Schilling Spews Only Hot Air As He Blasts La Russa
Bernie Miklasz
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
May 26, 2005
WHEN TONY LA RUSSA stopped by Boston all-sports station WEEI on
May 16 to
promote the book "3 Nights in August," little did he know that he'd
ignite a
controversy that would embroil himself, Edgar Renteria, Boston pitcher
Curt
Schilling and Red Sox fans.
When asked about Renteria's mediocre start in Boston, La Russa
essentially
repeated comments he made at the time Renteria turned down a four-year,
$39
million offer to continue playing shortstop for the Cardinals to accept
a
four-year, $40 million deal with the Sox.
To paraphrase, La Russa said he feared that Renteria would have a
difficult
time with the baseball environment in Boston. Why? Because there would
be more
scrutiny and less forgiveness in contrast to the relative peace in St.
Louis.
Renteria, La Russa said, wouldn't be able to "hide" in Boston as he did
in St.
Louis.
In this spot on the baseball map, La Russa's comments were no big
deal,
because we've heard them before. It's been established that Renteria
doesn't
play well when stressed. We saw how Renteria, rattled by trade rumors,
pressed
in 2001, and Cardinals fans were less than patient with him at the
time. But
Renteria finally settled down and played to his usual standards after
general
manager Walt Jocketty issued a public no-trade guarantee.
Even though Boston fans and media members already were grumbling
about
Renteria's slow start, La Russa's comments retroactively gained
currency last
weekend, as Renteria struggled through a terrible series against
Atlanta at
Fenway Park. Renteria went one for 13, committed two errors and got
booed after
striking out with the bases loaded in the second inning of Sunday's
game.
This apparently set off Schilling, who called WEEI twice this
week and
accused La Russa of setting Renteria up with the comments made during
the May 16
interview.
"I just thought he put Edgar in a very bad situation, especially
for a player
he talks about and cares about so much. I thought he stuck him in a
corner
there," Schilling told WEEI.
Schilling's spin is confusing.
I didn't realize that La Russa controls the minds and emotions of
Red Sox
fans. I thought they could think for themselves, and boo for
themselves, without
prompting from outside influences. I believe Red Sox fans were smart
enough to
do the calculation: Renteria's .245 batting average, .297 on-base
percentage and
eight errors don't add up to a $10 million-a-year shortstop.
And in the interview with WEEI, Schilling ironically did what he
faulted La
Russa for doing by putting more onus on Renteria.
"He's struggling, no question," Schilling said. "Now all eyes are
on him
every at-bat, every pitch. Everybody has an answer, a solution.
Unfortunately,
none of those are going to work until Edgar gets over the hump
himself."
Gee, Curt, when the team's star pitcher announces that Renteria
is struggling
and puts more focus on Renteria's labors, don't you think this will
only
increase the heat on Renteria? Schilling probably didn't realize he was
actually
validating La Russa's opinion about Renteria's comfort level in Boston.
In the follow-up interview with WEEI, Schilling took another shot
at La
Russa, characterizing La Russa as a "jilted lover" in the aftermath of
Renteria
's defection. That remark prompted a popular Red Sox fan Web site to
post a
doctored photo of La Russa wearing a wedding dress.
"I don't know if Tony thought about what he was saying before he
said it,"
Schilling told WEEI. "I would guess, knowing him, that ... looking back
on what
he said and how it's kind of played out that he's probably not real
happy he did
it."
Not exactly.
"It's amazing to me that there's anything objectionable in what I
said," La
Russa said Wednesday. "I have no idea what Schilling was hearing,
reading,
thinking, saying. I know this, Schilling is not helping Edgar. The more
he talks
about it, the more attention he brings to it, and Edgar doesn't want to
be the
center of attention. If he wants to help Edgar, he'll low-key it."
As for being a jilted lover .o.o.
"If you go back to the beginning of the offseason, I made public
comments
where, I had strong doubts whether Edgar could be part of our team
because of
economics," La Russa said. "I said our priority was pitching. I said
that
consistently. Here's our chunk of money, and we had to spend our money
on
pitching. And so, at risk were Edgar and Mike Matheny. I didn't expect
that we
could afford to sign them. I didn't think we could afford to sign
Edgar, and we
were making plans to play without him. And if we had signed Edgar, we
couldn't
have traded for (pitcher) Mark Mulder."
The Red Sox open a three-game series at Busch Stadium on June 6,
and but it
probably won't be the anticipated homecoming for Renteria.
"I'm done with St. Louis already, and I play with Boston right
now. It's my
house right now, my family," Renteria told reporters who cover the Red
Sox.
There's more.
"I know the fans in Boston are the best in baseball," Renteria
told reporters
Tuesday in Toronto. "When you perform the way you're supposed to,
they're behind
you. When I play the way I'm supposed to play, the Boston fans will be
behind
me."
(Doesn't that make them front-runners?)
As for La Russa's comments, Renteria said, "I don't know why Tony
would say
that. I wanted to play in Boston. They offered me the best contract and
I knew I
wanted to come to Boston. I think the fans are great there. I knew what
a great
place to play Boston is and I haven't changed my mind about that. I'm
going to
show Tony that I can play here."
The Cardinals-Red Sox series just became a lot more intriguing.
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