St. Louis Cardinals to Name Mike Matheny, Not Terry Francona, New Manager

by Ricky Doyle on Sun, Nov 13, 2011 at 7:06PM

Terry Francona won't be taking his talents to St. Louis.

The Cardinals plan to name former catcher Mike Matheny, who spent five years with the club from 2000-2004, as their new manager, the team announced on Sunday. Matheny will be formally introduced as the club's skipper at a news conference at Busch Stadium on Monday at 11 a.m. CT.

The 41-year-old takes over at his new job without any prior managerial experience. He did enjoy a 13-year career as a catcher, though, during which he played for the Brewers, Blue Jays and Giants, in addition to the Cardinals.

Francona was among those to also interview for the position, but St. Louis ultimately went with Matheny, which SI.com's Jon Heyman expects to be a popular decision within the organization. Heyman reports that the Cardinals players and pitching coach Dave Duncan "love" Matheny and that he's viewed as the "ultimate leader."

Now that St. Louis' managerial position is filled, we could see an increase in speculation when it comes to Francona potentially joining Theo Epstein in Chicago.