Post by Fish Troll on Mar 23, 2007 23:50:54 GMT -5
www.joesportsfan.com/column.php?storyid=440
Instances Where Tony LaRussa Was Obviously Drunk
By Jason Major :: March 23, 2007
Tony LaRussa’s DUI this week sure explains a lot to Cardinal fans (and I’m sure A’s fans). Like any manager, he has made some curious moves, but some over the years were so bizarre that there had to have been something else in play. We are resting easier now. Also, I’d also like to say that I’m not one of these insane Cards fans who downplay his success and wish that he were Whitey Herzog - it’s just nice to know where some of this LaRussa Logic has come from now.
Actually, it was harder to think of these past moves since every single move that he made in the playoffs last year worked amazingly well. By the way, is it a sign that you should change your life priorities when six people contact you by 7:30 a.m. to alert you that your favorite baseball team’s manager got a DUI?
7. Cody McKay, major leaguer
The Cardinals have had a knack for getting horrific backup catchers since LaRussa became manager (Alberto Castillo, Einar Diaz, Chris Widger, to name three), but no one was worse than McKay. As a 28-year old rookie in 2002, he received 74 at-bats, and hit .239 with two extra-bit hits, and stayed on the team because his dad happened to be the 1st Base Coach. Amazingly, there are two other major leaguers also named “Cody.”
6. Jason Marquis
He left him out there long enough to give up 12 or more runs twice last season. Actually, that was perversely entertaining--never mind. Consider this a Top 6 list.
5. Andy Benes
The Cards took a 3-1 series lead against the Braves in the 1996, and LaRussa had inexplicably set up his rotation where 18-game winner Andy Benes pitched precisely zero times in the final three games. I might be a bit off here, but I believe the combined final score of those games was 607-3 in favor of the Braves.
4. Rick Ankiel, pinch runner
It was a Fox Saturday Baseball game in New York, and the Cards were taking on the Mets. They had a big potential run at third base with less than two outs, and LaRussa sends out…Rick Ankiel to pinch run. Ankiel tries to score on a sac fly and is thrown out by at least 30 feet. To top it off, LaRussa admits after the game that he told Ankiel “not to slide under any circumstances,” immediately causing his pinch running to make complete sense.
3. B-team games
It’s happened to every Cardinal fan - and presumably every baseball fan - you buy a ticket to a game, get really excited about it, and then it’s one of “those” games. Games where Pujols, Rolen, and Edmonds are sitting, and So Taguchi is in center hitting fourth. They could at least warn people about these games at the ticket window or ask the scalpers to give a disclaimer.
2. Jeff Tabaka (2001)
Tabaka is the best example of a countless number of stories regarding mis-used relievers. Taking a 1-0 game into an 8th inning game against the Astros, with a chance to clinch the division in the last weekend of the year and avoid playing the Diamondbacks in the playoffs (who would beat the Cards), LaRussa trots out Jeff Tabaka, who promptly blows the lead by giving up a bomb to Lance Berkman, the only batter he faces. (Tabaka appeared in just 8 games in '01, managed a hearty 7.36 ERA, and hadn't pitched the previous 3 sesons rendering LaRussa's decision that much more stupid worded. But hey, he was lefthanded.) There are plenty of other examples very similar to this one.
1. Pitcher hits 8th
This must have been quite a bender because it lasted for almost an entire half of a season. This idea was back when the Cardinals could lose 16-3, but as long as Mark McGwire hit a home run, everything was fine. There was nothing quite like getting the first guy on from the bottom of the order, then having Kent Bottenfield step up to the plate.
Instances Where Tony LaRussa Was Obviously Drunk
By Jason Major :: March 23, 2007
Tony LaRussa’s DUI this week sure explains a lot to Cardinal fans (and I’m sure A’s fans). Like any manager, he has made some curious moves, but some over the years were so bizarre that there had to have been something else in play. We are resting easier now. Also, I’d also like to say that I’m not one of these insane Cards fans who downplay his success and wish that he were Whitey Herzog - it’s just nice to know where some of this LaRussa Logic has come from now.
Actually, it was harder to think of these past moves since every single move that he made in the playoffs last year worked amazingly well. By the way, is it a sign that you should change your life priorities when six people contact you by 7:30 a.m. to alert you that your favorite baseball team’s manager got a DUI?
7. Cody McKay, major leaguer
The Cardinals have had a knack for getting horrific backup catchers since LaRussa became manager (Alberto Castillo, Einar Diaz, Chris Widger, to name three), but no one was worse than McKay. As a 28-year old rookie in 2002, he received 74 at-bats, and hit .239 with two extra-bit hits, and stayed on the team because his dad happened to be the 1st Base Coach. Amazingly, there are two other major leaguers also named “Cody.”
6. Jason Marquis
He left him out there long enough to give up 12 or more runs twice last season. Actually, that was perversely entertaining--never mind. Consider this a Top 6 list.
5. Andy Benes
The Cards took a 3-1 series lead against the Braves in the 1996, and LaRussa had inexplicably set up his rotation where 18-game winner Andy Benes pitched precisely zero times in the final three games. I might be a bit off here, but I believe the combined final score of those games was 607-3 in favor of the Braves.
4. Rick Ankiel, pinch runner
It was a Fox Saturday Baseball game in New York, and the Cards were taking on the Mets. They had a big potential run at third base with less than two outs, and LaRussa sends out…Rick Ankiel to pinch run. Ankiel tries to score on a sac fly and is thrown out by at least 30 feet. To top it off, LaRussa admits after the game that he told Ankiel “not to slide under any circumstances,” immediately causing his pinch running to make complete sense.
3. B-team games
It’s happened to every Cardinal fan - and presumably every baseball fan - you buy a ticket to a game, get really excited about it, and then it’s one of “those” games. Games where Pujols, Rolen, and Edmonds are sitting, and So Taguchi is in center hitting fourth. They could at least warn people about these games at the ticket window or ask the scalpers to give a disclaimer.
2. Jeff Tabaka (2001)
Tabaka is the best example of a countless number of stories regarding mis-used relievers. Taking a 1-0 game into an 8th inning game against the Astros, with a chance to clinch the division in the last weekend of the year and avoid playing the Diamondbacks in the playoffs (who would beat the Cards), LaRussa trots out Jeff Tabaka, who promptly blows the lead by giving up a bomb to Lance Berkman, the only batter he faces. (Tabaka appeared in just 8 games in '01, managed a hearty 7.36 ERA, and hadn't pitched the previous 3 sesons rendering LaRussa's decision that much more stupid worded. But hey, he was lefthanded.) There are plenty of other examples very similar to this one.
1. Pitcher hits 8th
This must have been quite a bender because it lasted for almost an entire half of a season. This idea was back when the Cardinals could lose 16-3, but as long as Mark McGwire hit a home run, everything was fine. There was nothing quite like getting the first guy on from the bottom of the order, then having Kent Bottenfield step up to the plate.
4. Rick Ankiel, pinch runner
It was a Fox Saturday Baseball game in New York, and the Cards were taking on the Mets. They had a big potential run at third base with less than two outs, and LaRussa sends out…Rick Ankiel to pinch run. Ankiel tries to score on a sac fly and is thrown out by at least 30 feet. To top it off, LaRussa admits after the game that he told Ankiel “not to slide under any circumstances,” immediately causing his pinch running to make complete sense.
It was a Fox Saturday Baseball game in New York, and the Cards were taking on the Mets. They had a big potential run at third base with less than two outs, and LaRussa sends out…Rick Ankiel to pinch run. Ankiel tries to score on a sac fly and is thrown out by at least 30 feet. To top it off, LaRussa admits after the game that he told Ankiel “not to slide under any circumstances,” immediately causing his pinch running to make complete sense.
