TONY LARUSSA HATES SCOTT ROLEN
St. Louis Cardinals thirdbaseman Scott Rolen has been a hot trade topic during the winter meetings and I guess now we know why. Manager/light weight wine connoseiur Tony Larussa can't stand his guts. My first guess was it had something to do with Larussa demanding his star player to be his designated driver but there is much more to the story. Apparently Rolen isn't a team player and has no desire to play for the Cardinals or Larussa.

As for the rift with Rolen, La Russa said, "I can't remember ever being the combination of mystified and concerned as I am about this situation."

La Russa admitted hostilities began after Rolen expressed unhappiness over the way he was treated while suffering shoulder problems last year but indicated the veteran third-sacker was off-base.

"I think he has put some things in his mind, and I think he needs to understand that our Cardinals have given him a lot since he's gotten there. He's been given a contract, he's been given a couple of World Series, he's been given a world championship, been a part of it, and he's given back some. But he needs to give back more."

As for Rolen's desire to be traded, La Russa said, "The whole idea isn't to please Scott. It's to take care of the St. Louis Cardinals. I don't understand why he can be down on the Cardinals. I don't understand why he can be down on me, to be honest.

"The idea is to accommodate the St. Louis Cardinals, our team, our responsibility to our players and to the competition. So, no, I don't want to accomodate Scott.

"What I care about is that he re-establish his stature as a major league, productive star. He needs to understand that he has slipped. Not in his play, but just in the way he's perceived in being the Scott they knew for years. It's in his best interests, and I think that means a lot to him. He can play mad every day if he wants to. That's OK."

I think the moral of the story is for Larussa to start bumming rides from other people when he has a little too much to drink. No wonder the Cardinals have been talking to the Orioles about Miguel Tejada, another player whose performance is slipping with every missing B-12 supplement down the drain.

THE AWARD FOR THE MOST RIDICULOUS TRADE RUMOR
Goes to this supposed rumor from a "trusted source who is a New York sportswriter."
I'm sorry, I couldn't even type that last sentence without laughing my ass off. Here is how it would go down according to MLBTradeRumors:

Mets get Johan Santana, Bobby Crosby and Dan Johnson
A's get Jose Reyes and Kevin Mulvey
Twins get Dan Haren and Hector Pellot

If you haven't checked out MLBTradeRumors then I would highly recommend it for it's entertainment value. The guy who runs the site, Tim Dierkes, does an excellent job of keeping up with all the MLB beat writers and usually breaks the news on big trades or a signing before ESPN gets to it. With that being said I can't see how this trade would ever be made. First off I can't ever imagine the Mets trading Jose Reyes unless they get absolutely blown away by a package. Reyes is an absolute stud and despite his horrific stretch run in which his slump led to some Met's fans to blame him for not making the playoffs last year there is still no way I would trade him. And despite what Peter Gammons says Bobby Crosby is not a MVP type player and he is not even close to being in the same discussion with Reyes in terms of talent and performance on the Major League level. Plus I still believe Santana is going to the Red Sox they just need to iron out a contract extension with him before the trade is finalized.

But you know a trusted New York sportswriter says it so it must have some truth to it...right?

GEORGIA TECH INTERVIEWING NAVY'S PAUL JOHNSON
According to Tony Barnhart of the AJC, Navy head coach Paul Johnson is in Atlanta today interviewing for the open position at Georgia Tech. With Randy Edsall going back to UCONN and other candidates such as Auburn's Will Muschamp and Florida's Charlie Strong not being asked back for a second interview, it appears that Johnson would be the leading candidate for the job if the interview goes well today with athletic director Dan Radakovich. Johnson has prior coaching experience in the state, leading Georgia Southern to National Championships in 1999 and 2000.

We all know what he did at Navy, turning a 1 win team into a force while leading the Midshipmen to their 5th consecutive bowl game this season. Johnson in my opinion would be a major coup for the Yellow Jackets. The guy can flat out coach and as of now his only other interview has been with SMU. I would not be surprised to hear he has accepted the Georgia Tech position by the end of tomorrow if he is in fact offered the job. The only other candidate is current interim coach/defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta who has been rumored to be leaving the Flats to take the coordinator position at LSU under Les Miles.