ST. LOUIS – The Yankees aren’t the only team with an awkward third-base situation. If they do plan to move Alex Rodriguez this winter, they might want to talk shop with the Cardinals.
Scott Rolen and Tony La Russa are butting heads over the third baseman’s balky left shoulder, although Rolen and his 1-for-14 slump were back in the lineup for NLCS Game 3. La Russa was trying to protect Rolen’s surgically repaired joint, and the competitive five-time All-Star gets upset every time he’s not in the lineup.
“You’re supposed to produce when you play,” La Russa said pointedly before last night’s 5-0 victory over the Mets.
“I played hurt through a pennant race, and I want to play now,” Rolen countered. “That’s it.”
After being benched in Game 2, Rolen (1-for-3) looked good in his first three trips last night, and made a tremendous bare-hand play on Paul Lo Duca’s Baltimore chop to end the sixth. Rolen also made a nifty backhand stab of David Wright’s grounder to end the seventh.
The two stubborn men have been at loggerheads since mid-September over playing time, and the latest bombshell came in Saturday’s edition of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Two people in Rolen’s camp reportedly feel he’s being scrutinized in every at-bat and that Thursday’s Game 1 was a “tryout.”
“I read that,” La Russa admitted before last night’s game. “[Juan] Encarnacion is not in the lineup today. So was he trying out (Friday)? When you’re trying to win, you put the best lineup you think has the best chance to win.
“I saw him make a dive (Friday), make a play. That’s a healthy indication of what his shoulder felt like, that he wasn’t restricted. That was a heckuva play.
“To me, it’s just he’s got to find his stroke. He’s an outstanding player and you always give an outstanding player the benefit of the doubt.”
La Russa is walking a fine line between motivating Rolen, keeping him healthy, and not destroying his confidence and/or trust in the manager. But insiders feel the relationship is deteriorating over the issue.
La Russa penciled in Scott Spiezio for the second straight game, albeit in left field. But Spiezio batted fifth and Rolen sixth. Spiezio is a terrific postseason hitter who entered with a .700 average (14-for-20) with runners in scoring position in the playoffs and came through with a two-run first-inning triple.
Rolen walked in the first, hit a one-hop bullet in the second that Darren Oliver snared, and singled to center on the first pitch he saw leading off the fifth. He grounded out to short in the seventh after hitting two sharp grounders just foul down the left-field line, but should earn another start with his improved at-bats and excellent defense.
The situation obviously bears watching every day, though.
