Matheny’s dismissal came after in-house criticisms about the team’s energy level and familiar lossesGETTY IMAGES
The MLB Cardinals relieved manager Mike Matheny of his duties after Saturday's loss to the Reds, and in doing so "sent a sudden, jarring message" for an organization that has "prized continuity and rooted its recent success in more than a decade of leadership stability," according to Derrick Goold of the ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH. Matheny’s dismissal came at the end of a "turbulent week for the Cardinals that featured questions about his communication with players, a tense clubhouse, in-house criticisms about the team’s energy level, and familiar losses that teetered from concerning to chronic." It is the team’s "first in-season firing of a manager since 1995 and the first leadership change for Bill DeWitt Jr.’s ownership group during a season" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 7/16). In St. Louis, Benjamin Hochman writes the team, in "efforts to reclaim their status as the St. Louis Cardinals, have made a sensible decision to shake up the place." DeWitt has now "shown he isn’t afraid to fire someone important" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 7/16). THE ATHLETIC's Ken Rosenthal noted it took 93 games for DeWitt and President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak to "finally step out of their comfort zones" and fire Matheny. But Matheny is "not solely at fault" for the Cardinals' 48-46 record, as Mozeliak and VP & GM Mike Girsch "certainly deserve their share of blame." Matheny "lost the faith" of many fans while "presiding over the team's breakdown in fundamentals, making curious lineup choices, [and] burning out relievers" (THEATHLETIC.com, 7/15).
CHANGING COURSE: SI.com's Emma Baccellieri wrote Matheny’s dismissal "did feel surprising" as the Cardinals’ front office and ownership had "repeatedly demonstrated their loyalty to him, perhaps to a fault." But some recent reports "don’t seem to indicate that he’s done much to establish a stellar clubhouse environment lately, either." Combine that with Matheny’s "lack of tactical genius, and the team’s decision to cut him loose looks clear" (SI.com, 7/15). The POST-DISPATCH's Hochman writes Cardinals players "appeared refreshed" after Matheny's removal, and it "almost felt like a new era was beginning." Fans often have the feeling that DeWitt is "content with any result, as long as the result at the turnstile is three million or more paying customers." There is a belief that the team will "only make big changes if the fans don’t show up." But DeWitt and the Cardinals "flipped the sentiment this weekend" as he explained that he "owes it to the fans who do show up" (STLTODAY.com, 7/16). MLB Network's Eric Byrnes said the Cardinals "could be good if they overperformed" but they have "a lot of people underperforming." Byrnes: "Is that Mike Matheny's fault? No." Mozeliak said it is "time for a different voice." Byrnes: "I could buy that." But fans "need to have realistic expectations of who they are." If fans "think this one change is all of a sudden going to have" the team winning the NL Central, they have "another thing coming" ("MLB Tonight," MLBN, 7/15).
FRESH START: The POST-DISPATCH's Goold writes the Cardinals were "intent on ending the erosion caused by this 'decaying' season, even at the expense of cherished stability." During yesterday’s press conference addressing Matheny's firing, DeWitt and Mozeliak "used the adjective 'fresh' eight times to describe a 'fresh voice,' 'fresh start,' or 'fresh leadership.'" The word "'reset' was used three times to describe the changes to the coaching staff" (STLTODAY.com, 7/16). Goold said Cardinals ownership "saw a brand of baseball that it felt could not improve and wanted to change." Goold noted this is the first in-season firing of a manager by this ownership group and said, "Now you wonder, for a team that has really valued stability and staying within, does it want to look outside and see if that's the fresh look they want" ("MLB Tonight," MLBN, 7/15). DeWitt when asked if he would be willing to tolerate short-term financial losses -- fewer fans in the seats -- if he thought it would make this more of a championship-caliber team in the coming years said, "It's an assessment of where you think you are. ... When people talk about buyers and sellers and taking a reset, we're really not into that mode." He added, "If we didn't feel like we had some strong core pieces here that we could build around, then you've got to look at the reality of the situation" (THEATHLETIC.com, 7/15).
