Earlier today news broke that the St. Louis Cardinals and Mike Matheny had come to an agreement on a contract extending his side job managing the team through the year 2020.
In what I believe is a first for this site, I’m going to quote myself from an earlier WhatsApp conversation with friends about the signing:
Listen, the Cards can’t have a lame duck coach. And we can’t be unrealistic and expect a stellar year every year. So the move was expected. And probably fair.
Do I believe that it will work out splendidly and Coach Mike will learn from his mistakes and carry the team on his back to a World Series win before 2020?
I don’t. No.
But he deserves a chance to prove that 2016 was a fluke and not the new normal unless a handful of guys (like Maddon or Boche) were available.
They’re not. So here we are.
Come to think of it ‘so here we are’ is a great slogan for 2017.
I got to start saving the good stuff for the web, right?
The manager of the Cardinals is always going to be a divisive figure in St. Louis and around Cardinals Nation. For whatever reason, our fanbase loves to bury the manager (and/or coaching staff) instead of holding players accountable for, you know, playing not good.
It is what it is.
Some of you probably like Matheny. And you can make a pretty strong case that he’s had one of the best first 5 seasons to start a career in MLB managerial history.
Others… well, you don’t care for his managing vibe.
I’m right in the middle, if we’re being honest. I can appreciate how players would like playing for him since he never, ever throws them under the bus. And he totally gets what they’re going through as a former big leaguer not that long ago.
On the other hand, he doesn’t seem to be that open to other people’s opinions, which is a quality I like in people. And managers.
From a recent Bernie article about David Bell:
Bell is helpful to Cardinals manager Mike Matheny… or at least he’s tried to be. Matheny prefers to be surrounded by yes-men types, so it isn’t easy to be an independent voice, willing to challenge the boss.
Multiple sources have told me that Bell was excellent at finessing Matheny to encourage tactical decisions in a way that wouldn’t upset the manager’s overly sensitive nature.
We all knew this was coming. So I hope you’re not surprised.
2017 is going to be a pivotal year for the Cardinals, coming off their first non-postseason appearance since 2010.
Mike Matheny officially has job security. Now, let’s see what he can do.
Photo: MLB
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