Friday, October 5, 2007

Tony La Russa Signs with Pittsburgh Pirates...

Well...okay...not quite yet...but let's review:

1. Tony's contract is up in St. Louis. He hasn't decided where he'll go, and he's taking the weekend to think on it.

2. The Cardinals and Pirates are in the same division. This is similar to the theory that says a team wants a player who performs well against them more than a player they haven't seen before. The Pirates have been beat up by the Cards for years, so they've seen TLR first hand. Also, wouldn't they just love to take TLR and really stick it to the Cards?

3. Walt Jocketty dismissed as GM of the Cards. It's no secret that TLR and Walt are/were close. It may well be true that TLR and Walt are not a "package deal," as TLR said, but it is also true that a St. Louis team without Walt Jocketty is infinitely less appealing than a team with him - especially if the boss-man (DeWitt) is taking the team in the "Moneyball" direction apparently disliked by TLR.

4. Within days of the Jocketty dismissal, Jim Tracy is fired in Pittsburgh. Come on. Timing, folks...timing.

5. Jim Leyland, Tony's good buddy, still lives in Pittsburgh.

Okay, guys...let's see the writing on the wall, here...is it too much of a stretch to see Tony going to the Pirates? Is it even believable that the Pirate's firing of Tracy was done in hopes of landing a Tony La Russa in limbo?????

Just fyi - I predicted the Cubs would win the Central with 86 wins. They did it with 85. I'm rarely right, but I'm often close.

Something is amiss in Pittsburgh...