Russell Takes the Helm : Lasorda Might Return Thursday After Services for His Son

ST. LOUIS —  For the past two months, as his only son was fighting for life, Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda tried to hide his pain through his usual preaching and fussing.

But he could not hide it from everybody.

“You can see it in his face,” bullpen coach Mark Cresse said. “He looks like he has aged 10 years.”

Added coach Joe Ferguson: “We knew how bad he was hurting. There were times his concentration span was bad. He was always trying to look so busy, trying to do anything to get his mind off it. We could see that.”

The Dodger coaches were quietly reflective Tuesday, the day after Thomas C. Lasorda Jr. died of pneumonia and severe dehydration.

Lasorda Jr., 33, an artist who was known as “Spunky” to his friends and family, had been ill for some time. He was recently hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Lasorda could rejoin the team here as soon as Thursday, after private services. Bill Russell will be the interim manager.

Russell, in his fifth season as a Dodger coach, seemed as bewildered as all of the other Dodger coaches.

“Everybody is asking me, what is my style,” he said before Tuesday night’s 2-1 loss to the Cardinals. “Well, what is my style? . . . I have played for two managers, Walter Alston and Tommy. One was laid back, the other one was not so laid back. I guess I’ll take a little from each.”

Five years after retiring as the all-time Los Angeles leader in games played--2,322--Russell said he felt like a player again.

“I’m excited, I’m nervous. . . . I know everybody wants to see how I do, and I want to see how I do,” he said. “But I think I know how Tommy would have liked to do it, and that’s what I will basically try to do.”

It was the first game Lasorda had missed in 12 years, since September of 1979, when his mother died. Preston Gomez managed in his place, and the Dodgers won all three games.