They were saying these things when the first whisper of Matt Adams in left field was uttered out of Mike Matheny's mouth. When I said smoke usually leads to fire, I was told I was worrying over nothing.
The whisper has reached Puerto Rico in the WBC fever pitch. If unfamiliar, think World Series Game 7 loud.
Today in the Post Dispatch we were all treated to an article with Mike Matheny musing about how Matt Adams offense is such that it will spark the lineup. Defense is shaky out there, but "that bat plays."
2017 Batting Stats:
A G PA AB H RBI BB SO BA SLG OPS OPS+
7 17 14 2* 1 3 7 143 143 437 24
BsR BB% K% OBP WAR ISO wRC+
0.0 17.6 41.2 294 -0.1 000 37
*2 singles
B G PA AB H RBI BB SO BA SLG OPS OPS+
9 34 33 7* 5 1 11 212 424 660 73
BsR BB% K% OBP WAR ISO wRC+
0.0 2.9 32.4 235 0.0 212 73
*2 home runs, 1 double, 4 singles
C G PA AB H RBI BB SO BA SLG OPS OPS+
6 10 8 4* 1 2 1 500 625 1.225 232
BsR BB% K% OBP WAR ISO wRC+
0.0 20 10 600 0.2 125 230
*1 double, 3 singles
After you've let those numbers sink in, I'll tell you Player A is Matt Adams, Player B is Randal Grichuk, and Player C is Jose Martinez.
Small sample size disclaimer aside, I think you'll see some numbers stand out more than others and overall, our two players looking the most positive offensively here are Grichuk and Martinez. None of them are playing necessarily their best just yet, but quite frankly, we have few that are (here's looking at you Diaz, Molina and finally Piscotty!!).
Seeing time in left field should be Grichuk followed by Martinez. In a dire emergency, which means multiple injuries to our outfielders, Adams can have a go. In no way does he deserve a platoon opportunity in left field. Matheny mentioned an idyllic notion for him was Wednesday. Those lineup shenanigans not only included sitting our 3 RBI leaders and 2 home run leaders, but starting Matt Adams so he could get his 3 at bats, allowing Grichuk to be a defensive replacement later in the game. Adams went hitless with 2 strikeouts. Grichuk came into the game and got a single.
Grichuk has done nothing to warrant a platoon situation. We all know the woes of last season, as many won't let us forget them. However, when allowed to play daily, strikeouts or not, he was on fire. He ended the year with 24 home runs and 68 runs batted in, with 56 of his 107 hits being extra base hits.
Adams has never hit more than 17 home runs and has never had 56 extra base hits in a single year.
Defensively, after 4 seasons/248 games, Grich has 8 errors and 13 defensive runs saved.
Adams, after 6 seasons/368 games, has 24 errors and 12 defensive runs saved.
Again, the comparisons are not in Matt's favor.
Left field is a completely new position for Matt Adams. I, in no way whatsoever, blame Matt for any of this nonsense. He is simply playing the game. It's unfortunate for him, but there is simply no comparing the athleticism and outfield playing abilities of Adams and Grichuk.
A major plus Adams has is his pinch hitting ability. Power off the bench is where it's at with him. Again, unfortunately, Matheny is doing his best to ruin this skill as well. In 2 PH opportunities this season, Adams has struck out. His mind is so focused on learning a completely new position, it's honestly a wonder to me he has a hit at all.
Matheny is not putting Adams in a place to succeed. At the same time, he is taking Grichuk out of a place to succeed. He is singlehandedly ruining the confidence of two players at one time for one position. Not to mention the fact that he has killed Kolten's confidence over there at 2B, completely misused Greg Garcia and done everything to build up confidence of a veteran who doesn't seem to have the drive anymore in Peralta. Don't even get me started on bullpen management.
Matheny knows adversity well. He provides it often to people of his choosing. There have been many along the way, but currently the guys facing it on this team are Grichuk, Kolten, Jose and Greg (a smidgen). None of these players are being treated fairly. Everyone aside from Matheny knows it. It's sad to think that Grichuk wasn't told of his move to left field possibly because of this...maybe they knew all along he wasn't going to be given the spot. And here, all the while, there's been uproar over a platoon at 2B.
Think if you're Grichuk, watching your best friend get a 6 year extension to be part of the new core, while you fight to simply have a position. How would it feel seeing that Matt Adams has 4 starts at "your" position to your 5 on the season? How easy is it to be elite at your position, as you said you're striving to be, when you're not even allowed to play it every day?
Think if you're Jose, so grateful to be invited to the 25 man, only to be passed up a first baseman for time in the outfield when injuries occur. You were asked to be the 4th outfielder and even though an injury occurred, you've still only racked up 10 plate appearances.
I've written at length about Kolten, but the mind games persist between he and Matheny. He has already sat when facing a right handed pitcher, only to come into a game in the bottom of the 9th with 2 outs to face a lefty. Too twisted for color tv.
With Greg Garcia, it is all about the plays and the OBP. The guy either gets hit by a pitch, walks or hits almost every plate appearance. In 12 plate appearances, he has 3 walks, a single and stolen base with a .500 OBP. Not to mention, his play at 3B is highlight reel worthy. Of course, after an amazing play, the other day that had Dan McLaughlin and Jim Edmonds raving in the booth, he once again sat on the bench to watch some more of the game he loves with a prime dugout view.
Matheny makes such an incredible amount of questionable decisions on the daily that it's hard to keep up with. I don't know how it's possible to phone a lineup in on a Wednesday that is definitely the "get away day" Sunday lineup and be alright with that. We're 9 games into the season, sitting at a record of 3-6, good for last place in our division. Few teams are playing worse than we are, and one is already discussing a fire sale in July (Toronto). Are we at that point? No. Should we be? Absolutely not. Saying that though, it's not even close to a time for a Sunday lineup, even on a Sunday. We've had 3 days off in less than 2 weeks and the majority of players we put on the field on a daily basis are 30 and under. If they need more than 3 days off in 2 weeks, I question them being professional athletes. Our players don't need the days off and don't want the days off, for the most part. I realize it's a long season and days off aren't always so close together, but if we had a steady, consistent lineup with built in days off, say one a week for the normal 8 on the field, we'd be playing better, in my extremely humble opinion.
After reading the article about Matheny today, then listening to his interview with Mark Saxon, I was infuriated. I won't lie about that. I was baseball infuriated, as there are numerous other things in life that can be infuriating. I love my Cardinals though, and watching Matheny smile while he discusses an imaginary offensive threat that has to be in the lineup was more than frustrating. A manager should be capable of tactical decisions based on analyzing all of the data in front of him in addition to the old eye test. This alleged bat that has to be in the lineup should fail all of those methods of deciding who to write in the lineup every day.
I'm not against Matt Adams. Please read my other posts about him as I don't want to get off topic here, especially since this is already 6 hours worth of reading material. I only want to reaffirm how I'm not anti Adams. I feel for the guy during this whole debacle.
You may have read my post "Vow Renewal" earlier this week. It's been a rough couple weeks as a Cards fan, but the team and I are still close. A lot of love here. Honestly, we're practically in the honeymoon phase after Wednesday's win. It was just what the doctor ordered...a shot of optimism and hope. A glimpse at what could be.
The team and I are fine.
Matheny and I are done. This latest escapade into the land of crazy decisions where logic is apparently lost forever has severed our ties. He is impossibly stubborn and that is the kindest description of him I have left. When he gets this way, typically Mo has to swoop in and take someone out of the picture. Although, with the play over the past two weeks and with this entire Adams-in-left-field menagerie of bad decisions, I sometimes wonder if Mo is paying any attention.
I'm still very hopeful for our season. I don't know how long I can handle this Adams issue and remain hopeful. Every day, I wish for there to be a positive change in all of this...for the Cardinals world to be firing on all cylinders again. Matheny has finally found a way to make me question our team's ability to rise up, soar and win. I stayed strong, finally starting to falter last year. Today's article and interview pushed me over the border. I can't reconcile any of this with logic or reason and I'm done trying to find the logic and reason as far as he is concerned. Those attributes left this particular building a long time ago.
The Cardinals know my heart is with them. I'm not going anywhere. I'm always here to stay as their fan.
Splitsville is where Matheny and I wound up today. It's been a treacherous road to get here.
April 4, 2012-April 13, 2017. That's about as long as anyone could expect I guess.
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