photo: Mike Matheny (Scott Kane/USA TODAY Sports)
St. Louis Cardinals press release
The St. Louis Cardinals announced following today’s (Saturday’s) game that they have dismissed Manager Mike Matheny and named Bench Coach Mike Shildt as the team’s interim manager. The team also announced that Hitting Coach John Mabry and Assistant Hitting Coach Bill Mueller have been relieved of their duties.
“Mike Matheny has served the St. Louis Cardinals organization with tremendous dedication and pride and I am thankful for his service to the Cardinals over the past six and a half seasons,” stated Cardinals’ Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Bill DeWitt, Jr. “On behalf of the entire Cardinals organization, I would like to wish Mike the very best.”
Matheny, 47, was named the Cardinals 49th manager on November 14, 2011 and compiled a 591-473 won-loss mark, ranking 5th all-time amongst Cardinals managers in wins. He helped lead the team to the postseason in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015, including a National League Championship in 2013.
“These decisions are never easy, but we felt that a change in leadership was necessary as the team prepares to enter into the second half of the season,” said President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak. “I would like to thank Mike for his exceptional commitment and devotion to the Cardinals organization, including many fond memories of our years working together.”
Shildt, 49, has been a member of the Cardinals organization since 2004 and has served on the team’s Major League coaching staff the past two (2017-18) seasons. The North Carolina native managed for eight seasons in the Cardinals farm system where his clubs won league championships in 2010 and 2011 with Johnson City of the rookie Appalachian League and in 2012 with Springfield of the Texas League (AA). He most recently managed in 2016 with Memphis of the Pacific Coast League (AAA).
The team plans to hold a news conference tomorrow (Sunday) morning at 11:00 a.m. CDT with Cardinals’ Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Bill DeWitt Jr., and the team’s President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak, to discuss tonight’s announcement and additional organizational staff changes.
Brian Walton’s take
For those who are night owls, you may wonder why it took a couple of hours for this article to be posted. The reason is that I was engaged in a live and lively discussion on this subject with a number of readers on the long-running “Matheny as manager” thread at The Cardinal Nation’s free message board.
This discussion is 36 pages long and began last year. Saturday night’s announcement was posted on page 34. Stop by and join us!
For those who want my net view of the situation, here it is.
I am surprised it happened now, but I get why Bill DeWitt Jr. made the decision. He wants to increase hope in the 2018 Cardinals, a club that was heading toward its third consecutive post-season miss.
New coaches were added mid-season 2017 and again following last year, but the team has not shown progress. The hitting coaches were the only major area of the field staff exempt from the earlier changes.
In a recent interview with Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, DeWitt made it clear he feels the current team is playoff caliber, so while of course, the players share responsibility for the underachievement, the manager takes the fall. DeWitt specifically singled out the offense as a major area of disappointment.
A growing list of off-field player controversies with Matheny at the center may have been the final straw for a man whose leadership traits were often cited as one of his core strengths. Areas of his job performance which were oft-criticized include lineup construction and in-game tactical moves.
With the change made now, there is still time to alter the trajectory of the 2018 season. The Cardinals remain a distant third in the division and a straggler in the Wild Card race with a record that would fall to .500 with a third straight loss to last-place Cincinnati on Sunday. The team is currently closer to the division cellar than first – both in the standings and in momentum. St. Louis has not won consecutive series in over two months and has posted a losing record at home this season, including six consecutive losses there.
I do have to add that giving Matheny a three-year contract extension before the 2017 season, a year before his previous deal expired, was a questionable move at the time and even more so now with the full benefit of hindsight. Of course, the manager is not paid like a star player, so the financial impact to the organization is not going to be fatal.
It will be interesting to see what other organizational changes will be announced on Sunday as well as how the managerial search will be conducted.
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Brian Walton can be reached via email at brian@thecardinalnation.com. Follow Brian on Twitter.
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