Damage Control (the Albert Situation): What Would You Do?

by philbobilbo on Jul 11, 2007 6:19 PM EDT

So, now that we've all beaten the Albert/TLR thing to death, how would you like to see these two (and the team) perform damage control?

I believe they should both be open about it; discuss the situation in a press conference together, and then put it behind them; on to the second half.

Obviously, they need to have a closed-door discussion to iron things out first, but I believe if they both choose to ignore the 800 pound gorilla in the room the rest of the season, it will just become a bigger distraction the longer the season goes.

What do you think?

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I think TLR should say sorry.

But Pujols I think has the right to be pissed off, considering he is the best (despite the year)

It's pretty sad that i'm praying for .500 now I know how the cubs usually feel.

by kyle man on Jul 11, 2007 6:34 PM EDT reply actions

i'd guess it's already been smoothed over

tlr and ap seem to have a good relationship. maybe not. while i am still a little mad and puzzled about what happened last night, i doubt it has any bearings on ap's performance. this whole thing has been way overblown.

Future Redbirds

by erik on Jul 11, 2007 6:37 PM EDT reply actions

I call for Larussa to resign!

Let me first say that I love the St. Louis Cardinals more than any other team in sports. BUT, I am DONE with Tony Larussa. The past 11 years I have watched him "overmanage", never use his gut instinct, never manage with his heart, and always make excuses for his bad managing. Larussa screwed Ozzie BIG TIME, pissed of Rolen, and now Pujols. He has shown no confidence or respect for three of the game's best.

I heard the guy filling in for Jim Rome today (whatever his name is) say "The Cardinals won the World Series last year despite Tony Larussa'a managing, not because of it. I totally believe it.

His excuse this time was that he was holding out on Pujols for extra innings? FOOLISH!!! You play the game to WIN, not play for extra innings. Larussa's time is St. Louis has run out. Resign Tony. Do us all a favor. Time to give the job to Oquendo. Hell once Tony is out of the picture, maybe Ozzie will coach 3B for us!

Seriously Tony....resign. You make me sick.

by LurchMudpuddle on Jul 11, 2007 6:47 PM EDT reply actions

Wow!

Maybe he could be replaced by someone who doesn't bring as much success over the next 11 years as LaRussa.

As for LaRussa "screwing Ozzie over" -- Clayton beat out Ozzie -- there's no question about it -- and gave Ozzie probably more playing time than he deserved. If anything, Tony was too respectful of Ozzie's place in Cardinals' history and gave him playing time based not on his ability at that point, but on what he had done over his career. Many have made the same argument about Edmonds' re-signing this year. At that point in Ozzie's career, Clayton was simply better.

Maybe I should've just let this one go.

by chuckb on Jul 11, 2007 6:53 PM EDT up reply actions

Go back and look at the numbers...

There is a certainly a question. Ozzie outhit Royce in Spring training and in the limited at bats that he was given in that year.

Ozzie had a legitimate beef. He deserved more playing time.

by OCCardsFan on Jul 11, 2007 7:16 PM EDT up reply actions

NO WAY

Ozzie had a great spring training that year! He earned the starting position and got screwed!

by LurchMudpuddle on Jul 11, 2007 6:57 PM EDT reply actions

Dude.

That was years ago. We've moved on.

Love Ozzie, love the Cardinals, but that horse has been beaten, kicked, stabbed, and peed on.

Good pitching will beat good hitting any time, and vice versa. ~Bob Veale, 1966

by bukowski on Jul 11, 2007 7:10 PM EDT up reply actions

Wow

but that horse has been beaten, kicked, stabbed, and peed on.

You really are Bukowski!

Spantalones

by spants on Jul 12, 2007 12:43 AM EDT up reply actions

is anyone else ready

for the second half to start? i can't wait to see a game thread!

10-time World Champs!

by TheFranchise9 on Jul 11, 2007 7:20 PM EDT reply actions

Uhhhhhh.....let me be devil's advocate...

When he "screwed Ozzie" in 1996, Ozzie went on to have a line of .282/.358/.370 and Clayton went on to have a line of .277/.321/.371. Those are fairly similar lines except Clayton had more homers and Ozzie more walks. Clayton actually had a better fielding percentage that year than Ozzie did (although Ozzie's range factor was higher.) Clayton had 33 steals, though, and Ozzie only had 7. Meanwhile, Ozzie was making over two times what Clayton was making. That's not really "screwed over."

However, he took a team that was bogged down in mediocrity and went to the division series with them in his first season and was up 3 games to 1 before Stottlemyre and Osborn blew up in games 5 and 7.

When he "pissed off Rolen" in the division series by sitting him, look at what it did for him! He was hitting .071/.133/.071 before LaRussa sat him and he hit .324/.390/.513 after he sat him. Maybe he needed it! Oh yeah...the Cardinals won the World Series for the first time in 24 seasons, nearly a quarter of a century.

And now he "pissed off Pujols" at the All-Star game. Well, he's in his worst power slump ever and has 8 rbi in his last 22 games with a slugging percentage of .384. That's about what So Taguchi's is this year.

Maybe LaRussa knows what he's doing.

stlfan

by stlfan on Jul 11, 2007 7:32 PM EDT reply actions

I'm very interested to see...

If present follows past, it will be very interesting to see the numbers AP puts up...

by billyhoyel on Jul 12, 2007 12:28 PM EDT up reply actions

Tell them both

to grow up and keep their mouths shut.

"It's always about money; anyone who says it's not is lying."- Gene Simmons

by cardsrul on Jul 11, 2007 7:58 PM EDT reply actions

There are times in baseball...

where there is a chance as a manager to make a legendary decision. I recall in the '88 World Series when Tommy Lasorda went with what he felt in his gut, took a chance and pinch hit the hobbling Kirk Gibson. We all know what happened in that at bat... "I can't believe what I just saw!" quoted by the late great Jack Buck.

Larussa SHOULD have given Pujols the chance to make history and he didn't. He needs to grow some balls and quit overmanaging and fiddling so much with his numbers. Thats been my beef with him for years. He has been a winning manager, but never a legendary one. He deprived fans of the matchup we all know should have happened. Larussa had a chance to make history and choked! What an embarassment in front of the whole nation.

by LurchMudpuddle on Jul 11, 2007 11:14 PM EDT reply actions

Common Sense...

What do you do? Forget the stats. Throw out the book. Bottom of the 9th, Bases loaded, 2 outs, down by one run. You look down the bench and you see two players, Aaron Rowand and Albert Pujols.

Who do you send up to the plate?! If anyone says Aaron Rowand, I call BS! Come on, use COMMON SENSE! What does your GUT tell you! And if anyone says that it's just an All-Star Game, then you're making my point! It's just an All-Star Game! Let's see what happens if we give one of the best hitters in baseball a chance to bat. LET'S HAVE SOME FUN!

TLR has a disease. It's called Analysis-Paralysis.

TLR is Dead to Me.

by jdubya on Jul 11, 2007 11:19 PM EDT reply actions

Unless...

you are really trying to keep your guy off the field for fear of injury...which I think may be the case and nobody is saying anything about it...

stlfan

by stlfan on Jul 12, 2007 12:06 AM EDT up reply actions

Again, Common Sense...

do you really think that TLR was keeping AP off the field for fear of injury?! REALLY!

Come on. So, I guess that participating in the Home Run Derby was less of an injury factor. Hmmm, I seem to remember a certain CF who said he may have injured himself while trying to hard in the HR derby. Jim Edmonds. Ding, Ding! You have a winner!

Look, everyone is making excuses. Just like this season. I just think it's silly that TLR was keeping perhaps one of the best hitters in baseball on the bench because he was worried about extra innings.

TLR is Dead to Me.

by jdubya on Jul 12, 2007 12:16 AM EDT up reply actions

Yeah, but

LaRussa has no control over his players performing in the HR Derby. As the NL manager, LaRussa had control over whether or not Pujols played. Having escaped the Derby without injury, perhaps LaRussa didn't want to risk losing ANOTHER regular player to injury, especially in a game that means so little.

Still, the fan in me wishes that Pujols would've stepped to the plate. Even if the outcome was the same, that would've been a far more entertaining at bat.

Spantalones

by spants on Jul 12, 2007 12:46 AM EDT up reply actions

LaRussa...

came out and said he would prefer if Pujols did NOT participate in home run derby, just to clarify.

stlfan

by stlfan on Jul 12, 2007 11:51 AM EDT up reply actions

Ok, what are the odds...

that Pujols gets injured in his only AB in the All-star game?

Can someone calculate this for me?!

Look, I know I'm being a little confrontational but come on, the excuse that Pujols might be injured is just that, an excuse.

The odds that Pujols might have been injured during his one and only AB in the All-star game are very low. In fact, When was the last time a player was seriously injured while playing in the All-star game? Fosse? That was almost 40 years ago.

TLR is Dead to Me.

by jdubya on Jul 12, 2007 12:57 AM EDT reply actions

Again I seem to differ in opinion

Pujols has every right to feel slighted for not playing, but he really should keep that to himself. The decission was at least defensible.

Pujols could have said something like "I really wanted to play; I would have loved to be in that situation, but Rowand is a great player too..."

The St Louis Cardinals- 11 time World Champs!

by Zubin on Jul 12, 2007 1:09 AM EDT reply actions

Heat of the moment...

ok, I'll admit that Pujols might have got caught up in the moment and said too much.

However, think of it this way. Every world class athlete wants to be in that situation. They relish it. They want to be the guy who wins the game when it's on the line. That's what makes them great. That's one of the reason's that they are world class athletes. Their desire is so intense that it takes them to another level. That's what makes them great.

This is why Pujols was miffed. He WANTED to be in this situation. He lives for it. This is what all the statistics in the world cannot prove. At this level, the line between a great athlete and a good athlete is often what's in his brain and more importantly, what's in his heart.

You can't put a statistic on this.

TLR is Dead to Me.

by jdubya on Jul 12, 2007 1:28 AM EDT up reply actions