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can someone post the link to the article or info that shows the Fowler is the first to leave and last to get to there for practice etc.?
What is the original source not necessarily WHO told whoever who reported it, but WHO reported it in the first place and where is that link?
Jager, we all had a discussion about this last year as soon as Ortiz reported it. Ortiz used to be Fowler’s biggest fan at the time of the signing, because he considered Fowler a “friend” from their times in Denver and Houston. He now openly calls for Fowler to be benched.
When teams are winning, teammates hardly ever bother to notice or even care if Dexter Fowler is usually the last guy in the clubhouse and one of the first to leave.
So, let’s not try to act like this is coming out of nowhere.
For those who subscribe to The Athletic, Mark Saxon has a very interesting article called, “Are Dexter Fowler and the Cardinals headed for a divorce? It sure seems like it.”
I am interested in what people think of this excerpt from the article.
“According to multiple sources on and around the team, Fowler and Matheny barely talk and haven’t for months.”
I am very concerned about that for multiple reasons. Does that say more about the player or his manager?
Dexter Fowler responded to the comments made by John Mozeliak about his effort: "The people I played with before and the people I play with now – they know where my heart is at." #STLCards Hear his full interview with @claibss ➡️ https://t.co/G7Ss81S8zM pic.twitter.com/P1P3K3U6BP
— KMOX Sports (@KMOXSports) July 6, 2018
MM likes people who put others (and the team as a whole) first. Ergo the rift.
Tino Martinez and DF both reeled when they were dissed by the teams they cared deeply about. Neither wanted/want to be here.
If a player has certain characteristics and the manager can’t shake it out of him (or convince him to change), why is it the manager’s fault too? Was it the manager’s fault with Tino? I know someone who lived in the same neighborhood
Tino moved into. Tino refused to talk to his neighbors or have anything to do with them. Nice guy. St. Louis was a cow town to him after New York. Missed his Yankees badly too.Dexter says:
“The people I played with before and the people I play with now – they know where my heart is at.”
He left his heart somewhere else… like Chicago, because I don’t see any of it in or near Busch. Please do the world a favor and finally DFA him. Turn the page on this ugly mistake, he has absolutely no use playing on this team… he is just taking up a valuable roster spot.
Like anything, a change of scenery can be tough on people. In baseball, that is the down side of the modern system where players are no longer tied to their original teams for life. Obviously they could be traded, but there was not the situation where a contract expired, and the player was not wanted by the organization.
We do not really know the dynamics of the relationship between Dex and Mike. While it would be tough for a guy to leave an organization after the historic 2016 season the Cubs had, there comes a time when you have to accept reality and move on. Nothing can take 2016 away from Dexter, and he will be back in Wrigley for years to come when they have that team back to honor their achievement. Plus he will no doubt sing at the 7th inning stretch now and then in the future.
But for now, you need to focus on your career as a player and go all out to win ball games. If it gets to where he is in the lineup on a consistent basis, he will be better. But right now the outfield looks pretty strong. And both Ozuna and Pham will no doubt be better as well, so unless one or both hit the DL they won’t be yielding much playing time. Plus Bader should be better as he gains experience and confidence.
Tough situation for Fowler. He needs to play in order to get back in a groove, but playing time may be sparse.
I keep hearing that he will get better. April… May…. June… you’re beating a dead horse. And he might have played his last game at Wrigley, I doubt he cares as long as the checks keep coming in. He should be sooooo out of here. Let him move to ChiTown where he may have some dated popularity… he’s becoming hated in the Cardinal nation and will be remembered here as the worst sign ever.
Forget about Tino or Scott Rolen or anyone else. Irrelevant. Even if the player is 99% wrong, the manager’s job is always to get the most out of all of his players and this report suggests that Matheny has given up on Fowler. That could have an impact on Fowler’s outlook and job performance as well.
Like I said, Fowler may be 99% at fault for all we know, but Matheny does not look great, either. His oft-repeated strength is leadership.
One of his quotes in the PD this morning – “Obviously we’re not doing well, and I’m a big part of the team. That’s fine. If the blame goes on me I’m willing to take it. I’ve taken it before. At the end of the day, I want to go out and I want to play and I want the opportunity to make it right.
If anybody, I feel like I should get a chance to make it right as well”.Notice anything about that quote?
You can lead some horses to water, BW, but sometimes you just can’t make them drink. They would prefer to drink someone else’s water.
yes bccran we all know you think MM does nothing wrong ever but this is his fault to if he has given up and will no longer communicate with Fowler, you know what people claim his strong suit is…
Fowler said this:
“Like I’ve said, I’ve had my ups, I’ve had my downs, to say the least,” said Fowler, who recently unplugged his Twitter account because of caustic comments from fans. “Everywhere you have your ups and you have your downs. I try to block all that out.”
“I think that’s out of the question,” Fowler said. “These guys in here know. I’m getting text messages from everybody. That’s (bull). I’m playing as hard as I can. I’m trying as hard as I can. The cream will rise to the top. If I get the right opportunity, things will happen.”
Cream???? Ne had opportunity in April and May…. things happened… almost all bad.
This is the situation as it stands today. Anyone who feels that Fowler should stay needs to read this before making any comments.
14 – When looking at a player’s likelihood of being better or worse, you weigh their career numbers against the recent, short-term production.
Dex is obviously a better player than he has been this year, and he will likely progress towards his career norms with regular playing time. He still could have a down year, but it won’t be as far down as it is now.
Fowler’s problem could easily be solved by Dexter Fowler himself. All he has to do is ask the Cardinals to void his contract so he can re-enter free agency.
I would trade him to some AL team for some AA prospect. We can send $40M of the $57M still owed. My concern with DFAing him is that the Cubs would pick him up for free and he would revert back to his old self. We would be paying him to beat us while wearing a Cub uniform. I don’t think I could stomach that.
Sorry there, Onyx, but I have never said that MM is without fault. All managers have their pluses and their minuses. One of MM’s faults is that he sometimes gives a veteran more of a chance to fight his way out of it than deserved when he’s in a slump. Lot’s look at Fowler month by month in 2018 –
April – .170/.279/.298/.577
May – .194/.308/.328/.636
June – .145/.230/.182/.411MM also has a responsibility to win. It’s not just about Dexter. Look at Dexter’s quote that I displayed above and count the number of time he used the word “I”. He’s self absorbed. That’s why he’s not a good fit. Tino is a good comparison because he never stopped being a Yankee or craving to be a Yankee. Dexter still craves for the excitement of being a Cub in the 3rd largest market in the U.S. winning their 1st WS in almost 100 years.
I am convinced that the Cardinals and Fowler need to part ways. It has become obvious that the Cardinals culture, Mike Matheny and Fowler can’t co-exist.
However, I also understand some of what Fowler is saying and feeling. Last year he started out slow and didn’t come out of it until late in May. This year, he started out slow and lost playing time. He feels he hasn’t had the opportunity to work through the problems and get things going. In June, he started 14 of the 27 games. I’m sure he wants to start every game and expects things will turn around. At the same time, he is probably putting pressure on himself to do better and everything is starting to snowball. He strikes me as the type of person who can let things get to him.
I understand there are a bunch of posters on here who hate having him on this team. Unfortunately, he is going to be on the team. The Cardinals will not DFA him nor will they likely be able to trade him.
bccran, that quote sounds quite a bit like a “me first” attitude but we don’t have all the interview to know when in the interview this is said or under what question. If an interview is long enough, there can be many opportunities to pull something out that could be used negatively when a player is going bad.
I guess what I am saying is that this whole situation is getting very tiring. The extremes on both sides are making it sound much worse than what is reality.
They can definitely trade him if they are willing to eat enough of the money owed. I have no doubts he would waive the NTC.
I agree that they COULD trade him. I just don’t see the Cardinals being willing to eat the amount of money they would need to eat. I am fairly confident Fowler would waive his NTC. However, he will still be in control of which team he goes to. I don’t think he will agree to a trade to just any team.
The Cards are in a quandry. They are set with Ozuna and Pham in the OF for this year and probably next.
They have two young potentially exciting players knocking at the door in Bader and O’Neill, whom they want to give playing time to. Something has to give.
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