Hitting The Cutoff Man

Although last night's "brawl" between the Cardinals and Reds started with comments from Brandon Phillips, escalated with a confrontation between Phillips and Yadier Molina and featured Johnny Cueto kicking Jason LaRue in the face, it was the two managers who were ejected from the game.

This was both a reasonable move on the part of the umpires, who would have had an extremely difficult task in deciding to eject certain players over others, as well as a fitting one.

Tony La Russa and Dusty Baker are two of the most accomplished and also controversial managers in the game. They both have enjoyed a lot of success but gone about it in different ways, and it's often said the two longtime rivals aren't exactly BFFs. Certainly this is not the first time their teams have clashed over the years.

So who would have the upper hand if this schism between skippers ever went to the next level? Let's take a look at the tale of the tape.

                    Dusty Baker                  Tony La Russa

Age                     61                              65

Real First Name         Johnnie                         Anthony

Hailing From            Riverside, CA                   Tampa, FL

Teams Managed           3 (SF, CHC, CIN)                3 (CHW, OAK, STL)

Managerial Record       1378-1263, .522 (17 seasons)    2615-2226, .536 (32 seasons)
  
World Series app/titles 1/0                             5/2

Career games as player  2039                            132

Positions               OF/1B                           2B/3B/SS

Career WAR              34.8                            -1.0

Playing size            6-2, 183                        6-0, 175 

Alternate profession    TV analyst                      Lawyer, animal rescuer

Book                    You Can Teach Hitting           Three Nights in August

Personality             Warm                            Prickly 

Dugout activity         Toothpick chewing               Scowling, Glowering

Managerial Quirk        Young pitcher abuse             Batting the pitcher 8th

Personal drama          Batboy son almost run over      DUI

Best player coached     Barry Bonds                     Albert Pujols

PED posterboy coached   Barry Bonds                     Mark McGwire/Jose Canseco

Beloved bad player      Neifi Perez                     Aaron Miles

Lineup weakness         Low OBP leadoff men             Pujols always hits 3rd

Bullpen strategy        Let starter go, blow out arm    Use > 6 relievers/inning

Key to success          Good players, magic toothpicks? Good players, Dave Duncan

Go-to uniform accessory Sweat bands                     Sunglasses

Probable weapon         Baseball bat                    Quick thinking

Fighting tactic         Swing away                      Changes constantly 

Victory spoils          Lifetime supply of toothpicks   Animals rescued from pound 

So, who ya got?

Follow Hitting The Cutoff Man on Twitter at HitTheCutoff