Tony LaRussa and Being Immune from Results

Derrick Goold reported that when the Utah Jazz fired Jerry Sloan this year, LaRussa became the longest tenured coach in the 4 major sports in this country. LaRussa's experience has earned him more power and security than most, if not all managers in major league baseball today. So many moves seem to be culminations of Tony lobbying John Mozeliak -- recently trading for Theriot, picking up Winn, picking up Miles, etc. At his request the team offered Brian Fuentes a seven digit contract a few offseasons ago because of Tony's desire for a shut down closer -- his subsequent implementation of Ryan Franklin in that spot instead baffles me except for the fact that he is the type of grey haired veteran who Tony believes must be better than a younger player simply because of the veteran experience.



For as long as I have been a Cardinals fan I have been appreciative of Tony LaRussa. I believe that he has demonstrated a capability to get more production from his roster than should be expected based on true talent level. He has managed the St. Louis Cardinals since 1995 and been a part of many successful teams. In the past I have flirted with the idea of abandoning my support for him, but today I have whole heartedly taken the plunge. Today Tony walked out on the post game media conference because he did not want to answer questions about an offense that has scored 12 runs in its first six games.

Tony reiterated his opinion that concerns about the offense were unwarranted because it is "the first week of the season". He went on to rhetorically ask if we thought Albert or Yadi or Matty-boy or Freese would continue to not hit all year. Here's my counter argument - the lackluster offense is not a flash in the pan that can be chalked up to being a small sample size oddity occurring the first week. The offense underperformed last year as well, all season long. The data below shows what teams in the NL ranked above Stl in OBP SLG and wOBA. I was going to include stolen bases, but we were 4th worst, so the list was too long. It should also be noted that we were below average defensively as well.

OBP SLG wOBP
Atl Cin Cin
Cin Col Mil
Col Mil Col
Mil Az Phil
Phil Phil Atl
Stl Sf Az
Fla Stl
Stl



Tony argued that they were above average last year in some offensive categories and finished second in the division. But are we really this passionate because we want our team to be slightly above average offensively? Do we pop champagne for a 2nd place finish? FUCK NO, we want to win and be the best. If being slightly above average and finishing second helps Tony sleep at night, he should be fired before this post even gets published. If not, he shouldn't hide behind that excuse. Tony (or the hitting coach who was hired based on Tony's recommendation) needs to find a way to get this team to produce consistently offensively. Isn't that his job? Does he get a pass from doing his job because it's the first week of the season?

I believe that although this club has offensive holes(2B SS C), it should be capable of being a top 1/3 offensive team with corner stone pieces like Holliday, Pujols, and Rasmus; and good contributors like Craig, Berkman, Jay, and Freese. I believe the problem is that Tony's approach is worn. He seems to be a hands off, let the problems work themselves out because these are all veterans who know how to hit, type of manager. That era of baseball is over. We have advanced metrics, decent projections, and other data assisting in the decision making process. Why let the manager take a lassez faire approach to management? Batting the pitcher 8th and tinkering with lineup spots isn't working (lineups are mostly useless as most sabre guys agree). Lobbying for a defensively suspect 2B (to play short!) who's OBP has significantly decline 3 years in a row because he thinks that somehow Theriot's 'clubhouse' demeanor will translate into wins on the field is unacceptable. So what if Theriot tries harder than others, his results are worse -- doesn't that mean his actual skill level is possibly even worse than his less gritty peers with similar stat lines?

I want a proactive manager who uses empirical data as part of decision making process and tries to innovate new ways to gain a competitive edge. I want my manager to guffaw at the idea one's 'gut' is a reasonable explanation for why a move was made. Buck Showalter is trying hard, Clint Hurdle is trying hard, why does Tony get to do less because he has been employed the longest? Let's move into a new era. I do not doubt Tony's competitive drive; I know he wants to win. But, his methods are outdated and results are no longer working. A lot has changed in MLB since 04, 05, and 06. We need a manager who will adapt. Right now, Tony LaRussa is the Ryan Theriot of managers; he badly wants to succeed, and will try hard to do so, but lacks results (recent results, like I said the game has changed since the WS years). Tony is getting the benefit of the doubt because of past success. That kind of sounds familiar (in a bad way) Tony loves to give vets the benefit of the doubt because they were once good, even when they are past their prime and better options are available.

So, will we fire the manager mid-season? I highly doubt it. I think DeWitt seems to be a very intelligent owner; but, I cringe at his unconditional love of Tony. Also, could we dump Tony and still share the same friends (Dave Duncan). I think Duncan is still the best in the game. He gets still gets results. But, dumping Tony would be a difficult decision for DeWitt. It would tarnish the relationship for sure to fire such an accomplished manager mid-season rather than let the season play out (or let the career play out as it seems we are doing). But, this is a multi-million dollar a year business, the best decisions need to be made whether they are uncomfortable or not.