One such occurrence was in the Cardinals system. On Friday night, Springfield manager Mike Shildt sent his struggling Double-A club onto the field at Northwest Arkansas in an attempt to break a nine-game road losing streak. It didn’t go well for the team or its skipper.

Following the ejection of the Cards’ first-year manager as the result of a balls-and-strikes argument with Texas League umpire Matt Benham, Shildt began to walk away. Then he chose to put an explanation point on the matter when he threw aside his protective helmet, worn when coaching third base.

Unfortunately, the airborne helmet hit the umpire in the head. The video tends to indicate that the result was unintended.

An embarrassed Shildt did not appeal his three-game suspension and began serving it immediately. In his first game away on Saturday night, the Cardinals broke their unenviable franchise-record road losing streak, which had grown to 10 games.

On Tuesday, Brett Lawrie of the Toronto Blue Jays had a comparable event set off by frustration over a pair of questionable calls in the ninth inning of his team’s loss to Tampa Bay.

After striking out on back-to-back pitches that appeared to be out of the strike zone, Toronto’s second-year third baseman reacted by screaming into the face of home-plate umpire Bill Miller. That was not surprising.

Lawrie didn’t stop there, though. When he slammed his helmet into the ground, it bounced up and hit Miller in the hip, which certainly will result in a suspension from Major League Baseball. The only question is how many games he will sit.

ESPN’s Keith Law, coincidentally a former Blue Jays employee, tweeted this reaction:

“The solution is not to suspend Brett Lawrie for ten or twenty games. The solution is to get the damn calls right.”

In an ideal world, that is of course the optimal solution. Here in the real world, however, that is entirely unrealistic. Improving umpiring quality is a worthy goal, but eliminating disagreements is impossible.

Frustration with umpiring is a long-standing part of the game, but so is the “hands-off” policy. No matter how “right” they might be, coaches and players, young and old, need to remain on the other side of that line at all times.

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I thought the Cardinals did a good job in organizing and executing the pre-game festivities. Still, I have carried this nagging question about the timing of the event itself.

There is a reason the National Baseball Hall of Fame and other comparable career-honoring entities have a five-year waiting period before individuals can be considered for inclusion. That allows ample time for reflection and avoids the risk of emotional decisions that are later regretted. Of course, number retirement decisions are solely under team ownership control.

In an editorial this weekend, writer and friend Rob Rains reminded readers of the Ken Boyer case. The former team captain with the undistinguished and short managerial record passed away at the too-young age of 51 in 1982. The club moved swiftly to retire the Missouri native’s number 14, a decision that does not feel like it is standing the test of time.

In my view, that was the worst of both worlds, a quick move that was not clearly warranted, done after the individual had already passed away.

In La Russa’s case, there seems no doubt that his Cardinals legacy will remain strong. Perhaps holding the ceremony just one month into the next season following his retirement was considered a way to gain closure from a long, but sometimes complicated relationship.

La Russa’s on-field successes with St. Louis were many. Even so, there seemed no willingness on either side to continue the partnership in the front-office role that La Russa appears to be seeking for his post-managerial employment.

Other than a recent scare with shingles, La Russa seems healthy and strong. Yet he is now 67 years of age and says his managing days are done. Perhaps holding this celebration when it could be fully enjoyed by all was the right thing to do.

I was set to leave it at that… until I read and fully considered the ramifications of the close of Rains’ article.

The writer calls for a companion move to La Russa’s number retirement, specifically to:

“… put “Pujols 5” next to him in the not-too-distant future.”

I see and understand how and why some rail at the negative backlash directed toward Albert Pujols in recent months over his departure from St. Louis and his early struggles with the Angels. I find heaping portions of the criticism distasteful and uncalled for.

Further, there is no doubt that the Cardinals legacies of the manager and the man he calls “the best player I’ve ever managed” are forever intertwined.

On the other hand, even thinking about retiring Pujols’ number at this point – midway through his time as an active player – seems an over-reactionary swing in the opposite direction from the current negativism. It could be just as out-of-place as the Boyer decision we both seriously question, albeit for different reasons.

In his defense, Rob does not define “not-too-distant,” which puts this in a gray area. Still, I don’t agree, no matter how liberally one interprets the term. My view of the right time for such a discussion is five years after Pujols retires, same as his Hall of Fame qualification.

Assuming the first baseman fulfills his current contract, the date would be no sooner than following the 2026 season. Many, many years should still remain to look back and celebrate Pujols’ many accomplishments while wearing the Cardinals uniform. He would still be in his mid 40’s and only part-way through his Angels personal services contract.

In my book, a minimum of 15 years into the future is clearly “distant”, not “not-too-distant,” a very important differentiation. To help emphasize 15 years in Albert Pujols context, consider this. 15 years ago, Pujols was just 17 years of age, playing high school ball in the Kansas City area.

Over the next decade and a half, Pujols and the Cardinals will be in direct conflict, each trying to win the World Series. It certainly isn’t inconceivable to envision them meeting on the field over the ultimate prize at some point in the upcoming years.

In conclusion, there seemed good reasons for a rapid closure of the La Russa era, but there should be no comparable sense of urgency to make such move to honor Pujols.

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We may have received the answer on Wednesday evening when several media outlets identified what La Russa’s next job may be. It would be quite a step up as he may be the president-in-waiting of the Los Angeles Dodgers – if hedge-fund billionaire Steve Cohen is selected as the winning bidder.

The LA Times has a different view, noting that La Russa and Cohen met last week in Arizona, but suggesting that agent Arn Tellem would be team president with La Russa potentially in charge of baseball operations.

Among the many additional details mentioned in this USA Today article by Bob Nightengale is a belief that La Russa has no interest in becoming a general manager. The Nightengale piece is one of the sources suggesting team president would be TLR’s new gig. After all, isn’t being in charge of baseball operations just is a fancy term for GM?

Speculation earlier in the winter was that La Russa was Selig’s preference to replace Major League Baseball vice president Joe Torre, but later La Russa apparently passed. Ironically, ex-Dodgers manager Torre resigned from MLB to participate in another group bidding to purchase the team, one that has since been eliminated from consideration.

In fact, the original 23 bidders for the Dodgers have been narrowed down to just four. Along with Cohen, Rams owner Stan Kroenke is one of them.

Outgoing owner Frank McCourt will select the winner next month once MLB owners approve the finalists next week.

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Among panelists analyzing the top five trades in New York history are none other than agent Scott Boras and retired St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa.  The moderator is former Mets catcher Fran Healy and author Dave Kaplan also participates.

No word on whether Boras and La Russa will be packing information binders. The agent is known for thick dossiers selling the virtues of his free agents, while La Russa relied on Dave Duncan and his binders stuffed with pitching and hitting information for over three decades.

Sadly, one of the featured trades during the special involved the Cardinals, that being Keith Hernandez’ acquisition by the Mets in 1983. Back in 2006, I ranked the trade, in which the Cardinals received pitchers Neil Allen and Rick Ownbey, as the second-worst deal made by St. Louis in the last 40 years.

The series continues for seven additional nights through Sunday, March 18 with these subjects: “Mets Best Trades, “Yankees Best Trades,” “Worst Trades – Yankees and Mets,” “Yankees Best Free Agent,” “Mets Best Free Agent,” Yankees Worst Free Agent,” and “Mets Worst Free Agent.” The final episode will feature the panel discussing the current state of the game.

Full schedule details (all times Eastern).

* Sunday, March 11: “Mets Best Trades” (10:00 p.m.)
* Monday, March 12: “Yankees Best Trades” (11:00 p.m.)
* Tuesday, March 13: “Worst Trades – Mets & Yankees (10:30 p.m.)
* Wednesday, March 14: “Yankees Best Free Agent” (10:30 p.m.)
* Thursday, March 15: “Mets Best Free Agent” (10:00 p.m.)
* Friday, March 16: “Yankees Worst Free Agent” (10:30 p.m.)
* Saturday, March 17: “Mets Worst Free Agent” (10:00 p.m.)
* Sunday, March 18: “The State of Baseball” (9:30 p.m.)

Check out the following preview of the first episode.

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Schoendienst led the 1967 Cardinals to the title and he was inducted into the Hall in 1989. Herzog’s 1982 club won the World Series while he joined the Hall in 2010. La Russa’s St. Louis teams took it all in 2006 and 2011. Along with the three legends, the World Series trophy will be on hand.

The Hall of Fame Awards Presentation honors the recipients of the Museum’s broadcasting and baseball writing awards. Tim McCarver is the 2012 Ford C. Frick Award winner for excellence in baseball broadcasting, and Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun will be given the 2012 J.G. Taylor Spink Award from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

When Cardinals fans visit Cooperstown this year, there is also a special exhibit to catch. Several items from the Cardinals’ seven-game Series victory are included in the Autumn Glory World Series-focused exhibit. They include the bat used by David Freese to hit the Game Six walk-off home run and his jersey shredded by his teammates; a jersey worn by Chris Carpenter in the Series, spikes worn by Albert Pujols in Game Three of the World Series; and other objects paying tribute to the Fall Classic. The Cardinals exhibit will be on display through the 2012 postseason.

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After being acquired from the New York Mets while still just 21 years of age in 1985, the “Secret Weapon” became a fixture over ten seasons of play with St. Louis, including two pennant-winning campaigns. Upon retiring from his middle infield duties at the tender age of 32, Oquendo remained with the organization. He seamlessly moved into coaching in the minor leagues, culminating with one year as a manager. That was in 1998 in the New York-Penn League.

1999 marked Oquendo’s first coaching job in St. Louis as he became the bench coach under manager Tony La Russa. The bench coach job is often thought of as the unofficial assistant manager and a logical launching pad into consideration for the top uniformed job with one of the 30 MLB clubs. At the time, Oquendo was only 35 years of age and his star seemed on the rise.

Instead, after just one season in the role, Oquendo moved into the third base coaching box, where he remains today, 13 years later. He was replaced as bench coach by Mark DeJohn. I had always wondered why. Not that third base is a bad job, but it seemed a sideways move at best.

As relayed through a recent article penned by Rick Hummel of the Post-Dispatch, Oquendo answered my long-standing question.

Oquendo admitted that being La Russa’s bench coach was too stressful for him.

“That’s why I moved,” to third base, Oquendo told Hummel. “When I first got here and he had me as his bench coach, he started screaming and yelling and I said, ‘I can’t take this. I’m going to pop a (blood) vessel. I’ve got to move away so I can relax.”’

Oquendo’s candor is refreshing as well as a bit surprising. Granted, 1999 was a long time ago. He has had time to grow since. In fact, before being among those interviewed to replace La Russa last fall, he had been in the running for the top job with San Diego, Seattle and the Mets in recent years as well as managing Team Puerto Rico in several international competitions.

Still, Oquendo acknowledging that he was once uncomfortable with the pressures of being a bench coach does not feel like a positive in terms of evaluating his competitiveness as a potential manager.

The man who had been Cardinals bench coach over the last decade, Joe Pettini, was recently quoted about his time in the role in an article from Houston’s MLB.com beatwriter Brian McTaggart. For Pettini, being La Russa’s deputy often felt like traveling down a one-way street.

“Tony is a Hall of Fame manager and he was great to work for, but as the bench coach for Tony, sometimes you’re limited in what you have to do,” Pettini said. “It’s not like you can ask questions or ask for his input throughout the game…”

Just as he did for 10 years as St. Louis’ bench coach, Pettini is managing the Astros spring training camp.

“I’m going to be in charge of outlining the schedule,” Pettini said recently. “It’s still Brad’s program (Houston manager Brad Mills) and his way he wants things to be done, and my job will be to help outline it and make sure the schedules go up and the meetings run smoothly and everybody knows what’s going on and everybody is on the same page.”

Though Oquendo was one of the six finalists interviewed to replace La Russa, Mike Matheny received the assignment instead. Former assistant hitting coach Mike Aldrete was elevated to replace Pettini and serve as Matheny’s bench coach.

Oquendo made it clear to Hummel that he is very happy remaining in his familiar role at third base with St. Louis, providing a low-stress, on-field bridge from the Whitey Herzog era, through La Russa’s days and now into the Matheny years.

All things considered, it seems the best option for both the coach and his team.

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You can read the details, but suffice it to say that Quade, basically a one-year-and-out skipper, is painted as the anti-Robin Ventura and Mike Matheny. The new on-field leaders of the Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Cardinals, respectively, have yet to manage a game at any level professionally. Though both are former long-time Major League players, their media engagement level will now increase exponentially.

I have to wonder how Matheny will evolve in this area. By all indications, including my first up-close opportunity with him in his new role during the recent Winter Warm-Up, the former catcher is open and at-ease with the scribes. A man of faith, Matheny appears balanced with his priorities seemingly where they should be.

On the other hand, no games have yet been played. No losing streaks have been encountered. As has already been well documented, the Cardinals no longer employ the man generally considered the best player in baseball as well as perhaps the top pitching coach of all time. Coming off a World Series victory with a stacked roster, there seemingly could be no more pressure than already exists on the rookie manager to keep his club on the winning path.

When times were tough, Matheny’s predecessor Tony La Russa could be notoriously prickly with the media. This became evident to any and all observers via the manager’s required televised post-game interviews. At Busch Stadium, they are held in a spacious media room in which cameras are pre-set. On the road, the print and broadcast media cram into the visiting manager’s office.

Often, La Russa was either just heading into or coming out of the shower with almost no time to decompress. Having to answer some uncomfortable or perhaps ridiculous questions even a first time, let alone hearing them re-asked in a slightly re-worded manner over and over, led to frustrations boiling over on occasion.

The difference with La Russa is that long ago, his future Hall of Fame portfolio of accomplishments had been cemented. He had established such a solid track record of results that his rough edges were accepted almost without question. After all, what choice was there?

Though St. Louis is hardly a tough media town, Matheny’s reservoir of good will is nowhere near the level of his predecessor’s. When the chips are down – and at some point they surely will be – it will be interesting to see how both sides react.

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Making his St. Louis debut in 1945, the switch-hitting second baseman played 15 seasons with the Cardinals, including in the 1946 World Series. The 10-time National League All-Star also appeared in two more Series while with Milwaukee.

Red coached in St. Louis from 1961-64 and in 1965 began a 12-year run as Cardinals manager, exceeded in duration by only Tony La Russa. His clubs won the 1967 World Series and the NL pennant the following season. Red also served as interim manager in 1980 and 1990.

He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989 and his uniform was retired by the Cardinals in 1996. Red remains a special assistant to the general manager. When reporting to spring training next month, I am expecting to see number 2 in uniform with fungo bat in hand or heading between fields in a golf cart.

Today, February 2, Schoendienst celebrates his 89^th birthday. In recognition of a great Cardinals hero, I am sharing a dozen photographs of Red provided by the Cardinals Media Relations department. If you are interested, join in the discussion below to help identify and date some of the photos.

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Plans are being made for the 2011 Cardinals to head to Washington, D.C. following the conclusion of the weekend’s festivities one week from today, on Monday, January 16. The winner of the World Series is traditionally invited to the White House to meet The President of the United States. So it will be this year as Barack Obama will reportedly entertain the Cardinals the next day, Tuesday, January 17. (The date should be considered tentative until officially announced by the White House.)

Seven members of the club have already departed as free agents, including superstar Albert Pujols, along with since-retired manager Tony La Russa and three members of the Cardinals coaching staff who were not retained for 2012. La Russa is among those scheduled to return to St. Louis for the weekend.

Following the Cardinals’ exciting World Series victory over the Texas Rangers on October 28, Obama did not immediately make a celebratory phone call to the new champions. La Russa was the one to share that news with the media, a week later, on November 4. Much was made of that perceived snub by some.

The call eventually did come. It was on November 7, 10 days after the conclusion of the Series. At that time, The President extended his invitation to the team to visit 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Though the first-term Chief Executive reportedly did not call the 2009 champion New York Yankees, his call to the previous winner, the 2010 San Francisco Giants, was apparently made in a timely manner.

Former President George W. Bush, once a business partner of Cardinals Chairman and CEO Bill DeWitt Jr., welcomed the 2006 World Champion Cardinals to the White House on January 16, 2007. It is worth noting that was also the Tuesday following Winter Warm-Up.

Obama visited St. Louis on July 14, 2009, when he threw out the ceremonial first pitch for Major League Baseball’s 80th All-Star Game. He wore the jacket of his home-town favorite Chicago White Sox. (In the above photo, The President met Cardinals Hall of Famer Stan Musial, who 11 months ago, made his own trip to the White House to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.)

Update: Late Monday afternoon, the White House issued their official release. The Cardinals will be honored at 3:05 P.M. ET on Tuesday, January 17. Before the event, the Cardinals will visit Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to thank wounded service members for their service.

And here is the video of the ceremony, courtesy of The White House.

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In the process of searching for something, I sometimes come across unusual items completely unrelated to my immediate objective. Interest in the following photo knocked me off my original quest, at least temporarily.

It was taken by photographer-supreme Scott Rovak on July 10, 2007. Members of the defending World Champions were assembled during batting practice prior to the All-Star Game at AT&T Park in San Francisco. It was customary that the coaching staffs of the World Series teams from the previous year received all-star supporting duties for their respective leagues.

Despite having won it all the previous fall, the Cardinals had just one player selected to the 2007 All-Star Game, and he was a reserve. At the time, St. Louis was just 40-45. The club was already 7 ½ games out in the National League Central, en route to a sub-.500 record and a third-place showing.

What makes this photo so telling is that not a one of the seven Redbirds pictured – six coaches and one player – remains in his job today. The seven are (from left to right) bullpen coach Marty Mason, bench coach Joe Pettini, manager Tony La Russa, first baseman Albert Pujols, first base coach Dave McKay, bullpen catcher Jeff Murphy and pitching coach Dave Duncan.

Hitting coach Hal McRae, also now-long-gone, had been invited to the AT&T Park festivities as well, but is not pictured. He would have made it eight. Jose Oquendo was on the staff at that time as he is today, but was not included in this photo, either.

Mason was let go following the 2010 season amid concern that his criticism of the player development organization had been too vocal. He now works in the Chicago Cubs system. Pettini was ousted as bench coach following the 2011 season. Though it was announced he would have an undefined job in baseball operations in 2012, one would have to assume that Pettini is looking elsewhere. La Russa announced his retirement at the conclusion of the World Championship parade but expects to continue in baseball in an as-of-yet undefined role.

As the entire world knows by now, Pujols is a very wealthy new member of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and is expected to be for the next decade or more. McKay was dumped along with Pettini, but has since been hired as the Cubs’ first base coach by new manager Dale Sveum. Murphy was let go following the 2011 World Championship as well.

Duncan was the last to depart. He has been dealing with his wife’s serious health issues and is unable to return for the second year of a two-year contract (with a third-year option) signed last off-season. When his indefinite leave of absence was granted, the last survivor from this 2007 All-Star Game photo took off his Cardinals uniform.

At this point, it is unclear whether La Russa will manage at the 2012 All-Star Game despite having earned it as the leader of the 2011 National League champions. Even if he does, he may or may not attempt to get (at least part of) the old band back together. By now, they are pretty much scattered to the winds. (Update: On January 24, MLB commissioner Bud Selig announced that La Russa will manage in the 2012 Mid-Summer Classic.)

Of course, Pujols is the most likely one of the seven to actually be at the game, anyway. As a bonus, it is to be held in his adopted home town of Kansas City. In a potential once-in-a-lifetime oddity, the first baseman would be in the other dugout, trying to defeat La Russa, who was Pujols’ only manager over his entire 11-year MLB career to date.

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Note to readers: I wrote this post prior to year-end, obviously long before Thursday evening’s news that Dave Duncan is taking an indefinite leave of absence as Cardinals pitching coach. Rather than update this article, I decided to leave it in its original form. After all, the Duncan news is clearly a 2012 story.

This announcement has the potential of impacting several top stories beyond just number five. Depending on how and in what manner the team decides to replace Duncan, a Derek Lilliquist move would affect the bullpen, story number four, and potentially Mike Matheny’s first year as well (honorable mention).

First, we looked at the top 20 stories affecting the St. Louis Cardinals this past year. Not surprisingly, the list was dominated by the late- and post-season success of the club, along with the departures of the team’s manager and best player. Quite a lot to consume!

Now it is time for me to make my annual predictions for the top story lines of this New Year, as well.

Right up front, I will set aside the easiest and most logical entry – the results of the 2012 team on the field. The nature of that story has yet to be determined, shaped by the items discussed here and many more plot lines not yet developed.

As I compiled my list and rankings, I considered the staying power of the story, how long it might remain in the headlines as well as its potential short- and long-term impact – on the 2012 Cardinals and the organization’s future.

Without further ado, here are my projected top five St. Louis Cardinals stories of 2012. As always, your comments are welcome below.

1. Wainwright’s comeback

As most everyone knows, last spring, the Cardinals’ co-ace required season-ending Tommy John surgery to reconstruct the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow. Adam Wainwright is now working his way back and is said to be ahead of schedule – assumed by many to be poised to pick up right where he left off in 2010.

The bar is high as his most recent season included a career-best 20 wins and a second-place showing in the National League Cy Young Award voting. It remains to be seen how quickly the 30-year-old can live up to those lofty expectations, but it could be a major swing point for the 2012 Cardinals season.

The Cardinals have an interesting challenge with Wainwright’s contract situation. While his 2012 and 2013 options have been picked up, the time may be right to try to secure a new long-term deal – from a buy-low perspective. The price should only go up once Wainwright returns to his past dominance. Yet that is the very reason I question why the pitcher would consider negotiating a new contract now. He should be in the absolute prime of his career and can likely only expect more money later on.

2. Molina’s contract

Just as his friend and former teammate Albert Pujols held all the contract cards in his negotiations with the Cardinals, so does catcher Yadier Molina. The 29-year-old is entering the final year of his contract signed prior to the 2008 season and could decide to test free agency for the first time. As such, his situation is more pressing than Wainwright’s.

Coming off his best season offensively in 2011 and already considered the top defensive catcher in the game, Molina is positioned perfectly to score a big payday – if that is what the elite backstop desires.

Watching to see how closely Molina’s situation parallels Pujols’ and of course, what the end result will be, should be one of the most-talked about storylines of 2012.

3. Killer B’s reunion (sort of)

Put aside the fact that Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell are long gone from the game. The Cardinals have re-assembled the two remaining active members of the Houston Astros’ ‘Killer B’s’ from last decade.

Both Carlos Beltran, signed by the Cardinals to a two-year deal as a free agent in December, and Lance Berkman, back for a second year with St. Louis in 2012, are mid-30’s players with checkered health histories.

Likely to bat second and third in Mike Matheny’s lineup, the late-career productivity of the two should be a prime determiner of how far this season’s Cardinals will go.

Looking ahead 12 months, the player most affected by the second year of Beltran’s contract may be his old-new teammate Berkman. If Allen Craig continues to improve, Berkman may find himself pushed out of a job in 2013, as Matt Holliday carries a long-term contract. But, first things first.

4. Young bullpen

Even if veteran left-hander J.C. Romero makes the 2012 Cardinals’ opening day bullpen, the relief corps will be among the youngest, if not the youngest, in MLB. Barring any signings or trades between now and then, the other six members will all be under 30 years old. The pen should consist of some combination of Eduardo Sanchez (22), Lance Lynn (24), Marc Rzepczynski (25), Fernando Salas (26), Mitchell Boggs (27), Kyle McClellan (27) and Jason Motte (29).

Motte seems to have a hold on the closer’s job, but four of the others also picked up saves last season. The ability of this very young (and low-cost) bullpen to deliver consistent results may be a big story in this upcoming season.

5. Duncan’s future

Speaking of ensuring those relatively inexperienced pitchers contribute at the level expected, the man most responsible from a guidance perspective is the subject of my next top story prediction.

In my opinion, the key transitional figure between the La Russa and Matheny coaching administrations isn’t Jose Oquendo or Mark McGwire. It has to be pitching coach Dave Duncan. While the 66-year-old is under contract for 2012 and has a 2013 option, some combination of his wife’s poor health and the considerable changes occurring around him on the job could create unstable conditions regarding his future outlook.

Honorable mention: Matheny’s maiden voyage

In reality, the fortune of the new manager will most likely be intertwined with the on-field results of his club, a topic assumed to be among the top stories of the year by default.

Still, there is potential for newsworthiness in how Matheny personally deals with the inevitable ups and downs during his first year in a most pressure-filled job. Replacing a future Hall-of-Famer and leading the defending champion without baseball’s best player present formidable challenges to the new skipper.

Hopefully, his team will be the story, not him.

Link to The Cardinal Nation Blog’s top 20 stories of 2011 countdown

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In a press conference at Busch Stadium the morning after the World Series victory parade, the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals publicly announced his decision to retire after 16 years leading the club from its dugout.

The 67-year-old disclosed that he first told ownership and senior management that he was considering retirement in late August. La Russa had a difficult season physically, leaving the team for a period in May as he dealt with a painful outbreak of shingles.

La Russa executed one of his finest managerial performances in 2011, guiding the Redbirds from 10 ½ games back in the Wild Card race in late August. He dealt with a long series of player injuries and had to mix in a variety of new personnel during the season. The Cards reached the postseason for the ninth time during his tenure with the team and the second time in the past five seasons since the 2006 World Championship.

Overall, La Russa managed St. Louis to a franchise record 1,408 wins. He led the Cardinals to eight division titles (1996, 2000-02, 2004-06 and 2009), three National League pennants (2004, 2006 and 2011) and two World Championships (2006 and 2011).

To say La Russa was a fixture across the professional sports scene is an understatement. His 16 years of continuous service was tops among active managers/head coaches in the four major professional sports leagues. He seems a shoo-in for election to Baseball’s Hall of Fame when eligible in five years.

Under La Russa, the Cardinals finished above .500 in 13 of his 16 seasons. They recorded 105 wins in 2004 and 100 wins in 2005, making him just the second Cardinals manager to oversee two 100-win seasons. This year, La Russa became only the second manager to win two World Championships with the team, joining Billy Southworth (1942 and 1944).

In total, La Russa managed at the major league level for 33 years. He started with the Chicago White Sox in 1979, then moved to the Oakland A’s in 1986, with whom he won his first world title before joining St. Louis prior to the 1996 season. La Russa and Sparky Anderson are the only managers in history to have led both National and American League teams to World Series titles.

When La Russa retired, he ranked third on the MLB all-time games-managed list with 2,728. Many thought he would remain one more season to pass John McGraw, in second-place at 2,763, but that was not to be.

Going forward, La Russa has stated his intention to take a baseball-related job, but not managing. That way, he can remain in the game in which he has participated for the last half-century.

Link to The Cardinal Nation Blog’s top 20 stories of the year countdown

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That officially changed on October 31, following the club’s World Series celebration parade. Tony La Russa, the 16-year skipper of the Cardinals, stunned supporters of the team and the baseball world as a whole when he announced his retirement.

Mozeliak was not afforded a moment’s rest to smell the roses. Once the news was released externally, the decision, known by club executives since August, led to a two-week public search for the right man to try to fill La Russa’s shoes.

Many were likely considered for the managerial opening, though only six apparently received formal interviews. They were eventual winner Mike Matheny, third base coach Jose Oquendo, Triple-A Memphis manager Chris Maloney, Phillies Triple-A manager Ryne Sandberg, White Sox third base coach Joe McEwing and former Boston and Philadelphia manager Terry Francona. Of the six, only Francona had managed in the majors previously.

Matheny, 41, was a surprising choice to many. He had been a special assistant to  Mozeliak and an organizational catching instructor, but had no prior professional managerial experience.

Then again, was it really that surprising? After years of dealing with the strong-willed La Russa, who could cause headaches at times with his fiery demeanor, perhaps the Cardinals were looking for a different kind of personality.

Matheny had seemed like a longshot from a personal perspective as well as from the lack of experience angle. He previously expressed disinterest in taking a traditional coaching assignment that would keep him away from home and family. However, with his oldest children approaching college and perhaps with some personal financial setbacks contributing to his decision-making process, Matheny agreed to take the on-field reins of the Cardinals.

A 13-year major league veteran and four-time Gold Glove Award winner, Matheny was a strong leader and a very popular player with St. Louis from 2000-04. With Yadier Molina then ready to take over behind the plate, Matheny moved to San Francisco as a free agent. He was forced into early retirement in 2006 due to the effects of post-concussion syndrome.

To manage the Cardinals, Matheny received a two-year contract with a club option for 2014. A number of familiar faces will be among his coaches. Incumbent pitching guru Dave Duncan will remain for the final year of his own two-year contract.

Two of the men that competed against Matheny for the top job were announced as members of his staff. Oquendo will stay as third base coach while Maloney is the new first base coach. The latter replaces long-time La Russa staffer Dave McKay, since named to the same job for the Chicago Cubs.

Hitting coach Mark McGwire remains in his same role in 2012. Assistant hitting coach Mike Aldrete was promoted to bench coach, Joe Pettini’s former assignment. Former Cardinals first baseman John Mabry takes Aldrete’s old job.

Bullpen coach Derek Lilliquist returns for his second season in the role. He will be joined by a new bullpen catcher in Jamie Pogue. Previous bullpen catcher Jeff Murphy was not retained.

For so many reasons, the choice of Matheny and his staff has signaled the beginning of a new era in Cardinals baseball. Where it will lead remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure. The epicenter of organizational power has shifted from La Russa to Mozeliak, the man who engineered these changes. As such, Matheny’s job performance may become a major element of his boss’ career legacy as well.

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As 2011 unfolded, Rasmus’ highs seemed higher but his lows also appeared to be lower and more prolonged. For example, in the early going, the then-24-year-old endured a 116 at-bat streak without a long ball. The left-handed hitter batted .253 in May, fell to .213 in June and was .147 (5-for-34) in July when La Russa unloaded on the 10th.

The frustrated manager made it clear in an interview on KMOX Radio that his hitting coaches should not be held responsible for Rasmus’ troubles at the plate, suggesting the player’s outside assistance should be accountable. One of the final shots had been fired in a stormy relationship that began with Rasmus being taken 28^th overall in the 2005 draft.

Rasmus’ inconsistency also led to highs. He often flashed evidence of his talent, almost up until the end of his time with St. Louis. For example, Rasmus drove in six runs with a grand slam and a triple against the Giants on July 2. It tied for the third-best RBI game in the entire National League in 2011.

Over the previous three weeks, the centerfielder had a five-walk contest and another outing in which he had four hits, including a pair of triples. Yet in a perfect illustration of the overall slide, during the same time, Rasmus went hitless in 12 of 16 games as his batting average dropped more than 30 points.

He also seemed to have problems defensively, appearing tentative when running down or judging balls that were near the wall. His throwing was inconsistent at best, leading to calls from some for more playing time for Jon Jay.

On July 27, the Cardinals made a bold move, sending Rasmus to Toronto in an eight-player trade in which St. Louis was widely criticized by baseball observers. Many felt the Blue Jays scored a major coup, landing a blue-chip talent for spare parts.

The deal brought the Cardinals three pitchers, starter Edwin Jackson and relievers Octavio Dotel and Marc Rzepczynski, plus outfielder Corey Patterson along with cash. Along with Rasmus, relievers Brian Tallet and Trever Miller plus pitcher P.J. Walters headed north.

Most of those ‘parts’ seemed to be just what the Cardinals engine needed. The move helped shore up the Cardinals’ rotation and bullpen with the additional benefit of moving out a player who could apparently not coexist with La Russa. Some might argue as to which were the primary and secondary motivations of the trade.

The deal certainly proved to be a good move for St. Louis in the short term, as all three acquired pitchers contributed to St. Louis’ final-month playoff push and eventual World Championship.

Jackson moved into the rotation and pitched well in place of struggling Kyle McClellan, who had gone winless for more than two months. Rzepczynski took over as the primary bullpen lefty, a role he is expected to reprise in 2012. Dotel became a valuable set up man. Though Patterson was a bust, rookie Adron Chambers proved ready to step into the void.

Rasmus did not immediately improve his hitting after the trade. None of the three pitchers received by the Jays were still employed by their new organization by the end of the year, leaving the outfielder as Toronto’s remaining take from the deal.

On the other side, of the four then-new Cardinals, only Rzepczynski is still with St. Louis, the others becoming free agents. La Russa retired after the World Series. There are future considerations from the trade, as well. The Cards will receive a compensatory draft pick once Jackson signs elsewhere for 2012. They also picked up a draft choice for the loss of Dotel, who will pitch for Detroit next season.

Most importantly, flags fly forever. Many believe this trade was a key turning point in the eventual World Champions’ march to the top.

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One of five candidates interviewed but not selected, Oquendo was faced with a major career decision this week as a result. Should he remain with the organization that has been his only home in 15 years of coaching as well as his final ten years as a player or should he move on?

To their credit, Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak and Matheny made it clear during Monday’s managerial press conference that they hoped Oquendo would return in 2012.

The Puerto Rican native’s experience as third base coach and infield instructor, not to mention his Spanish-language skills, had clear value to the organization. So would be his continuity on Matheny’s new staff as the team’s second longest-serving coach after pitching master Dave Duncan.

Just after his interview with the Cardinals search committee last week, Oquendo said the following to the Post-Dispatch.

“This is home, If nothing works out, hopefully, I can stay around and coach here. Hopefully, they like what I’ve done in the past.

“Sometimes, a new (manager) might want to bring in a new guy to coach. I’ll have to wait and see what decision they make. If I’m not back, then I have to find another way to bring in income.”

Job security seemed an important objective.

By taking this approach, Oquendo may have given the Cardinals the easy way out. They did not have to name him manager to continue to benefit from his contributions. They could hire another manager and have the best of both worlds, which is of course precisely what they did.

Further, while Oquendo appeared happy to take the top job had it been offered, he did not create the impression that he was particularly aggressive in pursuing it and was overly concerned if he did not get it.

“If it’s not going to be me, I’m not going to be saying, ‘Why not? Why not me?’ If it happens, it happens,” he told the Post-Dispatch.

Oquendo, 48, lives in St. Louis County with his wife, four children and granddaughter and is apparently comfortable there. After a quarter of a century of work with the Cardinals, setting deep roots in the community is understandable, but it may not be the best career move to remain.

Though Oquendo had also been considered for managerial openings in San Diego, Seattle and with the New York Mets in recent years, he has reportedly never been offered the top uniformed job.

If he was primarily focused on becoming a major league manager, this would have been the time to thank the Cardinals for the good times and move on to another MLB staff to better position himself for a future managerial shot elsewhere.

By remaining, I think Oquendo has explicitly limited his future MLB managerial opportunities and indicated he is content playing a supporting, rather than a lead role.

After all, since the organization that knows him best chose not to give him the top job, would another club now seriously consider hiring him off the Cardinals staff? Previously, Oquendo had the mystique of being perceived by some as the one chosen and specially groomed to follow La Russa. Any benefit that provided him is now gone.

Of course, as long as Oquendo is comfortable with the ramifications of this week’s decisions made by the Cardinals and himself, the club should be the winner over the long haul.

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Here on 11/11/11, just days after the club won its 11^th World Championship, it seems only natural to acknowledge the longest holder of the number, Cardinals third base coach Jose Oquendo.

A versatile middle infielder, Oquendo was acquired from the Mets in 1985 and spent that season in Triple-A. With St. Louis, “The Secret Weapon” wore 11 from 1986 until his retirement as an active player. That occurred after he failed to make the team in Tony La Russa’s first spring training with St. Louis in 1996.

After two years coaching in the minor league system, Oquendo returned to St. Louis and his number 11 in 1999 as the team’s bench coach under La Russa. He moved to the third base coaching station the next season, where he has remained ever since.

Interestingly, three players wore 11 in between Oquendo’s two decade-long stints with St. Louis.

One of the most controversial players of La Russa’s early years with the Cardinals, shortstop Royce Clayton, picked up the number 11 in 1996. Incumbent Ozzie Smith took exception to how the manager handled the starting competition between himself and Clayton and continues to hold a grudge to this day. Clayton kept the number until his trade to Texas at the July 1998 deadline as part of the Fernando Tatis acquisition.

Tatis donned 11 briefly after the trade before assuming his more familiar number 23, which he picked up in a swap that season with reserve infielder Luis Ordaz. Oquendo reclaimed the number 11 from Ordaz upon his 1999 return.

Now held most famously by World Series MVP David Freese, 23 was also the number worn by Tito Francona as a reserve outfielder/first baseman with the 1965 and 1966 Cardinals. Tito is the father of current Cardinals managerial candidate Terry Francona (who sported number 47 as the Red Sox skipper).

If Oquendo, another of the six candidates to replace La Russa, does not get the top job, he may not be wearing his familiar number 11 for St. Louis in 2012 after 23 years. It remains to be seen if the son of a former number 23 would be the cause.

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Tony La Russa taped his spot on The Late Show with David Letterman in Manhattan on the afternoon of his retirement announcement, made in St. Louis that morning.

I found La Russa’s comment about taking things “a little personally” most interesting. A second clip follows as La Russa discusses the changing role of the bullpen.

World Series Most Valuable Player David Freese traveled west to appear on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. This interview is also in two parts.

Freese also made a guest appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres Show.

In case you missed the Country Music Awards on Wednesday evening, November 9, Freese was a co-presenter with ESPN’s Erin Andrews.

Coming soon: Entertainment Weekly reports that Freese will be a guest star on an episode of ABC’s new sitcom Work It, playing himself.

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The 2002 San Francisco Giants had the record previously, having made 62 pitching changes in 17 post-season games. The 2011 Rangers are not far behind with 58 changes – so far, with one or two World Series games remaining.

Most pitching changes, MLB post-season

Two of Monday night’s changes have caused much conversation. The first was the arrival of left-hander Marc Rzepczynski with one out in the eighth inning. Octavio Dotel departed with two on base after a leadoff double and intentional walk.

Left-handed batter David Murphy hit a ball up the middle that bounced off Scrabble’s knee for an infield single. In a surprise to some, La Russa kept Rzepczynski in to face hot-hitting Mike Napoli, a right-handed hitter. In the play that changed the game, Napoli crushed an offering that one-hopped the wall in right center. It scored what became the two winning runs in the 4-2 Texas victory.

After a strikeout, La Russa brought in right-hander Lance Lynn, whose only job was to intentionally walk Ian Kinsler and apparently buy more time for closer Jason Motte to get ready.

At least that is what I assumed, but there was an odd twist – two of them.

In his post-game interview, La Russa explained there was a reason Motte was not ready initially. A mix-up had occurred – twice. La Russa had actually wanted Motte and Rzepczynski warming, but only got the latter. Then he wanted Motte but got Lynn instead. Due to the crowd noise, the bullpen coaches did not hear and did not warm up the the closer as intended two consecutive times.

La Russa: Well, what happened was that twice the bullpen didn’t hear Motte’s name. They heard “Rzepczynski” and they didn’t get Motte. I looked up there and Motte wasn’t going. So I called back for Motte and they got Lynn up. That’s why he wasn’t supposed to pitch today, so I wasn’t going to let him throw that hitter. He just threw the warmups and walked him and Motte behind was ready. I don’t know if it was noisy, probably real noisy. They just didn’t hear the second time.

Q. Has that ever happened to you before where you had a call to the bullpen and guys didn’t hear you right?

La Russa: Yeah, well, sometimes real loud, especially when some of the bullpens that are right amidst the fans and excitement. It happens in Philadelphia. It’s hard to hear it there. So it’s not unusual. Maybe we need to come up with some ear mikes or something.

Q. Just to be clear, if Motte was ready, he would have faced Napoli?

La Russa: Yeah.

Q. So you had no choice at that point?

La Russa: He was warming up, so I said, “Get Motte up,” and they heard “Lynn”. But by the way, we had a chance with Rzepczynski’s stuff to get Napoli the first pitch, and then he put a nice swing on a breaking ball.

It was that kind of night for the Cardinals.

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In the early innings of Sunday night’s Game 2 of the National League Division Series from Philadelphia, viewers were shown the image of a visibly angry Tony La Russa stalking the St. Louis Cardinals dugout. The manager clearly did not like the strike zone being called by home plate umpire Jerry Meals.

In fact, La Russa made an unusual trip to the mound – likely to jaw at Meals, rather than offer wisdom to his struggling starter Chris Carpenter, going on short rest. The veteran skipper knew that was the best way to get his message across to the umpire given arguing balls and strikes is prohibited.

The obligatory in-game television interview followed shortly after, as the Cardinals were down 4-0. After having lost Game 1 as well, one could not expect the emotional La Russa to be wearing a happy face.

“I would add – which could get me in trouble, but I’m going to add anyway – is that we are pitching to two different strike zones,” La Russa said. “I guess for this club or any club, that’s an advantage you don’t want to give up.”

After the game, in which the Cardinals came back to win 5-4, La Russa was asked to explain further.

“Well, I don’t think there’s a manager around, coach, that doesn’t watch the game and think about how you want it to be,” La Russa said. “You know, we care. I care, our team cares, and it’s not a great comment to make, but I was upset.

“I’ve never had a problem with Jerry before, ever. The only thing I had a problem with – one of the things, you go out there, whatever the strike zone is, it makes no difference to us, we’ll adjust to it. That was my only point. He had to figure out what the strike zone was,” the manager concluded.

By the camera having been thrust upon him while he was still angry, La Russa was put on the spot. Because he spoke openly about his concern, he could end up being fined. Other repercussions are also possible, though more difficult to assess.

In the post-game show on TBS, former Cardinals closer Dennis Eckersley was very vocal in his view that La Russa was working the umpires and seemed to have been successful. Eck was neither surprised nor upset about it, and in fact, offered praise.

TBS analyst David Wells was less sure, wondering out loud if the umpires may take exception. Noting the arbiters do not like being shown up, the ex-Yankees pitching star wondered if they might remember this when calling Game 3 in St. Louis on Tuesday.

La Russa always takes these in-game interviews himself, in contrast to some managers. For example, on Sunday, Phillies skipper Charlie Manuel sent his pitching coach, Rich Dubee, in front of the camera instead.

But it doesn’t matter who it is, the La Russa episode is a reminder that interviews are best held before and after the game, rather than during the heat of battle.

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Some things have changed since the last time we’ve reviewed the situation. The man hug that reverberated around the baseball world earlier this season between free agent-to-be Albert Pujols and then-Cubs general manager Jim Hendry (see linked article below) lost its sizzle when the amazingly-resilient GM was finally sacked last month after nine high-spending but uneven years in the chair.

While it remains to be seen, some believe the Cubs’ new owners, the deep-pocketed Ricketts family of Ameritrade fame, will try to make a splash this winter.

One theory, presented by the Chicago Sun-Times and based on comments from a major league source, says the Cubs are considering the idea of getting the key members of the early-2000’s Cardinals band back together.

Specifically, the dominoes might fall in this order. First, Walt Jocketty is lured from Cincinnati to the North Side to replace Hendry. Then, Tony La Russa is hired to manage the lovable losers. The trifecta would be complete with the signing of Pujols to man first base for many years into the future.

Though the above scenario might have seemed ridiculous even a few months ago, it feels far less crazy today. All three gentlemen will be free agents after the season and each may have good reason to look elsewhere.

Further, the usually-guarded Jocketty made a series of very positive remarks to the Sun-Times about the Cubs as an organization, the resources available (traditionally, a division-leading payroll poorly spent) and the strength of the farm system. Perhaps it was in how the remarks were presented, but it appeared to go beyond the brief, polite but non-committal comments he might normally be expected to offer.

Couple that with the uncertainty of the Pujols contract situation and a perfect storm could develop this fall and winter. Of course, it would have to be considered low odds, but think of it this way. It probably is no less likely occurring than the 4.5 percent chance the current Cardinals have of reaching the playoffs, a hope to which many are valiantly clinging. The prospect of landing this triumvirate, however unlikely, could fuel renewed hope for Cubs fans, too.

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The target of legal action in California is Sandlot Venture Group, a partner of La Russa’s film company, Red Bird Cinema. Red Bird Cinema’s website calls the two firms’ interaction a “strategic relationship.”

According to the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal, three lenders filed an involuntary bankruptcy petition against Sandlot in San Jose (CA) Federal Court on August 8, in an attempt to liquidate the firm via Chapter 7. The creditors allegedly issued loans to Sandlot of at least $575,000.

Sandlot Venture Group is run by managing director Don Herman, a funds manager in Silicon Valley. His “Sandlot Fund I” was touted to prospective investors as “a $25M venture fund focused on the development, production and distribution of a portfolio of high potential film projects.”

Red Bird Cinema is a film production company founded in 2007, with its three founders listed as “producers.” They are businessman John Loar, actor Kevin Pollak and La Russa. Red Bird also notes on its website that Academy Award winner Billy Bob Thornton and attorney Gregory L. McCoy “recently joined” as partners.

Sandlot’s biggest project, announced in November 2007, was a partnership with Red Bird Cinema to back Red Bird movies. Sandlot’s stated role was to hire script writers and actors, provide legal assistance with negotiating rights, work with producers to get the movies made and set up a network for distribution.

Sandlot’s website has been taken down and their last Tweet was dated February 2010. A previously-cached version of the site listed at least nine film projects. They included a proposed Sugar Ray Leonard movie, “The Boxer,” and “3 Nights in August,” a film adaptation of the Buzz Bissinger book written about and with La Russa and the 2003 Cardinals.

In a 2008 article in VentureBeat, La Russa was named among those having invested $25 million in Sandlot. The size of the manager’s participation was not identified, nor is he apparently named in the legal action.

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Umpiring at first base, Gibson missed a call during the ninth inning of the Cardinals’ loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.

With one on and no out, Josh Wilson dropped down a sacrifice bunt. Pitcher Mark Rzepczynski fielded the ball and threw to the inside of first base. Albert Pujols left the bag to catch the ball, but touched it with his toe before Wilson reached first.

Pujols immediately protested, with manager Tony La Russa taking over the debate. The skipper was soon ejected by Gibson.

With Mitchell Boggs then assuming the pitching duties, Corey Hart’s one-out single plated both Wilson and the runner ahead of him, extending the Brewers’ lead from 3-1 to their final 5-1 edge.

La Russa and Gibson have a checkered history, including three ejections in the last four years.

The umpire ran the manager on September 12, 2009 for arguing balls and strikes at Atlanta. It was La Russa’s first (and only?) ejection that year.

On July 28, 2007 as the Cards faced the Brewers at Busch Stadium, third base umpire Gibson ejected La Russa for arguing a checked swing strike call that went against Skip Schumaker. It was the manager’s first boot of that season.

In the 2005 NLCS in which the Cardinals lost to Houston, Gibson was involved in three controversial plays that all went against St. Louis in Game 2. The first was a missed tag out at third that the home plate ump Gibson ran over to cover. The second was a ball that should have been called a foul but was ruled fair and led to a Cardinals out. The third was a crucial strikeout of Jim Edmonds with two on base in a two-run game.

Six days later, in Game 6 of that same series, Gibson, then at second base, made an out call on Yadier Molina when replays showed Astros shortstop Adam Everett had missed the tag. As in the other cases, La Russa argued to no avail. It was a key play in the final game of Busch Stadium II and the end for one of La Russa’s best Cardinals teams.

Despite all of this, the reality is that Gibson did not lose Wednesday’s game. The Cardinals are 3-8 against Milwaukee this season because the Brewers have simply played better.

Yet as La Russa noted, Gibson will be in an important position in St. Louis’ must-win Thursday night contest.

“He missed the call. He didn’t think he missed it,” said La Russa. “I say very clearly that had very little with us losing the game. They would have had a two-run lead going into the ninth, and their closer (John Axford) hasn’t given up anything. So (Gibson) isn’t the reason we got beat.

“But he missed the call. Short fuse. Very undeserved ejection. Let’s see how he handles it tomorrow (when Gibson is behind the plate). Let’s see if he has a carryover and gets upset and wants to take it out on us.”

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Still, some moves made by the club in recent years seem to have more than the expected amount of La Russa’s fingerprints on them. Last week’s trade of Colby Rasmus to Toronto was the most recent.

La Russa is still at it. Apparently his cell phone was out of service on Tuesday when the skipper sent general manager John Mozeliak a clear to-do via the media.

With only one left-handed reliever in a bullpen that normally has two, La Russa apparently covets veteran lefty hurler Arthur Rhodes, who was designated for assignment by Texas on Tuesday. The 41-year-old, a 20-year MLB veteran, posted a 4.81 ERA in 32 games for the Rangers in 2011 after a pair of solid seasons with Cincinnati.

“He’s been a hell of a (professional) for a long, long time,” La Russa told the media, speaking of Rhodes. “He has all of our respect. Does that sound like (I’m) intrigued?”

DFAing Rhodes means the Rangers have ten days to decide his fate – trade, release or assignment to the minors if he clears waivers.

Not only did La Russa’s public comments put Mozeliak on the spot, they signaled to Texas and the rest of baseball the Cardinals’ intent.

If it had been prior to the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline, the Rangers, knowing the high level of La Russa’s interest, could have decided to jack up Rhodes’ selling price. Even now, the Cardinals may face a heightened risk of losing out on Rhodes. Another club, especially one trailing the Cards in the tight National League Central race, might choose to claim the reliever off waivers just to block him from St. Louis.

The Rangers are currently on the hook to pay Rhodes around $1.3 million for the final two months of the season. Any team that claims him would have to pick up that financial commitment. Rhodes’ contract also includes a 2012 option for $4 million that is based on both appearances and good health that he most likely will not achieve.

Signaling personnel wants through the media is not the Cardinals normal mode of operation as they have been most successful in the past making stealth moves.

Certainly La Russa should be consulted about his opinions of potentially-available players on other clubs, but the organization may be better served if he keeps them behind closed doors.

On the other hand, in this particular case, missing out on a 41-year-old reliever who may be on his last legs may turn out to be the right (non-) move for the Cardinals, anyway.

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Rogers wonders why the Chicago White Sox felt the need to flip Jackson to the Toronto Blue Jays first rather than take Rasmus themselves. He explains why he saw the two clubs’ needs having matched up well.

One possible conclusion Rogers backs is that the deal was made with 2012 in mind – specifically to ensure that Rasmus would be nowhere to be found when Tony La Russa returns to the South Side to manage the Sox next season.

La Russa began his major league managerial career with the 1979 White Sox at the age of 34. Pitching coach Dave Duncan joined La Russa there in 1983.

The manager’s long-standing friendship with Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf has been well documented. On one hand, it seems a stretch that current general manager Kenny Williams would have been instructed from upstairs to avoid acquiring Rasmus.

On the other, La Russa has spoken fondly in recent years about working for an owner like Reinsdorf. From a February 2010 interview with Comcast SportsNet Chicago:

“If I ever left the field and went upstairs, which I hope to do some time maybe soon, I’d like to work for an owner that I like and that I respect as much as I do Jerry, because I want to be motivated to make him happy,” La Russa said.

Reinsdorf, a lawyer like La Russa, is a Chicago fixture, having run both the White Sox and Bulls for multiple decades. He presided over controversial decisions such as letting NBA champions Phil Jackson and Michael Jordan leave Chicago. Yet, Reinsdorf regrets most the 1986 dismissal of La Russa by his club, as quoted in the book “Tony La Russa: Man on a Mission” by Rob Rains.

“I never should have allowed Tony to be fired. I’ve often said that was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made. I knew it was wrong. I knew it was a mistake. And I let it happen anyway,” Reinsdorf said.

Whether or not La Russa is in the Sox’ future, 2011 may be combustible Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen’s final season with the team. It remains another leap to assume La Russa would be his successor, though it is an interesting thought for TLR to become second on baseball’s all-time managerial list and conclude his celebrated on-field career where it began.

For his part, though La Russa is not under contract for 2012, he has said previously that he does not plan to take another field job before moving into an undefined future role in the game. Would the Sox and Reinsdorf be enough for him to change his mind, managing perhaps interim to taking a front office spot? Rogers thinks so.

The Chicago writer also brings into his story “Super Joe” McEwing. The former Cardinals fan favorite is now the White Sox Triple-A manager, as was La Russa over three decades ago. Rogers names McEwing as “most likely” La Russa’s 2012 White Sox bench coach and heir-apparent manager.

Rogers did not identify any sources to support his theory.

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Despite his home runs on Sunday and Monday, St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Colby Rasmus is still not doing what his manager Tony La Russa expects – taking direction from his major league coaching staff.

Concluding a 90-second video interview prior to Tuesday’s game with Rasmus as the subject, KSDK NewsChannel 5’s Frank Cusamano and La Russa had the following exchange.

Cusamano: “And he is listening?”

La Russa: “Well, he is listening to somebody.”

Cusamano: “Is he listening to the Cardinals coaches and manager?”

La Russa: “No, he doesn’t listen to the Cardinals coaches much now and that is why he gets in these funks, in my opinion. You stay with basic of what they teach you, then he’d have a … but actually, I feel concern for him because he hears it from so many places, he’s got to be confused.”

At that point, La Russa ended the interview and walked away.

Prior to the All-Star break, back on July 10, the manager made comments expressing concern over Rasmus’ external hitting instruction. Those earlier remarks can be read here. Since then, Rasmus has been at the center of numerous trade rumors.

Video of Tuesday audio interview from KSDK.com:

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The 24-year-old has also experienced periodic lapses defensively, including not always taking charge as the centerfielder, letting balls get past him, pulling up short at times along with not always throwing well, whether uncorking worm burners or missing the cutoff man.

In each of the final two games before the break, Rasmus was caught in between diving at soft line drives and catching them on the bounce. With him unable to knock them down, the balls shot past him and rolled toward the wall. Three runners came home during Saturday’s second inning on a play scored as a single and an error on Rasmus.

Perhaps the four days off for the All-Star Game are coming at a good time for the former first-round draft pick, both because of his slump as well as comments from his manager, Tony La Russa.

La Russa, with whom Rasmus clashed last season, spoke extensively about his centerfielder during his weekly show on KMOX Radio on Sunday morning. The following comments from the manager are transcribed directly from the audio.

The skipper began his review of Rasmus with understanding.

“He is a developing player,” La Russa said. “He’s got really good ability and he’s in his third year. There is a lot to learn and I do believe that lately when he has been struggling – after that nice little flurry of stuff on the road – he’s trying really hard. He is not throwing at-bats away. He is really trying to work it.”

Rasmus received support from his manager for his recent defensive play.

“Yesterday, when that ball in the first inning or whatever inning it was, he wasn’t trying to… he charged that ball hard,” the manager said. “I am not sure he had a great jump. It was twilight and all that stuff…”

A transition in his remarks had begun when discussing Rasmus’ plate approach.

“The point I am trying to make is, he is working hard, but you’ve got to work smart,” La Russa explained. “We talk two-strike approach to everybody and it is an important part of being a winning hitter. There is a definite stroke that would be more productive for… more like if you watch Albert, and if you watch Berkman and you watch Holliday. Those guys all try to get on top of the ball and through it. They don’t try to just scoop and lift it.”

The manager acknowledged the need to take care with a slumping player.

“You know what? At this point, if a guy is struggling, you don’t want to bury him and you don’t want to make him not want to come to work because he keeps hearing things he doesn’t believe in,” said La Russa.

La Russa clarifies what he thinks the player is hearing.

“He’s getting his help from other places,” La Russa asserted. “Our guys don’t stop. They don’t walk away from him giving him work. They give him all the work he wants. As far as the mechanics and what he is trying to accomplish, that is not coming from our guys.”

The skipper wishes Rasmus was not trying to hit home runs, but instead would hit for average.

“…We try to talk to him about that,” said La Russa. “The guys that hit a lot of home runs hit it because they are just trying to put solid contact with a real good swing. He should try that… He should try to be as close or above a .300 hitter as you can because all the hits… If you hit 30 home runs, that’s only 30 hits. But if you want to get closer to 150 or 200 hits, the base hits – the singles, the doubles – start rallies and continue rallies. It’s out there. We’ve talked to Colby a lot about it.”

La Russa again delineated what his hitting coaches do and what they don’t.

“At this point, the situation we are in is that our hitting guys, which are Mark McGwire and Mike Aldrete, they pretty much just provide work for Colby,” the manager said. “When he wants to take soft toss or tee work or batting practice in the cage or outside, they are there to provide the work for him.

“But as far as the teaching, he is getting it someplace else. We don’t force anything on anybody. In the end though, I think it is important that if he does real well, then whoever is giving him the outside teaching should get the credit. But if he struggles, they should take that responsibility,” La Russa concluded.

La Russa was not specific as to the source of the outside assistance, however, the player is said to have private batting cages at his St. Louis-area residence. His father, Tony, is a successful prep coach who has worked extensively with his son on his hitting in the past.

Rasmus did not start Sunday afternoon, entering the game in the sixth inning. He went 0-for-1 as his batting average dipped to a season-worst .246. That is lowest among Cardinals regulars with only reserve catcher Gerald Laird carrying a lower average among St. Louis’ active position players.

Note: The article on La Russa’s weekly radio show is posted on KMOX’s website, but as of Sunday night, the audio link provided there is to a different interview.

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Though severe storms were clearly heading toward St. Louis’ Busch Stadium, La Russa did not exercise his right as the home team manager to delay the start of the first game of his club’s series-opening contest against the defending National League Central Division champions from Cincinnati.

Under official MLB Rule 3.10 (a), “The manager of the home team shall be the sole judge as to whether a game shall be started because of unsuitable weather conditions or the unfit condition of the playing field…”

Instead of letting his regularly scheduled starting pitcher Kyle McClellan prepare for the start, La Russa substituted reliever Miguel Batista. By not delaying the game, La Russa did not make an easy decision for his counterpart Dusty Baker. The Reds skipper had access to the same weather reports, of course, but elected to remain with Edinson Volquez.

Only when the lineup cards are exchanged, which is dictated by Rule 4.01 to occur five minutes prior to the scheduled starting time, do the weather-related game decisions move to the umpires.

Typically starting pitchers begin their warmup around 30 minutes prior to game time. They run, stretch and long-toss before taking the bullpen mound to throw for 15-20 minutes. Home pitchers might finish five minutes before game time while the road pitcher may throw until just before the game begins.

Once 7:15 arrived, the umpires started the game on time. Batista threw only six official pitches and just three minutes elapsed before the rains began and the game was stopped. Volquez was ready and waiting to pitch the home first, but never had the opportunity to do so prior to the delay.

In a game delay situation, the hurlers need to remain warm and in routine by continuing to throw roughly as if they were pitching each inning. Eventually, as the delay continues, the pitcher uses up his allocation of pitches and is no longer able to safely return.

After Friday’s two hour, 10 minute wait, neither Batista nor Volquez would continue.

The difference was that La Russa could prepare McClellan to take the mound after the delay while Baker had to move to his long man, left-hander Matt Maloney, to “re-start” the game. Officially, both McClellan and Maloney appeared in relief of the announced starters.

Further, the Cardinals were coming off a complete game by Kyle Lohse on Thursday so their rested pen could afford the loss of Batista for the evening.

At this point, it is unclear how many days will pass before Volquez could start again, but perhaps it could be as soon as Sunday night’s nationally-televised game three. Nor is Friday’s outcome decided, but in this instant at least, La Russa appeared to outmaneuver his long-time rival.

Footnote: The game was completed with no further delays as the Cardinals went on to claim the 4-2 victory. While each club ended up using five pitchers, McClellan went six innings and picked up the win while Volquez pitched none. Maloney earned the loss, yielding eight hits and three earned runs in just two innings.

The following comes from the AP post-game article.

“I’m going to give the Cardinals two thumbs up for what they did,” the Reds’ Brandon Phillips said. “They changed their pitcher on us at the last minute, that was a very smart thing to do.”The next thing you know they brought in their starter who was going to start the game, and he was fresh.”

Reds manager Dusty Baker thought the forecast was favorable to play much longer. He said Volquez perhaps could start Sunday night in the series finale.

“The information we received was probably not the same information they received,” Baker said. “We probably shouldn’t have started in the first place. We thought there was going to be a window of opportunity.”

Apparently, Baker and his support personnel need to learn how to better use the television, internet and mobile technology for timely information gathering. Especially in this day and age, the lack of a current weather report should never have been the issue.

As explained both above and below in the comments, the umpires had no control over the events that led to Volquez warming up but not pitching.

It will be interesting to see if Baker brings Volquez back on Sunday night. Even if so, we may never know whether it would be to save face or because the more experienced Volquez (2-0, 6.75 ERA) is a superior alternative to the scheduled starter Sam LeCure (0-1, 4.15).

Stay tuned…

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Video highlights — including some of the most hilarious lines from the roast – can be viewed now at FOXSportsMidwest.com.

The event took place Sunday, Jan. 16 in St. Louis. Roasters included Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland, basketball legend Bobby Knight, actor/musician Billy Bob Thornton, former Cardinals reliever Steve Kline, Cardinals broadcasters Mike Shannon and John Rooney and sportscaster Martin Kilcoyne.

A Roast and Toast of Tony La Russa – St. Louis Baseball Writers’ Dinner TV special on FOX Sports Midwest

Friday, Jan. 28 at 8 p.m. CT
Wednesday, Feb. 2 at 6 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 4 at 5 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 9 at 9:30 p.m.

Some of the raunchiest lines that may have been partially edited out are posted here at TheCardinalNationBlog.com.

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Those who frequent The Cardinal Nation Blog are well aware of the discussion and debate we’ve been having here for weeks about Tony La Russa’s projected batting order for his 2011 St. Louis Cardinals.

I don’t waste a lot of time opining about my personal preferences as they really don’t matter to anyone. Instead, I try to gather intelligence on what might actually happen, apply a healthy dose of logic and report it to you.

The best way to try to help put some clarity around the issue is to ask the source. Near the top of my to-do list for this past weekend’s Winter Warm-Up was to again quiz La Russa on his lineup thinking. I did that, in a room with several dozen other scribes on Sunday.

The manager acknowledged hearing that some others have suggested Lance Berkman in the number two spot, but the guy with the marker and blank lineup card each day reiterated the new right fielder is his number five hitter.

First reported by some others based on the La Russa interview and repeated across the internet was news that Colby Rasmus is being considered as the team’s leadoff hitter along with newly-acquired Ryan Theriot and returnee Skip Schumaker.

I happened to be the writer that asked the manager those questions so was especially focused on the answers. I am not sure what was reported was what was meant. Then again, it could have been.

Upon listening to the tape, I realized that I had worded my question in a vaguer manner than I intended. Coming off a discussion of the three through five spots, I wanted to know about the first two spots in the order, but my exact word was “top”. Whether La Russa interpreted that to mean leadoff only or his first two spots is unknown.

Here is the exact transcript from the audio.

BW: “When Lance was signed, you said were thinking about him in the number five spot perhaps. Is that your current thinking and how do you see the rest of your batting order?”

TLR: “It’ll all develop, but if you had to write a lineup today, I’d have Matt – he hit fourth last year and was great. Lance can hit anywhere. He could hit third, he could hit fourth, he could hit fifth. The thing with Lance is that he is a middle of the lineup hitter and… pick one of the spots. Albert is our third place hitter and plan on keeping Matt fourth and Lance fifth.”

(At this point, the manager was reminded of a question that someone had previously asked, but he wanted to also cover here.)

“Somebody asked about Lance second. I’d try to avoid that. He’s a great on-base percentage guy, but one of the reasons you want him as a middle of the lineup guy is to create a more fair challenge for Colby and David Freese. Those guys don’t need to hit fifth.”

BW: “Who do you see at the top?”

TLR: “We’ll see. I know Skip has hit up there and hit .300. Ryan’s hit up there and hit .300. Colby’s hit up there, and I just think…”

Matthew Leach interjects: “Is Schumaker a second-place hitter? That’s something you haven’t done…”

TLR: “He could be. He could be. He gives you… The thing is who leads off, you have the balance of… I just think you don’t want to make too many statements. Even in your own mind, you don’t want to make decisions. Just see how the combinations play out.”

Joe Strauss: “Do you go into spring assuming the lower part of the lineup is the same as the end of last year with the pitcher hitting eighth or is that something that the team tells you in spring training?”

TLR: “Did we finish a lot with the pitcher hitting ninth?”

Group: “Yes.”

TLR: “Yes, I think it has a lot to do with… in a perfect world, you have somebody you can hit seventh and somebody you can hit ninth. If you’ve got guys that you hesitate to move into that ninth spot, then the pitcher can hit ninth. Right now with the lineup, I think I would have the pitcher hit ninth, knowing the guys we have.”

In other words, apparently La Russa doesn’t think he has a “second leadoff hitter” to place ninth, yet he has three contenders for the top of the order (however he defines “top”) and a set plan for three through five.

The bottom line is that I seem to have failed in my mission to establish complete clarity!

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Among the featured speakers were actor/musician Billy Bob Thornton, college hoops coaching legend Bobby Knight, former Cardinals pitcher Steve Kline, Detroit manager Jim Leyland and Cardinals broadcaster Mike Shannon. The latter two were most tame in their remarks, though Leyland demonstrated a strong singing voice.

The audio (what isn’t censored) will air on KMOX Radio 1120 on Monday night at 7:00 P.M. Central. (The station offers free internet streaming.) FOX Sports Midwest will also be telecasting a one-hour version of the event starting on January 28.

A good time was had by all. There were many awards and positive comments all evening long, but the focus here is on the shots issued during the La Russa roast portion of the program. Here are some of the highlights.

Channel 2’s Martin Kilcoyne took the stage early on. Among his zingers.

• TLR does have a sense of humor. Have you seen some of his lineups?
• Bob Costas thought the La Russa roast was last year. (reference to 2010 dinner remarks)

Billy Bob was next.

• The actor and Cardinals fan asked for and received 10 seconds of silence. He announced it was in honor of TLR and Dave Duncan’s personalities.
• Knight threw Thornton’s chair off the side of the stage in mock anger.

Kline had the sharpest barbs.

• The lefty noted he is the opposite of TLR’s animal rights advocacy, saying, “I’m a killer, not a saver.”
• When the name Barry Weinberg came up, Kline looked under La Russa’s table for the long-time trainer and TLR confidant.
• He suggested that La Russa “does great for animals. It’s people he sh**s on. Ask Scott Rolen or Ozzie Smith.” (Thanks to Dathan7 via Twitter for helping me fill this in.)
• Kline commented that the manager likes cats, except one. “The only pussy you didn’t like was J.D. Drew.”
• The former reliever noted the skipper is such a hard worker that he sometimes sleeps in his office, and even in his car. When Shannon says “Get up baby,” he is calling TLR at 3 A.M.
• In TLR’s next job, he can’t be a Santa since he can’t stand kids. “See what he did to Brendan Ryan.”

The General took the floor.

• Knight received a fake call from Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz, who passed on his regrets as he was attending a Bobby Cox dinner instead (see photo).
• Dusty Baker made a pretend call to Knight with this message for TLR. “Screw you.”
• Knight explained his hunting hobby is a humanitarian effort to spare the country from being flooded with bird poop.
• In his retirement, Knight volunteered to be TLR’s driver, but decided it would be no fun. He would have no one to talk with since TLR falls asleep at every light.
• The coach admitted he doesn’t care for cats, but he does like dogs. “They point at birds for me to shoot.”

La Russa fired back.

• He noted that Thornton, who had lobbied to suit up and throw a pitch for the Cardinals, had a better chance of getting Rex Ryan or Ozzie Guillen to play him since they apparently have the personality he doesn’t.
• TLR said the idea of Kline teaching pitchers (as a minor league coach for the Giants) scares the hell out of him.
• The manager noted that Kline was too dumb to be afraid on the mound.
• La Russa thanked Knight for his “outstanding” help in anger management and media relations.

St. Louis Baseball Co-Men of the Year Adam Wainwright and Albert Pujols were last up.

• Wainwright praised TLR’s decision-making, like when he was taken out of the game with a chance to win his 20^th game two years ago. La Russa then passed the pitcher a note suggesting the comment made his opening day starting pitcher decision between Wainwright and Chris Carpenter easy.
• Pujols took a shot at Post-Dispatch writer Joe Strauss who had presented him the same award the last three years, but was noticeably absent Sunday. “He’s not here because he is writing about my contract for tomorrow.”

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