Cardinals manager Tony La Russa is taking full responsibility for the bullpen phone mix-up that dearly cost his team in the World Series. La Russa says it was entirely his fault that closer Jason Motte wasn't warming up in the eighth inning Monday night in Texas. The Rangers scored twice for a 4-2 win and took a 3-2 edge in the Series. La Russa says the first time, he might have mentioned Motte after bullpen coach Derek Lilliquist had hung up the phone. The second time, La Russa says he wanted Motte, but Lilliquist instead heard the name of reliever Lance Lynn. "Hey, it's my fault," he said. "Maybe I slurred it, whatever it is. It comes down to who has the responsibility when there's those kinds of miscommunication." La Russa says the Cardinals don't double-check on names during those calls. La Russa says he's assured Lilliquist "10 times" the miscommunication was the manager's fault. "I said, man, this is stuff that I hope happens on a Wednesday game on the road someplace that nobody is there. Then of course it wouldn't have happened that way," La Russa recalled. "The phones are preventable. It's my fault for not handling it better and making sure. All I had to do was look in the bullpen -- repeat -- to make sure."