St. Louis Cardinals: Kolten Wong Highlights Recurrent Organizational Issue

St. Louis Cardinals second baseman- excuse me, platoon second baseman- Kolten Wong voiced strong opinions on Sunday. These highlight a real issue within the Cardinals organization.

If you have read Zach’s assessment of the Kolten Wong comments, then jump over to this link and give it a read. Zach does a nice job capturing the essence of Wong’s comments about the St. Louis Cardinals and his approaching playing time in 2017.

That said, do the comments shared shed light on a recurrent issue within the St. Louis Cardinals organization? I am afraid that they do and are just another domino in a series that have been stacking and falling for a few seasons.

Here’s the skinny: the St. Louis Cardinals have experienced a good deal of player discomfort in relation to management over the past few years. This is not just a Mike Matheny problem, however. I wish it was, but it is not.

This player discomfort (I know no other way to express it) existed even during the Tony La Russa days. One need only look back to the rift experienced between La Russa and Colby Rasmus. Or the rift between La Russa and All-Star Scott Rolen. In other words, this is not the fault of Mike Matheny; not entirely at least.

I think that we fans should also look closely at this year’s promotion of Mike Shildt to the role of Quality Control Coach. Doesn’t this indicate some admission of an issue within and by the organization? Doesn’t this shed light that someone, or some people, need(s) help managing quality?

Let’s beat the rabbits from the bushes: (Zach stated something similar to this too) MLB players want to play, they get paid to play, and we fans should expect them to take some significant umbrage when these planets do not align.

I, for one, was glad to see Wong’s comments. I wasn’t surprised by them but also wasn’t thrilled with his manner of delivering them. In saying this, I immediately noted that Wong felt more compelled to share with media his displeasure (discomfort?) than he did to his own manager. That screamed loudly for me.

Let me also admit that I am not entirely positive that Wong had not already shared these feelings with Matheny before sharing with media, but, even in that case, that scenario would not diminish the glaring issue.

Regardless of how you shake it, the St. Louis Cardinals seem to have an issue with management, playing time, favoritism, etc., and this issue has existed too long to quote-unquote ignore.

The St. Louis Cardinals surely are not alone in this complaint department. That said, other players are repeatedly complaining about the same issue. Other teams are not installing Quality Control Coaches. Other organizations are not consistently coming to the defense of their managerial staff (at least not to the degree and amount as do the St. Louis Cardinals).

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Is there a solution? I’m sure there must be but I am not suggesting that axing Matheny (something I have championed often in the past and I’m sure will do so again this season) is the solution needed. The fact that this “issue” existed prior to Matheny suggests to me that the organization needs more than just an MLB Quality Control Coach and instead could benefit from some organizational coaching.

Systemic problems persist once they have existed for a few generations. These persistent problems are only eliminated through two generations of concerted elimination efforts. If we assume that Whitey Herzog and then La Russa and now Matheny are culprits in a problematic system, then we must look to the future to remedy the error of ways.

With that in mind, let us not give up on Matheny and Mozeliak but let us hope that they begin some real organizational evaluations such to find the cause of the problem, root it out, and then apply ointment to sooth the issue. Only through this introspection can the organization avoid this in the future.

How about Wong? I agree with Zach that he needs to allow his play to do the talking. I also feel that he should continue to complain if he feels it necessary. He needs, however, to do so with caution as he is reducing his own value by gaining the title of a complainer (to the Cardinals and to other organizations).

Next: Cards Have Conditioning Problems

All of this said, the St. Louis Cardinals surely have full plates with these complaints, the approaching season, changes being made in Memphis, growing players, and the impending Yadier Molina extension. Perhaps signing Yadi will turn the tide of bad news for the Cardinals. Hold onto your hats as I predict a bumpy road coming!