Cardinals manager Mike Matheny is ready for a fight in the NL Central again
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Winning any division in baseball isn’t easy, but winning the best division in baseball, the NL Central, that’s something else. And St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny knows that all too well.
His Cardinals won 100 games last season, the most of any team in the game, more than any team in the American League, and they still only won their division by two games.
The Pittsburgh Pirates won 98 games. The Chicago Cubs won 97. All three made the playoffs and, this far into the offseason, there’s no reason to think those thee won’t be duking it out again for playoff spots and a division title again next season.
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The Cardinals, though, are the team with the biggest target on their back. That’s what happens when you’ve won three straight division titles and made the playoffs in six of the last seven years. It’s why the Chicago Cubs went out and swiped one of St. Louis’ pitchers in free agency (John Lackey, who the Cubs signed for two years and $32 million) and why they lined up a big trade and $56 million to land one of the top free agents on the market in Ben Zobrist.
The Cubs are coming. Baseball knows. The Cardinals know it. And Matheny most certainly knows it.
“Made some big moves,” Matheny said of the Cubs on Wednesday during his Q & A session at the MLB Winter Meetings. “There’s a few teams who have made some strong moves, and that doesn’t surprise us at all.”
That means the climb to the top of the division is going to be harder in 2016.
“It all comes down to competing, and we look forward to the fact that you’re going to have to earn it,” Matheny said. “If you’re going to win the division in the Central, you’re going to have some scars and some bruises. You’re going to know you’re in a fight. I anticipate that’s the way it’s going to be, and I would hope that’s how they view us as well.”
Before the battle starts on the field, the Cubs and Cards might actually be fighting first for a free agent. Re-signing outfielder Jason Heyward is one of St. Louis’ offseason priorities. There’s been talk that he wants a 10-year deal, perhaps worth more than $200 million. Would the Cardinals pay that? Hard to say, but here’s another question: Would the Cubs?
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Chicago still has money to spend and a need in the outfield, but after committing $88 million already to Lackey and Zobrist, would they jump into the rich Heyward market? Also hard to say, especially this time of year, when everything changes so quickly. But we know the Cubs, like the Cardinals, are reportedly interested in Heyward.
“At this point,” Matheny said of Heyward, “to put on the hard sale pitch, it’s a waste of time. I’ve had all of spring training and the season and postseason to show him what we’re about, and we’ve stayed in close contact all year. It’s been an honor and a pleasure to get to know him as a person and realize that he’s in a spot right now to make a tough decision … He’s in a good spot to figure out what’s best for him as we’re trying to figure out what’s best for us also.”
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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
