The Chris Moeller Archives

Tony, unlike Whitey

Please spare me a defense of Cards' manager Tony LaRussa by comparing him to Hall skipper Whitey Herzog. Yes, Whitey preferred "old school" players, but the difference is that Whitey had only two rules for his players-- be on time and hustle. We hear about new Tony rules every day.

It's inaccurate to say, as the writer of this linked article does, that Ted Simmons could have stuck around with the Cardinals if he so desired after Darrell Porter was acquired to supplant him in 1980. Whitey, according to his book, traded the veteran catcher for one reason only-- "poor arm strength." After Porter became slotted to become Whitey's everyday catcher, was Simmons going to force Keith Hernandez, the greatest defensive first baseman of all-time, off the initial sack? Was the 31-year-old long-time backstop going to patrol the carpet of Busch Stadium's vast outfield? That inaccurate claim above by the reporter is indicative of an entirely silly article.

Thirty years ago this month, the hard-nosed but very expensive Simmons was dealt by the Cardinals from a position of strength at the catcher position, as part of a potentially-beneficial, seven-player, blockbuster deal, because of the player's physical limitations on the field. On Sunday, the hard-nosed and inexpensive Brendan Ryan was dealt from a position of weakness in the Cardinals infield, for a bag of balls, because his manager didn't like his personality. There are no free spirits allowed in baseball's most morose and joyless clubhouse.

A forced transaction on a Whitey Herzog-managed team is having to deal a guy (shortstop Gary Templeton) because he flipped off some hecklers in front of his home dugout. A forced deal on a Tony LaRussa team is having to part with a damn-near perfect ballplayer named Scott Rolen because he can't co-exist with his overheated manager. That handicap of personality is the real reason so-called "irrational" Cardinals fans resent the long-tenured LaRussa.

posted by CM @ 7:24 PM