Did you ever have one of those terrible, horrible, no-good, very-bad days? Or weeks? The St. Louis Cardinals have no sympathy because they are having one of those years. It started when Tony La Russa got arrested for DUI during spring training, got worse when the team stumbled out of the gate in an ill-fated defense of their World Series title and hit bottom when Josh Hancock was killed in a car accident. It never rebounded. Chris Carpenter got hurt, off-season acquisitions Adam Kennedy and Kip Wells tanked and they couldn't even get through the All-Star Game without their manager pissing off Albert Pujols.
Last week Carpenter had Tommy John surgery. That's bad enough since it will negatively impact their hopes of next year being better but it also caused another, more immediate, flare-up for a team in turmoil. St. Louis Post-Dispatch Bernie Miklasz wrote a column this weekend that was highly critical of the Cardinals medical staff. In the past three seasons three Cardinals - Scott Rolen, Mark Mulder and Carpenter - have received poor advice from the team's medical staff before seeking outside opinions that led to major surgery. He also raised the issue that the team's baseball men aren't giving the players enough time to recover from aches and pains before sending them back into the lineup.
This isn't just about the medicine men; there's concern in the clubhouse that the baseball men have too much sway and are more inclined to get players back on the field as soon as possible. In June 2006, La Russa went against the advice of trainer Barry Weinberg and put Albert Pujols (strained side) back into the lineup. In another episode in 2006, Paletta said Jim Edmonds (strained side) was incapable of running, fielding, or throwing before a weekend series against the Cubs. But two days later, La Russa started Edmonds at first base after losing Pujols.
The increasingly unhinged La Russa responded to the column on Tuesday by saying that he told the team to have open-book press conferences about the injury report so that there would be no doubts about the quality of care that players were getting.
"Trot the players out there, produce the records," La Russa said. "There would be no doubt in my mind that the public would agree, in each case, the quality of care these guys have received."
There are two problems with that. First, the Cardinals only allow team doctor George Paletta to speak with the team's broadcasting partner and, second, the collective bargaining agreement has provisions that protect a player's right to privacy in regard to his health. Transparency is a good thing but it would be easier to believe that it was La Russa's motivation if he hadn't just criticized Rolen for trying to "have it both ways" by saying he was healthy enough to play but not healthy enough to play up to expectations. It would also be easier to believe if not for all the players who keep looking for other doctors.
La Russa's response is bizarre because he usually bends over backward to protect his players from criticism. But it's not that surprising because he's spent most of this year saying strange things, being the subject of strange SI profiles and generally acting more and more like Michael Douglas in Falling Down. It would be a big surprise if he doesn't pull a Champ Kind and take a few plays off when October finally comes around.
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