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Hannibal, MO —
Tony LaRussa has retired and Albert Pujols is a Los Angeles Angel.
But they’re not leaving St. Louis just yet.
They’ll still be there in conversation and comparison.
Think about it. There’s going to be a point during the season where the Cardinals go into a slump, a point where Mike Matheny makes a rookie managing mistake and a point where people raise questions and wrinkle their foreheads in uncertainty.
It happens every year.
Now I’m not saying this is going to be a bad thing. After all, the Cardinals adding Carlos Beltran and moving Lance Berkman to first base still makes St. Louis a powerhouse — I’m just saying it’s unavoidable. As good as Beltran and Berkman are, if they don’t knock out home runs when expected or do something spectacular in the field, the Pujols comparisons are going to be pouring in. Same thing’s going to happen if Matheny brings in the wrong pitcher out of the bullpen, uses the wrong pinch hitter or doesn’t properly align outfielders.
And it’s not the St. Louis faithful who are going to do this. Cardinal fans are going to be very understanding to the fact that this is a new era of Cardinals baseball. Pujols is gone, Matheny is a rookie manager; Cardinal fans are still going to support their team no matter what.
The folks who will be beating a dead horse on this subject will be the former players on the TV networks that are courteously titled as “analysts.” Mark my words, you’re going to see guys like Harold Reynolds, John Kruk, Mitch Williams and Dan Plesac have a few things to say about the Cardinals being without Pujols and LaRussa.
It won’t be fair because the team should be judged and analyzed with who they have, but just to have something to debate over and tweet about, subjects about the Cardinals will involve LaRussa and Pujols for the entire 162-game season. And if the Cardinals make the playoffs — which they should have no problem in doing — the comparisons will only heat up from there.
Of course, I hope I’m wrong, but if it’s happening now with baseball not even being played, just wait for the season to begin.
Tony LaRussa has retired and Albert Pujols is a Los Angeles Angel.
But they’re not leaving St. Louis just yet.
They’ll still be there in conversation and comparison.
Think about it. There’s going to be a point during the season where the Cardinals go into a slump, a point where Mike Matheny makes a rookie managing mistake and a point where people raise questions and wrinkle their foreheads in uncertainty.
It happens every year.
Now I’m not saying this is going to be a bad thing. After all, the Cardinals adding Carlos Beltran and moving Lance Berkman to first base still makes St. Louis a powerhouse — I’m just saying it’s unavoidable. As good as Beltran and Berkman are, if they don’t knock out home runs when expected or do something spectacular in the field, the Pujols comparisons are going to be pouring in. Same thing’s going to happen if Matheny brings in the wrong pitcher out of the bullpen, uses the wrong pinch hitter or doesn’t properly align outfielders.
And it’s not the St. Louis faithful who are going to do this. Cardinal fans are going to be very understanding to the fact that this is a new era of Cardinals baseball. Pujols is gone, Matheny is a rookie manager; Cardinal fans are still going to support their team no matter what.
The folks who will be beating a dead horse on this subject will be the former players on the TV networks that are courteously titled as “analysts.” Mark my words, you’re going to see guys like Harold Reynolds, John Kruk, Mitch Williams and Dan Plesac have a few things to say about the Cardinals being without Pujols and LaRussa.
It won’t be fair because the team should be judged and analyzed with who they have, but just to have something to debate over and tweet about, subjects about the Cardinals will involve LaRussa and Pujols for the entire 162-game season. And if the Cardinals make the playoffs — which they should have no problem in doing — the comparisons will only heat up from there.
Of course, I hope I’m wrong, but if it’s happening now with baseball not even being played, just wait for the season to begin.
