Mike Matheny On Cardinals Pitching Pursuits
Having pitching is important but it’s also important to be fiscally responsible.
That’s according to St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny.
Mike was asked … a lot … about the prospects of the Cardinals landing a top tier pitcher. The questions were asked of the manager prior to the Washington Nationals signing Max Scherzer.
Matheny knew it would take a lot of money to land Scherzer. He knew it was the kind of money the Cardinals aren’t historically apt to fork over.
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According to a quote from Matheny in an article by Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post Dispatch, Matheny said he understands the business of the game and trusts the Cardinals front office and ownership group to make wise decisions.
"“To be able to go out and just spend is not something this organization has done. We’ve made calculated decisions and I’ve been very impressed just to jump in and listen and watch the vision of not just 2015 but many years beyond, and the restraints that are there. Just knowing our organization is looking for those opportunities but there has to be a line that you draw and that’s just being business smart.”"
Matheny makes a good point about how the Cardinals have handled such deals in the past. It leads a fan to believe there really isn’t a chance we are going to see the organization sign a high-end pitcher, such as James Shields, to a huge contract. It wouldn’t exactly be wise financially or long term to make the splash it would take to sign him.
But it does look like Matheny sees the benefit in the team having more pitching. So. Connecting dots as you will, it would lead a fan to believe the team would be more inclined to trade for pitching. Again. The Cardinals have been linked in the trade market to Cole Hamels and David Price.
Or, the team will wait until Spring Training to see how things are going and make a move for one of the lower tier pitchers available. Ryan Vogelsong, Phil Coke, Kyle Kendrick, Paul Maholm and Carlos Villanueva are just some of the names available.