Tweet
What team should I start rooting for? I can't spend another day rooting for the same team as Gooby.
-
-
Greinke hasn't been the best pitcher in the NL, but he's easily top 3 minimum and should be on the stupid all star team.
Oddly none of this matters except in hall of fame discussions.Comment
-
In his 33-year career Tony La Russa was honored with four Manager of the Year awards. He was the subject of acclaimed books written by Pulitzer Prize winners George Will and Buzz Bissinger. TLR is a lock for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Few managers in the game's history can match La Russa's credentials. Even in retirement, the compliments continue to come his way.
On Sunday, La Russa received one of the greatest tributes of his career. It came from his embittered former rival, Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker.
After discovering that the NL All-Star team roster did not include Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips or Reds starting pitcher Johnny Cueto, Baker became dispossessed of his mind.
Baker blamed La Russa for the exclusion, accusing TLR of carrying a grudge from the famous Cardinals-Reds brawl in 2010.
The power of Don Tony lives on.
Even after he's gone, and out of the way as a threat in the NL Central, the Reds are obsessed with La Russa. They're still taking him on.
La Russa still lives in Baker's head, still exists in the Reds' collective consciousness. La Russa is the ghost in the big red machine. The Reds lead the NL Central, and La Russa is a civilian. But TLR has changed the rules of engagement, and he's clearly winning the psychological battle with Baker.
The Reds lost Sunday's game at San Francisco, and it's no surprise, considering the way Baker went after Tony again. Poor Baker. He could be searching for La Russa's phantasm in the attic, or looking under stairwells for strands from La Russa's old Prince Valiant hairdo.
Memo to Dusty: when you return to your manager's office, check the light fixtures. La Russa may have secretly installed a surveillance device. And the "fan" that sits by the Cincinnati dugout, taking photos of Reds players? It seems innocent enough. But the guy could be working for La Russa on a spy mission. Have him frisked, Dusty.
This is hilarious. The Reds are convinced that La Russa is out there, somewhere, plotting against them. They are certain that the diabolical La Russa played dirty roster tricks to enact his black-hearted revenge against Phillips and Cueto.
To the Reds, this was no tapping of a catcher's shin guards to instigate a row. No, to the Redlegs, the omission of Phillips and Cueto feels more like a cheap-shot Kung Fu kick to the head.
This is nonsense of the highest quality.
La Russa, 67, was invited by Commissioner Bud Selig to manage the NL All-Star team. I didn't think it was the right move. If you're retired from managing, then stay clear of the dugout. But it isn't a big deal. Selig wants the All-Star Game to be a true competition, with the winning side gaining homefield advantage for their league in the World Series. It's a dumb concept, but La Russa will always be serious about winning.
Having La Russa in uniform for one more game was harmless enough, at least until Baker ignited a new controversy with his paranoid reaction. How long will this go on? After years of sparring and warring with La Russa, Baker still can't shake Tony.
The Baker vs. La Russa rivalry was feisty and occasionally ferocious. They brought out the best, and worst, in each other. Baker took La Russa down a few times as manager of the Giants (2002 NLCS), Cubs (2003 NL Central title) and Reds (NL Central champs, 2010.)
But La Russa won the prestigious prizes, the biggest trophies, the rings with the most bling. After riding in a final championship parade and getting the last laugh on Baker, La Russa pulled a fast one on Dusty by retiring two days after the Cardinals won the 2011 World Series.
It was La Russa's third World Series title, giving him a formidable 3-0 lead over Baker. Dusty could never get even now. He watched, helplessly, as La Russa walked away last October with arms raised as the undisputed champion.
Baker is the scarred but proud fighter who wants to get in the ring again to settle an old score with his despised adversary. But TLR is gone now, leaving a frustrated Baker to lunge at La Russa's reputation. To satisfy the need to start another rumble, Baker is swinging at an imaginary target.
A few points to consider:
• After the fans and players voted, La Russa was left with nine roster spots to fill. The number was actually less than that, given that La Russa had to follow the rules and add several players based on the need to ensure All-Star representation for every NL team. The bottom line? To fill his few available roster spots, La Russa did not give preferential treatment to players from his immediate past. No Cardinal was added via manager's choice. But La Russa did honor Cincinnati outfielder Jay Bruce by putting him on the NL squad.
• At second base, the fans messed up by voting in the undeserving Dan Uggla (Atlanta) as the starter. The players voted for Houston second baseman Jose Altuve. Just how many second basemen do you need for one game? More than anything the fan and player votes cost Phillips a spot.
• Phillips is having a good, not great, first half. Arizona second basemen Aaron Hill has a combined onbase-slugging percentage that's around 100 points higher than the Phillips OPS. But Hill was left off the NL roster, and he's having a better season than Phillips. Sure, Phillips is the superior defensive player. But All-Star choices almost always are based on offense.
• La Russa did use one of his invitations on a middle infielder, Washington shortstop Ian Desmond. He leads NL shortstops in RBIs and extra base hits and is second in homers. Desmond can also play second base or the outfield if there's a problem. The NL has three shortstops and two second basemen. If you're going to go with five middle infielders, it makes sense to give the extra slot to a shortstop. Unless, of course, you think it's a wise idea to move the range-challenged Uggla over to shortstop if the game drags on and the managers begin running out of players.
• If Baker wants to be mad, why isn't he raging against NL players who voted for Altuve instead of Phillips? I'm confused. If Phillips is so richly deserving, then why did the fans and the NL players snub him? Was this another conspiracy? Did the insidious La Russa find a way to fix the vote?
• Cueto is having a terrific season as the Reds' ace. He belonged on the NL pitching staff. But this is Year of the Pitcher, loaded with attractive and worthy candidates. You can't take them all. Milwaukee's Zack Greinke was just as deserving as Cueto, and he didn't receive the All-Star call. Neither did Pittsburgh's A.J. Burnett and James McDonald, San Francisco's Madison Bumgarner and Ryan Vogelsong, and LA's Chris Capuano.
• La Russa did use two spots on starters Cole Hamels (Philadelphia) and Clayton Kershaw (Dodgers.) Yes, I think Cueto is having a better season than Hamels. But Hamels isn't bogus; his numbers are more than sufficient for All-Star certification.
• Cueto is scheduled to start for the Reds Sunday; that would make him unavailable to pitch in Tuesday's All-Star Game. Is that La Russa's fault? Did La Russa set the Reds' rotation schedule? The NL players didn't vote for Cueto, either. Heck, they picked Lance Lynn over him. Uh-oh, must be another anti-Reds conspiracy. One more thing: if Baker is so passionate about Cueto's case for All-Star membership, why didn't he use the phone to give La Russa a call? Other managers do some lobbying on behalf of their players.
• If La Russa was burning to disrespect the Reds, then why did he choose Bruce? I think Bruce is worthy of the recognition, but it's not as if La Russa lacked other options. He could have tormented the Reds by opting for Matt Holliday, his former player and a personal favorite. After a quiet first two weeks, Holliday is batting .336 with a .427 onbase percentage and a .542 slugging pct. since April 19. Holliday has a 44-point edge on Bruce in OPS. TLR went with Baker's outfielder instead.
We don't see Cardinals manager Mike Matheny acting like a whiny little, uh, crybaby -- do we? Heck no. Brandon Phillips would disapprove.
I'm thinking La Russa may have tabbed Bruce just to mess with Baker's mind. Did you see how the Reds lost Sunday? Bruce lost track of a fly ball in right field, and it landed over his head for the winning, walk-off double in the ninth. This is rather suspicious. On behalf of manager Baker, I would like to know of La Russa's exact whereabouts at the time of Bruce's odd mishap. Was the conniving TLR in the ballpark, secretly aiming a laser light in Bruce's eyes?
This is fascinating. The on-field skirmishes are over, and there will be no more conflicts pitting La Russa vs. Baker for the NL Central title. There will be no more scenes of an agitated Baker standing on the top dugout step, screaming threats to La Russa, as he did at Wrigley Field back in Sept. 2003.
Tony vs. Dusty isn't over, however. Not as long as Baker keeps it going. This feud won't end until the tormented Baker clears TLR from his head. For now, Baker's obsession remains imbedded and the rivalry has taken a bizarre twist. Instead of merely losing baseball games to La Russa, Baker may be losing his mind to La Russa.
^ Shouts to MvP for the sick sig. GFX TEAM BACK
.Comment
-
I still have to LOL at Baker. It's the freaking ASG, just let it go. What does it truly mean, except a showcase for the best players in the league (and some would argue that doesn't exist with the one player per team stipulation.)Comment
-
Allowing three runs in two innings in his last relief appearance apparently means Jeremy Guthrie earns another rotation spot. The Rocks will get a low level, middling prospect for Guthrie and that is it.Comment
-
Bryce Harper takes Stanton's spot, becoming the youngest position player to ever make the ASG.
Comment
-
EVERYONE'S AN ALL STAR
But seriously, Home Run Derby is really gonna miss Giancarlo and Kemp.
Comment
-
Oh hey, TLR's boyfriend Bernie Miklasz wrote another public love letter to his sweetie pie.
Cardinals fans (and Miklasz) made a far bigger deal out of Baker's disappointment than Baker did of the obvious snubs. Baker made one (valid) statement, Miklasz and the Cardinals fans still haven't shut up about it.Comment
-
The fact the Cubs have two all stars makes it a joke.Comment
-
karlravechespn
good news for MLB and Pirates fans..Andrew McCutchen replaces Giancarlo Stanton in Homerun DerbyComment
-
Matt Cain vs. Justin Verlander = the starters
Screw LaRussa, by the way.
Comment
-
Not really related to the All-Star game, but how/why is Tony LaRussa still involved with baseball? He was a terrible "ambassador" for the game when he was a manager...his teams were always doing something that was illegal (steroids) or borderline illegal (throwing at batters' heads, faking being hit by pitches, etc.). I thought he retired and then we wouldn't have to suffer through more LaRussa idiocy/cheating. Get this clown out of baseball.Comment
Comment