Before there was constantly ripping Mike Matheny, there was constantly ripping Tony LaRussa. And before that, ripping Joe Torre, or ripping Whitey Herzog, or (briefly) ripping Red Schoendienst or Mike Jorgensen. Yes, St. Louis Cardinals fans tended to rip Matheny more than the others, at least as far as I can remember or tell, but…
Mike Matheny and the dynasty that never quite was
In 2011, following a dramatic seven-game World Series victory and with their farm system suddenly loaded with potential impact Major League players, the St. Louis Cardinals looked as positioned for long-term success as they had arguably at any point in their history. Sure, the 2011 team didn't really "deserve" the World Series title that they…
Local baseball team admits mistake
On Saturday night, following an uninspiring 8-2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds which brought the St. Louis Cardinals to a 47-46 record on the season, the St. Louis Cardinals relieved manager Mike Matheny of his duties, in addition to hitting coach John Mabry and assistant hitting coach Bill Mueller. Bench coach Mike Shildt will serve…
The Cardinals are going to play the suddenly not-terrible Reds–a series preview
There's something aesthetically pleasing to me about the Cincinnati Reds being competent. Like, for this weekend I'd prefer they not be, but despite the intense rivalry which formed between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Reds in the early 2010s, I must concede that some of the more enjoyable teams in the last half-decade of…
Mike Matheny is losing his clubhouse and yes I’m sick of having to write this article
When the St. Louis Cardinals signed veteran Bud Norris in February, the public response was more than a bit unenthusiastic. Coming just days after it was reported that the Chicago Cubs were signing highly-coveted free agent starting pitcher Yu Darvish to a six-year, $126 million contract, acquiring what looked like a back-of-the-bullpen depth piece was…
How many Cardinals would play in the World Cup of Baseball?
Until 2009, there was a formal event called the World Cup of Baseball--it was scheduled in September and thus Major League Baseball players could not participate. Today, we have the World Baseball Classic, a vastly superior tournament to the WCB, but one which still lacks more than a few of the best baseball players in…
Why I’m getting a really bad feeling about the White Sox–a series preview
The Chicago White Sox are terrible. Like, they're really bad. At present, they are 30-60 and saying that they're trying to be better than that would probably constitute false advertising. They have a bunch of acclaimed prospects, some of whom (second baseman Yoan Moncado and starting pitcher Lucas Giolito) are currently in the Majors, but most…
A live-blogging of Drew Magary’s latest Cardinals piece
Yesterday, Deadspin columnist Drew Magary wrote an article about the St. Louis Cardinals. It was called "I Can't Get Enough Of The Shitass Cardinals Feuding With One Of Their Own Players". I have not read it. This isn't a matter of grand principle. I'm not consciously avoiding the article--I was just busy all day and…
A St. Louis sports team is making big moves to try to make it back into the postseason
In 2016, the St. Louis Cardinals missed the postseason, finishing one game behind the San Francisco Giants for the second Wild Card berth. In the off-season, they signed Dexter Fowler to replace, in a roundabout way with Randal Grichuk as an intermediary, Matt Holliday, and Brett Cecil, effectively replacing the Tommy John surgery-bound Zach Duke.…
Giants inspire Cardinals to a whole new AT&T Park nightmare
This afternoon, in San Francisco, the St. Louis Cardinals squared off against the Giants, a team against whom the local nine has a winning record during the Mike Matheny era but against whom I can only remember Travis Ishikawa and (underratedly) Michael Morse socking dingers, as well as Randy Choate making errant throws to first…
