The comment seemed innocent enough.
Before the St. Louis Cardinals’ game Thursday night, manager Mike Matheny explained his decision to scratch starting catcher Yadier Molina from the lineup with a sore ankle. From the St. Louis Post Dispatch:
“‘Yadi’s caught a lot,’ Matheny said. ‘Yesterday, just kind of watching him go around the bases, too, you could tell that he’s, you know…’ Matheny changed course mid-sentence, but he was implying that Molina is tired.”
Molina indeed has endured a heavy workload this season, leading all National League catchers as of Thursday with 85 starts. But while Matheny could have just been giving his veteran catcher a well-deserved day off, Molina had quite a different interpretation of his manager’s comments.
Well, this is interesting (via Yadier Molina's Instagram). #STLCards pic.twitter.com/x1IfnuXftS
— The Kevin Wheeler Show (@WheelerShow101) July 28, 2017
Molina used Instagram to essentially tell Matheny to shut his mouth, even using the hashtag “#misinforming” to call out his manager for inferring he’s too tired to play.
Regardless of Matheny’s intentions, he likely won’t win this battle in the court of public opinion. Molina is very popular in St. Louis, an outspoken team leader who has been incredibly durable during his 14-year tenure with the Cardinals. Matheny, meanwhile, is in a precarious position as his team enters Friday ranked fourth in the National League Central at 50-52.
We’d imagine Molina will be back in St. Louis’ lineup in short order.
Thumbnail photo via Jeff Curry/USA TODAY Sports Images
