Yes, the rumours are true: Mark McGwire is the new hitting coach of the St. Louis Cardinals.And as is custom in sports, a press conference was held today to make everything all official-like.
One problem: Big Mac wasn't at the presser.
This is what I can't understand: you have a guy who's clearly trying to repair his tarnished image and get consideration for the Hall of Fame, hitching his wagon Tony Dungy-Michael Vick style to his friend Tony LaRussa, one of the most respected men in baseball.
So you'd think the least you could do to prevent any early skepticism is fucking show up to the thing!
Cards GM John Mozeliak says they're not trying to shield McGwire from questions about steroids: “By no means is he trying to hide, and by no means are we trying to hide him.”
Perhaps Mozeliak should look up the words "shield" and "by no means" in the dictionary (yes, my dictionary has words AND phrases, eat it).
If it was a scheduling conflict, why not hold the press conference so that he can actually be there?
Not exactly the start the Cards were hoping for with this move, especially considering La Russa has stated he's near the end of his managing career.
McGwire has been working with major league hitters in the offseason and has garnered praise for his approach, so who knows, this crazy idea might work.
For what it's worth, McGwire is a career .263 hitter, with a high of .312 in 1996 but also including two seasons at or below the Mendoza line (.201 in 1991 and a brutal .187 in his last year).
Looking forward to following this story in the offseason to see how much steroid juking McGwire will do, and to see whether or not this is as transparent as it appears.
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