La Russa given pass for spring DUI
By Punch N. Judy
BaseballBigMouth.com baseball news
Alright, is it just me or is Tony La Russa being allowed to skate a little easy on this DUI charge incurred last week on his way home from a tough day at the office?
For those who aren’t in the know, (and there are probably many considering the lack of coverage this story generated) La Russa was found conked out behind the wheel of his SUV with his foot resting on the break, the vehicle still in drive mode. The arresting officers having watched the Cards manager sit through a pair light changes, decided to delay their coffee run and investigate. They found La Russa plastered and counting sheep. After co-operating fully and registering a hefty score on a breathalyzer test, La Russa was released with a DUI charge pending.
The following day saw La Russa release a statement saying he didn’t know what to say, other than to apologize to Cardinal fans and the organization for his lack of better judgment. It was nothing short of McGuire-esque. By the all star break Tony will probably tell a throng of reporters that he’s not there to, “talk about the past.” Can anyone imagine Billy Martin getting off so easy? When is the St. Louis organization or MLB itself going to step in here and mete out some sort of punishment?
Hey, maybe by co-operating with police and refusing to unleash any rants about “Jews starting all the wars,” La Russa has uncovered the key to avoiding the media meat grinder. Good ol’ Tony always was a trailblazer.
Pap Test Cancelled
By giving up the search for a closer and booting Jonathan Paplebon out of a formidable rotation, the Red Sox are possibly robbing us all of the chance to witness the next Roger Clemens. Spinning a yarn about how Paplebon went into Terry Francona’s office threw his hat in the bullpen ring just isn’t flying here. There are no u-turns on this writer’s highway. Had anyone shown the chops to get the job done in camp believe me Paplebon would be entrenched in at least the four hole of the Red Sox rotation. Instead a young stud with four pitches will be used as a stop-gap for a GM who hasn’t made a decent move since he stumbled into the Nomar trade of July 04.
He’s no Rocky
While reading a recent San Francisco Giant scouting report I couldn’t help but laugh at the comments new hurler Russ Ortiz made. Citing a renewed desire to perform, not to mention a commitment to finally getting in shape, Ortiz is predicting a return to his formerly dominating self. He also claims he has something to prove to those ungrateful swine’s in Arizona who had the audacity to release him and his plus eight ERA at the end of April 06. Hey, the guys got a point here. How dare they release an underperforming, out of shape player while still owing said player in excess of 20 million dollars? How could they sleep at night knowing this poor slug is free to sign with their division rival for the MLB minimum while they still pick up the remainder of the tab? The nerve. I haven’t seen a player treated this poorly since the D-Rays screwed over Wilson Alvarez by paying him millions to make only a handful of starts over several years.