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Jim Edmonds on La Russa: Tony Who?

Eamonn BrennanPosted Aug 8th 2008 10:32AM by Eamonn Brennan (author feed)
Filed under: Cardinals, Cubs, NL Central

Jim Edmonds, you sly devil. We know you at least consider your past, all those fond memories of being a St. Louis Cardinal, of winning a World Series, of hitting 30+ home runs every year. They were your glory days, man! That's as good as life gets! You're not fooling anyone.

Deny them all you want, Jim. But we remember. If Nico Bellic couldn't escape his past, what makes you think you can?
With the Cardinals coming to Wrigley Field, it means a second reunion of St. Louis manager Tony La Russa and center fielder Jim Edmonds. "Tony who?" Edmonds said when asked if he had any thoughts about his former manager.

Any thoughts about playing your ex-teammates? "No, I don't," he replied.
That is harsh. Being a Cubs fan, I feel a need to support Jim Edmonds in his quest to tweak the Antichrist Tony La Russa, but it's sort of hard to pick someone to root for in this fight. Like, if Russia and China were to go to war, sure, it would be entertaining, but you don't really want either of them to have the satisfaction of winning. Or something like that.

Anyway, whatever the reason, Edmonds has proved himself still a valuable player this year, one the Cardinals could surely use in center. If the fued with La Russa is motivating him, so be it. Just keep hitting, Jim.

Rumor Mill Roundup: July 28

Andrew JohnsonPosted Jul 28th 2008 5:54PM by Andrew Johnson (author feed)
Filed under: Blue Jays, Braves, Cardinals, Dodgers, Mariners, Mets, Phillies, Pirates, Red Sox, Tigers, Yankees, MLB Rumors

With the trade deadline right around the corner, our MLB editor brings you the top five rumors every day until July 31.

- The Blue Jays are back above the .500 mark and might not even be willing to deal right-handed pitcher A.J. Burnett at this point, but if they decide to move him, the Cardinals remain the most likely destination. Burnett, an Arkansas native, grew up rooting for St. Louis and Tony La Russa's club could use a pitching upgrade, particularly following Milwaukee's acquisition of CC Sabathia and Chicago's acquisition of Rich Harden.


For now, GM John Mozeliak appears resolved to wait and see what the rehabbing Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter can provide and pursue relief help. Still, it's hard not to wonder about Burnett, particularly as the Cardinals muse about converting Wainwright back to relief for the remainder of the season. Wouldn't St. Louis look a lot tougher to beat if on Aug. 1 Burnett was in the rotation and Wainwright was closing out games as he did when the Cardinals won the World Series in 2006?

- Other than the Rockies, the Braves have been the toughest team to figure out over the last few weeks as they vacillate between punting the season and going for it in the NL East. Even as they move closer and closer to dumping Mark Teixeira, the team has apparently been working on a deal for Pittsburgh's Jason Bay, which was only nixed when Pirates' ownership stepped into the fray. Bay has long been thought to be the Bucs' best trade chip, but that's made the price tag too steep for many clubs. Still, Atlanta was close to dealing a package of four prospects, including Brent Lillibridge and Brandon Jones, for the left fielder. For a team like the Braves, with little hope of contending this year, that might seem strange, but Atlanta expects to be back in the hunt in 2009 and Bay is already under contract for next season.
Continue Reading Rumor Mill Roundup: July 28

Tony LaRussa Wants Some Help

Tom FornelliPosted Jul 10th 2008 4:56PM by Tom Fornelli (author feed)
Filed under: Cardinals, NL Central, MLB Gossip, MLB Transactions

With both the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs adding top of the rotation pitchers this week, it made you wonder what, if any, response the St. Louis Cardinals would have. After all, they're sandwiched between both teams right now in the NL Central and are currently atop the Wild Card standings. Well, even so, Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak has come out and said he doesn't think the Redbirds need to make any additions to their current roster.

Mozeliak is of the opinion that when Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright both return in August, it will have the same effect as adding a pitcher through a trade would on the team. It's too bad that his manager Tony LaRussa is of a completely different opinion.
"The difference is this is July 9 and those guys (Sabathia, Harden and Gaudin) are here now. You're looking at health (for Carpenter and Wainwright) in August," La Russa said. "That's a big edge to have the help now. I don't get comforted by the fact we may have guys coming back later.

"In my mind, if you didn't have expectations and you were (lousy) July 1, it's a wash. But whether you had expectations or you didn't, when you get to July 1 like we have, then I believe since you play the year you're playing and don't take anything for granted, your goal should be to improve your chance to win right now."
I can understand Tony's urgency as he's never been the type of manager who'd be content just playing for third place in his division, but at the same time, I'm not exactly sure what the Cardinals can do. While it would be nice to add another starter to their rotation, the team does have other more pressing needs, like a lefty out of the bullpen.

Instead of making a big splash move, the Cardinals would probably be better off adding a smaller name pitcher to the rotation before the deadline (like an Adam Eaton) and let Dave Duncan work the magic he's used on a bunch of other pitchers to get him straightened out.

On Deck: They Were Once Friends

MulletPosted Jul 5th 2008 12:40PM by Mullet (author feed)
Filed under: Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Red Sox, Yankees, Blue Jays, Angels, Cubs, Cardinals, St. Louis, Toronto



On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing baseball matchups.

Chicago Cubs (52-35) at St. Louis Cardinals (49-39) - 3:55 PM ET

It's sad to see a friendship go south as apparently the one between Tony La Russa and Jim Edmonds has now that Edmonds is with the Cubs and La Russa is playing ultra-sensitive. But in reality, La Russa and Edmonds are mere players in the larger war that is Cubs vs. Cardinals, with first place on the line and growing ever so further away from the Cardinals. Today, Kyle Lohse is going to have to continue his 2008 magic (remember when nobody wanted Lohse? Yeah, well now he's 10-2) against Ted Lilly.

Continue Reading On Deck: They Were Once Friends

Ignore Jim Edmonds at Your Own Risk

MulletPosted Jul 4th 2008 10:02PM by Mullet (author feed)
Filed under: Chicago, Cubs, Cardinals, NL Central, MLB Gossip, St. Louis

You might have noticed that tonight marked the first time since Jim Edmonds became a Cub that he played in St. Louis wearing blue and red. So Edmonds received the inevitable questions about coming back to St. Louis. What followed? War!
Miffed by Jim Edmonds' comments that he was happy to be with the Cubs and tired of talking about his past, La Russa said Friday he'd ignore the four-time All-Star in his first visit as a member of the team's biggest rival.

"I wouldn't clap or boo or anything," La Russa said before a three-game series matching the NL Central's top two teams. "He wants to put his Cardinal days behind him, so I think you've got to respect that, and just ignore him."
You're kidding me, right? Tony La Russa is getting huffy?
Edmonds said La Russa, his manager for the best eight seasons of his career, would do so at his peril. The two have always had a good relationship.

"If he ignores me, I'm going to punch him in the mouth," Edmonds joked. "I think he's trying to stir it up. He gets a little excited about this rivalry."
I think we have enough to promote "FanHouse Baseball Wrestlemania" here. Edmonds vs. La Russa can be the undercard to Chacon vs. Wade and Reyes vs. Hernandez. We need a women's match though ... ooh! Cynthia Rodriguez vs. Madonna! Quick, get Eric Bischoff on the phone.

Continue Reading Ignore Jim Edmonds at Your Own Risk

Another Team Bats the Pitcher Eighth

Pat LackeyPosted Jun 30th 2008 11:31PM by Pat Lackey (author feed)
Filed under: Pirates, NL Central, Pittsburgh

For a long time now, most managers in the National League have been content to bat their pitchers in the nine slot of the batting order, making only the rare exception for guys like Micah Owings and Dontrelle Willis. Starting a couple years back, Tony La Russa began batting his pitcher eighth from time to time. This year, the trend grew when Ned Yost has been hitting Jason Kendall in the nine slot most of the time. Tonight a third convert emerged when the Pirates' John Russell moved Jack Wilson to the nine slot and hit Paul Maholm eighth.

I haven't seen an official explanation from Russell as to why he made the shuffle, but it's already been shown that batting the pitcher eighth and putting a real hitter in the nine slot, allowing for more of a chance to put runners on base when the best hitters at the top of the lineup comes up. Since Wilson has an OBP of .346 but only five extra base hits this year (all doubles), I'm going to give Russell the benefit of the doubt and assume that was his reasoning.

As for the actual result, Wilson did go 1-for-3, but he didn't score (maybe because Freddy Sanchez and Jason Michaels batted 1/2 and defeated the purpose). As they are wont to do, the Pirates lost the game, though not through any fault of John Russell's lineup shuffle ... Ken Griffey Jr. hit a two-run walkoff homer in the ninth to erase a one run deficit. Will the experiment continue tomorrow? Why do only NL Central teams seem willing to try this? I don't have the answers.

Alberto Callaspo Had a Bad Weekend

Tom FornelliPosted Jun 30th 2008 2:48PM by Tom Fornelli (author feed)
Filed under: Royals, AL Central, MLB Gossip, MLB Police Blotter, MLB Rumors, Kansas City

The Royals are playing their best baseball of the season right now, as they feasted on National League competition, and had won 11 of 12 before dropping their last two games against the Cardinals. So there's plenty of reason to celebrate in Kansas City right now, because for the first time in years, Royals fans have been able to watch a team that actually resembles a Major League team.

Unfortunately, the celebration made it's way to members of the team this last weekend when second baseman Alberto Callaspo was busted for a DUI on Friday night after the Royals sixth straight win. On Saturday, Callaspo was placed on the disabled list for undisclosed reasons.
"Alberto is going on the disabled list for evaluation and treatment of an undisclosed medical condition," manager Trey Hillman said. He declined to elaborate.

"I've already given the statement," he said.
Yeah, I can't read minds or anything, but I'd be willing to wager that the undisclosed medical condition that Hillman was referring to was Alberto's DUI. In the interest of being purely speculative, maybe this incident isn't anything new for Callaspo, it's just the first time he's been caught and the Royals want to help him out.

I mean, there have been plenty of baseball players and managers (Hello, Mr. LaRussa!) who have been pulled over for DUI's, yet I don't know many of them who've been placed on the disabled list.

Of course, it's also entirely possible that this is an isolated occurrence for Callaspo and the Royals are just sending a message to the rest of the team to keep this from happening. We don't need any more Josh Hancock incidents. Whatever it is, this is the right move by the Royals, and one that other teams could learn from.

The Dugout: A Class Act

BPosted May 25th 2008 3:45AM by B (author feed)
Filed under: Cardinals, Padres, NL Central, NL West, MLB Injuries, San Diego, St. Louis, The Dugout

Special note for Fanhouse regulars: Today's Dugout is taken from a story that happened a few days ago, so if you're the type who can only process immediately new information please direct your attention to whatever shows up above this posting.

Now! Earlier this week we learned an important lesson: If Albert Pujols hits a line drive into the middle of your face and it not only doesn't kill you, but you can wake up the next morning without any mental retardation, you are immortal. Chris Young should throw himself off the side of a building to see if it stuck, and if it did, he should use his newfound powers to fight crime in the old city. Oh, and as a secondary note, if you SEE Pujols hit a line drive that hits somebody in the middle of the face, don't stand in front of him when he's trying to run. It's not going to end well for you. Just move out of the way. You might get the business from your teammates or booed by the fans, but at least you'll be able to move around for the next eight weeks.

After the jump, old news and its new lessons.
Continue Reading The Dugout: A Class Act

Jason Isringhausen Goes on the Disabled List, but Is He Hurt?

Pat LackeyPosted May 16th 2008 6:53PM by Pat Lackey (author feed)
Filed under: Cardinals, NL Central, St. Louis

After yesterday's fiasco against the Pirates, the Cardinals HAD to do something about Jason Isringhausen. It seemed like the choices were going to be an outright release or to DFA him and hope he accepted a demotion to AAA. Instead, they placed him on the disabled list with either a week-old cut on his hand or an arthritic hip that he's been cleared to pitch with, depending on which story you believe. From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
"They found some infection [in the hand]," Cards manager Tony La Russa said when asked about Izzy's injury. "There's an issue there and it affects his grip some, but that definitely is not what anybody is pointing at as his problem. It's an irritation. He would not have been available for a few days."

The move to disable Isringhausen, La Russa said, is "being realistic. It's being creative."
It is being creative, but that's not going to help the Cardinals any. I assume the reason behind this move is to allow Isringhausen to make a few "rehab" appearances, which will let him pitch in the minors without having to DFA him, but I think his problems run a lot deeper than something that a few AAA appearances can fix. I guess that's a bridge the Cardinals will cross when they reach it.

Jason Isringhausen Is Still Blowing Leads

Pat LackeyPosted May 15th 2008 6:34PM by Pat Lackey (author feed)
Filed under: Pirates, Cardinals, NL Central, St. Louis

While watching the first two Pirates/Cardinals games earlier this week, one of the main topics of conversation was Jason isringhausen. The Cardinal announcers constantly wondered how Izzy would handle his first outing in front of the Busch faithful after his demotion and were puzzled that Tony La Russa didn't use him in last night's easy 5-1 win over the Pirates. I didn't see today's game, but I can tell you that La Russa chose today to put Isringhausen in the game with a 5-4 lead in the eighth inning. Things did not go well.
Isringhausen started the eighth by walking Doug Mientkiewicz. That's always a bad sign. Ronny Paulino followed with a single, then Isringhausen threw away Chris Gomez's bunt to let a run score and tie the game up. La Russa left him out there to face pinch-hitter Jason Bay. That was a huge mistake, as Bay took Izzy way deep to left and suddenly a 5-4 Cardinals lead was turning into an easy Pirate win.

Even though it wasn't the ninth inning, Isringhausen picked up his sixth blown save of the year with his implosion on the mound today. I don't know why La Russa put him into a close game this afternoon, but I can't imagine he's going to think about doing it again any time soon.
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