St. Louis Cardinals: La Russa Praises Matheny as Mozeliak's "Best Baseball Move Ever"

John Mozeliak and Mike Mathney have the St. Louis
Cardinals flying in the right direction. Photo credit CBS 

by Steve Painter

Tony La Russa will be the first to say he didn't create greatness on the diamond by himself. He always credits those around him - owners, front office staff and clubhouse personnel. That's a trait that good leaders and successful people share, by the way. But make no mistake, TLR does not suffer fools or lesser minds with grace.

He expects himself to be near flawless, and he looks to others and expects the same effort. Remember the Pujols incident in 2010? He let Albert know in no uncertain terms that he knows how to (expletive) manage. Make no mistake, La Russa was in charge when in the dugout or clubhouse, it was his team and he was the captain.

And many may have wondered when he retired, about the decision that GM John Mozeliak made when Mike Matheny was hired to replace him. After all, TLR has had a Hall of Fame career, and replacing him figured to be a difficult task for the Cards and their built in high expectations. These expectations were the result of TLR's success during his years in St. Louis. It's an expectation that is shared by both the Cards and their fan base.

You wonder what TLR thought of the Matheny hire. Matheny, after all, had no experience managing a team or clubhouse and many were concerned about that fact. But Mozeliak made the hire, although he did hedge his decision by only giving Matheny a 2 year deal, and only paid him less than 20% of what La Russa made. That said, Cards brass liked Matheny's presence and his work ethic.

Last Sunday, TLR stated publicly what he thinks about the situation during a baseball writers dinner.

He said, "It was a very perceptive decision on Mo's part." He went on, "I really think Mo understands - and some people do not - the importance of the right clubhouse atmosphere, which involves respect and trust. He wanted to hand that off to someone who was part of it, even though Mike had not been a manager or coach."

He also said that it was Mozeliak's best baseball move ever.

This praise by one of baseball's best managers in history resonated with Matheny and Mozeliak both. Mozeliak said their relationship had to grow since his time started in St. Louis in 2007. Matheny was effusive upon hearing what TLR said, saying, "When you hear one of the greatest managers of all time pay a compliment to the organization, to Mo and to myself, that's something I don't just dismiss. I also realize that he knows, too, that I walked into a very good situation here and it's something I'm very, very grateful for. And he knows, too, that I've got a long way to go."

Matheny is definitely a player's coach, always deflecting credit and accepting blame. If he has a flaw, it may be showing loyalty for struggling players.

So, with his winning results, Matheny's contract now extends through 2017. And now, we know what TLR thinks about his replacement, because of a rarified compliment from one of the best managers ever.