It's difficult to even hazard a guess about what Tony La Russa's players think about him. The St. Louis Cardinals' clubhouse has seemed, at times, an exceedingly tense place, thanks to his us-against-the-world worldview, but it's also been a tense place where the team has grown rally mustaches and worn group-bonding turtlenecks at various times. Now, with La Russa rehabilitating from an eye infection, most recently diagnosed as shingles, that's caused him intense pain for most of the 2011 season, Kyle Lohse received a standing ovation from the Cardinals dugout for his performance as Tony La Russa while walking out Thursday's lineup card.
↵Kyle Lohse's natural hair did the trick for La Russa's flowing locks, and I've been assured that no sunglasses were harmed in the production, which still leaves me no closer to understanding what the players think about their Hall of Fame manager. My guess: A kind of bemused fondness for a guy whose motives and tendencies are, at times, as opaque as his sunglasses-at-night. Presumably they're laughing with him.
↵