Luvofthegame
10-29-2006, 01:47 PM
By Joe Strauss
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
10/29/2006
With his St. Louis legacy now secure, manager Tony La Russa shows a different side of his personality on Saturday in his office as So Taguchi requests an autograph to commemorate the Cardinals’ World Series title.
(Chris Lee/P-D)
The carpet inside the Cardinals clubhouse still reeked of doused bubbly Saturday afternoon, less than 18 hours after the Redbirds celebrated a clinching 4-2 win over the Detroit Tigers in Game 5 of the World Series.
Before the clubhouse rug could even dry, manager Tony La Russa addressed whether he would return for a 12th year as Cardinals skipper after leading the club to its 10th World Series championship. La Russa closed the book on speculation that he would walk away from his job with a year remaining on a three-year contract signed after the team's 2004 World Series appearance.
"I'll announce it tomorrow at the podium to make sure I'm booed in unison," La Russa quipped.
Speculation swirled during October that a second World Series title for the former Oakland A's skipper might persuade him to retire, or at least seek another challenge.
La Russa privately dismissed the notion midway through the Series and publicly reiterated the sentiment Saturday. "I'm not tired," he said. "I'm ready for spring training now. I'm already thinking of ways to help us get back to the postseason next year."
It is likely next year's team will look significantly different from the one that leaves Busch Stadium after Sunday afternoon's celebration. But La Russa, general manager Walt Jocketty and ownership won't address those matters until Monday at the earliest.
A number of players packed their belongings early Saturday afternoon. Most are expected to participate in Sunday afternoon's parade, which will wind from Union Station to Busch Stadium, where a number of team personnel will address a crowd still giddy from the city's first World Series title in 24 years.
An anticipated sea of red and white will celebrate Series MVP David Eckstein and Game 7 winning pitcher Jeff Weaver, who joined Chris Carpenter as Cardinals pitchers to win three postseason games.
Rookie Adam Wainwright, briefly considered this summer for a transfer to the starting rotation, won Game 6 and closed Game 7 for his fourth save of the postseason.
"There were times this spring I never thought I would break camp with this team," Wainwright said. "Then there were times I was sure I'd never be on the postseason roster. Now I'm standing here in the middle of this. It's an unbelievable feeling."
Catcher Yadier Molina answered a .216 regular-season average with 19 hits in 16 postseason games. His hit total included the winning home run in Game 7 of the NLCS and exceeded his production for every month during the season except June, when he had 20 hits.
Center fielder Jim Edmonds, who led a celebratory lap around the Busch Stadium warning track after Friday's clincher, led the Cardinals with 10 postseason RBIs after starting only four games in the final six weeks of the regular season.
Benched for a game in the Division Series and National League Championship Series as part of a public feud with La Russa, third baseman Scott Rolen finished with a 10-game hitting streak that included a .421 Series average.
Weaver, who pitched eight dominant innings in the clincher, wept as he embraced his younger brother Jered in Friday's on-field celebration. The Angels traded the older brother to make room for the younger one less than four months ago.
Celebrating a World Series championship was a first for every player except Eckstein, utility player Scott Spiezio, reliever Braden Looper and right fielder Juan Encarnacion.
The Cardinals proved opportunistic in the postseason, but especially so against the Tigers. They scored eight unearned runs against an American League entry that scored only 11 runs total.
"Look at how many people really stepped up. It's a great clubhouse for that reason. Everyone shared in it. It's corny, but it's true," La Russa said.
Universal contributions allowed the Cardinals to push through while the New York Mets held first baseman Albert Pujols to one RBI in the NLCS and the Tigers confined him to a .200 average in the World Series. (Pujols still finished with 27 total bases for the tournament, second on the team to Yadier Molina.)
"This was all about what a team did," outfielder Preston Wilson said.
La Russa never disputed his concerns about the team's halting finish, which needed the Atlanta Braves to beat the Astros for the Cardinals to clinch on the final day of the schedule.
The Cardinals were still faced with having to start every postseason series on the road, a huge hurdle for a club that staggered to a 34-47 record away from home.
La Russa classified his team as "dangerous" before opening the Division Series against the Padres. But it wasn't until the Cardinals won the first two games at Petco Park that he was reassured.
"I think right in the middle of the San Diego series I saw the way Jeff (Weaver) responded and those relievers. Jimmy (Edmonds) was really animated. There was a point during the Mets series when Scott (Rolen) said he had fight in him. You add that to what we had, we're a good club. Were we good enough? We'll see," La Russa recalled. "We were getting better and better."
Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt dispatched a private plane to fly Tony and Elaine La Russa's two daughters from their East Bay home to St. Louis in time for Sunday afternoon's celebration. The La Russas will ride on a Budweiser trailer pulled by the Clydesdales. It will be a long-awaited moment. The World Series championship is La Russa's second as manager, but the parade will be his first, since festivities associated with his 1989 Oakland A's World Series win over the San Francisco Giants were canceled in the wake of the Loma Prieta earthquake, which interrupted a four-game sweep.
"We never had a parade," La Russa reflected in spring training. "I've always wanted a parade."
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
10/29/2006
With his St. Louis legacy now secure, manager Tony La Russa shows a different side of his personality on Saturday in his office as So Taguchi requests an autograph to commemorate the Cardinals’ World Series title.
(Chris Lee/P-D)
The carpet inside the Cardinals clubhouse still reeked of doused bubbly Saturday afternoon, less than 18 hours after the Redbirds celebrated a clinching 4-2 win over the Detroit Tigers in Game 5 of the World Series.
Before the clubhouse rug could even dry, manager Tony La Russa addressed whether he would return for a 12th year as Cardinals skipper after leading the club to its 10th World Series championship. La Russa closed the book on speculation that he would walk away from his job with a year remaining on a three-year contract signed after the team's 2004 World Series appearance.
"I'll announce it tomorrow at the podium to make sure I'm booed in unison," La Russa quipped.
Speculation swirled during October that a second World Series title for the former Oakland A's skipper might persuade him to retire, or at least seek another challenge.
La Russa privately dismissed the notion midway through the Series and publicly reiterated the sentiment Saturday. "I'm not tired," he said. "I'm ready for spring training now. I'm already thinking of ways to help us get back to the postseason next year."
It is likely next year's team will look significantly different from the one that leaves Busch Stadium after Sunday afternoon's celebration. But La Russa, general manager Walt Jocketty and ownership won't address those matters until Monday at the earliest.
A number of players packed their belongings early Saturday afternoon. Most are expected to participate in Sunday afternoon's parade, which will wind from Union Station to Busch Stadium, where a number of team personnel will address a crowd still giddy from the city's first World Series title in 24 years.
An anticipated sea of red and white will celebrate Series MVP David Eckstein and Game 7 winning pitcher Jeff Weaver, who joined Chris Carpenter as Cardinals pitchers to win three postseason games.
Rookie Adam Wainwright, briefly considered this summer for a transfer to the starting rotation, won Game 6 and closed Game 7 for his fourth save of the postseason.
"There were times this spring I never thought I would break camp with this team," Wainwright said. "Then there were times I was sure I'd never be on the postseason roster. Now I'm standing here in the middle of this. It's an unbelievable feeling."
Catcher Yadier Molina answered a .216 regular-season average with 19 hits in 16 postseason games. His hit total included the winning home run in Game 7 of the NLCS and exceeded his production for every month during the season except June, when he had 20 hits.
Center fielder Jim Edmonds, who led a celebratory lap around the Busch Stadium warning track after Friday's clincher, led the Cardinals with 10 postseason RBIs after starting only four games in the final six weeks of the regular season.
Benched for a game in the Division Series and National League Championship Series as part of a public feud with La Russa, third baseman Scott Rolen finished with a 10-game hitting streak that included a .421 Series average.
Weaver, who pitched eight dominant innings in the clincher, wept as he embraced his younger brother Jered in Friday's on-field celebration. The Angels traded the older brother to make room for the younger one less than four months ago.
Celebrating a World Series championship was a first for every player except Eckstein, utility player Scott Spiezio, reliever Braden Looper and right fielder Juan Encarnacion.
The Cardinals proved opportunistic in the postseason, but especially so against the Tigers. They scored eight unearned runs against an American League entry that scored only 11 runs total.
"Look at how many people really stepped up. It's a great clubhouse for that reason. Everyone shared in it. It's corny, but it's true," La Russa said.
Universal contributions allowed the Cardinals to push through while the New York Mets held first baseman Albert Pujols to one RBI in the NLCS and the Tigers confined him to a .200 average in the World Series. (Pujols still finished with 27 total bases for the tournament, second on the team to Yadier Molina.)
"This was all about what a team did," outfielder Preston Wilson said.
La Russa never disputed his concerns about the team's halting finish, which needed the Atlanta Braves to beat the Astros for the Cardinals to clinch on the final day of the schedule.
The Cardinals were still faced with having to start every postseason series on the road, a huge hurdle for a club that staggered to a 34-47 record away from home.
La Russa classified his team as "dangerous" before opening the Division Series against the Padres. But it wasn't until the Cardinals won the first two games at Petco Park that he was reassured.
"I think right in the middle of the San Diego series I saw the way Jeff (Weaver) responded and those relievers. Jimmy (Edmonds) was really animated. There was a point during the Mets series when Scott (Rolen) said he had fight in him. You add that to what we had, we're a good club. Were we good enough? We'll see," La Russa recalled. "We were getting better and better."
Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt dispatched a private plane to fly Tony and Elaine La Russa's two daughters from their East Bay home to St. Louis in time for Sunday afternoon's celebration. The La Russas will ride on a Budweiser trailer pulled by the Clydesdales. It will be a long-awaited moment. The World Series championship is La Russa's second as manager, but the parade will be his first, since festivities associated with his 1989 Oakland A's World Series win over the San Francisco Giants were canceled in the wake of the Loma Prieta earthquake, which interrupted a four-game sweep.
"We never had a parade," La Russa reflected in spring training. "I've always wanted a parade."