POLITASPORTS

The Cardinals needed to make this move as much, if not more, than Vegas needed to move on from their coach. A couple weeks ago I compared Shildt, to Shrute from the Office. From his look, to his demeanor he comes across as ignorantly confident as his fictional twin. Tell me you can’t picture everyone from his players to his assistants urging him not to make the move to Reyes; “ahh, skip, maybe we consider letting T.J. finish this inning off?” or perhaps: “Shilly, want to send in Whitley to get us to the top of the 10th, he may be the best we have left against Taylor?” And Dwight Shildt responding with a hard “FALSE, Reyes is our best option, he was an All-Star, remember?” Yes, incredible as it is to comprehend, Reyes made the 2021 All-Star team. It is what he had done since the break that mattered. Posting a 6+ ERA and blowing 3 saves in August alone. Shildt, made the move to switch closers at the end of Aug just before the Birds went on their historic run; therefore, the question “why would you use a closer in a ‘lose n you leave’ game that you didn’t trust down the stretch?” is legitimate. Why Reyes? He wasn’t the last man standing, Shildt had other options. The Cardinals went on a great and exhilarating run to squeeze in to that final spot, but the fact they needed a never-before-seen September stretch to clinch the last spot in the playoffs shouldn’t give Shildt a pass, and fortunately, it didn’t.

The Cardinals back in 2018 promoted Shildt to manager from “interim manager” before the conclusion of the season. The Birds played better down the stretch that year, but that isn’t uncommon in such situations. Shildt rewarded the move with a pretty good 2019 winning the Central with 91 wins. That season concluded with getting swept out of the NLCS to the eventual World Series Champs Nationals. Not awe inspiring by any stretch. The next season was of course the world’s favorite year, 2020. In the MLB shortened season the Birds barely managed to stay above .500 and got into the Wild Card round. When there were quickly dispatched by the Padres. This past season, if not for the magical September run, the were teetering at or below .500, instead they managed a historical finish and won 90 games, one shy of Shildt’s first season high. They then lost to the Dodgers. And Shildt’s very poor decision played a very large role in the loss. This firing should not be a shock to anyone, and especially Red Bird fans. This should be considered a positive sign that the organization, unlike its fans, are not content with medium.

Who should the Cardinals hire? This is always a conundrum at the professional level. Put your chips in the middle on a potential wunderkind, a seasoned coach (bench, batting, pitching, 1st or 3rd base, etc), or a re-tread manager? In every sport, these are the options, the NFL and NBA (not so much NHL and MLB) also add a fourth tier “the exciting college coach” with mixed results. What should be the Cardinals’ focus? Finding the next great manager? Rewarding a long tenured fixture? Turning another team’s trash into treasure? There are no current names that jump off the page, not in my eyes. The list of re-treads is always longest and includes many fixtures, non of which should inspire Red Bird Nation.

1. Bruce Bochy: 3 Time WSC, Career under .500 WP, Out of Baseball 2 years (ret).
2. Mike Scioscia: Another manager in his 60’s that kept a job a long time because of One WS win. His greatest managerial achievement the ten years is a 2nd place finish in Tokyo. At least he has an above .500 WP.
3. Buck Showalter: Please NO.
4. Bruce Ausmus: Small sample, only 5 years, but a .478 WP doesn’t make the splash you’d like in a new hire.
5. Paul Molitor: Not sure if he belongs in “re-tread” section as he has only one short stint as a manager. His few years with the Twins. He wasn’t a great run, but it was his first, maybe this HOF player deserves another go-round?

The next group are the coaches. There have been some that have made the jump and found success, others, not so much. Here is a group that consists of both younger “up and comers” and baseball lifers that have never had a seat at the helm. Which direction should the club take? Give a lifer a chance? Open the door to a competent young hitting coach? Here are some potential candidates in this group, including one or two that may be worth a shot.

1. Jay Bell: A former player that has served as coach for several years with several organizations. He also has some managerial experience below the MLB level. It is an intriguing proposition. He is younger, but not young young (mid 50’s). Though his Double and Triple A manager record doesn’t jump off the page.
2. Ron Washington: He could almost be in the “re-tread” category being a former manager. He is currently the 3rd base coach of the Braves. The call to send Rosario in game 2 alone should at least get him interviewed for one of the vacancies this off season. He is up there in years, and for the Birds shouldn’t be given any real consideration. The Cardinals need a manager that will be there for the foreseeable future, not a stop-gap manager.
3. Jose Oquendo: He has been with the Cardinals for a long time. Serving in many capacities, but not as manager. He has interviewed for several open manager positions including when St. Louis chose Matheny. One has to wonder why no team has offered him a chance? He currently has a front office role, and that may be what suites him best.
4. Mark Kotsay: A young former player that has been a coach with two different organizations (Padres and A’s). This would garner some questions, but his balance of having played along with learning the new analytics approach with the A’s may be something to build on. I believe the Birds need to look at youth and take a swing.

This of course leads us to the last group, the young, hopefully, wunderkinds. As in the other groups there may be some overlap, but here you’re taking a chance a much lesser known comodity. I’m not against either group B (coaches) or C (higher risk hopefuls). But I am firmly against group A (plucking from the coaching carousel). I’ll suggest 3 options, all have ties to the organization, and one coming from waaaay out of left field.

1. Carlos Beltran: He managed to go from Hated to Loved by Cardinals faithful. His brief stint with the Birds produced some nice moments in the Playoffs including during the 2013 World Series. Beltran was actually hired to be the manager of the Mets before getting caught up in the Astros scandal. It would be something to see the one time “Cardinals Killer” lead them.
2. Skip Schumaker: Another player that has significant Cardinals connections, including a World Series title in 2011 (he got a ring for the first championship though he was not on the post season roster in 2006). He has been a coach for the Padres the last few seasons, including being their associate manager. He is garnering other considerations and the Birds would be foolish to not give him an interview.
3. John Smoltz: His ties are pretty loose, having spent less than half of one season late in his career with the Cardinals. He has spent his post playing days in the broadcast booth. As an analyst and commentator he has shown considerable knowledge. His time as both a starter and reliever could help any teams complete rotation. This would be out of the box for sure, but it would be interesting.

I would place Skip, Bell, and Beltran at the top of my list. I’d rather take a chance on youth than hire a re-tread with a losing record.