Tony LaRussa

Tony LaRussa

Great quote on the Cardinals' manager, Tony LaRussa, over on the Cub Reporter, after Friday night's debacle in St. Louis:

I don’t know what was more embarrassing; that the Cubs lost by walking in Mike Matheny (!) with the bases loaded, or that the Cubs lost after Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa asked both Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen to bunt runners over in consecutive at-bats. As infuriating as Dusty can be as a manager, I have to imagine that being a Cardinals fan can be even more frustrating. At least Dusty’s occasionally-lame tactical moves are understandable, given his “old school” manager mentality. LaRussa comes across like Dr. Frankenstein, a once-sharp man who has lost it, and whose bizarre experiments with run-scoring and relief strategies are an unfortunate combination of senility and hubris.

I can remember the 88 World Series, between the A's and the Dodgers, and for some reason hearing from my grandfather that Tommy Lasorda was three times the manager that Larussa was, if only because Lasorda had an instinctual grasp on the ebb and flow on the game. Larussa, he said, thinks too much.

I worked with a guy who was (and is) a Cardinals fan. And I remember him saying something along the lines of this: "I'm a smart feller, but watching Larussa makes me think I'm hoping for the wrong things when watching baseball. I mean, he's like a genius, right? Because his goal is obviously not winning the game....."