St. Louis Cardinals: Catch a clue from the Red Sox

The St. Louis Cardinals should absolutely take note of the news surfacing today out of the Boston Red Sox organization.

The St. Louis Cardinals need to fire Mike Matheny. I know this comes as no surprise to anyone who reads or has read my material. I feel even more committed to this thought after the news was released this morning (Wednesday, October 11) out of the Red Sox organization of the firing of John Farrell.

Let’s take a minute to look at the numbers. Matheny’s leadership has held the St. Louis Cardinals out of the playoffs for two seasons in a row. Farrell’s leadership has led the Red Sox to the playoffs for the past two seasons. See the direct opposite comparison taking place?

Wait for it… Under Matheny’s leadership the St. Louis Cardinals have yet to win a World Series title. Under Farrell’s leadership the Red Sox won the World Series in 2013. The opposite comparison continues.

Let me tell you that I am not alone in thinking that Matheny should go, especially in light of the Red Sox news. Take a look at Twitter:

To me, if Viva El Birdos is saying Matheny needs to go, then Mozeliak needs to be signing the pink slip today.

Others who I respect are also honking today for Matheny’s head:

Yes, Josh was once a writer for us at Redbird Rants so I am a little biased but the man makes a great point.

There’s one more yet:

If the great Ken Rosenthal is correct that Farrell lost the Red Sox clubhouse and that indicated his desperate need to depart, then we MUST agree similarly that Matheny needs to depart.

We know now of news from inside the St. Louis Cardinals clubhouse that Matheny may no longer have command. If “veteran” players are leaving the clubhouse long in advance of fans leaving the stadium, smoke is certainly flying (and as the saying goes, “where there is smoke…”).

If we believe the news that veteran leadership such as Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright is holding private players-only meals and meetings, it can easily be assumed that the players have difficulty following Matheny’s leadership.

If Manifesto has lost the clubhouse then, like Farrell today, he must go.

More from Redbird Rants

• The St. Louis Cardinals sign catcher Willson Contreras
• Cardinals: Day 3 of Winter Meetings brings first move and catcher rumors
• Cardinals Rumors: Is Willson Contreras Defense a Concern?
• Cardinals Rumors: Growing buzz that St. Louis will sign Willson Contreras
• Cardinals Rumors: Here is what Oakland is asking for Sean Murphy

On a different side of this coin, some on twitter are speculating that Farrell was booted since he couldn’t progress farther into the playoffs in spite of having great pitchers like Chris Sale and David Price.

If we buy this theory, then can’t we ascribe similar criticism to Matheny? Didn’t Matheny have greats like Carlos Martinez and Lance Lynn? Oh and there was that one pitcher- Mike Leake– who came to the St. Louis Cardinals with great promise but fizzled under the leadership of Mike Matheny.

To the Leake issue: Mozeliak has fired Matheny’s pitching coach and bullpen coach as a scapegoat for the pitching flaw. But, but is this enough to sidestep the move the Red Sox made? Is firing a pitching coach and bullpen coach enough of an equivalent to firing Farrell?

Not in my book. In short, I agree with Viva El Birdos and Josh above that Matheny needs to go. I’ve felt this way in the past and today’s’ Red Sox news solidifies my feelings.

Next: Podcast episode 33

Mozeliak, you sir are on the hot seat now. If Boston is this committed to winning- to the tune of making a drastic change of this nature- why can’t the St. Louis Cardinals make a similar move?