Welcome Aboard, Captain

Well, that didn't take long. The Cardinals took care of item #2 on their Wish List a few hours ago. Mike Matheny, who anchored the plate for the Cardinals from 2000-2004, has been hired as the new manager of the St. Louis Cardinals. Matheny has no professional managing or coaching experience, though has "instructed" for a short time in the minors. John Mozeliak cited "leadership qualities" as the main reasons for choosing Mr. Matheny. As a player Matheny won four Gold Gloves (three with the Cardinals) and had a career slash line of .239/.293/.344. (For those who don't know, that's batting average/on-base %/slugging %)

 The hiring will be announced officially at an 11 AM press conference Monday morning. Matheny received two years, with a club option for 2014. 

This is an extremely high-risk, high-reward hiring by the Cardinals. In selecting Matheny they  place a championship callibur under the leadership of a man who will be learning on the job. To make things harder than they already are, Matheny follows in the  footsteps of surefire Hall-of-Famer and mad genius Tony La Russa. I'd be guilty of over-simplification if I described Tony's methods as eccentric but extremely successful. Matheny will have to win over the clubhouse and earn the respect of the high-profile men he will lead, though according to Derrick Goold of the Post Dispatch, he already has. 

As always, time will tell if the decision is successful or disastrous. Nonetheless, national scrutiny will remain focused on Matheny throughout his inaugural season, ready to jump on each and every mistake he makes. If Matheny posses the qualities espoused on him by Cardinals execs, he will be able to steer his team away from the criticism. But, supposedly stronger men have folded to that pressure. 

There is no way of knowing what will come of this until the season begins. In the meantime, we wish the best of luck to Mike Matheny.