La Russa destroys any benefit of doubt
CHICAGO — It’s all over for Tony La Russa.
No, not his job as manager of the Chicago White Sox.
There’s no doubt Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf will stand by his man after ESPN first reported La Russa was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in February during spring training in Arizona.
Additional reporting from ESPN on Tuesday said La Russa attempted to get out of his arrest by citing his Hall of Fame status, according to the police report. The report quoted La Russa as saying, “I’m a Hall of Famer baseball person” and “I’m legit. I’m a Hall of Famer, brother.”
Reinsdorf already knew about the arrest when he hired La Russa on Oct. 29, one day after charges were filed in Maricopa County. If La Russa’s second DUI arrest wasn’t a deal-breaker then, there’s no reason to believe Reinsdorf would change his mind now.
USA Today confirmed that Monday, citing a Sox source. Hey, what are friends for? No, what’s over for La Russa is his tenuous relationship with Sox fans already upset over the hiring of a 76-year-old most deem a poor fit with the team’s fun-loving players.
What’s over for La Russa is his opportunity to prove he really has evolved from his criticism of Colin Kaepernick and athletes’ protests of racial injustice.
What’s over is his ability to lead by example.
La Russa said all the right things during his introductory news conference, hoping to quell the outrage from Sox Nation. With 31/
2 months to go until spring training, all he had to do was wait patiently for the new season to begin to show the Sox made the right move.
But he blew it, and La Russa 2.0 has been reduced to La Russa .08, the legal limit for blood alcohol while driving in Arizona. So what’s next?
La Russa could resign, giving general manager Rick Hahn an opportunity to go in a new direction and allowing the Sox to put this episode behind them.
That seems unlikely. La Russa hasn’t had his hearing yet, so there’s a chance he could be found not guilty. I’m sure he has some good lawyers, just as New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft did. Many famous people escape punishment that would lead to jail time for normal people.
Reinsdorf also could change his mind amid the backlash from Sox fans and quietly ask La Russa to step aside to avoid becoming a distraction in 2021. But that would necessitate Reinsdorf conceding a mistake — hiring a friend while knowing he had a DUI hearing pending.
When was the last time Reinsdorf admitted he was wrong?
What’s likely to happen is nothing.
The Sox will count on this episode blowing over by the time the season begins. They’ll give La Russa a designated driver or an unlimited Uber expense account and hope it’s just a footnote when the Sox begin their drive to the postseason.
With the attention span of Americans decreasing by the day, that just might work.
How La Russa reacts will be the key. He hung up on an ESPN reporter asking for comment after saying he had nothing to say. But eventually he’ll have to address it, probably with USA Today or some other media outlet he trusts.
My guess is he’ll call it a mistake that will never happen again, and perhaps he’ll apologize to Reinsdorf and the Sox organization. Then it will be up to Sox fans to determine whether he was being “sincere,” just as La Russa said he’d determine whether a celebratory player is “sincere” in his actions.
After that, the Sox will deem it over. Move along. Nothing to see here.
Whatever happens, rest assured this saga isn’t going to end soon.
In a year such as 2020 with so many twists and turns, how could it?