Book Comments (SLN) — Mike Matheny became the youngest manager to win the pennant since Ozzie Guillen in 2005, and is still just the third-youngest skipper in baseball. If things work out, Matheny could be around a long time. That would be part of a pattern in St. Louis. No team has had a longer streak of prominent managers. Aside from a half-season of Mike Jorgensen and a few weeks of interim duty from franchise stalwart Red Schoendienst, the last 30-plus years have been Whitey Herzog, Joe Torre, Tony LaRussa and now Matheny. In each of his seasons, his squads have been among the least likely to issue intentional walks. He’s willing to use young players, as he showed by going to a rookie closer late in the year and Michael Wacha late in the season and in October. The 2013 Cardinals were the best team in recent years at turning double plays. They were second overall to Minnesota in double plays (178 to 177) but the Twins put on more baserunners. Using a rough measure of double-play chances (1B+BB+HBP-SH) the Cardinals turned a double play in 12.5 percent of their opportunities to do so, the best by any team since 2005. Matheny leaned heavily on his starters. His main eight position players tallied three-fourths of the St. Louis plate appearances, the most by any NL team in the 2010s so far.

Book Comments (SLN) — Tony La Russa’s first season in St. Louis was a major success. The future Hall of Fame manager led the Cardinals to 88 regular-season wins and a chance to clinch a World Series berth at home in Game Five of the NLCS before losing three straight in ignominious fashion. Sound familiar? Taking over the defending world champions, or replacing a living legend, or propelling a team forward without their franchise player, or managing one of the league’s cornerstones without a single day’s experience running a clubhouse would be daunting tasks individually. That Mike Matheny was successful while taking on all these challenges at once is a signal achievement. Despite a rash of injuries, particularly in the rotation, Matheny showed flexibility in sorting through his various options, and more often than not he put his players in a position to succeed. While it occasionally felt as if the new skipper was learning on the job, especially early in the season, it’s clear the Cardinals are in good hands. It took La Russa six more playoff runs after that 1996 disappointment to finally win a championship in a St. Louis uniform. Cardinals fans are hoping Matheny won’t mimic his predecessor in that way, too.

Book Comments (SLN) — This space was to be a dispassionate, reasoned analysis of Game 5 of the 2011 World Series, a managerial quagmire of such breadth and depth that it might never be fully explained or understood. That plan changed somewhat after the Cardinals rallied to win the final two games of the Series and the championship, Tony La Russa’s second title in St. Louis and the third of his career. And that plan changed again, more dramatically, when La Russa announced his retirement the day after the Cardinals celebrated their 11th title with a parade through downtown St. Louis. La Russa’s legacy is unquestioned, starting with his rank of third on the all-time list of managerial victories. He revolutionized the way teams utilized relief pitchers, hit his pitchers eighth in the lineup, and offered explanations that reminded you why you don’t much like lawyers. He changed pitchers with maddening frequency, stood the concept of what makes a good two-hole hitter on its head, and railed against “Moneyball.” Mostly, La Russa won ballgames with teams that always came prepared and always played hard, a comprehensive technology that would serve any manager well, no matter his philosophy. Former Cards catcher Mike Matheny, who has never managed at any level, faces a daunting task in living up to La Russa's legacy.