kind of thing that doesn’t happen. At best, they agreed to put up with each other in some fashion for one more year, probably at Mo’s urging.
I am not a J D Drew fan, but I will say this. Buzz Bissinger does not seem a reliable source about anything, based on some garbage he wrote this past summer. And TLR has lauded men for playing with pain when they should be resting or getting operations. So if J D likes to take an offday after he gets shaken up, it doesn’t bother me.
bling, in 30 years of managing, I bet TLR has exchanged views with lots of players. For the most part, these relationships have worked out. Ozzie Smith is one example of a situation that did not work out, but Ozzie was proud and could not accustom himself to a supporting role. TLR also had a bad break with Scott Rolen, but Scott manned up this year and patched things up.
To become a good ML player, you have to have backbone. Colby has a bunch of backbone. That’s ok. Tony is stubborn too. They should be able to work things out, in due course.
Hopefully, ‘in due course’ doesn’t mean years later when he is playing for a rival or looking for a job at 40.
On another note, it would be a hoot if Brendan wins the gold glove.
Brendan Ryan is a useful example. TLR chewed him out as a rookie. Now Brendan is in the lineup, no matter how awful his batting.
Ref Jumbo comment #5, I agree that Pulitzer Prize-winning author Bissinger has been very bizarre via Twitter (though surprisingly quiet lately). However, I do not believe for one second that he misquoted TLR or misunderstood his view of Drew back in 2003. The manager was hardly the only one frustrated by Drew’s many occurrences of what TLR calls “owies”. My old partner Ray Mileur had a special bottle of Pepto-Bismol that he entitled “Drew Brew.”
Ref bb comment #4, Edmonds was snubbed for a good reason. I thought it was a good move not to bring him back – that is until they added Randy Winn instead! The only advantage Winn had was no baggage.
Ref Jumbo comment #8, TLR tried to give the SS job to Greene mid-season. He just didn’t play well enough to keep it.
All we know is he was snubbed, and how it was spun. If he had been brought back, it would be the kind of example I’m looking for, of Tony and a player making up, and going on to work together harmoniously.
Perhaps Flip Lopez? I don’t remember if he and Tony were on the outs when he left last time. For that matter, I’m not sure how harmonious their relationship was this year. If Flip would be the best example, then I’d say the chances are slim that the Tony/Colby make-up is real.
Brian, that wasn’t the only shabby treatment Brendan recieved during the course of his GG calibre season.
Ref Brian, Mo has been on TLR to use Greene. Mo also explored trading Ryan to Houston toward Oswalt, it has been rumored. I figure TLR used Greene a few games to placate Mo, then argued they had to settle on one of the two, because they needed another pitcher.
Its interesting how bling wanted to send Rasmus to AAA at one point this past season, but now thinks TLR should fawn over him.
bb, ref #12, way back Rickey Henderson, but Rickey was tough on many managers.
Ref #13, in all fairness, as late as July 28, Ryan’s batting average was below the Mendoza Line.
In July, Greene appeared in 18 games, 14 starts. His line was .286/.400/.429. If his glove had been steady….
Colby snapped out of a funk right after the AAA comment.
Henderson too long ago, doesn’t count. Tony was probably nice to reporters back then too.
Good night folks, maybe Tony will get off the pot tomorrow.
If Greene had an OPS of 829 during July, which I did not know, his demotion was arguably a contributing part of August’s offensive swoon.
During August, we had Pedro Feliz (because Freese was reinjured), Felipe Lopez, Molina, and Ryan playing a lot, with Rasmus out with an injury. The only productive hitters were Pujols and Holliday, with Jay or Schumaker or Winn sometimes contributing.
It seems like we ended up with a team shaped by TLR’s preferences — no Greene, no Craig, little use of Anderson after LaRue’s injury, and little offense.
If Greene had a July OPS of 829, I am not so sure he played himself down to Memphis. TLR chose Ryan, Feliz, Miles, and the dreadful MacDougle over the potential for more offense (Greene, Craig, Anderson). TLR’s choice did not work out.
Nah, I just made up the numbers to spice up the discussion…
Greene does not have the range that Ryan has. His offense is streaky and Ryan may improve a year from his wrist surgery. He should be given at least another year before being thrown under the bus.
Today is ten days. Mo wanted an answer in the week to ten days time frame. So is Tony tweaking Mo’s nose, or is he waiting for Alderson to get hired and offer him a job?
A couple interesting tidbits in the paper today. Penny didn’t sit for the team picture last month. And Zach Cox is actually a second baseman. Both of those got an eyebrow raise out of me.
Also in the paper, it was Luhnow who thought Wallace could play 3B in the bigs. Ouch.
Good point crdswmn. Greene showed less than Ryan, offensively and defensively. And besides, gold glovers don’t usually get thrown under the bus. Of course, they don’t usually get stared down either.
The Cards accomplished with Brett Wallace what they wanted. They looked for a collegiate star near the majors and were able to cash in the chip in a trade. The As had the preceding pick and took a 2nd baseman, Weeks’ kid brother. Within a few months, the As scouting director was regretting letting Wallace slide to the Cards. The As traded for Wallace and got to look at him at 3B, where they needed help. They elected to trade him to Toronto. Now Brett is the pride of the Astros, the new Berkman. Come next season, Strohs fans are going to want better production from him.
TLR will tweak the Cards a little, for reasons best known to Tony, but he will need to commit to another year soon, because the Cards are tweaking him right back and everybody is replaceable.