LaRussa Calms Umpire Concerns
Nothing like a victory to ease the frustrations of a manager.
St. Louis manager Tony La Russa expressed concern about the strike zone of home plate umpire Jerry Meals in Game 2 of the NL Division Series between the Cardinals and Philadelphia on Sunday night.
By the time the Cardinals had rallied for a 5-4 victory after initially falling behind 4-0, La Russa was less concerned with the efforts of Meals.
"I would add — which could get me in trouble, but I'm going to add anyway — is that we are pitching to two different strike zones," La Russa said on the in-game interview during the TBS broadcast. "I guess for this club or any club, that's an advantage you don't want to give up."
During his postgame interview, La Russa admitted he was upset, but said, "it’s not a great comment to make, but I was upset. I’ve never had a problem with Jerry before.’’
Jerry Layne, the crew chief for the umpires who worked the first two games of the Cardinals-Phillies series declined comment.
"It's only right that Major League Baseball is informed of what's going on,’’ said Layne, "and if there's really a comment that should be made, it should come out of (Executive Vice President, Baseball Operations) Joe Torre or (Senior Vice President, Baseball Operations) Peter Woodfork. That's why they're in the titles that they carry."
Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel admitted some concerns, but didn't expand on the strike zone issue.
"I am not blaming umpires,'' said Manuel. "They (St. Louis) out played us. They outhit us. And they won.''
