Tony LaRussa and unwritten rules

[sygazelle]

I hate professional sports in general and here's the main reason.


It seems like managers and coaches have no control anymore. The players make so much money they can say FU to a teams leadership and get away with it. I grew up in a world where the managers' word was it.

La Russa number 3 on the all time winning list as a manager. The White Sox are in first place by 2.5 games. None of that gets him any respect. He's an old school guy and lives by the unwritten rules of baseball. He chose to call out a player for swinging when he had a sign to take. That swing resulted in a home run in a game that was long over with a non-pitcher on the mound for the other team. La Russa is getting heat because he got upset that his player ignored his signal.

I'm sure many will disagree. But, I'm sticking with my view that the manager's word is gospel. If that's not working and a team is losing, then ownership should fire the manager. Until then, I think players should follow the manager's lead.

In this case, the White Sox have an all-time great manager with a winning season. He should run the team as he sees fit.

[F30lolz]

Originally Posted by sygazelle

I hate professional sports in general and here's the main reason.


It seems like managers and coaches have no control anymore. The players make so much money they can say FU to a teams leadership and get away with it. I grew up in a world where the managers' word was it.

La Russa number 3 on the all time winning list as a manager. The White Sox are in first place by 2.5 games. None of that gets him any respect. He's an old school guy and lives by the unwritten rules of baseball. He chose to call out a player for swinging when he had a sign to take. That swing resulted in a home run in a game that was long over with a non-pitcher on the mound for the other team. La Russa is getting heat because he got upset that his player ignored his signal.

I'm sure many will disagree. But, I'm sticking with my view that the manager's word is gospel. If that's not working and a team is losing, then ownership should fire the manager. Until then, I think players should follow the manager's lead.

In this case, the White Sox have an all-time great manager with a winning season. He should run the team as he sees fit.

I grew up the old fashion way as well and I agree with LaRussa for calling out the rookie. For the past 10-15 years little leaguers are awarded participating trophies and the majority of younglings are just soft in general.

However, I don’t see LaRussa being an all time great just because of wins. He’s 2nd all time in losses, has had numerous post season collapses but that’s an argument for another day.

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by F30lolz

I grew up the old fashion way as well and I agree with LaRussa for calling out the rookie. For the past 10-15 years little leaguers are awarded participating trophies and the majority of younglings are just soft in general.

However, I don’t see LaRussa being an all time great just because of wins. He’s 2nd all time in losses, has had numerous post season collapses but that’s an argument for another day.

Here's a copy and paste from the MLB website of the best all-time managers from every team.

Cardinals: Tony La Russa, 1996-2011
Key fact: Franchise-most 1,408 wins as St. Louis skipper
La Russa wore No. 10 while in St. Louis to remind of his purpose: Win a 10th championship for the Cardinals. Well, he won Nos. 10 and 11, and also led the Redbirds to eight division titles, nine postseason appearances and three NL pennants.

Oh, and here's another thing I found on Wiki on La Russa: On December 9, 2013, he was unanimously elected to the Hall of Fame by the 16-member Veterans Committee. The induction ceremony was held at Cooperstown, New York, on July 27, 2014.[1] On August 16, 2014, he was inducted into the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum.


La Russa was not the greatest of all time, I agree, but he knows baseball and respects tradition and the written and unwritten rules of the game. This punk kid plays 40 major league games in his life and decides he can ignore signs. That's the tail wagging the dog. Its the trend in major league sports and I, for one, don' t like it. Others may disagree. I don't really care.

[M_Six]

I mostly agree that the batter shouldn't have showboated like that. But on the other hand, if a team is getting beat so badly that they put in a position player to pitch, then just call the game. At that point you're just wasting time. They finally did away with having to actually throw four balls to intentionally walk someone. Now they should have a mercy rule for lopsided games. Otherwise, what's a winning team supposed to do when there's a position player throwing meatballs? Just stand there and K the side over and over until the game ends? What's the point?

[tcphoto]

Growing up in St. Louis in the ‘70’s and ‘80’s, I will always be a Cardinals fan. My only beef with La Russa is how he treated Ozzie Smith, who deserved to finish his career as he wanted. I do agree that the player should be called out, he disregarded the sign, lucked out by hitting a HR and thought it made himself look good. I think that sports should demonstrate the good in people not show that one player or team can embarrass another. One should play hard, respect your opponent and shake hands afterward.