Tony La Russa announces retirement

[Cheese]

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/71...-says-retiring

ST. LOUIS -- Tony La Russa retired as manager of the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday, three days after winning a dramatic, seven-game World Series against the Texas Rangers.
The 67-year-old La Russa announced his retirement at a news conference at Busch Stadium.
The World Series win over Texas was the third of La Russa's 33-year career. The manager guided the Cardinals to the championship despite being 10½ games behind Atlanta on Aug. 25 for the final playoff spot in the National League.
La Russa retires third on the all-time wins list, 35 behind second-place John McGraw. In addition to this season, he won championships in Oakland in 1989 and St. Louis in 2006.

[transplant99]

I was never a big fan, but the guy is a baseball guru and now goes out on top which very few do. Good for him.

[JBR]

Good way to go out. One of the best comeback stories in baseball history for the Cards this year.

[troutman]

Over/Under on becoming manager for Yankees or Red Sox?

[d_phaneuf]

0% chance

he's not a very good manager in the 1st place, think he ends up in a Torre like role or working for tv in some way

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

0% chance

he's not a very good manager in the 1st place, think he ends up in a Torre like role or working for tv in some way

LOL...What?

3 World Champion teams and 3rd most wins in the history of the game...and "he's not a very good manager"?

[GirlySports]

He should have won more with those Oakland teams. He needed an earthquake to win!

His two wins with the Cardinals were with very subpar teams. This year was a wildcard team which went on an insane run. In 2006 they won a division with 83 wins!

[d_phaneuf]

Originally Posted by transplant99

LOL...What?

3 World Champion teams and 3rd most wins in the history of the game...and "he's not a very good manager"?

he over-manages a ton, most baseball writers lampoon him for it

the 3rd most wins has more to do with time than talent

I don't think he was ever a top 5 manager in the league during his time, I guess not a very good manager was a bit harsh, but I think he's average he was just around for a long time

his whole thing hitting the pitcher 8th a lot of the time was statistically foolish

[Where ru Chris O'Sullivan]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

He should have won more with those Oakland teams. He needed an earthquake to win!

His two wins with the Cardinals were with very subpar teams. This year was a wildcard team which went on an insane run. In 2006 they won a division with 83 wins!

If we chastise him for not winning 'enough' in Oakland and IMO he should easily have had 3 rings there alone (88-90) with a great team. Then I guess we must give him credit when he wins with lesser.

I thought 2006 came down to a young talented Tigers team who's pitchers could get 18k's / game but couldn't field a routine comebacker to save their life or win a series - that they should have won.

but...

I'll give Larussa and the Cards full credit this year, they had a lot of injuries early on, turned it on to catch the braves and although I dont think Texas (because of that pitching staff) was a great victory,feat or series for the cards, I give them full marks for knocking off the Phillies and Brew-Crew who I feel were 2x themselves the better team.

and just an outside prediction: people in the locker room usually have a good 'vibe' of what players will do when they become FA's....I think LaRussa retiring now is a good sign that Pujols is heading down the road.

[transplant99]

So in summary...the guy is one of the top 3 winningest managers of all time, won 3 WS, won divisions and pennants in both leagues, won a WS in both leagues,..... but still didnt do enough? or was just around long enough for it to happen that way?

LOL....that's just bizarre.

how bad does that make Bobby cox as a manager?

[GirlySports]

Bobby Cox has 14 consecutive division titles. Model of consistancy.

Although he too can be critisized for not winning enough titles in 20 years of making the playoffs.

[lazypucker]

Good for him to go out on top, unlike Michael Jordan or Hulk Hogan (wait, he still thinks he is on top!!)

[d_phaneuf]

“On-base percentage is one of the most dangerous concepts of the last seven, eight years,’’ [LaRussa] said, “because it forces some executives and coaches and players to think that it’s all about getting on base by drawing walks. And the fact is that the guys that have the best on-base percentage are really dangerous hitters whenever they get a pitch in the strike zone.”

...

[d_phaneuf]

Dave Duncan deserves a ton of credit for TLR's success in St.Louis really

they have always had a great pitching staff and Duncan found some gem's, reworked their mechanics, and turned them in to great players