[More Cowbell]

Yes, Bowden was the GM at the time. I could think of worse things Linder/Bowden did than Larkin though. It was nice to see him retire as a Red. He will be in the Hall of Fame (did I say that?) Also, he was an All-Star in this final year and finished a solid career, although the Linder did cave in and pay too much for him in the end instead of executing a trade to the Mets. It was a "heart over mind" decision at the time made by Linder.

Hey, I liked Larkin as a Red, too, but that doesn't mean I was happy when they signed that contract. Most other Reds fans I know were celebrating, but not me. I always value the team as a whole over any one player, and at the time I knew what signing Larkin would mean for the next years = no room to add payroll. Now, no one could have foreseen that Larkin would have been injured as much as he was during those 3 years, but he was getting old and his skills were in decline anyway, and they paid him probably twice what he actually should have gotten. Just think what could have been if we had gotten some nice prospects from the Mets, not to mention several million dollars a year to spend elsewhere... Oh well, guess there's no reason to vent over old mistakes.

Seems I've gotten off-topic, so I'll bring it back. Did anyone who voted for LaRussa see the mess he caused by not playing his team's best player, Albert Pujols, in the All-Star Game? Makes you wonder how he would get along with some of our team's players.