Mike Matheny heard about what Jason Heyward said about the Cardinals -- and he doesn't like it.Matheny saw Heyward's comments from when he was introduced by the Cubs at a press conference this past week, and intepreted them as Heyward thinking the Cardinals were somehow lesser than Heyward's new team, which he joined in free agency after signing an eight-year, $184 million contract (with two buyouts).In the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Matheny was quoted as saying:"I don't think it's going to ring too well with our club." What did Heyward say? That many of the teammates who introduced him to the Cardinals when they acquired him from the Braves in a trade before the 2015 season probably would not be around for much longer, and that it would be tough for him (mentally and emotionally) to enjoy playing for St. Louis without them. The likes of Yadier Molina, Matt Holliday and Adam Wainwright, he meant, would be gone. The likes of Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Addison Russell and friends are just getting started. Matheny seemed to take Heyward's words as being denigrating to Cards' personnel:
"I told Jason this before. I've got a lot of respect for Jason as a person. He's got to go make the decisions he's going to have to live with. If that (core group comparison) is a big deal to him, he's just being honest with people. "But I don't think we have anything to apologize for in having a group like a Holliday, a Molina, a Wainwright. Those are the kinds of guys everybody wants on a club. "I see where he's coming from. I mean, look at what Chicago's done. It's very unique in this game — to have that many impact players at that young age. And he's a young player. But I can't say I'm in any kind of agreement with that (Chicago) core being better than any kind of core that we have. "That veteran group (that the Cardinals have) also helps drive what the younger group turns into.” "I don't blame him. But I don't like it. I thought we created a really good atmosphere and he had to weigh what was most important to him." Continuing, Matheny offered, “Say if we hadn't won. ... That would have made a difference. Say if we hadn't created an atmosphere where he was a major part of what we're doing. ... Neither of those is true. "Say we hadn't made an offer. We made a terrific offer. With all that being said, it comes down to what does a guy want? (Staying in St. Louis) just wasn't what he was looking for."Is Matheny being fair in his response? Or is he just reflexively standing up for his own guys, while perhaps chewing up a few sour grapes over being outbid for Heyward by their top rivalCheck out the entirety of Heyward's response, via the Chicago Tribune, before deciding:
"Being 26 and knowing my contract would probably put me in any clubhouse longer than most people there, you have to look at age, you have to look at how fast the team is changing and how soon those changes may come about," he said of leaving the Cardinals. "You have Yadier, who is going to be done in two years maybe. You have Matt Holliday, who is probably going to be done soon. "There were already moves with Jon Jay gone, and then Tony Cruz, and Wainwright is probably going to be done in three or four years. I think that's when his contract is up. Not to say he won't play any longer, but guys like that are what really introduced me to the St. Louis Cardinals organization. I felt like if I was to look up in three years and see a completely different team, that would kind of be difficult. "Chicago really offers an opportunity to come into the culture and be introduced to the culture by a young group of guys. Grow up with them and still watch myself grow up and have some fun with some familiar faces for a long time."Nowhere does Heyward discount the ability of the Cardinals organization to regenerate itself once the "core group" of current stars have gone away. It's just that the core in Chicago is hitting its stride now. Would Heyward be a lonely superstar among an extended rebuilding operation in three years? The Cardinals have shown an uncanny ability to re-load on the fly over the past 15 years, so Heyward might be underselling them in that respect. Even that could be explained away by Heyward having a simple fear of the unknown. But nowhere does Heyward say "a Holliday, a Molina, a Wainwright" aren't the kinds of guys he wants on a team. He says the opposite of that, in fact.Matheny seems more interested in creating a subtext of motivation for the coming season (bulletin-board material) than being 100 percent true to what Heyward really said. But that's what managers are for.David Brown/CBS Sports
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