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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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.

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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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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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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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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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As the disappointing 2010 season came to its end for the St. Louis Cardinals, the level of ongoing speculation over the future of manager Tony La Russa increased substantially.

Coming off a playoff year in 2009 after two previous misses, La Russa’s 2010 club underachieved. They had entered the season as the clear divisional favorite, but fate led to a very different conclusion. The 86-win Cardinals finished in second place, five games behind Cincinnati and did not qualify for a Wild Card, either.

The winter prior, the future Hall of Fame skipper signed his first-ever one-year deal with the team and hinted his managerial days were nearing an end. Still, with 126 more wins needed to claim second-place on MLB’s all-time managerial list, La Russa’s 2011 return was expected by many.

The most important coach on the Cardinals staff is clearly pitching guru Dave Duncan, a constant at the manager’s side for almost three decades in Chicago, Oakland and St. Louis. La Russa had stated previously that Duncan expressed interest in coaching longer than he wanted to manage.

As the regular season concluded with no new contract announcements, there may have been as much or more speculation about Duncan’s future as La Russa’s.

The pitching coach would be a highly-desirable commodity if he chose to make a new start, with or without La Russa. Scribes from across the country wondered aloud about the improvements the pitching expert might inspire if wearing the local uniform.

On October 15, Duncan declared his hand but raised his bet at the same time, stating that he would like to remain with the Cardinals for three more years rather than coach just one more year for St. Louis and elsewhere for the next two. This created an apparent mismatch with La Russa’s more short-term desires.

During this time, the winningest manager in franchise history was playing his normal contractual give and take with the Cardinals that culminated in an October 18 announcement. La Russa would return for 2011 on a one-year deal. A relatively meaningless mutual option for 2012 was also included.

In a departure from past La Russa deliberations, contracts for his coaching staff were not announced at the time of the manager’s decision. Perhaps the Duncan multi-year request was taking extra time to accommodate.

There may have been at least one other complication. One announcement that was made in conjunction with La Russa’s return was the firing of bullpen coach Marty Mason, Duncan’s right-hand man.

The long-time Cardinals employee was separated over his ongoing remarks critical of the organization’s player development processes. Interestingly, this summer Duncan had been quoted making similarly-themed comments, stating that the farm system could not support a championship club.

When all was said and done, the parties apparently worked out any major differences. On October 25, the club announced that Duncan agreed to terms on a two-year contract with a mutual option for the 2013 season.

Duncan will be entering his 16th season as the Cardinals pitching coach, and his Major League record 32nd season overall as a pitching coach. The staff finished fourth in the National League in team ERA this past season while ranking second in both fewest walks and home runs allowed. Adam Wainwright became the team’s fourth 20-game winner under Duncan’s tutelage.

La Russa’s 2010 ups and downs

Perhaps at no time in his 15 seasons as Cardinals manager had La Russa been questioned as often as during this year. It began with his controversial hire of Mark McGwire and continued as the offense under his first-year hitting coach came was inconsistent for most of the season. Many felt the club lacked timely hitting which put more pressure on the pitchers.

The manager utilized his pitcher hitting eighth approach 76 times during the season and penned 144 different lineups over 162 games. Whether that can be explained as La Russa doing everything possible to exploit matchups or incessant tinkering is a point of debate for some.

A number of those lineup changes were necessitated by roster turnover. After trying a number of minor league prospects, both pitchers and position players, the organization turned to a series of major leaguers cut loose by other clubs. In-season additions included Aaron Miles, Randy Winn, Jeff Suppan and Mike MacDougal.

While La Russa encourages aggressive baserunning, the Cardinals lost over 100 runners on the bases, too often due to poor decision-making by the players.

His name made the papers in several off-field situations, drawing complaints from some quarters. La Russa came out in support of Arizona legislation calling for tougher enforcement against illegal immigrants. In the midst of a rough August road trip, La Russa gave an introductory speech for a humanitarian award bestowed upon Albert Pujols at a large Washington, D.C. rally. Despite non-political intentions stated by all, involvement in the event caused some ill will.

Around that same time, the manager divulged to the press that Colby Rasmus had requested a trade both in 2009 and 2010, setting off a firestorm of controversy about the clubhouse environment past and present. He later made comments critical of Brendan Ryan prior to the shortstop’s trade to Seattle. The manager also reportedly lobbied for the signing of outfielder Lance Berkman.

Putting all that aside, the bottom line is winning.

The 66-year-old has guided the Cardinals to a franchise record 1,318 victories since joining them in 1996. La Russa has led the team to eight division titles (1996, 2000-02, 2004-06 and 2009), two National League pennants (2004, 2006) and the organization’s 10th World Championship title in 2006.

La Russa currently ranks third on MLB’s all-time managerial wins list with 2,638, trailing only Connie Mack (3,731) and John McGraw (2,763). La Russa is second all-time in games managed with 4,935, including stints with the Chicago White Sox (1979-86) and Oakland A’s (1986-95). He ranks first on the Cardinals all-time games managed list with 2,429 and his 15 years of continuous service is also tops among all Cardinals managers.

La Russa’s Cardinals teams have finished above .500 in 12 of his 15 seasons. They recorded 105 wins in 2004 and 100 wins in 2005, making La Russa just the second Cardinals manager to oversee two 100-win seasons. Billy Southworth guided the Cardinals to three consecutive 100-win seasons from 1942-44. La Russa and Sparky Anderson are the only managers to have led both a National and American League team to World Series titles.

During La Russa’s 15 years at the Cardinals helm, the team has surpassed three million in attendance a dozen times, including a franchise record 3,552,180 fans in 2007. His Cardinals teams have finished no lower then third place in all but three seasons.

La Russa’s Cardinals clubs posted a National League-best 913 wins during the decade of the 2000s, winning a league-leading 33 postseason games during that same time period.

For those and many other reasons, La Russa and Duncan will be back in 2011 for another run.

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

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Catching up on my Sunday reading, I came across an interesting item concerning the future of Albert Pujols. Rather than being from an anonymous blog somewhere, it was posted on the NESN website.

It is significant to note that the New England Sports Network is primarily owned by the Boston Red Sox and naturally holds their television rights. Their Red Sox reporter, Tony Lee, penned a piece entitled “Red Sox Could be Contenders in Albert Pujols 2011 Free Agency Race.”

Though I follow baseball closely, I didn’t know the specifics of the Red Sox’ minor league pipeline, but I was aware of the long-time interest the club has allegedly held in San Diego Padres’ first sacker Adrian Gonzalez.

Lee puts forth an interesting take as to why and how the Red Sox might make a run at Pujols instead if he reaches free agency in 12 months. He also notes why the Yankees may not compete.

As one might expect, Red Sox fans are especially unsettled after missing the playoffs for just the second time in the last eight years and finishing in third place behind Tampa Bay and New York. Still, the Sox won 89 games, three more than the Cardinals.

Of course, at this juncture at least, most everyone expects Pujols to remain a Cardinal for the foreseeable future, but until it is done, it isn’t done.

In the meantime, I expect we will start seeing more Lee-like pieces popping up all over the baseball landscape. What makes this one a bit more notable is its source. Of all the 29 remaining clubs, the Red Sox are among the relative handful with the money, market and prestige to land a big fish like Pujols.

The bridge to my next item is the DOVE ad campaign entitled “Journeys to Comfort.” Along with Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte, the other two headliners are Pujols and Pettitte’s manager Joe Girardi.

La Russa 2.0

I couldn’t help but chuckle over a Sunday piece from the New York Post that describes in a begrudging manner why Girardi will likely be back to manage the Yankees. The deal may be three years, $9 million, says a later report from Jon Heyman of SI.com.

Back when there was some uncertainty about Tony La Russa’s return, the former Cardinals catcher (2003), FOX Sports broadcaster and Florida Marlins manager was mentioned by some as a possible replacement candidate in St. Louis.

Among the comments about Girardi from writer Joel Sherman:

“…a very good manager. Prepared. Smart. A student of the game.”

Then Sherman proceeded to march and burn his way through the manager’s office, inflicting some collateral damage as well…

“…you have to wonder if the Cardinals would have wanted the 2.0 version of La Russa — tense and paranoid — to succeed him.”

“…clenched teeth, edgy pacing and obsession with his black binder.”

“Thus players end up, at best, respecting him rather than having a human connection that would foster something greater.”

“…a personality that too often strays to the robotic or — worse — dishonest.”

“So if he is deceitful or anxiety-laced, that becomes the face and the pulse of the team.”

“When you treat every bit of information about your team — including the innocuous — as if it should be CIA classified, then your joyless persona begins to corrupt clubhouse atmosphere, as well.”

Has anyone around here ever heard anything like that before? Apparently Joe learned well.

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The manager

As has been reported ad nauseum, manager Tony La Russa has announced his intent to return to the St. Louis Cardinals for a 16^th season. His newest contract is a one-year deal with a mutual option for 2012.

The option was explained by general manager John Mozeliak as an attempt to avoid some of the “circus” surrounding La Russa’s annual Brett Favre-like end-of-season decision-making process over whether or not to return.

Not realistic.

Whether or not La Russa has a contract for the next season, he is still going to go through the same soul-searching at the conclusion of 2011 as he has done every year in recent memory. As the manager’s three decade-long career nears its end, these machinations will likely continue at least one more year – even though they are entirely unnecessary.

During the 2012 season, La Russa should pick up the 126^th additional managerial win needed to pass legendary Giants manager John McGraw for second all-time. Though La Russa does not discuss it, that mark is likely a big deal to him and as such will be the reason he will almost certainly remain with the Cardinals for 2012 as well.

The pitching coach

One factor I had not considered before now was the effect of La Russa’s contact on his extraordinary pitching coach, Dave Duncan. By the manager basically dodging the subject of a two-year deal, he put extra pressure on his long-time collaborator, who recently came out publicly with a request for a three-year extension.

Let’s face it. At this point in their lives, mid-sixties in age, when most Americans are looking at their own retirement, it seems most likely that neither La Russa nor Duncan want to move on and resume their careers in a new organization. That is understandable.

While Duncan’s past work would justify such a multi-year commitment, it would be unusual to give a coach two more years of job security than his boss. Still, La Russa’s eventual successor should be delighted to be presented with a year overlap with one of the best pitching coaches ever.

The bullpen coach

Duncan’s former chief deputy, bullpen coach Marty Mason, was fired for making critical remarks about the organization’s player development function. Mozeliak has suggested that Mason’s replacement will come from within.

Fan interest immediately focused on two recent Cardinals players in their early 40’s who have until now resisted taking on full-time jobs with the team so they could be more involved in raising their families.

I am speaking of the former battery of pitcher Cal Eldred and catcher Mike Matheny, St. Louis teammates in 2003 and 2004.

Both seem to be good baseball men and solid communicators, assets important for the position. On the other hand, neither has paid dues in the minor leagues, learning first-hand what is expected of an everyday, all-day coach.

Further, it has been nine years since one of the hard-working coaches at the minor league level has been asked to join the major league staff, Joe Pettini back in 2002.

One has to wonder how giving Mason’s job to a former La Russa player with no regular professional coaching experience would be considered a benefit by those currently toiling in the bowels of player development.

The hitting coach

Speaking of which, the last coach to have joined the staff also had no pro coaching jobs on his resume. Hitting coach Mark McGwire is having second thoughts about coming back for a second season in 2011.

His family is obviously important to him and has multiple new members as his wife had triplets in June. The reality of three new youngsters has apparently become a major concern. As recently as early September, McGwire was still very much gung-ho on returning to the Cardinals, but perhaps being home every day since the season ended has eroded his coaching resolve.

Despite others crediting McGwire for leading the offense to increased run-scoring over 2009, the reality was a difference of just six runs in total over the entire six month season compared to deposed Hal McRae‘s hitters the year prior. In 162 games, six runs translate to a scoring rate of 4.54 runs per game compared to 4.51. Putting all the noise aside, the bottom-line statistical benefit of McGwire over McRae was insignificant to say the least.

McGwire has been critical of the club’s reliance on video scouting. One prominent columnist joined in the attack, calling the La Russa-driven process an “infatuation” and an “addiction.” Right or wrong, at a minimum, it would seem there is a fundamental mismatch here between La Russa’s favored approach and McGwire’s.

After the major investment the organization made in supporting his controversial hiring last winter and afterward, McGwire owes them a timely decision on his future so they can move ahead.

If Big Mac walks, a prime replacement candidate is assistant hitting coach Mike Aldrete, like several others a former La Russa associate with no past connections to the Cardinals. While the ex-Oakland player may have done well in his assistant role, looking to the minor league ranks for the new hitting coach would be an even more important step in building bridges than would the sourcing of arguably the least-visible member of the staff, the bullpen coach.

Mozeliak’s next steps will be most interesting.

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In the Post-Dispatch on Saturday, columnist Bernie Miklasz returned to a topic he has weighed in on previously over the years – the duration of St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa’s contract.

Miklasz again offers his view that La Russa being in lame duck status every season has a negative effect on the team, eroding his authority and hurting player motivation.

His solution? Miklasz believes that if La Russa returns to the club for 2011, he should sign a multi-year contract of at least two and possibly three years.

I disagree, much more with the supporting logic than I do with the conclusion itself. I don’t think the contract duration matters.

Here’s why. At 66 years of age and after repeatedly hinting his managerial end is near, La Russa will continue to be a lame duck until the day he finally announces he no longer wants to manage, contract or not. The only question in the interim is how lame.

As Miklasz admits in the article, La Russa always has the option of retiring. Therefore the annual threat/fear of him leaving is not altered by him having a contract for the next year.

If the clubhouse is not fully motivated and some players have tuned La Russa out, a piece of paper that says 2012 or 2013 instead of 2011 isn’t going to be a positive factor, in my opinion. It may not matter at all, or in some cases, the converse might even be argued.

In at least the last four years and perhaps longer, the just-retired Bobby Cox entered each season with no deal in place for the next year. He continued to manage under a series of one-year extensions with the Braves until announcing prior to the 2010 season that it would be his last. If there were concerns in recent years coming out of Atlanta that Cox’ plans were impeding the team’s results on the field, I never heard them.

Certainly the subject is unavoidable. At this juncture of La Russa’s career and considering the uncertainties he injects into the process, the questions will return every summer and fall about the manager’s plans for the upcoming season. Those questions will come from his players, the fans and the media alike.

All a multi-year contract would accomplish is to legally allow the Cardinals to restrict La Russa from managing elsewhere.

Let’s face it. That “security” is pretty much worthless.

If La Russa approached ownership and was firm in his view that he no longer wanted to manage the Cardinals, would they force him to stay against his will? Of course, they wouldn’t. They would release him from his contract.

While no one fully understands La Russa’s value system, might making a multi-year commitment up front cause him to feel an obligation to stay through the entire term, even if he has a change of heart later? Would it be good for anyone if La Russa stayed on for years two and three if he was no longer fully committed to the job?

Further, the Cardinals may want to keep their options open by not committing to multiple years of La Russa. The club has finished weakly in each of the last four years, with just one post-season berth earned despite a very competitive core of players. In addition, there has been enough off-field controversy surrounding the skipper in recent years to warrant caution going forward.

Though not mentioned by Miklasz, some suggest that one potential benefit of an extended La Russa deal would be a demonstration to Albert Pujols that the organization is planning stability into at least the first year of the superstar’s potential free agency.

I don’t buy that logic as Pujols has to understand the reality. No matter what, La Russa will not be his manager for the vast majority of his new contract. I believe there is a wide variety of other far more important factors in Pujols’ upcoming decision.

Bottom line, I don’t see how a multi-year contract for La Russa makes a positive difference, while perhaps actually limiting flexibility.

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Two years ago, St. Louis Cardinals third base coach Jose Oquendo was a hot managerial candidate, securing interviews for jobs in San Diego and Seattle that went to others. Since then, his name seemed to drop out of the news.

For example, in an article at SI.com entitled “Assessing managerial carousel,” Jon Heyman called out a wide variety of current skipper candidates for the numerous available openings. Heyman cited 29 names to be exact, from Tim Bogar to Tim Wallach, but not once did Oquendo’s name appear.

This article out of Seattle includes a pining for Tony La Russa in the M’s head job along with a well-organized list of known candidates for the six open spots across MLB. With new management in Seattle since his 2008 interview, Jose is not included this time, nor is his name linked with any of the other openings.

The dry spell may have changed earlier this week when Pittsburgh-focused writer John Perrotto mentioned in a Baseball Prospectus article that he expected Oquendo would receive an interview with the Pirates. I have yet to see any confirmation elsewhere, however.

Perhaps the reason “Secret Weapon’s” name hasn’t appeared in conjunction with other jobs is the assumption that he is the heir apparent to eventually replace La Russa with the Cardinals.

Another possibility is that La Russa is a mold-breaker and as such, maybe one of his closest disciples just isn’t what others want. Despite all the winning, the manager clearly has his detractors as well.

Oquendo recently received a great compliment from Marlins interim manager Edwin Rodriguez. His long-time friend and countryman achieved a milestone that Oquendo had hoped to experience himself – becoming MLB’s first manager to have been born in Puerto Rico.

“Oquendo is in Puerto Rico for Winter Ball, so I’d talk with him a lot,” Rodriguez told MLB.com. “He’s always giving me pretty good insights on how Tony would handle situations. Not only the in-game situations, but how he handled preparation, and how he handles the staff.”

So, as long as a La Russa-style strategist is wanted, Oquendo is your man. No Dave Duncan clone would be included in the deal, however.

In a two-part piece last year, I researched La Russa’s coaching staffs since his early days in Chicago and found surprisingly few that worked under Tony later became skippers in their own right.

Even the thought of Oquendo succeeding La Russa is far from a sure thing. The rumor mill has the Cardinals preferring to hire an experienced man – whenever the time to address the need arises, of course.

Speaking of which, I wonder why some are surprised that La Russa is perceived to be taking his time to tell the Cards whether or not he will accept their offer to return in 2011. For me the reason is simple – he wants to see if there is a better deal out there. After all, any contact during the season would have been considered tampering.

One year ago, La Russa announced his return on October 26. It was 16 days after St. Louis was swept by the Dodgers in the National League Division Series, though that time may have been elongated due to the controversial hiring of Mark McGwire as hitting coach, announced on the same day. It also marked La Russa’s first-ever one year contract with the Cardinals – done at the manager’s request. He is currently at 11 days and counting since the disappointing 2010 season concluded.

With Tony at age 66, less than two seasons away from reaching second on the all-time managerial wins list and being able to enjoy at least one more summer of Albert Pujols, it would all seem to signal a continuation of the marriage for a 16^th year.

In the meantime, Oquendo waits for his chance, whether here or there.

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Toronto Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston is finishing his final week in his second stint managing the only remaining MLB club north of the border and has done a fine job just to survive in baseball’s toughest division. Regularly dealing with New York, Boston and Tampa Bay, the 2010 Jays still have posted an identical 82-76 record with St. Louis this season.

Just don’t compare the two clubs’ managers.

In an article in the Toronto Globe and Mail focused on his legacy, Gaston showed little respect for his former American League rival the first time around in the 1980’s, Tony La Russa. The latter is generally considered a Hall of Fame lock while Gaston is not. That seems to eat away at Cito.

“How many World Series has LaRussa won?” he asks with his calm, deep-voiced self-confidence. “He won two. How many have I won? I won two.”

Gaston is unimpressed by La Russa’s absorbed managerial style.

“I think those guys are just a little busy,” Gaston said. “You can only play this game so many kinds of ways. [LaRussa] stands at the top of the dugout, he walks and walks. But a lot of things I see from coaches and managers are just busy.”

Further, Gaston was either unaware that La Russa was also a former major league player or simply chose to forget that fact.

“And you know, I don’t think he played in the big leagues. [LaRussa, in fact, played for parts of six seasons, hitting .199 in 176 at-bats]. I’m not getting on him, but I think people who played at this level are a little calmer when they’re coaching and managing than people who haven’t played at this level.”

Gaston then went into how much his players respected him while conveniently not addressing the reality that La Russa has accumulated nearly three times as many career wins as he (2,634 to 891).

I can understand why Gaston is proud for being the first black manager to win the World Series, but his credentials for the Hall won’t improve by trying to take down La Russa.

Apparently, La Russa has been a source of irritation for Gaston for years. Another Toronto article this week, this one from the Toronto Star, oddly dredged up this 1994 quote from Cito.

“. . . The fact that I am being honoured with a doctorate in law even gives me a leg up on Tony La Russa, manager of the A’s, who only has a regular degree in law. Tony’s a great guy and while he’s been named manager of the year and I haven’t, I’m the one with a University of Toronto degree — a favourable trade off as far as I’m concerned.”

Stay classy in retirement, Cito!

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Sunday, September 5 was a sad day for the St. Louis Cardinals as long-standing internal matters became external, tarnishing the image of one of baseball’s proudest franchises.

We read about claims and counterclaims by player Colby Rasmus and his manager Tony La Russa. With fans already upset over the unraveling of the once-promising 2010 season, this latest news that Rasmus has allegedly made multiple requests to be traded has caused increasing polarization.

Team Tony vs. Team Colby.

One group would like to see the outfielder dealt away while the other doesn’t want the manager to return. They have their reasons and arguments, sharpened over time, and likely feel so strongly about them that their opinions aren’t going to change.

Superstar Albert Pujols weighed in, stating that if Rasmus doesn’t want to play for the Cardinals, then he hopes the second-year player can be accommodated. Further, the first baseman wished out loud that the matter had never reached the media.

Putting aside whether or not one thinks those comments are appropriate, the basic message is hard to argue with.

It should apply to the manager, too.

These individuals, Rasmus and La Russa, have become a major distraction, drawing focus to themselves and away from the greater good of the team. All over baseball, the Cardinals are being discussed – in non-complimentary tones.

Something has to change, and change in a substantive manner, not just window-dressing. They either need to pull together or be pulled together. On the other hand, if differences are truly irreconcilable, then the franchise needs to part ways with one or all – before it is pulled apart.

The team is the constant, not the individuals. Players come and go and so do managers, even future Hall of Famers.

The Cardinals have survived before and they will again.

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I follow author Buzz Bissinger on Twitter for the same reason people slow down on the highway when there is an accident – morbid curiosity. For reasons only clear to him, the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer regularly goes off on series of profane 140-character tirades against seemingly anyone and everyone – from his wife to LeBron James to Alyssa Milano.

Among his Saturday morning’s barbs were ones targeted at the heart of the St. Louis Cardinals. Given the team’s recent poor play, Bissinger was hardly alone in his criticism. What makes this different is the source and the specificity.

In the past, the closest to home that Bissinger, a friend, collaborator and business partner with Tony La Russa had come to the manager was a series of shots directed at Lou Piniella prior to the Cubs skipper’s retirement announcement and some relatively mild criticism of the hiring of Mark McGwire as Cardinals hitting coach over the winter.

That changed on Saturday. Bissinger started off pretty tame, almost normal.

“I think Tony La Russa is great etc. etc. (save the jokes) but except for 3 games against Reds, they have played with no intensity all year.”

It didn’t take long for him to go off on one of his patented rants, however. Here are some of Bissinger’s subsequent Cardinals-focused tweets, unedited (NSFW). A few of the latter ones are in response to comments from others.

“Something in the Card organization is terribly wrong. Getting rid of Jockety stupidest move ever. Kept idiotfuck Luhnow instead.”

“Hiring McGwire terrible move even though batting coaches don’t do shit. Tony never should have done it. Been there too long? Silence……..”

“The Cardinals could win the WS (except Franklin sucks). Have the pitching. So why are they playing like they don’t give a shit…”

“Two weeks ago, everybody including me thought Cards had finally hit stride after sweeping Reds. Now nothing but excuses.”

“Obvious answer to Cardinal woes: Alyssa Milano takes over as manager. Pujols strikes out with bases loaded. Alyssa: ‘Yay! You tried Hard!’”

“Of course top heavy. But DeWitt is cheap. And if team collapses, Albert will leave. He should.”

“For all the stats in the world, if players don’t care, come into park distracted, defeatest (sic), then streaks are not accidental.”

In response to the Post-Dispatch’s Joe Strauss drawing more attention to his tweets, Bissinger replied.

“You watch them play every day. I don’t. You explain what the fuck is happening….”

Is Bissinger speaking for himself, or also sharing the thinking of the manager, who is not under contract for 2011, when he typed the following?

“Let me be clear: I love Tony La Russa. Brilliant gutsy manager. Most interesting man I have met in sports. But mesh is no longer right.”

If you dare, you can join the over 16,000 people who follow Bissinger on Twitter here.

Update: In response to learning of Bissinger’s comments from the Post-Dispatch, La Russa predictably distanced himself from the comments, not the man. He “…described Bissinger as a friend with whom he had last spoken several weeks ago. However, La Russa said,

‘He isn’t connected enough to me that he’s stating my opinions. I think that’s the important point there.’”

Update #2: I found a June article in The New Republic in which Bissinger discusses why he tweets. Here are a couple of nuggets:

“I am an angry man, which is one of the reasons I have resumed therapy and take four different pharmaceuticals. I wake up angry, stay angry during the day except to my dog and children, and go to bed angry at night. Most of my anger amounted to a running dialogue of abuse and self-abuse while working alone at home. But with Twitter, I now had an outlet. I used profanity, because that’s the way I talk, the perfect sentence being one in which the f-bomb appears as adverb, verb, adjective, and noun, as in, ‘You kind sir, go fxxxly fxxx yourself, you fxxx of a fxxxhead.’”

“Some say I am two-faced because of my original anti-blog stance, or that I am a washed-up windbag, or that I am seriously demeaning myself…”  (what follows is a general purpose 140 character profanity-laden tweet)

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Perhaps no one has found the social phenomena of Twitter to be more exhilarating than best-selling author H.G. Bissinger III, known to the world as “Buzz.” Through his penning of wildly popular books including “Friday Night Lights” and the Tony La Russa and Cardinals-focused “Three Nights in August,” Bissinger’s reputation as a literary leader of his generation has long been cemented in place.

The friend and business partner of La Russa in Red Bird Cinema is a regular visitor in the manager’s office when the Cardinals visit Philadelphia. The group’s announced projects include a film adaptation of “Three Nights” with “Lights” star and long-time Cardinals fan Billy Bob Thornton producing.

Yet there is another, unflattering side of Buzz. In an infamous “Internet Media” episode of Bob Costas’ series “Costas Now” aired on HBO in April 2008, Bissinger went off on an embarrassing tirade perhaps directed as much as what Deadspin founder Will Leitch represents as at Leitch himself. The basis was the author’s extreme dislike of bloggers. Bissinger’s over-the-top actions drew widespread criticism and ridicule at the time.

Since first tasting the immediacy of instant messaging months ago, Bissinger has increased his outspokenness exponentially via that medium. As he tweeted Monday,

“Even if some of you think I am a vicious little profane prick, which I am and am not…”

The author has taken a particular and most odd liking to the catch phrase “douche juice,” which he fires at the drop of a hat. It doesn’t end there as “F” bombs and worse are a regular part of Buzz’ Twitter shock-shtick.

On Monday, one of the targets of his Buzz bombs was Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella, a friend of La Russa back to their youth in Tampa, Florida. Apparently, Bissinger is not in the process of negotiating the rights to ink “Three Nights in Chicago.”

In the first related tweet, Bissinger suggested Piniella has not been worth his pay with the Cubs.

“I am surprised nobody came up with Pinella in who is stealing money. Spent week with Cubs 1st season. Kept getting lost on way to clubhouse,” Buzz tweeted.

Just in case there was any doubt about what he was saying, Bissinger followed with this 140-character analysis.

“Piniella could have cared less. Spoke tough. All bark. La Russa gets to ballpark seven hours before game. Lou five minutes before BP.”

The Monday night trilogy was completed with this observation.

“Piniella was a big name. They thought it was a coup talking him out of retirement. But he was coasting on reputation. Obvious.”

Update: Tweets number four and five appeared shortly afterward.

“Piniella might as well sit on top of the dugout in a rocking chair. Swig a beer. Get some bennies. Ignore that Wrigley is a dump.”

And then this:

“Lenny Dykstra would do better job managing cubs than Piniella. At least he would not pretend to manage. Lou should be playing LF for Pirates.”

Bissinger’s criticism apparently has no bounds, as he even questions his buddy La Russa.

“McGwire was a terrible mistake La Russa made. He is not a good hitting coach…”

It appears that Bissinger is not taking himself too seriously and doesn’t seem to care what he says about anyone to everyone. His online tough-guy persona reminds me a bit of another author who was “Juiced” in his own way, Jose Canseco.

As the story of Mark McGwire’s return put him back in the spotlight briefly this past off-season, La Russa’s former pupil and McGwire’s “Bash Brother” posted a series of wildly profane tweets challenging and threatening those critical of him and his checkered past.

Odd internet bedfellows indeed.

If you dare, follow Bissinger’s tweets here (NSFW). He has over 6,500 followers.

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Housecat Housecall, one of the first reality-based cat television programs, in its third season on Animal Planet, provides cat-owning families with resolutions for addressing their various cat behavioral concerns.

The television series, which airs on Saturdays at 10:30 a.m. Eastern/Pacific and 9:30 a.m. Central, with encores on Sundays at 8:00 a.m. E/P on Animal Planet, is hosted by popular TV personality and Australian veterinarian Dr. Katrina Warren.

Each week, Dr. Katrina visits cat-owning homes, observes the cats in their natural environments and recommends actionable solutions to the owners to help them ultimately live more connected lives with their cats.  Housecat Housecall features real cats, real people and a real veterinarian working through a wide range of cat care situations.

In this week’s episode, which airs on June 26, Dr. Katrina (left in photo) works side-by-side with St. Louis Cardinals Manager Tony La Russa and his family to identify and train “therapy” cats for an animal-assisted therapy program run by ARF, the animal welfare organization founded by La Russa.

Cat owners seeking information about Housecat Housecall or wanting additional cat care guidance beyond the show can visit www.housecathousecall.com. The web site features an episode guide, cast bios and information for accessing Purina Cat Chow Mentors, cat care specialists who are available to share helpful advice any day of the week, at any time.

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Speaking with the media on Monday morning prior to his St. Louis Cardinals taking on the New York Mets in Port St. Lucie, Florida, manager Tony La Russa commented on the rumor published by ESPN’s Buster Olney that the Philadelphia Phillies had internal discussions about the thought of trading Ryan Howard for Albert Pujols. That speculation was immediately shot down by Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro on Sunday.

“It’s like stats,” La Russa said. “Use and abuse. It’s the media; they can be really useful and they can be really abusive, but to come up with that one is abusive. It disrupts the Phillies, it disrupts  the… – to the extent anyone thinks it is serious. It could distract the Phillies; it could distract here.

“I am pretty sure that neither has happened, but…I would be surprised… Who wrote this? Who said this? The person who came up with that one should be tracked down and you’d say ‘Hmmm. That credibility just took a big hit.’ It is ridiculous, actually. It is really not worth speculating on other than trying to figure out who started it.”

Told it was Olney, La Russa didn’t believe it.

“I doubt that. I’d be shocked if it was him,” the manager replied.

When it was asked if a player of Pujols’ stature in a contract period would foster this kind of speculation, La Russa pointed out the reality of the situation from his perspective and that of the Cardinals organization.

“I think what it will foster is media bs, because what they said already without even a hesitation is our organization is going to plan on making Albert a player to start and finish his career here,” La Russa said. “So where’s the… and Albert has said he wants to stay here. So why would anyone want to start speculating?

“Whenever the contract gets worked out, it gets worked out. So that is what I said. If someone wants to start it up, it is media bs. Or if the fans start it up, then it is fan bs. There is nothing going on with St. Louis except what they both clearly said,” the manager explained.

La Russa was asked if he planned to discuss the situation with Pujols. He said he would not unless he sees anything different with the player, the same approach he takes with his entire team.

One writer speculated out loud that every organization might think about how to try to acquire a player of Pujols’ importance. La Russa flatly disagreed.

“I don’t think any team kicked it around, as a matter of fact, because they know he isn’t going anywhere. They’ve got more important things to do than waste their time. That’s my answer…”

When it was suggested this kind of speculation might arise again the future, La Russa made it clear his reply will be consistent.

“Then every time it comes up, you can use those quotes and we won’t have to talk about it,” the manager only partially joked. “It will be the same response.”

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