Mike Matheny was named manager of the St. Louis Cardinals yesterday, beating out favorites Jose Oquendo, Terry Francona and Ryne Sandberg. Similar to Robin Ventura's hiring with the White Sox, Matheny has no managerial experience. The fact that he had a position with the organization gives the hiring some credibility.
The Matheny hiring seems like a signal of a new era in St. Louis. Whether the future includes star 1B Albert Pujols remains to be seen. Not going with Oquendo (I had suggested Dave Duncan if it was possible.) probably means there will be an entirely new coaching staff for the 2012 Cardinals. Thinking deeper, this hiring may decrease the level of expectations for the team over the next couple of years. I would have liked to see the current coaching staff continue in Tony LaRussa's legacy for the next couple of years. I'm sure St. Louis would love to retain Dave Duncan as pitching coach and thats going to be entirely up to Dave. Matheny will need a strong bench coach like a Riggleman or a Bowa with most of the other coaches not expected to be retained.
Pujols' relationship with Oquendo has been quite noted and I have no idea what Oquendo not being hired means to Pujols. With Pujols, it is strictly money and years. What ever team ponies up the biggest contract will land Pujols. I still think the Cardinals will end up bringing him back. The questions are: What will this team look like next year? Will there be a lot of turnover? Does the Matheny hiring mean the team must look different? I do think there will be some turnover on the roster for 2012. I don't agree with it after winning the World Series but I think the team will be different. It obviously will take a shape of whether or not they re-sign Pujols. And I do think Matheny was hired to put a different stamp on this team and organization. We'll have to see how different the 2012 Cardinals look from a team that just won the World Series.
The Matheny hiring seems like a signal of a new era in St. Louis. Whether the future includes star 1B Albert Pujols remains to be seen. Not going with Oquendo (I had suggested Dave Duncan if it was possible.) probably means there will be an entirely new coaching staff for the 2012 Cardinals. Thinking deeper, this hiring may decrease the level of expectations for the team over the next couple of years. I would have liked to see the current coaching staff continue in Tony LaRussa's legacy for the next couple of years. I'm sure St. Louis would love to retain Dave Duncan as pitching coach and thats going to be entirely up to Dave. Matheny will need a strong bench coach like a Riggleman or a Bowa with most of the other coaches not expected to be retained.
Pujols' relationship with Oquendo has been quite noted and I have no idea what Oquendo not being hired means to Pujols. With Pujols, it is strictly money and years. What ever team ponies up the biggest contract will land Pujols. I still think the Cardinals will end up bringing him back. The questions are: What will this team look like next year? Will there be a lot of turnover? Does the Matheny hiring mean the team must look different? I do think there will be some turnover on the roster for 2012. I don't agree with it after winning the World Series but I think the team will be different. It obviously will take a shape of whether or not they re-sign Pujols. And I do think Matheny was hired to put a different stamp on this team and organization. We'll have to see how different the 2012 Cardinals look from a team that just won the World Series.
RSS Feed
