I sat up late last night having a discussion with my friend and co-host (The Musial Suspects podcast) Brad Range about the problems this St. Louis Cardinals team is facing.
And we came to a similar realization.
Mike Matheny should not be the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals.
In Brad’s words he said to me ” I think Mabry and Matheny need the axe. Everyone else stays and promote Oquendo to interim manager… Promote the AAA hitting coach. Might be good things. May be bad. But make a move because the status quo is not good.”
And I couldn’t agree more.
Now I’ve been trying to defend Mike for a number of seasons. But I have come to notice that I’m defending Mike the person and not Mike the manager… Because frankly it’s just not working. The Cardinals have been on a steady decline the last three seasons and even after acquring new talent and supporting coaches… No real improvements have been made. So what’s left? The front office, the hitting coach, and the manager. For this team to succeed there needs to be changes. And to some that means acquiring more players, but do you see that legitimately ending this spiral? Sure you could go out and get a Manny Machado, but what’s to say he doesn’t regress from being in the clubhouse.
There is no fire in this team (except Pham). Now there can certainly be benefits to having a cool, calm, and collected attitude but I refuse to think this team isn’t frustrated. Show that frustration. You say it’s going to get better. The front office says it’s going to get better. The players say it’s going to get better. Why isn’t it getting better? Be upset. Show some emotion. Don’t be apathetic towards your current situation. Fix it. Can a superstar player help? Absolutely. Our offense needs a boost. Could a stud relief pitcher help? Yes. It sure can. But those are temporary solutions that will eventually fade into the abyss that is the Mike Matheny Era.
Now again, as a person I’m sure Mike is a great guy. I’m not trying to bash him as an individual, but his approach to being a manager has this team currently in shambles. There needs to be a change. Matheny and Mabry are where you start. You’ve fired other coaches and brought in new guys already. Now it’s time to get serious.
I know Matheny and Mabry are probably just as frustrated as the rest of us, but I wish you guys showed it more. I try to remain positive as much as I can when I talk about the Cardinals, but I have finally got my breaking point. The Cardinals do have talent. They have depth, which has been shown in our AAA affiliate in Memphis. We are running out of excuses. We are running out of variables.
If Mike wants to keep his job. He needs to light a fire in this team. Don’t settle for anything less than wins. Of course injuries happen and they have certainly hindered the Cards this season, but don’t let that be an excuse. Build up those young guys who are going to get opportunities. Encourage them but be hard on them. Don’t baby them. They are grown men who are being paid to produce. Make them work for their playing time. I understand you don’t want to get fired up in post-game interviews or with the media in general, but it might be a good change of pace. This team is not changing because you’re not changing. Don’t say you’ll fix it.
Just fix it. Because you’re running out of time.
I want you to succeed. I genuinely do. But I don’t know if you can. And I want you to prove me wrong. This team has the talent to win. But they need a manager to lead them there. Change it up Mike and lead this team. If you keep going down this path, you can only blame yourself if things go wrong.
Thanks for Reading
Aaron M.
Follow me on Twitter @AaronArchCity
Follow my Cardinals related podcast @SuspectsMusial
Watch our latest episode
The Musial Suspects S1 Episode 7
In this episode, Aaron talks about Star Wars, Brad complains, and the Musial Suspects discuss the 9 game stretch against the Marlins, Reds, and Padres.
