LaRussa Won’t Maintain Radio Silence With Tony Rasmus

If I were advising Colby Rasmus‘s dad, Tony Rasmus, I’d tell him to shut up.

It’s enough.

He protected his son—that’s clear. He also interfered with the way the Cardinals and manager Tony LaRussa handled him—that too is clear.

There was a rift somewhere and my guess is both parties are at fault. When you’re dealing with an old-school, thin-skinned veteran manager like LaRussa and an involved parent, this endless spitting contest is not going to do any good at all for the player—especially a player that was coached by his dad and is sensitive in his own right.

Tony Rasmus was a guest on a St. Louis radio program—The Sports Zone with Rob Rains and B.J. Rains Weekdays 1-3 on SportsRadio 1380—and discussed his son, the Cardinals and LaRussa.

You can listen here.

Following the interview, LaRussa had no comment.

We all know that’s not going to last. He’ll reply because: A) people are going to keep asking about it until he detonates; and B) he’s LaRussa.

It’s going to eat at LaRussa. He’s so competitive and intense that it extends to everyone knowing he’s a genius, telling him he’s a genius and he must-must-must have the last word.

The one thing I don’t understand is why the Cardinals are so uptight about Colby getting help from his dad. If it helps the player in any way—gives him some peace of mind or whatever—why not?

There’s a territorial fiefdom in baseball that managers feel so threatened when their handpicked coaches are “usurped” by an outsider—father or not—that they instantly rebel and react when there’s encroachment into that arena.

I believe it could’ve been smoothed over, but maybe it couldn’t.

Here’s the end result: Colby and Tony Rasmus are the Blue Jays problems/attributes now; LaRussa won another organizational skirmish with the diametrically opposed voices in his front office; and the Cardinals took steps to win now and placate the manager.

It’s over. Everyone should move on.

But we know neither LaRussa nor Tony Rasmus will do that and again Colby will be the unwitting victim trapped in the middle of loyalty to his dad and the ire of a Hall of Fame manager.

Not a good place to be for a 25-year-old.

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