MLB Quick Note: McGwire Named Cardinals Batting Coach?!
October 26, 2009 by dwil
Tony LaRussa will return next season as the St. Louis Cardinals manager. His new hitting coach will be ———- Mark McGwire.
For this utterly pompous, ‘in your face MLB’ move, LaRussa should be summarily fired. Mark “And-roid” McGwire? The zit-bombed faced monster? The Syringe Brother? They guy who intimately knows every bathroom stall in the majors and who has plugged them all up with ‘roid-ridden needles?
Damn. LaRussa is something else.
Now the real question is: what if Bruce Bochy named as the new San Francisco Giants batting coach (court case notwithstanding) —————- Barry Bonds.
Dang. LaRussa never does anything spur of the moment, who knows how long this was in the works? This is like Della Reese daring Eddie Murphy to shoot off her pinkie toe.
Harlem Nights!
But yeah, this is pretty brazen.
des-
True…
Big Man-
Pretty brazen is an understatement. It’s a pimp-slap!
Someone at the P-D might make a stink, but there ain’t no way he gets major splashback for this. La Russa, baseball’s Teflon Don. This is loyalty, paying McGwire back with an attempted image re-hab.
S2N-
Yeah it’s loyalty and yeah LaRussa pimp-slapped MLB. That doesn’t mean he get a pass here – EVER. He’s as sheisty as the day is long. And he’s a horrible playoff manager.
If I were the St. Louis Cardinals, I’d make 500% sure that NOBODY that gets to stand in the batter’s box in a Cards uniform isn’t on anything stronger than a Flintstones’ chewable. I wouldn’t even want people using approved supplements.
If the Cardinals have one, single solitary steriods suspension and it’s a guy who’s batting average went up while McGwire coached the guy………
Ruh-Roh.
Isn’t Albert Pujols already getting questioned? Does he really need this?
Big Man,
If the heat is too hot for Pujols? All he needs to do is stand before the adoring press and tell them that he won’t talk about it anymore. Almost every local and national writer, save a few brave souls, will put their notebooks away, apologize for their insolence and then dredge up another Barry Bonds ex-girlfriend to start some new shit.
Basically, the same thing that Jennifer Capriati did during her comeback when she was tired of answering questions about sucking the glass dick, stealin’ and kickin’ it with unsavory characters.
“I’m not here to discuss the past…..”
D – I would never suggest you give the Teflon Don a pass, on managerial skills or other matters. Because then you wouldn’t be you, and we wouldn’t be reading.
I don’t know how you manage a top team like the 80s A’s and NOT catch hell for Canseco & McGwire being the stars of your team with the drug stuff.
LOL!
If it floats their boat…
mark mcgwire is going to be a horrible hitting coach.
matt holliday asked him about what he did wrong during the dodger series. what improvements could he make?
mcgwire responded, “i’m not here to talk about the past.”
Man can the fuck you arrogance of “white privilege” get any shittier? Amazing!
Please say Barry Bonds is the next batting instructor of the Giants. Bonds qualifies more given his hitting genius and unparalleled plate discipline. Only Ted Williams compares to Bonds, and Williams made a pretty good hitting instructor (ask Willie McCovey).
How the fuck do you hire a hitting coach who wasn’t a contact hitter in the majors?
McGwire’s not the most verbally gifted mofo out there, so how is he going to communicate with his charges? Grunts, groans, pawing the ground with his front hoof? Mime? Stick a two-by-four up LaRussa’s ass and make him a marionette.
Mark McGwire lacks the basic skills required to be a hitting coach. Yeah, I went Al Campanis. Because that’s how blatant this is.
I’ll be honest. I don’t think roids are the big issue here. i mean, i can understand that– larussa is taking care of his boy.
But why would ANYONE want mark mcgwire as a hitting coach? other players do not have his home rum power, and if you take it away, then Mcgwire was a pretty crappy hitter. HeWith the A’s he had a big looping swing that i wouldn’t recommend to anyone, and he later shortened it a bit with the Cards which really could only work for him because he was so strong. Despite incredible gifts, he was only a career .263 hitter.
The real crime here is an act of nepotism where someone who was clearly utterly unqualified for the job. The only worse choice that i can think of is Dave kingman… Meanwhile, Hal McRae who was replaced and is not only a longtime great great hitting coach, but also a former manager who brings those skill sets. This makes no sense.
(Sorry, somewhat long)
Guys,
As someone who still avidly following my hometown teams (STL), I can tell you that the reaction from the fan base ranges from mild shock to total WTF.
The thing is, you have to understand the Cardinals manager’s relationship with the Cards nation and the current front office.
Whitey Herzog is a GOD in STL. Even to this day. The fans love him and media there LOVED him. Herzog made it a point of ‘working the land’ and integrating himself into the fabric of the city.
With LaRussa, while there is definitely alot of respect for LaRussa, there has never been true love. LaRussa’s somewhat distant demeanor, aloof personality, and commitment to heading back to California the DAY after each season ends hasn’t really helped either. Even with the string of NL Pennants and the World Series ring, LaRussa STILL ranks behind Whitey in the city. STL fans prefer that the Cards manager consider STL a home, not just a place to work.
Also, a few years ago the Cards ownership start bringing in a bunch of ‘moneyball’ guys (current GM John Mozeliak, scouting director Jeff Luhnow) and start giving those guys prominent positions in the front office and scouting department. This greatly chafed the ‘old heads’ (LaRussa, Dave Duncan, etc.) Its one of the main reasons former GM Walt Jocketty left in a huff. And its one of the reasons LaRussa never commits to anything more than a 2 year deal.
The ‘old style’ guys continue to flex on the ‘moneyball guys’ and new GM just because they can. That’s why they made such a stink about ‘not being told’ that Chris Duncan was being traded, and why LaRussa all but threatened to quit if the Cards didn’t give up their big name prospect (Brett Wallace, a Jeff Luhnow favorite) to acquire Matt Holliday.
So, this McGwire thing accomplishes two things for LaRussa. First, its a pure power play to let everybody know who has the muscle in the organization. And secondly, it allows him to rehab the image of own of his buddies.
With the fanbase though, the McGwire thing is still sore point. While most fans are willing to accept they got ‘seduced’ by the HR chase, they would prefer that McGwire never be seen in the Birds-on-the-Bat uni again, even in highlights. (NOTE: It didn’t help McGwire with the STL fanbase that he faxed in his retirement announcement.)
ALOT of fans (and media folk) are looking at this as a slap in the face, and don’t appreciate being put in the middle of LaRussa’s ego trip.
So Dwil, IMO, this is not directed at MLB. This is LaRussa’s way of flexing on Cards GM and scouting guys. “I’m bringing in my guy and I dare you to say SHIT about it, no matter how of a circus it is.”
Sweet J-
Thanks for the insights. I can definitely see how this looks locally, but any slap to a team is a slap to MLB, just as it would be in the NFL w/ Limbaugh (odd, all this going down in StL. yes?) or the NBA….. wow, something just dawned on me…. gotta write something real quick….
Bud Selig ‘delighted at McGwire’s return:
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/C69990821738750C8625765C0002D8D6?OpenDocument
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Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig, a fan of Mark McGwire’s when the latter broke the major-league home run record and thereafter, too, said Monday he “was delighted that Mark’s coming back to the game,” as the Cardinals’ new hitting coach.
Speaking by telephone from his office in Milwaukee, Selig said, “I give (manager) Tony La Russa a lot of credit and (chairman) Bill DeWitt a lot of credit for making this happen. I was — and am — very supportive of their decision. I wish everybody well.
“When Mark was there, I had a lot of affection and admiration for him.”
Selig said that DeWitt and the Cardinals had called him recently about a potential McGwire announcement — and about the retention for La Russa as manager for a 15th season — not to ask for Selig’s blessing but to make sure the announcement was one that could be made before the postseason had been completed.
Selig said he had no problem with it and also said he had no problem with McGwire’s being hired despite the persistent linking of McGwire to a steroids culture that once had engulfed the game.
“I’m proud of where the sport is,” Selig said. “We had two or three positive (drug) tests all year and we’ve since banned amphetamines. The culture has completely changed.
“I have no misgivings about this at all. Mark McGwire is a very, very fine man and the Cardinals are to be applauded.”
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What a douche.