In today’s world of sports journalism, websites, airwaves and newspaper columns are often filled with emotionally unstable opiners and incessant hyperbole.
Every star player is the ‘greatest.’ Every fired coach is the ‘worst.’ Every failed decision is the ‘dumbest’ and so forth. The screaming heads, by design, often drown out the realistic, rational opinions and breakdowns in the sports world. Both journalists and fans are guilty as charged.
To no surprise, the Cardinals new managerial hire, Mike Matheny, has brought forth plenty of extreme reactions.
First there’s the: What were the Cardinals thinking? crew.
These folks are outraged? Why? Because Matheny has no credible experience as a manager. He’s never been a bench coach or a base coach. He hasn’t experienced the daily rigors of preparation from the managerial side. He’s never been saddled with the level of expectation and responsibility of a professional baseball team, let alone one as prestigious and storied as the St. Louis Cardinals.
“He’s doomed to fail and represents the worst managerial signing in Cardinals history,” they’ll proudly proclaim.
On the other side of the fence stands the: OMG Mike Matheny is such an awesome guy, a great leader and his superior baseball intellect will supercede his lack of experience because he’s the best! crew.
Members of this club are so infatuated with the manager’s likeable personality and Cardinals roots, that they’ll overlook his complete lack of experience and deem him the ‘perfect fit’ for the ballclub. “The players all like and respect him,” they’ll say. “He’s such a terrific leader of men.”
With the complete lack of tangible results, they’ll gush over the perceived intangibles like a high school crush. He’s just so dreamy.
In reality, nobody has a clue as to how the Matheny hire will turn out, including Cardinals General Manager John Mozeliak. But riding the buzz of a world championship and many returning stars, Mozeliak found himself in the perfect situation to take a gamble on his prized prospect.
Armed with a cheerful fan base and a modest two-year contract, Mozeliak’s risk is low. Should the team falter, Mo and Co. can write off the gamble fairly quickly and bring in a big-name coach in 2014. But if Matheny is up to the task, Mozeliak’s calculated risk will result in the GM being branded a genius and build additional power, organizational and fan support.
