St. Louis Cardinals’ Tony La Russa has but himself to blame for Game 5 fiasco – MLB Update
The St. Louis Cardinals’ manager Tony La Russa on Tuesday, October 25 accepted the responsibility of seemingly disastrous bullpen mix-ups resulting in the team’s defeat. The end result of the Game 5 has now put the Cardinals in an awkward situation.
It was Mike Napoli who went for eighth inning grounder, after the several odd things that the game witnessed, to win one of the biggest victories for the Texas Rangers. Tony La Russa’s decision will determine who will hold the elusive crown either in the
Game 6 or 7.
It was bringing Marc Rzepczynski against Mike Napoli that changed the entire landscape, putting the game on the decisive phase for the Texas Rangers. Was he decision to bring Marc Rzepczynski right?
"I think it directly affected [the outcome of the game]," La Russa said. "This is what you're taught as a coach. Sometimes there's execution problems, like maybe the guy swings at a bad pitch, maybe the guy takes a bad lead.”
While he admits that it is players on the field whose performance at the end decides the fate of the game, he nevertheless does not try to evade blame. He thinks that it is the ultimate decision of the manager who to send on the ground after coaching and
training.
“Those things are on the player to a large degree. But also you're never truly without blame or responsibility as a coach or a manager, because a lot of it comes to coaching and teaching.”
While La Russa thinks there are miscommunications as well, he does not seem completely pessimistic. It was, after all, La Russa himself who inculcated the winning spirit in the team.
He did not blame the pitching coach Derek Lilliquist for the bullpen’s inability to carry out the task with perfection. Whatever the causes, Game 6 will not have a repetition of the mistakes that the Game 5 saw. It will be interesting to see how the Cardinals
manage to bounce back with their backs to the wall. The Rangers in a comfortable position as they need just one more game for the coveted World Series title.
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