Cardinals owner Bill DeWitt Jr. says that skipper Mike Matheny will remain at the club’s helm next year, as Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Matheny’s contract runs expires after 2017.
There had been at least some outside questions of Matheny’s status, given the Cards’ somewhat disappointing 82-75 mark with five games left to play. St. Louis is still battling for a Wild Card spot, of course — and the team has already qualified for the postseason in all four prior seasons of Matheny’s tenure — but never really competed this year in an NL Central that has been dominated by the rival Cubs.
“Mike’s done a really good job for us,” said DeWitt. “There’s no thought that we’re going to go in any different direction.” The owner went on to explain that Matheny remains “a great leader” who isn’t responsible for what has been “one of those years where things haven’t worked.”
GM John Mozeliak also expressed confidence in the organization’s dugout chief, saying that the 46-year-old Matheny can be unfairly blamed when things don’t go smoothly. “Mike takes a lot of heat, and I’ve defended him and I will continue to,” said Mozeliak. “I really feel like some of the things that we’re dealing with aren’t fair to put on the manager.”
It is certainly hard to argue with Matheny’s overall results, though obviously he was entrusted with a talented and veteran-laden ballclub. Still, the former big league backstop has received his share of criticism for in-game management, focused particularly on his use of the bullpen.
Clearly, though, the Cardinals’ top decisionmakers don’t feel that any shortcomings in those areas override Mathany’s track record and overall management of the club. That being said, it’s not clear that any new contract discussions will take place, and Matheny could enter the 2017 season managing for his future in the organization.
ughhh. mathanaging has hurt this team more than it has helped
Here’s to four relievers getting overused again in 2017, I guess.
As Cubs fan…. we applaud this move!!!
The fact the GM has had to go out of his to try to build a bullpen that is “Matheny-Proof” is pretty telling.
I like Mike as a guy, and from what I’ve seen, he seems like a good leader. But his in-game decision-making is abysmal. He was the beneficiary of inheriting a good team, and he’s been able to sustain the success. However, the team has stalled when in the postseason with Matheny at the helm. I’m fine giving him another year, especially if it’s his contract year, but if the team misses the playoffs this year (or has a poor showing) and then struggles again next year, it’s probably time to move on to a new manager.
other than crap lineups,destroying bullpen arms and no spine or pulse,matheny is great,lol,just a pity hire that had no place managing the team to begin with
A typical “yes” man. He is a joke
That’s what we were hoping when he got hired. But that is far from the case. He doesn’t use the team like Mozeliak intended. I wish he was a “yes man” to Mo.
I don’t think he has much power his coaching staff was assigned to him but many of his game decisions make sense only to him. We now can see how important Oquendo was to the team
mabry is his hunting buddy,has been for a decade
Oh it’s not Matheny’s fault. These GMs who live and die by silly stats always come up with bizarre and usually ineffective bullpen combinations. I’ve watched the Cards quite a bit this year, and it’s obvious Mike’s working off some sabermetric script. He’s a bright guy; probably doesn’t generate any wins by himself (few do), but he doesn’t cost you any..
hes used a 143 different line ups,ran moss out there while he hit 087 this month-5 total hits,was quoted as saying he put moss out there with no statistical basis other than he may “mishit”one into the upper deck…thats all on matheny
“Silly stats” – How could you possibly argue against numbers?
I hope you’re kidding with the “he doesn’t cost you any” statement. He has single handedly lost games by idiotic bullpen moves. He consistently put Rosenthal out there to blow the game. MM does not know what he is doing, plain and simple.
He’s a horrible manager. You can trace his bullpen incompetence all the way back to using Choate continuously against righties all the way to the point where it cost us the series against the Giants in the playoffs.
The Choate example is enough to exemplify his bullpen ineptitude.
Seriously? Do you even watch the Cards games?
He has cost the Cards plenty of games.
Probably a 10 game swing
Cardinals shoukShouldd of hired Franconia or Oquendo after LaRussa left but nope they hired Matheny as a pitty hire since he lost all his money and was bankrupt! Looks like ownership is as blind as he is! Cardinals fans all realize with Oquendo being gone this year Oquendo holds this team together! Matheny, Lilliquist and Mabry all need fired but looks like we are stuck with the trash! Matheny was handed a WS Championship Team by LaRussa and destroyed it, Lilliquist was handed good staff from Duncan and has destroyed it(last year was a fluke) and Mabry was handed a job when McGwire left all he had to do was keep up what he learned from McGwire but decided to go his own way, Mabry couldn’t hit as a player what makes anyone think he could teach it! Ownership backing these guys shows they dont want to spend any of the new TV deal they have! Greedy is what they are!
You took the words out of my mouth!! I totally agree with you!!
Why would they not have him come back. He has taken a bunch of past prime players that are always getting hurt and plugs in someone else and keeps on winning. Been to the playoffs every year he has been a manager.
They’re guaranteed to finish over .500 this year, made it to postseason every year since he got the job, came two games short of WS trophy, and for what? Stop hating on Matheny just because Bill DeWitt won’t spend $$ to make the team younger and more competitive via FA signings…
And it’s called instilling confidence in your guys! That’s what leaders do. Trusting your guys on nights they don’t have their best stuff. That’s what leaders do.
Bullpen go through slumps, just as starters and lineups do. I hope no one on here ever gets hired as a manager, cuz it would suck to work for you.
I think you’re confusing “instilling confidence” with following the same poor process and expecting different results.
Being stubborn does not equal being a good leader.
Sorry, but no. Grichuk and Wong both scuffled, got sent down, and came back fine. Peralta got right after enough AB’s, and Moss is still slumping…but it’s the end of the year, so AAA not an option. MM has given him several days off, without success. Too much power potential to just release him. Oh, and Rosenthal got fixed in AAA also.
Soooo what examples can u give of said “stubborn” behavior?
My example would be this; What did the coach’s do in the minor leagues to straighten them out and make them a very productive hitter on their return????? Maybe those coaches should be with the big club and Mabry sent to the minors!!!!!!!
Have u ever truly watched how MM handles a team day in and day out? If your a Mike’s guy you will get massive PT with little fear of getting benched. If your a young player. An ofer will put you back on the bench for the next week.
If your a SP don’t worry even if your having a terrible night MM will do his very best to get u thru 5 IP to have a chance at a win. NM you melt down in 5th and give up a 5 spot to a last place team.
While MM is a regarded as a players manager. MM routinely puts players in tight spots both when they aren’t performing and risking their health.
Cards will NEVER win a WS with MM as manager.
Agreed!!!
I think Larussa had so much power and influence when he managed, that Matheny has been welcomed by the upper organization with open arms. Poor game decision making aside, I think he sold them on the interview and he continues to justify his decisions to upper management’s approval and acceptance.
Imagine telling Larussa that he needs to put on a shift?
Uggggggggggggh!
Why do all these coaches have abysmal in-game management? This can’t be THAT hard to learn or to delicate to someone else within the clubhouse. Sad.
I’ve been a huge Cardinals fan for a long time but was looking forward to having us not make the playoffs so that the Cardinals ownership could finally fire Matheny. This is not an attack on him personally but rather a plead to management to give us loyal fans a coach that can make decisions at any time in the game that will always give the team it’s best chance to win. Mike’s biggest weakness from where I sit is that his loyalty to certain players takes precedence over the welfare of the team. His decisions of who to play where and when are often ridiculous. Some examples:
1) With a man on second and third with two outs and a team that has struggle scoring runs in most of their games, he leaves Randy Moss in there and he of course induces the third out. We had contact hitters like Wong and Hazelbaker on the bench who would have been a better choice. Why Moss is playing at all after the disastrous month he’s had is anybody’s guess. If this is the best he can offer when the team really needs him to step up in key at bats, he can take a seat at the end of the bench until the end of the week and go look for another team to play for next year. An absolutely pathetic performance during this clutch time.
2) The only way Mike was going to not play Allen Craig his last year with us was for Mozeliek to literally get him off of the team.
3) I was in Seattle earlier in the year to watch the Cardinals blow a 3-1 lead in the ninth inning because of Mike’s decision to use a struggling Rosenthal. One double, one walk and a three-run homer to lose the game.
You can where Jose Ouendo was such an important part of our team. Why not hire him as our head coach, a loyal career-long Cardinal?
I believe you meant Brandon Moss, not Randy. Heck, Randy Moss probably could have hit better than Brandon during the month of September!
Amen to hiring Oquendo as the Cards Manager!!!
I might add—- if the Cards administration has decided to retain Mike Mathaney—- they, at least need to fire all of his coaching staff with the exception of Oquendo!!!!!
keep D. May as well! Would like to see Bonds as hitting coach here!
The “nail in the coffin” this year was the game last night where Wong triples to lead off the bottom of the 9th of a 2-1 game and the cards fail to bring him home. Wong needs to score. This loss is not entirely all on Matheny. True, he brought a struggling Moss in, for critical spot earlier in the game with runners on, which was a head scratcher. I do think Matheny used Oh correctly in this game.
Molina for manager. He’s aged and hes the smartest on the team in my eyes. He is by far the best leader. Call me crazy, but it’d be better than Matheny. Molina is devout to this organization.
The manager can only make out lineup cards. He can decide when to make pitching changes and he can decide when to pinch hit and by the way the pinch hitters are setting records this year. The players are the ones that make careless errors both on the field and on the bases. Blaming the manager is simple childish. I blame the players for poor performances not the manager.
Poor decisions are squarely on the managers shoulders. Matheny has an intense disdain for small ball. Trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth with a speedy Wong on third a small ball approach is the obvious choice. Matheny has cost the team 10 games because he won’t manage any other way than swing for the fences.
One could make the argument that it is difficult for players to get into rhythm when playing with a different lineup every night. Even then, I agree that it still rest on the players to execute.
The cubs play different positions every day
And I hear how great a manager madden is daily.
The Cubs are stocked with talent where the Cardinals are not. Mickey Mouse could fill out a Cub lineup card and not screw it up.