La Russa

OAKLAND, Calif. -- They were calling for Rickey Henderson's head, but Oakland Athletics manager Tony La Russa would not oblige. He stuck with the struggling Henderson yesterday, and his confidence was rewarded.Henderson, who entered Game 4 with one hit in his first 10 at-bats of the postseason, had three hits, scored two runs and drove in another to answer his critics, most notably a local newspaper columnist who publicly called on La Russa to bench the slumping outfielder in favor of rookie Eric Fox.La Russa took the column good-naturedly, but the only substitution he made in the outfield was in center field, where rTC Jerry Browne started in place of Willie Wilson.

The list of candidates to succeed deposed Orioles' manager Johnny Oates will be a short one. And, even though Tony LaRussa is perceived to be the top choice of owner Peter Angelos, former Orioles' catcher Rick Dempsey may have the inside track for a return to Baltimore.Shortly after firing Oates last night, the Orioles moved swiftly to obtain permission from the Los Angeles Dodgers to talk to Dempsey, who managed that club's Triple-A Albuquerque farm team to the Pacific Coast League pennant this season, his second as a minor-league manager.

The names already had begun to surface. Last week's revelation that the Orioles had asked the Oakland Athletics for permission to talk contract with Tony La Russa left little doubt that there would be a new man in the manager's office next season.That became official yesterday, so the managerial search can now proceed in broad daylight.The A's politely refused to allow Orioles general manager Roland Hemond to make an overture to La Russa, but he remains at the top of the Orioles' wish list and will not need permission to talk to interested clubs after his contract expires Oct. 7. He may be the most respected manager in the game, and he might have been offered the job by Orioles owner Peter Angelos a year ago if he had been available.

Oakland Athletics manager Tony La Russa was named American League Manager of the Year by the Baseball Writers' Association of America yesterday, finishing well ahead of Milwaukee Brewers manager Phil Garner and Orioles manager Johnny Oates.La Russa, who guided a bruised and battered A's team to the American League West title, received 25 first-place votes and 132 points. Garner, whose Brewers club made a late run at the AL East title, got two first-place votes and 76 points to finish second.

Orioles manager Phil Regan met with owner Peter Angelos last night, communication that could have a direct bearing on his future with the ballclub."That's a matter still to be considered," Angelos said afterward. "We're going to continue to talk and evaluate the club, with everybody."Regan, who declined to talk about the meeting, will meet with Angelos again tomorrow or Friday.Before their talk last night, the owner said, "I'm just going to get a report on the team's performance. There's no urgency to making any kind of a decision.

The TV repairman:The virtue of Tim McCarver as a television baseball analyst has been touted for so long, the Repairman feels like a misanthrope pointing out that the former catcher had the equivalent of an 0-for-5 with a throwing error and two passed balls the other night.Or maybe it's just that we've heard so much about the genius of Tony La Russa that McCarver couldn't imagine the Oakland manager being guilty of such questionable strategy as his team was falling behind Cincinnati, 2-0, in World Series play . . . on CBS.The situation: Athletics lead, 4-3, in the eighth inning and the Reds have Billy Hatcher leading off against Bob Welch.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Oakland Athletics manager Tony La Russa has been pushing the right buttons all year, but some late-inning maneuvering backfired badly yesterday and cost his club a chance to overtake the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 3 of the AL playoffs.La Russa brought in utility infielder Lance Blankenship to play second base after removing Mike Bordick for a pinch hitter in the sixth inning. It was an obvious move that no one could second-guess, but that didn't make the outcome less painful for the A's.Blankenship, who made just three errors in 385 total chances at second base (.992 fielding percentage)

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa wasn't really bothered by the postponement of Game 4 of the World Series on Wednesday. He said yesterday that he'd be able to deal with it if inclement weather - either here or in Detroit - causes more interruptions of the Fall Classic. The accepting attitude from such an intense manager comes partially from experience. La Russa was manager of the Oakland Athletics in 1989 when their World Series with the San Francisco Giants was postponed for 10 days because of an earthquake before Game 3 on Oct. 17. It was a strange balance of baseball and tragedy.

ST. LOUIS -- When St. Louis Cardinals closer Adam Wainwright threw his hands toward the sky after striking out Detroit Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge late Friday night, the improbable turned official. The afterthought Cardinals had just won their 10th world championship and first in 24 years. Wainwright ignited a celebration within rocking Busch Stadium that quickly spread throughout St. Louis, the state of Missouri and other Redbird Nation outposts. Elsewhere, most of the country greeted the news with indifference, something that marred the Cardinals-Detroit Tigers matchup since Game 1 on Oct. 21. Yet to those within baseball, or those who simply enjoy following it, a Cardinals championship brought reaction: universal head-scratching.

With the resignation of Orioles general manager Roland Hemond and the firing of manager Phil Regan, much of the club's baseball operations will be overhauled before next season, from GM to the major-league coaches.The state of the hierarchy:* The Orioles have interviewed Kevin Malone, who resigned as GM of the Montreal Expos at the end of the regular season, as a possible candidate to replace Hemond. They could ask for permission to talk to Mike Port, assistant GM of the Boston Red Sox, or Danny Evans, the assistant GM with the Chicago White Sox.Gene Michael stepped down as New York Yankees GM to take a scouting job in the organization, but said that he'd be willing to talk to other interested teams about working as a GM again.