Sports Justice: I hope Cecil Cooper is learning from his mistakes

Give ‘em hell Coop!

Cecil Cooper is going to fail as a big league manager if he’s unwilling to confront Carlos Lee about his lack of hustle and his habit showing up late for batting practice. He’ll lose respect in the clubhouse, and when that goes, a manager can’t continue.

In the end, there’s probably not much he can do about it. Carlos Lee’s $100 million is guaranteed. He’s going to get his cash whether he runs hard to first base or not.

But Cooper absolutely, positively must draw a line in the about what he stands for. Phil Garner is supposed to have had several talks with Lee on that topic, and nothing worked. Cooper may have spoken to him, too, without results. So it’s close to time to take a stand. Next time he fails to run out a ground ball, send him to the clubhouse. Let the world that your team won’t tolerate this kind of stuff.