While the Cardinals plan to take a step back and 2025 and shift to a long-view rebuild, the Cincinnati Reds want to go for it.
That鈥檚 why president of baseball operations Nick Krall and general manager Brad Meador went to Arizona to visit veteran manager Terry Francona.
Did Francona, 65, want to manage again after taking a year off to address health concerns? Would he manage the Reds?
Was he physically up for the challenge?
鈥淭he more he talked, the more he got on the edge of his seat, the more you could see, 鈥極K, this guy is ready to manage again.鈥 That took that question out of it," Meador said during the news conference trumpeting Francona鈥檚 hiring. "We talked about health. He did offer to jump up and do jumping jacks if we needed him to.鈥
鈥淭hank God, they didn鈥檛 ask me to do that," Francona quipped.
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Francona鈥檚 hiring has the attention of Cardinals fans. Many of them have been clamoring for a seasoned field manager ever since Tony La Russa stepped away.
In his 23 years at the helm of major league squads, Francona has led 11 teams into postseason play and reached the World Series three times.
But instead of Francona, St. 不良研究所导航网址 got Mike Matheny. Then Mike Shildt got the internal promotion after Matheny's firing. Then Oliver Marmol stepped in after president of baseball operations John Mozeliak fired Shildt in a snit.
While Marmol shepherds the Cardinals through a youth movement next season. Francona will be in it to win it in Cincinnati.
鈥淧eople talk about having fun," Francona said. "What's enjoyable is playing the game right, and to be honest, trying to kick somebody's (backside). That's what I consider enjoyable.鈥
The Reds have tons of athleticism, but they weren鈥檛 great at playing baseball last season under downcast David Bell. Francona stands ready to challenge them.
鈥淥ne of my biggest goals is to have our players feel like they鈥檙e cared for more than ever before, but at the same time, asking more of them on the field than has ever been done before," Francona said. "We need to find ways to value what it takes to be successful and win more than every other team we play against.鈥
And . . .
鈥淚 firmly believe that players enjoy being coached, as long as there is always a solid reason and you鈥檙e ultra organized. And that we will be," Francona said. "My promise to the organization and to the fans is I will spend all my energy ensuring they spend all of their energy trying to play the game correctly and with respect.鈥
The Cardinals should consider that fair warning.
TALKIN鈥 BASEBALL
Here is what folks have been writing about Our National Pastime:
Matt Snyder, : “What a whirlwind these last eight days have been. Yes, it dates back to Monday, Sept. 30, because that doubleheader between the Mets and Braves felt like a playoff game -- at least Game 1 did. We've seen so much incredible postseason action so far and there are still eight teams standing. None of them will face elimination until Game 4 in the best-of-five LDS round of the playoff bracket. This is because, for the first time ever, all four divisional series -- Mets-Phillies, Padres-Dodgers, Tigers-Guardians and Royals-Yankees -- are tied at one game apiece heading to Game 3. To repeat, this is unprecedented. The divisional round has happened every single year since 1995 in addition to a one-off in 1981 due a midseason strike (first-half and second-half division winners were named with them playing each other for the right to get to the LCS round). We have never had four series all knotted 1-1. A lot of times there are multiple teams holding 2-0 leads.”
Tim Keown, : “The best rivalry in baseball arrived with warnings that went unheeded. The elements have been there for some time, but it took the first two games of the National League Division Series for everything to spill into the margins. The Los Angeles Dodgers, winners of 11 of the past 12 NL West championships, ‘the dragon up the freeway,’ and the San Diego Padres, the plucky little brothers with a preponderance of talent (and a recent history of beating the Dodgers in the postseason), meeting in a five-game series with epically high stakes. The clash was inevitable. It is, now, after 18 innings, a full-on spectacle. There have been a preposterous number of home runs, more than a few simmering feuds, borderline-criminal fan involvement, and a tied series heading to San Diego for Game 3 on Tuesday. The Padres' Game 2 win on Sunday night in Dodger Stadium was a sprawling mess of a thing, a nine-inning opera filled with argument and innuendo and just the right amount of childish back and forth. There was more drama than a 10-2 game has any right to claim.”
Bob Nightengale, USA Today: 鈥淭hey were the scrawny weaklings from Southern California, teased at school, having sand kicked in their face on the beaches, and told they would never live up to those big, bad bullies up north on the I-5 Freeway. Well, a funny thing has happened. The聽San Diego Padres聽don鈥檛 have a $700 million player, they don鈥檛 have a $325 million pitcher or a single World Series banner flying at their ballpark, but look who鈥檚 got all of that swagger and the intimidation now? The Padres and聽Los Angeles Dodgers聽might be聽tied at one game apiece聽in the National League Division Series, but the way the Padres are feeling these days, they fully intend to send the Dodgers home for the winter this week while they鈥檙e having a World Series parade in November. The Padres, with Game 3 of their series scheduled for Tuesday night (9:08 p.m. ET on FS1) at Petco Park, say they don鈥檛 plan to return to Los Angeles until June 2025 when they鈥檙e scheduled to play a four-game series at Dodger Stadium. Matter of fact, even if this series is tied at two games apiece, they don鈥檛 believe they should be forced to play again at Dodger Stadium after Sunday鈥檚 game was interrupted for 10 minutes聽with fans throwing objects onto the field.鈥
Joel Sherman, New York Post: 鈥淭he advantages the Yankees have over the Royals are plentiful, notably how plentiful they are.聽 They have a payroll roughly three times larger than Kansas City鈥檚. But it leaves the Yankees top-heavy. Thus, if their most moneyed men are not going to rise in October, then they are playing on a more even field with the Royals.聽 And, indeed, they are now playing on an even field in this Division Series, tied one game apiece.聽 In Game 1, the Yankees overcame that their highest-paid pitcher, Gerrit Cole, and highest-paid player, Aaronn Judge, were not good. The Royals, though, walked enough batters, the Yankee chorus members rose up and the instant replay review system really helped the home team.聽In Game 2, the Yankees asked Carlos Rodon to pitch like the best-paid No. 2 starter in the sport and he was聽not up to his salary or the moment. Judge struggled more, and so did Juan Soto this time.鈥
Gabe Lacques, USA Today: 鈥淭he聽New York Yankees鈥 nightmare scenario hasn鈥檛 arrived. But you can see it on the horizon. New York鈥檚 15-year quest to return to the World Series isn鈥檛 yet dead, but in聽a 4-2 loss聽to the聽Kansas City Royals聽in Game 2 of the聽American League Division Series, the vital signs all headed south. The best-of-five ALDS is tied at a game apiece, and shifting to Kansas City鈥檚 Kauffman Stadium, where the natives are juiced for their first playoff games since 2015. The Royals鈥 Game 2 win聽ensured two home playoff dates in Missouri 鈥 and put in play the possibility the Bronx Bombers don鈥檛 return to Yankee Stadium until spring. Oh, it might not be that dire. There鈥檚 no immovable ace awaiting the Yankees in Games 3 and 4, though veteran聽Seth Lugo聽will likely finish near the top of AL Cy Young Award voting, and a second day off in three days will only recharge a potent Royals bullpen. Yet after two struggles against the 86-win Royals 鈥 and the Yankees were lucky to win Game 1,聽6-5聽鈥 a starker truth is becoming evident. These $310 million Yankees just aren鈥檛 particularly good.鈥
Maria Delgado Genzor, Baseball Prospectus: 鈥淓ver since that run in 2018, something seems to be fundamentally broken within the Milwaukee Brewers once the regular season ends. There was the 2019 Wild Card game, in which the Brewers held a late 3-1 lead with all-world closer聽Josh Hader聽on the mound, only to watch his control melt away and a teenage聽Juan Soto聽deliver the dagger鈥擳rent Grisham鈥檚 error in right merely twisted the blade. There was the 2021 NLDS, when the Brewers鈥 dominant pitching was thoroughly outdueled by the miracle Atlanta Braves, with聽Josh Hader yet again giving up a back-breaking, series-losing hit in the late innings of a game Milwaukee needed to win. There was the 2023 Wild Card round, when the Diamondbacks, who barely snuck into the playoffs, swept the division winners at home in a pair of embarrassing games. And of course, 2024, when the Brewers teased their tortured fanbase with the success they desperately yearn for, only to have it snatched from them thanks to one of the most stunning home runs in recent memory. Each loss is more painful than the last. The end result is grim. Since 2018, the Brewers have yet to advance a round despite making the postseason every year save for 2022, and their 2-10 record in October seems almost impossibly bad. With the exception of the shortened 2020 season, they鈥檝e finished over .500 every year since 2017, and with the emergence of Chourio and their incredible pitching development (and the weakness of the NL Central), it seems likely that their streak of respectability will continue. Why, then, can鈥檛 they seem to get out of their own way once the postseason comes around?鈥
MEGAPHONE
鈥淚t still feels the same, that we're going to win. I don't feel like anybody feels any different. We're going to go out there and do our thing still. We still don't feel like any team is better than us. We had a]ot of missed opportunities tonight so they just got lucky.鈥
New York Yankees third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr., after losing to the Kansas City Royals Monday to even their ALDS 1-1.