Cardinals manager busted in Florida

St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa was found asleep in his sport utility vehicle in Florida Thursday and arrested on suspicion of drunken driving.

Jupiter police said the four-time manager of the year gave two breath samples and had a blood alcohol content of 0.093 per cent. Florida's legal driving limit is 0.08 per cent.

"Last night's situation is the opposite of feeling good," La Russa said after his team's 2-1 spring training loss to the Florida Marlins on Thursday. "It was an embarrassment, so I apologize to anyone who is close to me, members of the Cardinals organization, our fans.

"I regret it, take responsibility and I'm not sure there is anything else I can say."

When La Russa walked onto the field before Thursday's game, many fans stood and applauded.

"That was a really nice gesture when the game started," La Russa said. "I guess because over the years, you've done things so you don't want it to go in the other direction."

According to undercover officers, La Russa's SUV was sitting partially in an intersection around midnight and not moving despite two green lights, police said.

La Russa didn't initially respond to a knock on the window by the officers, but upon awakening, was co-operative with the police and exited the vehicle.

The 62-year-old La Russa was booked into the Palm Beach County jail on the misdemeanour count about four hours later, according to police and jail records, and released about 8:30 a.m. after posting $500 cash bond, said Paul Miller, a Palm Beach County sheriff's office spokesman.

La Russa, who declined comment hours later at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, planned to oversee St. Louis' spring training game against the Florida Marlins.

He led the Cardinals to a World Series championship last season, his first since 1989 with the Oakland Athletics.

La Russa has also won three other pennants in his 28 seasons in the majors with the Chicago White Sox, Oakland and St. Louis and is third on the career wins list with 2,297.