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La Russa outsmarts himself in using bullpen

HUBRIS. That should have been Tony La Russa's explanation for what happened Monday night. Overconfidence that he had thought this thing down to its last detail, was rolling the dice just a bit, and believed that his players would perform exactly as he had calculated they would.

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa blamed his bullpen usage in Game 5 on a communication error. (Jeff Roberson/AP)
Cardinals manager Tony La Russa blamed his bullpen usage in Game 5 on a communication error. (Jeff Roberson/AP)Read more

HUBRIS. That should have been Tony La Russa's explanation for what happened Monday night. Overconfidence that he had thought this thing down to its last detail, was rolling the dice just a bit, and believed that his players would perform exactly as he had calculated they would.

It would have worked a lot better than the faulty phone testimony he employed afterward, opening him up to the kind of scrutiny "Law & Order" defendants receive. Indeed, when La Russa was brought back in for more testimony on the offday yesterday, someone began a question like this:

"To the best of your recollection . . . "

Honest to God.

Trained in law before deciding on baseball 4 decades ago, La Russa was up to the task yesterday. Before a question could be asked, he initiated a long defense of Albert Pujols and his right to call a hit-and-run, although as far as anyone can tell, everyone was satisfied with the answers given to that one after Monday's 4-2 loss to the Rangers.

In fact, after La Russa's long, impassioned defense of Pujols and his baseball acumen - again, there didn't seem to be a whole lot of nays on that one - the first question was: "The confusion last night in the bullpen . . . "

"Is there no more about Albert?" La Russa asked. "Let this be about Albert first."

Yes, let it be so.

And let today's rains in St. Louis be done before the first pitch of Game 6 . . .

La Russa's switcheroo yesterday worked better than most of his moves Monday night. Six "Albert as player-coach" questions followed until someone mercifully returned the topic to what the rest of the baseball world was discussing yesterday. "I'm trying to measure the severity of the confusion with the bullpen last night," he was asked. "There was a sequence of events. A day later, do you view that moment in time as costing you the game?"

A quick review before Tony's response: In the eighth inning Monday night, with runners on first and second and one out, La Russa replaced Octavio Dotel with lefthander Marc Rzepczynski. Rzepczynski's job was to retire David Murphy, who hit .215 against lefties this season and really struggled against them down the stretch. At that point, La Russa said, he told bullpen coach Derek Lilliquist to warm up Cardinals closer Jason Motte, but the message was either drowned out by crowd noise or Lilliquist hung up before he heard it.

Murphy hit a potential doubleplay ball toward the middle, but Rzepczynski deflected it toward the right side, and instead everyone was safe. Instead of two outs with an open base somewhere, the bases were loaded with one out.

And with lefty-killer Mike Napoli coming to the plate, Motte hadn't thrown a single warmup pitch. If Murphy makes an out, Rzepczynski probably walks the righthanded Napoli, so he can pitch to lefty Mitch Moreland. Indeed, Rzepczynski struck out Moreland after surrendering Napoli's game-deciding two-run double.

What I think is that La Russa gambled that Rzepczynski would get Murphy out. No one likes to get his closer up in the eighth inning, and lefties had batted just .163 vs. Rzepczynski. Get Murphy out, and La Russa would have intentionally walked Napoli, and had Rzepczynski facing Moreland, who has struggled mightily this season, and over his career, against lefties. That's why you saw La Russa very uncharacteristically grip his noted cerebrum with both hands when Murphy's tepid grounder bounced around between Rzepczynski's legs. If it passes through, it's a doubleplay, and La Russa keeps Motte fresh in a 2-2 game.

La Russa said he asked for Motte a second time, but Lilliquist heard Lance Lynn instead. A man often considered the intellectual superior of his peers was undone, in the age of text, Twitter and playbooks on iPads, by wire-to-wire transmission.

Just wondering: Did John McGraw and Connie Mack have bullpen phones? Or was the use of carrier pigeons standard then?

Anyway, Richard Durrett, who covers the Rangers for ESPN, said he was unaware of any precedent for this. La Russa defenders - apologists, some might sneer - have pointed out that the visiting dugout does not have a bullpen view. There's even Ian Kinsler's contention that the crowd noise in Texas has been louder than in Detroit, Tampa or New York.

But really, it's 2-2 in Game 5 of the World Series. Lynn said afterward that he prepared as if he might pitch that night and was never told otherwise.

So here's what I think. Tony tried to save Motte for the ninth or beyond and got burned. Then he blamed technology, as any smart man in his late 60s does. I know this: If the Phillies had made it this far and our man Charlie had done that, there would be a whole 'nother subtext to it today.

Yogi Berra was fired once after losing a Game 7. Charlie might have been the first to be fired after losing a tiebreaking Game 5.

"In the end that comes totally on the coach, or the manager," La Russa said finally yesterday. "I explained yesterday what was going on, and to the extent that what I wanted to have happen wasn't happening, didn't happen, yeah, that's my fault. I don't need to dodge that, ever."

Or at least until the day after.