From the press conference today, Matheny gets a 3 year extension and Carp officially retires, but will remain with the team in some yet to be decided role.

Good, I think he will be great working with the pitching staff.

Pinging Hamas............

Matheny gets extension through 2017......

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colum...815eec556.html

The Cardinals made an obvious and natural move Wednesday, giving manager Mike Matheny a contract extension that runs through the end of the 2017 season.

GM John Mozeliak's decision to take a chance on Matheny instead of hiring an experienced big-league manager two years ago has worked out better than most anyone expected.

This wasn't a good hire by Mozeliak.

It was a great hire.

Matheny and the Cardinals are an ideal fit.

I think I'd take Matheny over someone who's greatest asset appears to be bilingual.

Oquendo?

I agree - I didn't want Jose either.

But I loved (and still love) Francona and Sandberg. I think either of those guys would've been great hires.

Rick Renteria.

I still can't believe the way the Cubs shit on Sandberg. There must be more to that that we don't know.

I don't practice Renteria.

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Making it to the WS with a shaky in-game manager put the team in a bad sport WRT: his contract. I can live with it, but they need a better bench coach than Aldrete.

Matheny has proven to be a poor strategist w/ Aldrete, so if you're keeping Matheny for the benefits he possibly brings (chemistry and clubhouse, I'm guessing), what does Aldrete offer other than continuity? How often did it seem like the Cardinals were truly thinking a few steps ahead?

As much as I love what Epstein has been doing with building the Cubs farm system, in the short time he's been around, I think he follows the "Pioli family tree model" of hiring.

He quickly told Sandberg to **** off because he wanted a mlb experienced manager. Then he hired Sveum, who, iirc, only had minimal "experience" as a manager. And now he went out and hired a manager from the same tree that has jack shit for experience and brings his fluent spanish to the table... WOOOHOOO!!!

Well back to the drawing board, fellas. Profar and Andrus are off the table.

Time to call the Cubs again and see if Castro can be had.

Oh, and please, for the love of all things sacred, put a call in to Peralta's agent so we can get him signed to play SS or take over at 3b if we get a better option. Do something to build up some negotiating leverage with the rest of baseball please.

Given what we'd have to pay Andrus and give up for Profar, I just can't bring myself to be too bereft over this happening.

So you'd rather give up a first rounder for Drew? Roll with Kozma?

I've not heard boo about the Cardinals going after Peralta.

Moe ****ed up the position when he didn't go after Escobar, Lowrie or even Hardy over the last 3 seasons when they could've been had cheap. Now the solution, whatever it may be, is going to hurt.

And one more option we had as leverage just dried up.

Sorry, but this sucks. It sucks pretty badly, IMO.

Screw that. Why would we give up prospects that will be used agaisnt us for at least 6 years for an underperforming bad attitude player?

No way this happens. Move on DJ.

No Matheny meltdown?

Escobar was a garbage ass, disrespectful mother****er and absolutely toxic in the clubhouse. He had a career year last year. Bemoaning Mozeliak for not pursuing him is revisionist history. We had enough Felipe Lopez-esque dickheads in the past.

I'm with you on the pursuit of Hardy. I've been banging that drum for two years. But the truth is that for all of Profar's perceived value, the Rangers decided to keep Andrus at short for the next eight years. That's not an insignificant statement, and they wanted a lot for either one, and Elvis would provide little-to-no surplus value with that contract.

You can plug that hole for a few years with a Peralta, Erick Aybar, or buy low on Assdribble Cabrera.