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Posted by Emily on 6/27/2005, 10:00 am Cardinals manager is best at home when he thinks about baseball By Bob Ferrante DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER La Russa also agonizes over the game. Every single pitch. He loves the game to the point that he's won more games than any other active manager, but his desire to win season after season for three decades means that he's more comfortable being lonely. To the St. Louis Cardinals manager, who is married with two daughters, every day is one spent away from home - he and his wife, Elaine, agreed that Tony is better off as a manager living out of a St. Louis hotel room during the season. La Russa, who has a law degree from Florida State, loves the "complexities and layers" of the game, analyzing each matchup, each result - before, during and after the game. But, like most managers, he takes little pleasure in the Cardinals' wins. The losses, however, form a mountain of stress and worry, often keeping La Russa up at night. The poker face that La Russa is constantly wearing during games? It's a great front for a man who internalizes nearly every baseball moment. That's the portrait of La Russa painted by Buzz Bissinger, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "Friday Night Lights," who was given unlimited access to La Russa and the Cardinals during the 2003 season. Bissinger's book, "3 Nights in August," examines La Russa's managing of the Cardinals' critical three-game home series against the rival Chicago Cubs. The book is set up well, painting a portrait of La Russa and his conversations with coaches and trainers before moving on to the three-game series against the Cubs' unholy pitching triad - Kerry Wood, Mark Prior and Carlos Zambrano. Each game is told in flashbacks, similar to the 1999 baseball movie staring Kevin Costner, "For Love of the Game." The series concerns La Russa for a number of reasons, one of which is he is playing shorthanded: Right fielder J.D. Drew will not be in the lineup after suffering an injury nine days before the series begins. La Russa badly wants Drew in the lineup, saying that he is a perfect hitter to face the high-90s fastballs of Wood and Prior. But for La Russa, the problem is more than Drew's health. La Russa is disappointed that Drew does not play to his full potential, partially blaming himself, and says that Drew does not show the kind of passion for the game that St. Louis' Albert Pujols shows. At one point, La Russa is asked how many players he has managed - with the Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics and St. Louis - who displayed heart and talent. La Russa comes up with 17 players but does not name them. It's obvious, however, that Pujols is on the list and that Drew is not. La Russa even compares Drew to slugger Jose Canseco, saying that the slugger changed his attitude after the Athletics gave him a big contract. The burning question for La Russa: Was it Drew's fault that he wasn't playing up to his level or was it the fault of the manager he played for? La Russa believes in Drew but thinks that it may take another team, or manager, to unlock his talents. As it turned out, La Russa was right - possibly on both accounts. The Cardinals traded Drew to the Braves in December 2003, and the Georgia native had career highs in home runs (31), RBIs (93), runs (118), doubles (28) and games played (145) in Atlanta for Bobby Cox. But Drew, who was in the final year of his contract, cashed in and signed a five-year, $55 million deal with the Dodgers in 2005. http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/sports/colleges/florida_state_university/11987433.htm
64.123.253.103
Laments of Drew dot La Russa book
Tony La Russa loves the game. Every single pitch.
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