Under The Knife 9/12/22

MLB Season Continues

While the NFL got all the attention, the MLB season continues, as do the injuries so let’s get right to it:

TONY LA RUSSA, CWS (cardiac arrhythmia)

Tony La Russa let out the news that the reason for his absence was the installation of a cardiac pacemaker recently. This is a very common operation, especially for someone of his age, and there’s both a high degree of success and normally a quick return to work. In a normal profession, La Russa would have been back on the job in weeks after what is often just an overnight hospital stay. Managing a contending sports team is not a normal job.

But is it high stress? “Three Nights in August” shows that La Russa himself didn’t feel it was that stressful. Complex and emotional, but stressful? I’d be very curious to know pulse rates and stress levels of managers, and have seen at least two regularly wearing Whoop straps in game, so it’s not only knowable, but known.

Regardless, the question of La Russa returning to the dugout is, as he says, up to his doctor, but more, to the surging White Sox. Jerry Reinsdorf isn’t going to fire La Russa, but a bump up to be Special Assistant or something along those lines is likely. Joe Maddon’s recent tour of grievances against analytics isn’t going to endear him to a lot of places, but the south side of Chicago might be a good fit for him, especially if La Russa remains nearby.