Introducing Mike Matheny

We've analyzed Doug Melvin and Theo Epstein, oh did the Cardinals hire someone??

Let's dig in, shall we??

The Cardinals on Monday formally named a manager blessed with intangibles

ingangibles > DUI's



Defining the intangible is more difficult than chronicling a résumé

you can't define intangible, you can define DUI as > 0.8

Matheny, 41, accepted the job that he was "made to do"

made to do??

two weeks after La Russa announced his retirement in the same room

that room blew a .12

Signed for two years plus a club option for 2014, the former Cardinals Gold Glove catcher offers no managerial experience above a youth league level

his T-Ball team raked last year

but possesses the presence, familiarity and leadership that a four-man search committee sought to replace the franchise's all-time winningest manager.

You have no experience and have done nothing to earn this job....you're hired

"I know there's a high level of expectation," Matheny said. "If I didn't think I could handle it I wouldn't have walked into the interview process.

Did I mention I've had some concussions??

Matheny's hire represents the latest step in a movement favoring single-mindedness and organizational identity over experience alone. Despite the fact that he has never coached or managed at a professional level, Matheny became the favored candidate as soon as he interviewed Nov. 4. Matheny described the committee's decision as "the greatest honor of my life."

he then drooled all over himself

Said DeWitt: "All great managers started somewhere.

Usually managing at a lower level

I think the lack of experience is there

Yeah it is

Any time you do something new, it's an unknown. What we were looking for are characteristics that would make a manager successful. And he's got those

Concussion = success!!

This is not meant for everyone

Some of you like the Cardinals

For a lot of people, this might be a very difficult task to tackle

Cardinals fans

" Mozeliak acknowledged after the news conference. "With any decision you make at this level there are risks. And there are in this as well. But I do think he is very capable of succeeding in this role."

He then drooled on himself again

As La Russa's successor, Matheny knows he will be subjected to scrutiny, his game management especially.

Bat the pitcher 8th, everyone will think you're a genius

"Everybody across the world of baseball, especially Cardinal Nation, is going to scratch their head sometimes and wonder why I did something, just like it's happened with a Hall of Fame manager," Matheny said. "But if I can look myself in the mirror and I know that what I did was right in my mind — I can put my head down at night and realize I did the right thing."

as long as the ringing stops!!!!

For his part, Matheny consistently told those interested that family commitments precluded him from entertaining thoughts of a coaching or a managerial career.

That and the constant drooling

Matheny valued his playing experience under La Russa as well as his exposure to the future Hall of Fame manager the last several springs. Matheny called his learning experience "reconnaissance."

He later added those fairs are awesome!!

For his part, Matheny consistently told those interested that family commitments precluded him from entertaining thoughts of a coaching or a managerial career.

His concussion precluded him from entertaining thoughts period

"I have a reason for everything I do," Matheny said.

I do it foooorrrrr youuuuuuu

Upon learning of La Russa's intention to retire in August, Mozeliak said he began to pare a list of about 35 names. Matheny emerged from six interviewees that included former Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona, Cardinals third base coach Jose Oquendo, Philadelphia Phillies minor league manager and Hall of Fame second baseman Ryan Sandberg, Memphis Redbirds manager Chris Maloney and another ex-Cardinal, Chicago White Sox coach Joe McEwing. Mozeliak said there was no need for a second round of interviews before offering Matheny the job while the candidate chaperoned a group of teen players in the Dominican Republic last week.


The guy with 2 World Series, the hottest guy in our own organization, the hottest guy in our rival's organization, our AAA manager, or a former catcher that had to retire because of a concussion??

You're hired concussion guy

"I think a lot of people would have said the simpler choice would have been to go with someone with experience," said Mozeliak, aware of an initial groundswell for Francona, who guided the Red Sox to World Series titles in 2004 and 2007.

You have 2 World Series Rings?? nah we're hiring concussion guy

"We weren't looking for someone who would just nod his head and take it."

We're not sure Matheny even has the ability to nod his head, perfect

Mozeliak admitted that he and Matheny share a different relationship. Where La Russa long saw Mozeliak as Jocketty's subordinate, Matheny has always recognized him as a front-office advocate.

"We're the same age. From a relationship side, we share a different past," Mozeliak said. "I knew Tony a long time when I got my job, but he had to look at me in a different light. I always looked at him through the same set of lenses. In this case, Mike and I talked about a lot of different things through the years. And I don't think there's going to be a big obstacle moving forward."

We're taking the Cardinals past the Jocketty/LaRussa regime together, but I don't drool on myself

"The approach will always be that the manager writes the lineup," Mozeliak said. "There may be times I've said, 'I hope someone gets more playing time' and under circumstances it didn't. It wasn't to show who was controlling things. It was just circumstantial."



The manager is totally free to make his own lineup, unless I disagree with it




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yeah I'm just opening myself up to stalkers I know

*crosses fingers*