As the winningest manager in Cardinals' history, Tony La Russa sure seems to have an image problem. For a man who once admitted that he takes everything personal because anything less means you aren't giving it your all, he still comes off as an enigma. He's the proponent of old-school baseball, played the right way with "purity", even though he sees nothing wrong with managing one-time proven cheaters.
The latest chapter in the enigmatic book of TLR came this past weekend, when Tony opined on Jim Edmonds and Edmonds' comment that he preferred the Chicago media recognize him as a Cub and not a "former Cardinal". Simple enough. As a Cards fan who sat through Edmonds' reign as Cardinals CF, I see nothing wrong with that. Tony La Russa, on the other hand, doesn't see it that way.
You may have seen or heard about the comments, but they're worth revisiting due to their utter absurdity.
"I think we ought to follow his lead. His quote was roughly, within a couple of words, 'I've had enough of people asking me about the Cardinals. I'm a Cub now.' So I would treat him like he never played here. I would wait until the end of his career and I would remember he was a Cardinal. I would ignore the fact that he was ever here [for now] because that's what he wants. I would honor his request. Forget the Cardinal days until his career is over."
"I definitely believe after what he said we should respect it and just ignore him. He said he wants to identify with the Cubs for the 2008 season. I mean, I don't see anything wrong with that. But I wouldn't go out of our way to put him in a tough position or give him some acclaim. If he wants to separate himself from (his time in St. Louis), that's OK. That's how we'll treat him. I respect his wishes. I think it makes it easy for us."
"Didn't he play in a bunch of postseasons? How many postseasons did he play in before he got here?"
"There isn't anything he gave us that we didn't give him back, is there? He was paid. He was respected. He was applauded. He was taken care of. I think it was really good. That's why I was disappointed he wanted to shut the door this year. So, fine. Shut the door. It's not a big deal, man."
Um, actually Tony, there is something you never gave back, namely a spot in centerfield this season. I'm not trying to argue Edmonds should still be in St. Louis, or even that I wish he was still in St. Louis - truthfully, it was time for Jimmy to go - but to act is if the Cardinals gave EVERYTHING to the halfshirt is a stretch given the events of the past eight months. And judging by La Russa's ridiculous sentiments, it is a "big deal", to him anyway.
In La Russa's world, you give of everything you have, 100% of the time to the St. Louis Cardinals. If not, you're slighting TLR (he takes it personal, remember) and all of the men who go to battle with him. It even extends out to the fans. Just a few weeks ago, La Russa chided Cardinals fans (tongue-in-cheek) for not voting more for Yadier Molina as an All Star. I'll defer to Josh Bacott, who said it best on STLSportsMag.com
two weeks ago:
"On behalf of the Cardinals fan base (which most certainly has not elected me as a spokesman) I apologize to Tony. We haven't been voting because we were too busy pulling out our wallets and paying your salary and Yadi's salary and everyone elses. Next time we'll be a more attentive partner."
This has nothing to do with my feelings towards La Russa as Cards manager: he's done an amazing job this season and throughout his 12+ seasons as skipper, and probably won't be fully appreciated until he's gone. I just wish wasn't such a freaking baby about everything. Shut up and play ball, Tony.
There's just something about the Cubs/Cards series that brings out the whine (or wine?) in Tony La Russa...