I Hate You Tony LaRussa

There are times when I have a little trouble focusing.  I positive that I am not the only person who’s unrelenting hatred for Tony LaRussa keeps any kind of objective analysis about him or the teams that he manages impossible.  Luckily, here at TBOH, we do not specialize in rational, objective analysis.  I certainly use any opportunity to piss and moan about how I think that LaRussa is a pompous dickface who thinks that he invented baseball.  Not to bemoan the point, but I hate Tony LaRussa.

Vance Worley pitched for the first time in forever following a loss.  He got squeezed a little bit by home plate umpire Rob Drake, but managed to work through six innings allowing only one run on a bases loaded walk.  I keep expecting the league to figure him out and smack him around, for people to start hitting that comeback sinker he throws, but it does not seem to happen.  He battled his way through six innings without his best stuff, as he was getting squeezed.  I am still a little unsure if it is sustainable, but he is pretty fun to watch.

The Phillies struggle with Jamie Garcia.  Garcia only gave up five hits and he allowed four of those in one inning.  It stands to reason that there will be a decline after big step up in innings.  No Verducci effect for Garcia.  He is still effective and makes the Phillies look like absolute crap.  I kind of want to blame Tony LaRussa for injecting him with a kind of undetectable PED that he stole from Mark McGuire’s locker, but it might be that he is a left handed pitcher with pretty good stuff.  I will still blame LaRussa.

This was a tight game into the late innings.  Everyone would assume that the Cardinal bullpen would find a way to shit the bed in a tight one, little did we know that the struggles of Antonio Bastardo would continue.  As an aside, my brother in law just purchased an Antonio Bastardo shirt for me on my birthday, since this purchase, Bastardo has allowed a baserunner in every single outing.  Today was not different.  Bastardo allowed a go ahead homer to Yadier Molina and recorded the other outs on long fly balls.  The Phillies were down two runs heading into the bottom of the ninth inning.

The Cardinal bullpen has been awful.  They have a crap ton of blown saves and have turned to converted catcher Jason Motte as their closer.  Motte got the first two outs of the ninth without an issue, but allowed a double to the best pinch hitter in the major leagues; Ryan Howard.  Carlos Ruiz hit a ball down the right field line which was dropped by defensive replacement Cory Patterson.  Tie game, blown save.  Cram it LaRussa.

The game went to extra innings and eventually, Michael Schwimmer allowed some runs to lose the game for the Phils.  Any time that Tony LaRussa adds to his win total, my day is officially ruined.

Tomorrow Roy Oswalt goes up against Jake Westbrook in an attempt to clinch a fifth straight division crown.