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I'm not a LaRussa fan, but Kevin Slaten can take a long walk on a short pier, as far as I'm concerned.
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Words fly between La Russa and radio host
By Dan Caesar
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
02/22/2008
One feud between the Cardinals and a local media outlet has ended, but another brouhaha involving the club and a St. Louis sportscaster is festering.
In recent days, KTVI and Albert Pujols made peace following a contentious two months after Channel 2 went full-bore with coverage of an erroneous report in December that Pujols would be included in the Mitchell Report, which named players suspected of taking illegal performance-enhancing substances.
But a skirmish between Cards manager Tony La Russa and talk-show host Kevin Slaten is simmering. Slaten wanted La Russa to be a guest recently on his afternoon drive-time program at KFNS (590 AM, 100.7 FM) but La Russa turned him down — as he has in the past.
Slaten has been harsh on the air about La Russa, lately about him overseeing many players who have been tied to using performance-enhancing substances — including players who have been signed by the club after the release this winter of the Mitchell Report, which investigated use of such substances in baseball.
"He has proven to me that he is not fair with members of our organization, including me,’’ La Russa told a Post-Dispatch reporter this week in Florida. "He is just interested in getting on guys just for the sake of getting on guys. That’s his thing.’’
Slaten shot back Friday.
"He is full of you know what,’’ Slaten said in an interview. "Have him ask (Cardinals president) Mark Lamping if I’m unfair to everybody in the organization. Have him ask (team chairman) Bill DeWitt, who has been on the show repeatedly. Have him ask (pitching coach) Dave Duncan, who was on the show (recently). If he thinks I’m so unfair, it’s amazing all these people will come on. In fact, everybody with the team comes on except him.
"He’s the only guy who thinks I’m unfair. If he thinks it’s unfair that I point out that the Mitchell Report named him’’ let him defend himself. "If he thinks his consistent defense of Mark McGwire isn’t the most absurd thing I’ve ever heard, if he thinks that’s unfair, have him come on and address it. ... Basically the Mitchell Report called him a liar and he’s never been held to account to it, certainly not by the Cardinals.’’
La Russa said Slaten isn’t credible.
"There’s fair criticism that’s thought out, and that’s fine, and then there’s what he does,’’ La Russa said. "He hasn’t earned any credibility."
But Slaten said he thinks La Russa merely doesn’t want to face Slaten’s questioning.
"He doesn’t want to answer any questions other than softballs that are tossed to him on a daily basis,’’ Slaten said. "He doesn’t want to answer fair, legitimate questions about his connection to the steroids era or how he threatens media people with a fungo bat. Because he doesn’t want to answer any of those questions, he decides to slander me by saying I’m unfair. La Russa’s a coward. The invitation is open ... any time he wants to come on and prove he has a spine.’’
PUJOLS AND CHANNEL 2
Pujols and KTVI are back on speaking terms after sportscaster Maurice Drummond helped patched things up.
The station spent the bulk of an hour-long newscast dwelling on the rumor that Pujols would be named when the Mitchell Report was issued that day. Other local TV stations declined to cover the speculation, and Pujols was so angry with Channel 2 that he banned its personnel from a news conference he held last month.
"They’re going to have to pay for that," Pujols said at the time.
But Drummond was able to smooth things with Pujols in Florida last weekend and said it wasn’t a hard sell.
"We met outside the locker room, he greeted me and we went over and sat down,’’ Drummond said. "We talked for about 10 minutes before we got the cameras rolling.’’
Drummond said he has had a solid working relationship with Pujols in past seasons.
"He sees me in the locker room every day after the games,’’ he said.
Drummond said he wasn’t concerned about the response he’d get when he approached Pujols.
"I had no apprehensions at all,’’ he said. "When we spoke, we were off to the races.’’
After the air was cleared, Drummond had a one-one-one interview with Pujols, who did the same with other media outlets.
"He was great, very gracious, very professional,’’ Drummond said. "He was first class.’’
EMBARRASSED AT KTVI
Drummond’s immediate boss, KTVI sports director Martin Kilcoyne, is just glad the matter is over.
"There are very few people in our building who aren’t embarrassed over how the whole thing went down,’’ he said. "But they are appreciative that he’s ready to move on.’’
Kilcoyne met this week in Florida with Pujols.
"I wanted to make it my point when I was down here to talk to him face to face,’’ Kilcoyne said. "He kind of reiterated what bothered him, but also was giving this message of, ‘Hey. Let’s move on.’ We had a pleasant exchange. I told him I appreciated his understanding, I appreciated his graciousness.’’
The decision for the blowout coverage of the rumor was made by the station’s news executives, not sports personnel, which put the sports department in a bit of an awkward spot. (News director Kingsley Smith took a job in Philadelphia shortly after the controversial move.)
"Pujols expressed that he understands there were other people involved,’’ Kilcoyne said. "But he made it clear that he was very upset. He made that very clear. And I don’t blame him at all — I happen to be somebody who holds grudges for a very long time, so I’d actually say he’s probably more gracious than I.’’
TRANSACTIONS
Former Cardinals broadcaster Wayne Hagin is back in business, being hired as one of the New York Mets’ radio announcers. Hagin replaces Tom McCarthy, who moved to the Philadelphia Phillies. Hagin will work with Howie Rose, who has been a Mets broadcaster since 1995.
• Chris Pelikan has left St. Louis to be the weekend sports anchor at the CBS-TV affiliate in Austin, Texas. He worked at KTVI for about three years in a variety of roles, and also had been on KSLG (1380 AM).
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Words fly between La Russa and radio host
By Dan Caesar
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
02/22/2008
One feud between the Cardinals and a local media outlet has ended, but another brouhaha involving the club and a St. Louis sportscaster is festering.
In recent days, KTVI and Albert Pujols made peace following a contentious two months after Channel 2 went full-bore with coverage of an erroneous report in December that Pujols would be included in the Mitchell Report, which named players suspected of taking illegal performance-enhancing substances.
But a skirmish between Cards manager Tony La Russa and talk-show host Kevin Slaten is simmering. Slaten wanted La Russa to be a guest recently on his afternoon drive-time program at KFNS (590 AM, 100.7 FM) but La Russa turned him down — as he has in the past.
Slaten has been harsh on the air about La Russa, lately about him overseeing many players who have been tied to using performance-enhancing substances — including players who have been signed by the club after the release this winter of the Mitchell Report, which investigated use of such substances in baseball.
"He has proven to me that he is not fair with members of our organization, including me,’’ La Russa told a Post-Dispatch reporter this week in Florida. "He is just interested in getting on guys just for the sake of getting on guys. That’s his thing.’’
Slaten shot back Friday.
"He is full of you know what,’’ Slaten said in an interview. "Have him ask (Cardinals president) Mark Lamping if I’m unfair to everybody in the organization. Have him ask (team chairman) Bill DeWitt, who has been on the show repeatedly. Have him ask (pitching coach) Dave Duncan, who was on the show (recently). If he thinks I’m so unfair, it’s amazing all these people will come on. In fact, everybody with the team comes on except him.
"He’s the only guy who thinks I’m unfair. If he thinks it’s unfair that I point out that the Mitchell Report named him’’ let him defend himself. "If he thinks his consistent defense of Mark McGwire isn’t the most absurd thing I’ve ever heard, if he thinks that’s unfair, have him come on and address it. ... Basically the Mitchell Report called him a liar and he’s never been held to account to it, certainly not by the Cardinals.’’
La Russa said Slaten isn’t credible.
"There’s fair criticism that’s thought out, and that’s fine, and then there’s what he does,’’ La Russa said. "He hasn’t earned any credibility."
But Slaten said he thinks La Russa merely doesn’t want to face Slaten’s questioning.
"He doesn’t want to answer any questions other than softballs that are tossed to him on a daily basis,’’ Slaten said. "He doesn’t want to answer fair, legitimate questions about his connection to the steroids era or how he threatens media people with a fungo bat. Because he doesn’t want to answer any of those questions, he decides to slander me by saying I’m unfair. La Russa’s a coward. The invitation is open ... any time he wants to come on and prove he has a spine.’’
PUJOLS AND CHANNEL 2
Pujols and KTVI are back on speaking terms after sportscaster Maurice Drummond helped patched things up.
The station spent the bulk of an hour-long newscast dwelling on the rumor that Pujols would be named when the Mitchell Report was issued that day. Other local TV stations declined to cover the speculation, and Pujols was so angry with Channel 2 that he banned its personnel from a news conference he held last month.
"They’re going to have to pay for that," Pujols said at the time.
But Drummond was able to smooth things with Pujols in Florida last weekend and said it wasn’t a hard sell.
"We met outside the locker room, he greeted me and we went over and sat down,’’ Drummond said. "We talked for about 10 minutes before we got the cameras rolling.’’
Drummond said he has had a solid working relationship with Pujols in past seasons.
"He sees me in the locker room every day after the games,’’ he said.
Drummond said he wasn’t concerned about the response he’d get when he approached Pujols.
"I had no apprehensions at all,’’ he said. "When we spoke, we were off to the races.’’
After the air was cleared, Drummond had a one-one-one interview with Pujols, who did the same with other media outlets.
"He was great, very gracious, very professional,’’ Drummond said. "He was first class.’’
EMBARRASSED AT KTVI
Drummond’s immediate boss, KTVI sports director Martin Kilcoyne, is just glad the matter is over.
"There are very few people in our building who aren’t embarrassed over how the whole thing went down,’’ he said. "But they are appreciative that he’s ready to move on.’’
Kilcoyne met this week in Florida with Pujols.
"I wanted to make it my point when I was down here to talk to him face to face,’’ Kilcoyne said. "He kind of reiterated what bothered him, but also was giving this message of, ‘Hey. Let’s move on.’ We had a pleasant exchange. I told him I appreciated his understanding, I appreciated his graciousness.’’
The decision for the blowout coverage of the rumor was made by the station’s news executives, not sports personnel, which put the sports department in a bit of an awkward spot. (News director Kingsley Smith took a job in Philadelphia shortly after the controversial move.)
"Pujols expressed that he understands there were other people involved,’’ Kilcoyne said. "But he made it clear that he was very upset. He made that very clear. And I don’t blame him at all — I happen to be somebody who holds grudges for a very long time, so I’d actually say he’s probably more gracious than I.’’
TRANSACTIONS
Former Cardinals broadcaster Wayne Hagin is back in business, being hired as one of the New York Mets’ radio announcers. Hagin replaces Tom McCarthy, who moved to the Philadelphia Phillies. Hagin will work with Howie Rose, who has been a Mets broadcaster since 1995.
• Chris Pelikan has left St. Louis to be the weekend sports anchor at the CBS-TV affiliate in Austin, Texas. He worked at KTVI for about three years in a variety of roles, and also had been on KSLG (1380 AM).
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