Max wrote:

So what to make of Theriot at 2B tonight, combined with the rumor that the Cards are looking for a SS?  Any La Russa critics want to peer into the sausage making process?

Nobody wants to take a stab at this?  Ok, I'll have a go, anyway.  Here's a hypothesis of the reason behind the reason:

After the Rasmus trade, criticism of La Russa was so fierce he needed to issue a public denial of what many people believe to be true about him:

“I’ve heard if you don’t get along with the manager in St. Louis, you can’t play,"  manager Tony La Russa said. “That’s ridiculous. If you get on Tony’s bad side you’re out of here, that’s wrong."

Therefore, one possibility is that in order to counter that perception, La Russa reckoned it would balance things out a bit if he could offer evidence to refute another common belief about him: that he gives significant and unjustified playing time to guys who he likes, because they are scrappy/play the game the right way/shower with him/whatever.  Of those scrappy players who get so much unjustified playing time that La Russa actually is criticized for it, Theriot had the least seniority, fewest La Russa bucks, and could serve a useful purpose if La Russa could been seen to be throwing him under a bus. 

Now, final comment, yes Therior was not good enough, and that alone justified demotion and trade to bring in a replacement.  But that hasn't stopped La Russa from running his other favorites out there day after day when they are not playing well and when a trade surely could bring an upgrade.

Just my thoughts . . .

Last edited by Max (7/31/2011 10:47 am)