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Bleeding red, white and blue Lasorda takes Dodgers philosophy to Olympic job
SYDNEY, Sept 14 (Reuters) -- Tommy Lasorda, one of baseball's great motivators and managers, is selling his U.S. team on the idea that they can beat mighty Cuba and win Olympic gold. The excitable Lasorda is psyched up about the Olympics and working overtime to wind up his band of young prospects and journeymen veterans. "It's a good team, full of desire. Great guys who realize how important this is," Lasorda said as his team worked out at Olympic Park on Thursday for the first time. "These guys want to win real bad. "We didn't come 10,000 miles to lose." The 72-year-old Lasorda, elected to the Hall of Fame for his days as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, left his job in the Dodgers' front office to take charge of the Olympic team. "I volunteered for this job. I left home for 30 days. I left my job with the Dodgers. I wanted to say I could be a part of this thing. I wanted to be able to help," said Lasorda, working up a head of steam. "When I see my players up there getting a medal, that will be a great thrill," Lasorda continued. "Hey, I'm excited about the Opening Ceremonies. I'm excited every time I've gotten to watch them on TV, so why wouldn't I be excited to be in it. ... I hope they let met carry the flag, that's all." Cuba, champions of the first two official Olympic tournaments and winners of the last 19 world championships in which they competed, are again heavy favorites for the gold. But Lasorda, who managed the Dodgers to two World Series championships, four National League pennants and eight divisional titles, sidesteps talk about a rivalry with Cuba. "We're not going to be pinpoint any one team. Whoever we play, we want to beat," he said. While Cuba has a veteran squad with numerous players from past Olympics, American involvement in the Games is most always a one-off experience as the better players graduate on to the big leagues. "It's not a rivalry for me," Lasorda said. "It's not a rivalry for our team. We've never played them." Lasorda was so identified with his Los Angeles uniform that he used to say proudly that if he were cut he would bleed Dodger blue. The garrulous septuagenarian now would probably gush red, white and blue. "Dodger blue is something very special in my heart," Lasorda said. "I wore that uniform for 51 years. I wore that uniform with pride. But this is not about Giants fans, Dodgers fans, Cincinnati. "I tell them, 'You're not representing your organization, your hometown. You're representing the United States of America. That's bigger than everything.'"
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