Beating a dead horse

It's my blog, so I can keep harping if I want to.

Tony LaRussa became manager of the St. Louis Cardinals the same season, 1996, as Joe Torre took over the New York Yankees.

In the next 12 seasons, Torre's Yanks won four world championships, LaRussa's Cards one. Torre won six pennants, LaRussa one. Torre won 10 division titles, LaRussa seven. LaRussa's teams missed the postseason five times; Torre's never did.

And yet who got a contract extension and who got fired?

Make no mistake -- I believe LaRussa deserved his new deal. Seven division crowns in 12 years represents excellent success.

And yet Torre's 10-for-12, with six pennant and four World Series titles to boot, earned him a pink slip -- couched in a completely insulting one-year offer (see "Of firings foolishly..." below).

The difference, you ask? Glaringly clear.

Cardinals CEO Bill DeWitt Jr. grew up in baseball. Yankee boss George Steinbrenner grew up in shipbuilding, with a side of college football assistant coaching experience.

DeWitt's father was the longtime general manager of the Cincinnati Reds. Papa Steinbrenner ran American Shipbuilding.

DeWitt is a baseball guy. Steinbrenner only thinks he is.

Torre's six pennants in 12 seasons rank third in Yankees history behind Hall of Famers Joe McCarthy (eight in 16 years) and Casey Stengel (10 in 12 years). Yet Torre was offered only a one-year extension at a 33-percent cut in base salary -- with incentives that would have added up to an 8 percent raise if the Yankees were to win next year's World Series.

I'm sorry -- with a track record like Torre's, that is demeaning.

Bill DeWitt knows that -- he's a baseball guy.