2017 Installment of MLB Bitchin' & Moanin'.

[AUJarhead]

I usually hate when these things are made public, but if it will lead to Matheny being canned, I'm all for it.

When Cubs fans are disappointed that he may get fired, that tells you something. Like when we wanted Shula to be extended.

But, there is a legit issue. The number 1 catching prospect in baseball is Carson Kelly, so what do you do with him?  He'd been down in AAA so he could play everyday. With Waino going to the DL, they called up Weaver to take his spot in the rotation and called up Kelly to catch him. So Molina now gets every 5th day off.

[Snaggletiger]

I usually hate when these things are made public, but if it will lead to Matheny being canned, I'm all for it.

When Cubs fans are disappointed that he may get fired, that tells you something. Like when we wanted Shula to be extended.

But, there is a legit issue. The number 1 catching prospect in baseball is Carson Kelly, so what do you do with him?  He'd been down in AAA so he could play everyday. With Waino going to the DL, they called up Weaver to take his spot in the rotation and called up Kelly to catch him. So Molina now gets every 5th day off.

I'm not seeing the issue. Kelly gets to catch ML pitching every 5th day, but you know he'll get to face it in the batter's box just about every night as a pinch hitter.  He's already caught what, 70-80 games in AAA?  I imagine that's not what he needs.  It's plate appearances.

[AUJarhead]

Vs Arizona, Kelly didn't get an AB on Sunday, he got one on Saturday (in a 7-1 loss, he came in for Molina late in the game), didn't get one on Friday.  Started on Thursday, and was 0-2.  So for the weekend, he was 0-3 in 3 plate appearances.  Greg Garcia, however, got three PH chances - but also started game 1.

Now, Snags, I agree with you, he needs PA...  but if you aren't going to give them to him, why have him up here?

Any predictions for moves today? 

[djsimp]

Looks like the Cubs continue to be all about pitching. After getting Quintana from White Sox, they pick up Justin Wilson and Alex Avila from Detroit. Now it seems the Cubs have entered into the Sonny Gray discussion.

[AUJarhead]

https://www.101sports.com/2017/07/31/mike-matheny-loses-yadier-molinas-loyalty-manager-danger-losing-clubhouse/

If Mike Matheny Loses Yadier Molina’s Loyalty, the Manager Is In Danger of Losing the Clubhouse
By Bernie Miklasz

In the hashing out of right and wrong, and rushing to choose sides, many bird watchers missed the most significant point to be pulled from the Yadier Molina vs. Mike Matheny controversy.

Even though Molina was wrong and Matheny was right in last week’s kerfuffle over Matheny’s decision to start rookie catcher Carson Kelly in  Thursday’s game against Arizona, it wasn’t a good look for Matheny to be called out and ambushed on social media by the Cardinals’ most senior player, established leader and venerated clubhouse presence.

Molina’s unjustified tantrum displayed a complete lack of respect for Matheny. I don’t care about Friday’s unified attempt to con fans and media by smoothing and spinning the startling unpleasantness between player and manager.

I think it’s alarming that Molina thought it was OK to publicly go after a manager who has been devotedly and unwaveringly loyal to the eight-time All-Star and eight-time gold glove winner.

It was even more disturbing that Molina chose to vent his anger on a social-media platform instead of having a private and frank discussion with Matheny.

What does this tell us?

A lot, unfortunately.

And none of it is good.

That’s my initial reaction.

You have to understand the way Matheny works to foster loyalty in the clubhouse. And yes, I’ve written and talked about this many times in the past. The insecure Matheny leans on veteran leaders to set the tone, and to keep other players in line.

Since taking over as a rookie manager (at any professional level) in 2012, Matheny’s  go-to guys have been left fielder Matt Holliday, pitcher Adam Wainwright and Molina.

As part of the unspoken deal, Matheny always has the veterans’ backs.

And in return, they’ve have his back.

Others on the team took note of the special treatment and double standards, but that didn’t change Matheny’s strategy on player relations.

If Holliday didn’t want to shag fly balls during batting practice, he didn’t shag balls during batting practice. Matheny wasn’t going to order him to do it. If Matheny didn’t have Molina in the lineup for a planned day of rest, Molina easily persuaded Matheny to rewrite that lineup after insisting that he felt fine and wanted to play.

Matheny has almost always allowed Molina to call the shots on playing time. Because of that, Molina has actually caught more innings (on a percentage basis) under Matheny than he caught with Tony La Russa as manager. That, despite Molina’s increasing age and punishment on his body.

The congenial Wainwright makes no demands, but Matheny has always counted on Waino to reinforce the manager’s messages to pitchers. When Matheny wanted a  younger Carlos Martinez to reduce the flair and flamboyance, Wainwright was the team elder who patiently pulled Martinez aside for quiet talks about professionalism.

Matheny lost an important deputy when Cardinals management declined to exercise Holliday’s contract option for 2017. Holliday has taken on a leadership role in his first season with the Yankees. Wainwright is a terrific leader of the pitching staff. Molina isn’t a speech-making guy; he is the classic example of a player who (pardon the cliche) leads by example. Fans and media are suckers for the Herb Brooks stuff, but action is more effective than the rah-rah.

But what kind of example does it set for the other Cardinals — especially the young players that have arrived from Triple A Memphis this season  — to see one of the greatest players in franchise history troll the manager on Instagram?

That’s crossing a line. And if Molina can do it, then it makes it easier for teammates to air their criticism of the manager … not necessarily in public, but among themselves. And internal negativity can be just as corrosive and damaging.

I see no reason to gloss over this. When Molina rips his manager in a public forum as the first option for communication, that tells me there’s a problem. It also leads me to believe that at least some of this players’ frustration with Matheny has been bubbling under the surface; Molina opened the steam valve.

It was a lousy thing for Molina to do to a manager (and an organization) that have treated the cherished catcher with unconditional respect. Respect, by the way, that Molina very much deserves. But what’s the limit on this? A manager isn’t allowed to tell reporters why he’s resting Molina?

After all:

— Molina was handed a three-year $60 million contract extension on opening day by a team that has a legitimately good catching prospect in place, Carson Kelly. And the Cardinals conveyed their loyalty and commitment to Molina in dollars,  in effect choosing to reward Molina over expediting the inevitable transition to Kelly. And the team recommitted to Molina  even though Yadier, 35, is well into his decline phase. Don’t get me wrong here; Molina remains a valuable asset for his defense, pitch selection, and guidance of pitchers.

No player remains elite forever. No player ever defeats age. Molina included. Molina has only 1.0 WAR this season which ranks tied for 18th among catchers with at least 200 plate appearances. His wRC+ of 81 is 19 percent below league averaged offensive. Molina has improved his throw-out rate in catching stealers. Thieves got the best of Molina and Cardinals pitchers for a steal success rate of 79.8 percent in 2016. This year, the stolen-base rate against Molina is 70 percent. But that’s still above his career rate of allowing 62 percent of runners to steal.

— As mentioned earlier, Molina is the boss of his own playing time, with Matheny almost always capitulating to Molina’s wishes. And maybe that’s part of the problem; Molina is so used to getting his way on these lineup decisions that he believes it’s his inalienable right to play as much as he wants. With Matheny as manager, Molina has been accorded the kind of unfettered respect that few MLB players can equal. No one in the majors  — even now — catches more than Molina. Once again he leads big-league catchers in games started and innings caught in 2017. Molina is on a pace to start 135 games, which would be his second-highest work load in a season since 2009. Last season Molina set a personal career high with 142 games started.

OK, so Matheny believed Molina was a little beat up and moving slower than usual and decided it was prudent to start Kelly last Thursday. So what? This ain’t a case for Amnesty International. If Molina already is erupting over a perceived slight — Kelly has been here for what, 11 minutes? — this doesn’t bode well for the future. This will be an uncomfortable situation. The Cardinals certainly had to realize this before extending their relationship with Molina. They’d better figure out a way to handle this sensitive and potentially explosive catching co-existence so all parties can move forward in relative peace. This team has enough issues to deal with without having to endure frequent disruptions over playing time at catcher between now and the end of the 2020 season.

— Matheny continues to bat Molina 5th, which is ridiculous.  That’s a sure sign of respect … yeah, misplaced respect. Molina’s wRC+ as a 5th place hitter is well below industry average. Only three MLB hitters have more plate appearances in the No. 5 hole than Molina this season; he ranks 33rd among 42 “five” hitters with an 86 wRC+ (minimum 100 PA.) Molina’s .723 OPS in the five slot ranks 34th. His ISO (isolated power) is 37th. And consider this: only two No. 5 hitters in the majors have left more runners on base than Molina (103) this season. With his 2016 hitting performance looking more and more like an outlier, Molina has reverted to 2015 range. His current wRC+ is a point above his 80 wRC+ 80 in ’15.

I’ll absolutely defend Matheny on this: he said nothing wrong. He did nothing that was even remotely improper. The Beloved Leader of Men did what he thought was best for Molina and the team by resting Yadi for a late-July game. Gee, what an atrocity. I don’t care about Matheny’s choice of words. He could have said Molina was tired, or banged up, or sore, or running a little low in the fuel tank.

Whatever. It all means the same thing. Matheny, the old catcher, believed that his catcher needed a breather.  This is EXACTLY what a manager is supposed to do. I have no idea why Matheny back-tracked on Friday by playing word games — protesting that he never said Molina was “tired.”  C’mon, Mike. You sat Molina. It doesn’t matter how you chose to describe it.

This is silly. Are you really so afraid of offending your catcher?

Molina’s snipe at Matheny was unwarranted.

It was interesting to see that five of Molina’s teammates — Dexter Fowler, Kolten Wong, Tommy Pham, Greg Garcia and Kevin Siegrist — “liked” Molina’s controversial post on Instagram.

If  Matheny loses Molina’s loyalty, he’s in real danger of losing the clubhouse.

Thanks for reading …

–Bernie

[Snaggletiger]

Put the issue of whether Matheny has been teh suxxors as a manager aside.  He has every right to make the decision to rest his 35 year old catcher every now and then.  Toughest, most physical position on the field by a long shot.  Are there teams that don't do that?  Asking seriously because it seems to me that from what I've seen, most teams will rotate in the back up to give the #1 a day off. 

Two problems I see here.  First, as the author said, you don't blast your manager on social media.  You go to him like a man and address whatever you see as a problem.  Second, and I'm assuming this was the case, it looks like Matheny made the decision without talking to Molina.  Not that Yadi had to approve it.  But it just seems like common sense to bring him in and say, "Look, I think we need to start giving you a day off now and then to keep you fresh and help you recover."  If that happens, no one is talking about this.

[Snaggletiger]

On Bravo trades, maybe closer Jim Johnson at the last minute.  I was thinking they'd likely deal Matt Kemp, especially now that they've plummeted after reaching .500.  But I believe Kemp is out with a hammy so I doubt anyone will jump on him.  He seems to be injury prone. 

[AUJarhead]

I liked it better when Colon pitched for the Braves.  It made the bitching much better.  We need a twins fan to join the board.

[GH2001]

I liked it better when Colon pitched for the Braves.  It made the bitching much better.  We need a twins fan to join the board.

Or a Browns or Jets fan. But that would be permanent.

[Snaggletiger]

It wasn't blockbuster craziness, but I think L.A. and the Yank Me's took a big step forward in pitching.  The Dodgers got Yu Darvish while the Bronx Bombers got Sonny Gray from Oakland. NY is still playing catch up to the Sox, who really needed some power in the line up. They didn't get it but got a really nice utility infielder in Eduardo Nunez and bullpen help in Addison Reed from the Mets. 

The Sox are my AL team that I started pulling for just to be the antithesis of the Steinbrenner Yankees years ago.  Always had that loveable Cubs, we'll never win one feel.  Have just hung with them so I could have an AL team to get behind.  Anyway, it looks like they're standing pat   I think they make the post season, but the addition of Gray and the power NY has, may put them in the wild card.

Now to L.A. I saw the stat that Hugh has against the NL in Interleague play.  Not impressive.  Don't care.  I think this move put the Dodgers in the WS.  The only real (perceived) competition is the Nats and their bullpen would never survive a 7 game series.  They have no chance against several NL teams.  The question now is how hot can the Cubs be, now back on track, come late September?   

[Buzz Killington]

I really don't see anyone stopping the Dodgers at this point.  They already looked unbeatable in a 5 or 7 game series, but now?  Get the brooms out Dodger fans.

[AUJarhead]

I really don't see anyone stopping the Dodgers at this point.  They already looked unbeatable in a 5 or 7 game series, but now?  Get the brooms out Dodger fans.

Don't be intimated by Kershaw in the playoffs. He's not unstoppable. 4-7 with a 4.55 era

[Buzz Killington]

I'm calling it now.  Dodgers and Yankees in the WS.  Write it down, take it to the bank, circle this day on your calendars.

[Godfather]

I'm calling it now.  Dodgers and Yankees in the WS.  Write it down, take it to the bank, circle this day on your calendars.

Done...Now what?

[Buzz Killington]

Now we dance!

[chinook]

I'm calling it now.  Dodgers and Yankees in the WS.  Write it down, take it to the bank, circle this day on your calendars.

wrong.

Nationals verses the Yankees.

[Snaggletiger]

Assthrows vs. Dodgers

[Godfather]

Patriots vs Cowboys

[Snaggletiger]

Patriots vs Cowboys

You may be on to something.

[AUJarhead]

Utah Jazz vs the Columbus Blue Jackets.