Managerial roulette no easy game to play

The more managerial jobs that open in baseball, the more musings there will be about them.

Mine today center on Joe Girardi to the Cubs and Tony La Russa to the Yankees.

Yes, the Yankees, even though someone close to La Russa shot me down this summer by saying, “Not going to happen.

Still, I'm not going to let this idea die.

By the way, another La Russa-New York angle arose recently as momentum built for the Mets to hire Sandy Alderson as general manager.

La Russa and Alderson won a World Series together in Oakland and admire each other. If La Russa leaves St. Louis and the Mets hire Alderson, well, connect the dots.

But let's stick to the Yankees and the Cubs for the moment.

Girardi has managed the Yanks back to a step from another World Series.

Remember when the question about LeBron James was whether he more likely would re-sign with the Cavaliers if they won or lost the NBA title?

Now I wonder whether Girardi would be more likely to want to return to New York if the Yankees win or lose another World Series.

“He doesn't get enough credit for the way he runs a ballclub in a market like this, SI.com quoted Twins manager Ron Gardenhire as saying of Girardi over the weekend.

Some, including me, wonder why Girardi would want to jeopardize his own mental, physical and emotional health by continuing to expose himself to New York's unreasonable demands.

Nobody seems quite certain whether Jim Hendry and Tom Ricketts are inclined to wait long enough to offer Girardi the Cubs job if he's available.

Wouldn't they be irresponsible not to?

I don't have enough conventional wisdom to believe Girardi never would give up the Yankees job. People make different lifestyle decisions for different reasons, and his family's roots do run deep here.

Meanwhile, other speculation and that's all any of this is has Girardi going to St. Louis if La Russa doesn't return to the Cardinals.

Who knows? Maybe Girardi would see the Cards as a nice compromise between the Yankees, who win a lot, and the Cubs, who never do.

Of course, any St. Louis scenario depends on whether La Russa finally determines it's time to move on or the Cardinals determine it's finally time for them to move on.

La Russa, 66, has suggested he won't manage again if it isn't in St. Louis. He also indicated he might stay in the game in another capacity. However, a good guess is at some point he likely said never say never about managing.

The last time La Russa was ambivalent about returning to St. Louis, he should have pursued the Yankees' opening that Girardi eventually filled.

Many believe that La Russa would have trouble dealing with the New York media and the egos of Yankees players.

La Russa might like to dispel those doubts. Trust me, this guy understands and respects the sort of leverage and power New York's media and Yankees players wield.

Most of the Yanks' successful managers Casey Stengel, Billy Martin, Joe Torre, now Girardi went to New York after failing to win anything significant elsewhere.

Imagine if the Yankees combined their resources with La Russa, who already won World Series in two other places.

Anyway, seriously, if La Russa leaves St. Louis, and Girardi leaves New York, and La Russa doesn't hook up again with Alderson …

My goodness, all this musing makes me so dizzy that it's intoxicating.

mimrem@dailyherald.com