Same Old Same Old

Same Old Same Old

On Wednesday, my daughter called to ask what was up with the Astros in game seven of the World Series, before the seventh-inning collapse.  “Why warm up Gerrit Cole if he’s never appeared in relief?” Clare wanted to know.  I suggested it might be a case of the Astros playing mind games, if nothing else.  The Nationals might get spooked, I said, seeing Cole heating up in the bullpen.  Unlike Houston manager A.J. Hinch, I either would’ve used Cole or used a different relief combination from the one that gave up four runs, thus giving Washington, D.C., its first World Series championship since 1924.

I try to think outside the box if for no other reason inside the box is so crowded.  Some of that approach to things has rubbed off on Clare, I think.  Today, I found out she’s looking into a part-time job evaluating college-hopeful athletes.  If anyone could find the next Mike Trout in the furthest reaches of Boo-foo, it would be Clare.

Not that a major-league team like the Royals would care.  No, they’re too busy hiring Mike Matheny to be their next manager.  You remember Matheny.  He’s the guy who made Boston’s John Farrell look like a genius in the 2013 World Series, and he’s the guy who employed a clubhouse spy shortly before the Cardinals fired him in 2018.

So, what exactly was Kansas City looking for in its next manager?  In-game strategist?  Nope.  Paranoid skipper?  Check.  You have to wonder if anyone in the Royals’ front office noticed how the decline of the Cardinals coincided with the hiring of Joe Maddon by the Cubs.  Once Maddon got the North Siders going, it was goodnight, St. Louis.  Also notice how the Cardinals’ resurgence coincided with Matheny’s firing.  Really, what were the Royals looking for in a manager?

I mean, other than that it had to be a guy?