Be Careful What You Wish For

Don't it always seem to go
You don't know what you've got 'till it's gone
They take paradise, put up a parking lot.
(Joni Mitchell--Big Yellow Taxi)

Well, it finally happened. Tony La Russa announced his retirement today as manager of the St. Louis Cardinals. I think STL fans fall into one of three camps regarding TLR. (1) He is the greatest manager of all time and we are lucky to have had him. (2) He is the village idiot and should have been run out of town years ago; the team won with superior talent and despite the manager. (3) Tony is a great, Hall of Fame worthy manager who could drive you absolutely nuts with some of his managerial moves.

Although I know people in all three camps, most of the most thoughtful ones I know tend to fall into the third group. This is also where I reside. Let's start with what many believe to be his shortcomings:

Tony is one of the more thin-skinned, smug, cocky managers I have ever seen. He treats both media and fans with contempt. He acts as if he is much smarter than everyone else and only an idiot would question him. He is a hot-head and very unlikable from a distance.

At times, he takes the bullet for his team regarding moves. At other times, he tries to shift blame (the bullpen phone snafu) or ignore the issue completely (his drunk driving arrest about which he never spoke).

His hot-headedness affected his relationship with some players. His feuds with players like Ozzie Smith, Scott Rolen, Jim Edmonds, and Colby Rasmus got them all run out of town. I will admit that the Rasmus trade was a key to winning the WS this year. You always should be willing to trade future assets to win now. The problem I had with the trade is that I really don't believe that was TLR's motivation in pushing for it; rather it was his pique at Rasmus. I think there was a little luck there.

Though he has a lot of company among his managerial brethren, he seems to eschew modern player measuring tools in favor of having "scrappy" players. Therefore, we are always treated to heavy doses of guys like Nick Punto (career OBP .325, career OPS+ 76!!!), Aaron Miles (career WAR 0.8--the definition of average).

His over-specialization of pitchers meant that he had to carry 12-13 pitchers. This so limited the bench that he could never carry decent pinch-hitters. Rather, to be on TLR's bench a player had to be able to play multiple positions which often meant guys with weak bats.

He, again like many managers, gave too many ABs to washed-up players for their "veteran leadership," even thought it is getting on base that scores runs.

I also find it really hard to believe that he had no knowledge of the steroids issue. His defense of Mark McGuire--while throwing Jose Canseco under the bus--is impossible to defend.

All this sounds like I think he was a terrible manager--far from it. But these warts really made it hard for many fans to really like him.

But LaRussa was quite an innovative manager at the same time. His use of the bullpen--while overdone at times--influenced all of baseball. He was an innovator in the use of video with hitters. He was not a gut-feeling manager most of the time, but kept tons of match-up stats that rightly affect playing time. By all accounts (with some notable exceptions), he was a good motivator and ran a quiet, business-like clubhouse. He wisely deferred to Dave Duncan--clearly the best pitching coach in the game--with good results.

In the end, the good far outweighs the bad in evaluating his career. He was a great manager, albeit with some serious quirks.

For the Tony-is-an-idiot crowd, however, I don't think today should be a celebration. The team will move on but it is fair to ask how well. Will management be able to find a manager who can seamlessly move forward? If they make a mistake and the team finishes below .500 for a few years in a row, STL fans would be up in arms.

Though I think they will make a good move, it is a precarious time.

I remember years ago when Fleetwood Mac toured for the first time without Linsdey Buckingham. Though Buckingham was the guy who made the band sound as it did, he was also, shall we say, a little weird. His perfectionist streak annoyed both the band and fans at times. His public persona on stage was at times downright embarrassing. Other than the good music, there was nothing that attracted you to him.

But when the band decided to tour with two guitarist/singers replacing their leader of more than a decade, one reviewer summed up his absence with this phrase: "Less artistic posturing; also, less art."

I hope that St. Louis fans don't end up wishing that he would come back, but you never know.