LaRussa Retires

[bmfc1]

Going out on top.

Good tweet:
@bigleaguestew
BUT WHO'S GOING TO OVERMANAGE THE NL ALL-STAR GAME NEXT YEAR???

[Edgy MD]

My guess is he comes out of retirement for one last All-Star orgy of pitching changes.

Oh, dear, they're not going to make him commissioner, are they?

[bmfc1]

Commissioner LaRussa: I thought of that too, Edgy. I hope not.

[metirish]

Managed to overmanage three teams to WS glory, not bad.

[Ceetar]

Pujols to pick next manager as part of his contract to stay?

[Edgy MD]

Go, Jos� Oquendo!

[bmfc1]

LaRussa said that after the loss to the Mets (I assume the big comeback in September), it was "as low as you could go."

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Wow.

[metirish]

Edgy DC wrote: Go, Jos� Oquendo!

been there forever, why not?

Coaching

Oquendo accepted a minor league coaching position with the Cardinals in 1997, and became manager of the New Jersey Cardinals of the New York-Penn League in 1998. He became bench coach for St. Louis in 1999, and a year later, he moved to third base coach, where he has remained ever since.[5]

Wiki

[Frayed Knot]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Wow.

That was my reaction too. Quite a stunner.

The big question now is who are the guys at 'Birds on the Bat' going to blame all their losses on?

[TransMonk]

I'm wowed as well, but I guess it shouldn't have been too much of a surprise.

Dude got a lot of flack, but he was competitive more often than not. Three rings is nothing to sneeze at.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Yup, I think I mentioned as recently as the 6th inning of Game 6 he was finally winning over longtime haters like me.

Perhaps he figured he'd come as close as he'll ever want to be as the manager who won 2,500 games but lost a world series due to a phone phuckup. That'd prolly keep me up at night.

[Edgy MD]

Edgy DC wrote: Go, Jos� Oquendo!

Oh, and... Stop, Bobby Valentine!

[Frayed Knot]

One thing that was amazing about his mgr career was not just the length but that it came virtually uninterrupted as he managed in every year starting in 1979 - certainly a rarity these days or probably in any day.
I knew about the every year thing but in looking it up to check I had forgotten (or probably never knew) just how nearly perfect the run was.

- After managing the ChiSox from '79 thru '85, he was fired mid-way through the '86 season following the game on June 19th when the team was 26-38 (something Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf has admitted was the worst mistake of his sports life ... not letting Phil Jackson go, but Tony LaRussa).

- But unemployment didn't last long as he was then picked up by Oakland just weeks later, something that almost makes you think his sudden availability may have been what triggered Oakland to re-think the guy they had. TLR took over over on July 7th from the interim Jeff Newman (10 games) who had replaced the great Jackie Moore (yeah, I don't remember him either). The A's were 31-52 when Tony took the helm and he guided them to a 45-34 finish.
So, in all, he managed 143 games that season (1986) the only year of the last 33 where he didn't manage all of them.

A season and a half later Oakland began their run of three straight division championships.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

He's 35 games behind John McGraw for second place. Wow. A numbers guy would want one more season to get that slot, but there is certainly something to be said for leaving on top.

Anyone else do that? Did Dick Williams announce he was leaving the A's during the '73 or '74 Series?

[Edgy MD]

I hear he's dating Kim Kardashian.

[G-Fafif]

metsguyinmichigan wrote: He's 35 games behind John McGraw for second place. Wow. A numbers guy would want one more season to get that slot, but there is certainly something to be said for leaving on top. Anyone else do that? Did Dick Williams announce he was leaving the A's during the '73 or '74 Series?

Williams had a deal in plac to manage the MFYs after '73 WS -- the Sheabound MFYs held an introductory press event at Terrace on the Park soon thereafter -- but Kuhn put the kibosh on it given Finleyesque complications. He resurfaced with the Angels in the middle of '74 (when he managed the A.L. stars in a uniform in which he did not go to the World Series).

[G-Fafif]

Courtesy of M'scaster/Cheers writer Ken Levine, La Russa from when not everybody knew his name...or face.

1oHrygsiNfc

[Edgy MD]

I'd apologize if I stumped Kitty Carlisle.

[HahnSolo]

Good Ole Nipsey confusing the Cubs and White Sox.

[G-Fafif]

HahnSolo wrote: Good Ole Nipsey confusing the Cubs and White Sox.

Which reminds me, in the realm of comedians for whom baseball is a mostly foreign language, I encountered one who is relatively well known in his field this summer in a baseball situation. He began to riff for the benefit of my friend and me on how loud and enthusiastic all the fans at Shea Stadium are (in 2011)...aren't they?

[G-Fafif]

This is the first moment since 1966 that someone who can say he's managed Tom Seaver isn't managing in the big leagues.

Though on paper for a few months you might say Davey Johnson did.

[Edgy MD]

Torre could get re-hired by opening day. Maybe he gets the Cardinals job. Maybe the Red Sox!

[Edgy MD]

Go, Oberkfell, go!

[seawolf17]

Edgy DC wrote: Go, Oberkfell, go!