Frustrated Cardinals GM warns that no one's job is secure
Are the the St. Louis Cardinals a franchise in disarray?
Despite a disappointing start to the 2017 season, it’s still a little premature to say they’ve reached that state. But the urgency is palpable after general manager John Mozeliak announced several adjustments to manager Mike Matheny’s coaching staff and sternly warned that “no one should feel comfortable, including myself,'” during a Friday afternoon news conference.
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As part of the announced changes, third-base coach Chris Maloney will be reassigned within the organization, while Mike Shildt will move from quality control coach to third-base coach. Mark Budaska will take over as the assistant hitting coach, replacing Bill Mueller. Mueller had been away from the team after taking a recent leave of absence.
The Cardinals also made one notable change to the major league roster, designating veteran infielder Jhonny Peralta for assignment. He’ll be replaced by Kolten Wong, who was activated from the disabled list.
These moves really only amount to rearranging furniture. They’re certainly far from the types of moves that will satisfy frustrated fans. But internally they served as a wake up call before Mozeliak clearly stated that bigger changes can be expected if the Cardinals don’t turn their season around before the All-Star break.
“You cannot blow the whole thing up,” Mozeliak said of Friday’s moves. “But we had to do something different. I think the road trip definitely said we had to do something different. In our case, this was not working.
“Everybody is frustrated. This is not meeting our expectations.”
This all comes on the heels of an 0-7 road trip through Chicago and Cincinnati. As a result, the Cardinals return home Friday night at six games under .500, which is the worst record they’ve ever had with Matheny as manager.
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As Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch also notes, the Cardinals 26-32 record is their worst this late in the season since 2007. That’s worth mentioning because 2007 was the only losing season Cardinals fans have suffered through dating back to 2000.
That speaks to a lot of things. Most notably, it speaks to how remarkably consistent and competitive the Cardinals have remained for nearly two decades. Losing is simply not an option for this franchise, and now that they’re threatening to let this season get away it’s forcing them to honestly assess themselves and address questions that aren’t typically on the table.
"Are you a playoff team? Well playoff teams do well in all facets of the game. As I stand here right now we're coming up short." — Mozeliak
— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) June 9, 2017
"No we're not against (a rebuild). The right way to think about it is we're going to take 4-6 weeks to see where we are." — Mozeliak
— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) June 9, 2017
While another wave of changes might not be considered imminent, the Cardinals are clearly entering uncharted and perhaps even uncomfortable territory for the current regime.
Mozeliak offered no endorsements or votes of confidence on Friday. Instead, he effectively put everyone on the hot seat, including Matheny. That means the Cardinals have to start winning, and they have to start winning soon, or else disarray may finally find its way to Busch Stadium.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
