Mike Matheny: A saber-friendly Cardinal
From SABR member David Laurila at FanGraphs on December 8, 2011:
Mike Matheny is more tuned in to statistical analysis than his predecessor. That isn’t to say that 67-year-old Tony LaRussa was backwards thinking — he and longtime pitching coach Dave Duncan paid more attention to numbers than you might think — but the 41-year-old Matheny is beginning his managerial career at a time when sabermetrics are as much a part of the baseball landscape as the sacrifice bunt. While the new Cardinal’s skipper has a touch of old-school to him, he is more than willing to embrace data if it can help him win ballgames. Matheny addressed the subject during this week’s Winter Meetings in Dallas.
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Matheny on using data to his advantage: “Philosophically, the front office has been great. They’ve been very open, and I believe that there are quite a few people in that front office, including the people in statistical analysis, who bring an asset to the table. I believe that one of the biggest jobs I have, and one of the biggest opportunities, is to present resources to [the players]. They’re going to play the game, so what can I put in front of them that’s going to give them a competitive edge to help them on an individual basis?
Read the full article here: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/mike-matheny-saber-friendly-cardinal/
Originally published: December 8, 2011. Last Updated: December 8, 2011.