From the moment Bill Veeck tapped him as Chicago’s skipper at 34 in ‘79, La Russa was viewed by some as an impostor. His big league playing career? A .199 batting average in 132 games in six seasons spanning 10 years. His managing résumé? Running a Double A team for part of one season and a Triple A team for part of the next. “Too cheap to hire a real manager!” White Sox broadcaster Harry Caray said constantly of Veeck’s hire, and at his worst moments La Russa suspected he was right.
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It was La Russa who came to [Jose] Canseco’s defense after The Washington Post’s Thomas Boswell first accused him of steroid use, in 1988. Later, when he heard that Canseco had bragged about using steroids, La Russa never told his boss, Oakland president Sandy Alderson, about it or about his suspicion that other A’s—“less than a handful”—had gotten too big, too fast.
“I’m not sure Tony would ever admit that you can be too protective of players,” Alderson says. “He perhaps sees his job description in some way requiring that from him as a manager.”
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Stalwarts like Rolen, shortstop David Eckstein, centerfielder Jim Edmonds have spent the spring looking older, slower. At week’s end the Cards were 20-27, 6 1/2 games back.
“La Russa has a challenge now that is really unique to his career,” says longtime baseball analyst Bill James, an adviser with the Boston Red Sox. “Since Chicago he’s been working with pretty good talent, but it’s been a long time since he’s had to deal with a challenge like this. It’s really an interesting place to try to get a handle on what Tony’s skills are now.”
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I never thought I'd say this about a Bill James quote, but I and all A's fans can agree that this is BS. And to Tony's credit, he managed his heart out with those mid-90's A's. There just wasn't anything there. How much of the cupboard being bare is Tony's fault adn how much is Alderson's fault adn how much was bad luck can be argued forever. What can't be argued is that for 3 years, LaRussa managed a pretty awful team but he tried to get creative and he was increasingly aggressive in his strategy to try to milk a win here and a win there. I have mixed feelings about Tony, but I'll never question his work ethic or his desire to win.
I'd say James, like most folks who don't follow the A's and/or LaRussa closely, has simply forgotten that LaRussa managed those teams. IMO, most fans--even hard-core fans--think "LaRussa? Bash Brothers-Cardinals." A lot of people probably forget he ever managed the White Sox, and I bet very few people remember Bill Veeck hired him. It's sort of like people forgetting Walter Alston still managed the Dodgers from 1967-1976, that Leo Durocher managed the Astros in 1973 or that Dick Williams managed the Mariners in the 1980s.
It's forgivable BS, but it's still BS. James has called enough people to the floor himself for similar forgetfulness. It's not as if I'm going to stop reading his books, though.
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