La Russa calls out Twitter
St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa is suing the social-networking site Twitter, claiming an unauthorized page that used his name to make light of drunken driving and two Cardinals pitchers who died damaged his reputation and caused emotional distress.
The suit filed last month in the Superior Court of California in San Francisco seeks unspecified damages.
“I’m not discussing it except to say that our foundation attorney is taking care of it,” the manager told the Associated Press.
The lawsuit claims that someone created a false account under La Russa’s name and posted updates, known as “tweets,” that gave the false impression that the comments came from La Russa.
The suit said the comments were “derogatory and demeaning” and damaged La Russa’s trademark rights. The account is no longer active.
Cardinals pitcher Darryl Kile died of a heart condition in his Chicago hotel room in 2002. Cardinals reliever Josh Hancock died in an auto accident in April 2007, and the medical examiner measured his blood-alcohol level at of 0.157 – nearly twice the legal limit.
One month earlier, La Russa was found sleeping behind the wheel of a running sport utility vehicle in spring training with a blood-alcohol level of 0.093 percent. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence.
Clearing the bases
The hobbled New York Mets got a double dose of more bad news: Injured shortstop Jose Reyes now has a tear in his right hamstring and reliever J.J. Putz is experiencing pain in his elbow. Reyes has been on the disabled list since May 21 with right calf tendinitis. Putz, acquired in an offseason trade with Seattle, has given up eight runs and nine hits in a combined 11/3 innings during his past three outings. … New York Yankees pitcher A.J. Burnett was suspended six games for throwing high-and-tight to Texas’ Nelson Cruz earlier this week. Burnett appealed the penalty. He can continue to pitch until a hearing is held. … The Kansas City Royals activated outfielder Coco Crisp from the bereavement list and optioned infielder Tug Hulett to Triple-A Omaha.