St Louis Cardinals’ Manager, Tony La Russa discusses Brendan Ryan
The winter meetings went well for the 3rd straight day and it didn’t come as a surprise to see the top teams fighting for the right pack of players available in the free agency. The pursuit for top stars hasn’t run cold
yet and with the off season period looking to continue on to the coming year, there isn’t much to consider in terms of time. The free market is looking to stay open for a very long time and while the meetings may be concluding soon, the action, off field,
is looking to gain momentum in the coming days.
The St. Louis Cardinals recently acquired Ryan Theriot on a trade deal and while many see the shift in strategy for the shortstop position, the speculation has grew on what Brendan Ryan’s role will be for the club. Manager, Tony
La Russa held a press meeting for 20 minutes and while he discussed various issues regarding the club, the important question on Brendan’s role kept on coming up again and again.
Brendan Ryan will either face a trade or a backup status role now and that has many reporters querying the reasons as to why the situation has come to this point. While many suspect Ryan to be a hard line character in the locker
room, La Russa argued, that wasn’t the reason why the big man was relegated.
He said, "He's grown up a lot. He's had a lot of our players mentor him. But he's still you know, he's a very personable guy and he's got a lot of energy. He's still learning that there is a time to be expressive and animated,
and there is a time to kind of make sure you breathe and back off a little bit. So I think he's made so much progress. I don't think the chemistry side is a reason.”
La Russa went on to explain, "The reason that Ryan Theriot was traded for is we have a chance to win, and Brendan, because of his year, opened the door. I think it's irresponsible as an organization to go into the group next year
if you have a chance to improve at that position and hope that Brendan got back, so now we don't have to hope. We've got Ryan, and we'll see what happens with Brendan."
It doesn’t come as a surprise that Theriot is statistically better than Brendan. So is the choice really based on records or is it a move to break locker room bureaucracy?
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