Dave Henderson Talks Steroids, Mark McGwire

Oh, steroids...it's funny how we still talk about you.

A couple of weeks ago, Jack Clark blasted Tony LaRussa, saying he was "responsible for a lot of the cheating that went on".  Meaning, in a nutshell, the former skipper knew about the rampant steroid use in his clubhouse.

Sour grapes from a former member of the St. Louis Cardinals who was, in his estimation, not allowed to hang out with the club when LaRussa was in charge?  Maybe.

But where there's smoke, there's, well...more validity.

Enter Dave Henderson who played for the LaRussa-led Oakland A's from 1988 to 1993.  The former outfielder recently told the San Jose Mercury News that he, too, knew of steroid use while with the A's.

"I think it was pretty obvious that when a guy gains 40 or 50 pounds of muscle, he is on steroids," the 1991 All-Star said.  "Throughout my career that guys started hitting the ball 20-30 feet farther. It wasn't fair but I couldn't do anything about it."

Henderson also went on to call out former teammates Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco and anyone else who used steroids.

"I think it's pretty simple..none of them get in,'' Henderson said. "If you cheated, you are not a Hall of Famer."

Why anyone would randomly ask Dave Henderson about someone's Hall of Fame credentials is beyond me, but , I suppose, there are only so many times you can talk to dude about the 1986 playoffs, right?

Cardinals Retire Tony LaRussa's Number

Well...that didn't take long.

A little more than six months after Tony LaRussa led the St. Louis Cardinals to their eleventh World Series title, the team retired his number.

''It's not something you think about, or expect,'' the team's longtime skipper said.

LaRussa took to the podium at Busch Stadium wearing all three of his championship rings...the two he won with the Cardinals and the one he brought home while with the Oakland A's.

Joining the 67-year-old for the celebration were more than a dozen of LaRussa's former players, coaches and front office peers.

''Tony made a name for himself,'' Dennis Eckersley said. ''He deserves this honor and he's going to go to the Hall of Fame, so I'm going to have to do this over and over again.''

LaRussa managed for 33 seasons overall and is third on the career list with 2728 wins...trailing second-place John McGraw by just 35 victories. The future Hall of Famer is the 12th former Cardinal to have his number retired by the team.

Tony LaRussa Will Manage One More Game

Former St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa is not done yet.

As if people needed another reason to complain about the All-Star Game, the retired skipper is coming back to manage the Midsummer Classic.

This...from the commissioner's office:

News: Tony La Russa will manage the NL team in the @AllStarGame, Commissioner Selig announced today.

This isn't the first time a retired manager has been invited back however.  Danny Murtaugh retired following the 1971 season and returned to manager in the 1972 game.

But back then, it was a true exhibition...it wasn't the farce that it is today.

This one counts people!

Just not for the manager who will be in the dugout for one of the teams.

Tony LaRussa Retires

After the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series last week, every indication was that manager Tony LaRussa was planning on returning for season 17.

Now...not so much.

Turns out he’s decided to go out on top.

The four-time Manager of the Year announced his retirement during a Monday press conference just 35 wins away from passing John McGraw for second place on the all-time list behind Connie Mack.

And as the news is circulating around the internet...Cardinals outfielder Jon Jay was the first of LaRussa's former minions to hit up the Twitters.

Congrats to Coach LaRussa on a Hall of Fame career, I am honored to have learned so much from a legend. All the best to the LaRussa family!

La Russa, 67, goes out a champion after leading the Cardinals to their second World Series championship in six years.  The akipper also won the 1989 World Series with the Oakland A's.

My pick to replace LaRussa?  Kyle Lohse...as Tony LaRussa.

Tony LaRussa's Manages His 5000th Game

It’s not often that I get to say this…but on Friday, Tony LaRussa and I pretty much started our day the same.

We both got up out of bed, probably ate a good meal or two then made our way to Miller Park in Milwaukee.

The similarities between me and the St. Louis Cardinals skipper probably ends there.

Sure, sure, we both got to see Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda (me from the stands…LaRussa up close), we both survived what Brewers officials called a “kettle corn fire” and we both witnessed the glory that is Milwaukee’s mascot Bernie Brewer slide down that yellow slide.

Twice.

But while I’ve seen a number of baseball games in my lifetime, Friday’s contest between the Cardinals and Brewers marked LaRussa’s 5000th regular season game as a manager.  All I had to show for my day was a day at the zoo and witnessing a fight on my way to dinner.

The advantage to the four-time manager of the year I suppose.

And in case you’re wondering, the 66-year-old would need to manage 17 more years to catch record holder Connie Mack at 7755 games managed.

Also, it seems pretty unlikely anyone will approach LaRussa for a while.

Detroit Tigers skipper Jim Leyland is closest, but he's nearly 2000 games behind. After that…only Dusty Baker and Bruce Bochy are the only active managers with at least 2600 games managed.

Oh, yeah, one last thing…the Cardinals lost 8-0, putting LaRussa’s career record at 2676-2320-4.