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La Russa returning

Posted Monday, October 26, 2009, at 12:11 PM

By Matthew Leach / MLB.com

10/26/09 12:14 PM ET

ST. LOUIS -- Continuing a winning formula, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa will return for a 15th season at the helm of the reigning National League Central champions.

La Russa was reintroduced at a news conference at Busch Stadium on Monday, where it was announced that he has agreed to a one-year contract for 2010.

However, La Russa may not have been the biggest story at his own news conference. As the the manager spoke about his decision, he confirmed that Mark McGwire will replace Hal McRae as Cardinals hitting coach.

That will be the only change to La Russa's staff, as all of the other coaches -- including pitching coach Dave Duncan -- will return.

"I don't know how many years I have left to manage, and I wanted to take this opportunity to invite a guy who I think has a very special talent," La Russa said of McGwire.

McRae served five seasons as the St. Louis batting instructor, but came under fire late in 2009 as a lineup bolstered by trades remained quiet down the stretch and in the playoffs. The Cardinals were held to six runs in a three-game Division Series sweep at the hands of the Dodgers.

La Russa, who turned 65 on Oct. 4, has presided over one of the most successful eras in the history of the franchise. In his 14 seasons managing the Cardinals, the team has gone to the postseason eight times, including seven via outright division championships. La Russa's Cardinals have won two National League pennants and were the World Series champions in 2006.

Likely Hall of Fame-bound when his career ends, La Russa has a 2,552-2,217 record in 31 seasons as a big league manager, ranking third among the all-time leaders in wins. He recently passed John McGraw for second place on the all-time games-managed list. La Russa is one of two managers to win World Series titles in both leagues -- the other is Sparky Anderson -- and has a 1,232-1,034 record in St. Louis.

McGwire, 46, retired with 583 home runs, including a then-record 70 as a member of the Cardinals in 1998. He played for La Russa for nearly his entire Major League career, including his final 4 1/2 seasons with St. Louis. He has worked with current and former Cardinals including Skip Schumaker, Matt Holliday and Chris Duncan during recent offseasons.

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I am somewhat ambilivant about LaRussa returning, it would have been nice to start fresh next year with a new game plan under new leadership, but that will not be the case. I am of the opinion that managers are somewhat overated anyway. Example: Everyone hails Joe Torre as a great manager, and I like and respect Torre, but lets look at the facts. Yes, he has gotten his Dodgers to the playoffs 2 yrs. in a row, and when he was skipper of the Evil Empire (Yankees), he could do no wrong. But guess what? He had a great talent pool of players then and now. When he was managing the Cards in the early 90s, what happened then? Smaller market payroll, players not as good, team was below average. A really good manager gets the best potential out of the team he has, and while LaRussa is good at this, I still think it is time to give someone else a try. But that won't happen for at least another year.

-- Posted by chuckd on Mon, Oct 26, 2009, at 3:58 PM
With a lifetime batting average of .263 and all of the baggage Mc brings with him, I am surprised the Cardinals think he is worthy of the job....I'm just saying.

-- Posted by cheers4dhs on Mon, Oct 26, 2009, at 10:28 PM
Starting the new year with 2 errors already. Cardinals need new ideas.

-- Posted by Dexterite1 on Tue, Oct 27, 2009, at 5:43 AM
I think this might be a first, but I believe I agree with Dexterite1. However, I don't know if there is a better manager out there that you could bring in to duplicate or exceed what LaRussa has done.

-- Posted by BonScott on Tue, Oct 27, 2009, at 10:18 AM

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