I can’t even post a picture of Tony La Russa’s mug on the blog, because I may hurl while I try to write this post. Here’s a link if you are really curious, but I think I would rather watch the Rondo injury a thousand times than have a peak at THIS for a prolonged period. At first, La Russa’s condition was thought to be pink eye. But, as the condition worsened it was revealed that La Russa was diagnosed with shingles. I can’t ever say that I’ve seen or known someone with shingles, and that’s probably a good thing. That’s nasty. The Cards skipper tried to battle the issue without leaving the team for weeks, but now La Russa is departing the team to head to the Mayo Clinic in Arizona for testing. From the New York Times…
St. Louis Cardinals Manager Tony La Russa has been found to have shingles and was having tests at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona. It was uncertain when he would return to the team.
Cardinals General Manager John Mozeliak said he was waiting to talk to La Russa for an update on the malady. St. Louis started a series at the Chicago Cubs.
Joe Pettini, the bench coach, will run the Cardinals while La Russa is away. La Russa, 66, is in his 16th season as St. Louis’s manager.
Pettini said La Russa’s condition reached a point at which something had to be done.
“He gutted it out for the games,” Pettini said. “But before the game every day, you come in and ask, ‘How you doing, Skipper?’ and you’re hoping to get a little better answer. But every day, he would shake his head and say, ‘Not any better, not any better.’ ”
Certainly, we wish Tony La Russa the best of luck in his absence. I’m not the biggest fan of the Cards manager, but you have to hand it to anyone who is willing to put up with THIS for a month and longer and manage. Players gut it out all the time, but rarely does a manager have to battle through injury… or, uhh.. virus or whatever. Surely a veteran team like the Cardinals will be fine if La Russa is gone for some period of time. But really, THIS has to rank among the all-time weirdest MLB absences in league history. Hopefully La Russa can heal quickly and get back to his normal self and managing the Cardinals quickly.
