Reds and Cardinals Fight for More Than First Place

Brandon Phillips told Hal McCoy of the Dayton Dailey News that,  “I’d play against these guys with one leg. We have to beat these guys. I hate the Cardinals. All they do is bitch and moan about everything, all of them, they’re little bitches, all of ‘em."


Tony La Russa is the target.  He is known around baseball as a whiner.  He complained about the way the Reds put mud on the baseball.  It was too slick for the likes of John Smoltz last year.  He had a problem with Bronson Arroyo going to his hat.  He complained about a chain that Mike Leake wore.  His ace Chris Carpenter bitched about the slickness of the baseballs early this year.


He is always nit picking around the league.  Many opposing managers dislike his antics and many of his former players dislike his condescending tone.


He talked to the Reds General Manager, Walt Jocketty this afternoon and brought up Phillips comments.
"I communicated this afternoon with the appropriate party.  The way we compete is emphasized by our GM.  It has been that way for the 15 years that I've been here.  It is critical that it is handled by his boss and his teammates.  It doesn't involve us so I'm not worried about it."

"Walt called to say hello.  I said I wanted to discuss it. He said he didn't want to hear that shit.  They had just lossed. The coincidence is he has Cardinal teammates and Walt had a lot to do with the way we compete.  The guys he has there that played here are huge and the boss is huger."

"Is it about the balls and the hat?" Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post Dispatch asked directly.

La Russa saw red and it had nothing to do with his opponents.

"If you want to defend him Joe, go ahead.  We've competed the same way since I've been here.  So if he doesn't like it, he's indicting or including some of his current teammates."

After the Cardinals scored an unearned run in the first inning, Phillips came up to lead off the bottom of the first.

Catcher Yadier Molina and Phillips got into a heated discussions and both benches emptied in anger.  

La Russa and Dusty Baker exchanged words.  Scott Rolen, who played for La Russa and left on bad terms tried to calm Molina down but later became entangled with Carpenter.

The discussion lasted seven minutes.  Both La Russa and Baker were ejected.

To rub salt in the wound for the Reds, Molina homered off Johnny Cueto in the second inning, taking his time to round the bases and celebrating at every base.