Now that the offseason is settling into our house, the baseball homesick minds have to start breaking down what happened and what will happen going forward. Â This week, I participated in The United Cardinal Bloggers roundtable discussion. Â Here are my answers to the first week’s burning questions.
1.)Grading Mike Matheny’s second season as manager
Grading Matheny’s season isn’t easy because while the result was 2 wins shy of a World Championship, he made a few mistakes that would have crippled other teams less stocked with such an arsenal of young talent. Â Matheny was very solid again this season and for me that means a B+ grade. Â What he lost in injuries to key veterans and young arms was made up for with a late brigade of future pitching power and the full time arrival of Matt Adams. Â Matheny’s biggest attribute is also the thing that lessens his grade from the A level. Â His loyalty. Â He leaned towards his heart instead of his head and in the end I believe it costed him and the team dearly.