I can't decide what I think about this.
Before the Braves take the field in St. Louis tonight, the Cardinals will retire Tony LaRussa's number. It's a well-deserved honor. But something is gnawing at me. Is the timing of this ceremony suspicious or is it simply coincidental?
Let's remember how last season ended. In extra innings, the Braves lost their final game of the season to the Phillies. The loss made a one-game playoff versus the Cardinals for the Wild Card spot a moot point. The Cardinals were catapulted into the post season and eventually became World Series Champions.
Is this salt in the wound? I need to know what y'all think...
soap opera. =-)
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ReplyDeleteWell, it looks like I was wondering about something that simply wasn't there. The timing of Tony LaRussa's jersey retirement was actually very special for the Braves manager and players.
ReplyDeleteFredi Gonzalez was thrilled when he found out the Braves would be playing the Cards the night of the ceremony. "I'm so happy that we are here for this," Gonzalez said. "He's great guy and I learned a lot from him."
Three members of the Braves organization were invited guests. Brian Jordan, who played for TLR in St. Louis as well as Greg Walker and Scott Fletcher, who were with Tony during his stint with the White Sox.
The Braves players watched the ceremony from the dugout. Chipper was another one who was glad the team was in town to see the event. "Who wouldn't want to be a part of something special like that?" he said. "I try to never miss occasions such as this."
He continued on to say, "You can't do what he's done without being great at what you do. I certainly have a lot of respect for him and everything he's accomplished in his career. He's going to go down as one of the two or three best managers of all time."
Cardinals fans are well-known for being very knowledgeable and classy. That was proven once again during Chipper's first plate appearance. As he walked from the on-deck circle the crowd began cheering noticeably louder. Once Chipper stepped into the batter's box, Yadier Molina stood, said something to Chipper, called time and went to the mound. Classy move! The crowd gave Chipper a 45 second ovation which Chipper acknowledged with a tip of his batting helmet. It caught me off-guard watching from home and the Braves announcers were surprised too. Not that it was done, but how off-the-cuff it was. Joe Simpson said something to the effect of, "Wow, look at this." He and Chip Caray went on to acknowledge what a great baseball town St. Louis is.
Here's video of it, featuring the Cardinals announcers:
http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=21338511&c_id=mlb
And congrats to the entire Braves team for finally beating the Cards at home! First time that's happened since 2009. Jason Heyward's 2-run blast in the 12th sealed the deal!
The Cardinals fans are a classy bunch...I got a little misty when they gave Chipper a standing O. I apologize for my earlier comments about Tony's "Just For Men" hair, I was still mad about last years collapse but after 2 straight spankings of the red birds I am feeling better.
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