The struggles of new St. Louis Cardinals starter Steven Matz were unexpected. Could this have been avoided if their normal manager had been in charge?
Oliver Marmol, the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, missed his second game in a row due to the flu. Skip Schumaker, who said he was in contact with Marmol, did his utmost to keep the squad together. However, he squandered a chance to help his club win on Sunday.
Steven Matz’s lack of communication could have also been a factor.
According to Benjamin Hochman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Matz was brought to the Cardinals as a pitcher who could induce ground ball hitting that would be snagged by a gold glove defense behind him.
This was fantastic until Matz stopped inducing grounders.
“Perhaps I can persuade them to hit a ground ball,” Hochman wrote.Matz remarked after the Cardinals’ 9-4 loss on Sunday.
“Location, location, location – that was the problem with Matz pitches,” Hochman continued.
After loading the bases in the third inning on Sunday, Matz fired a curveball that was hammered for a grand slam home run by Michael Chavis of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
In the third inning, Cardinals pitching coach Mike Maddux paid a visit to Matz on the mound. Marmol discussed Matz’s performance with Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat.
Marmol shared this morning that Steven Matz developed a small blister in the third yesterday that left him unable to finish his pitches. Said that Matz wasn’t going to give himself that out but that’s why things were up. #stlcards not worried about it for his next start.
— Jeff Jones (@jmjones) April 11, 2022
He couldn’t finish his pitches because a blister had formed on his fingers. That’s logical. Was that, however, ever communicated?
Is Steven Matz’s rocky start due to a misunderstanding?
A team’s performance could be harmed by an apparent lack of communication. And it’s very likely that’s what happened in this case. If you don’t get a blister on your pitching hand’s fingertips, you’ll have trouble.
The blisters will worsen, and the pitching areas will be missed. Matz’s uneasiness could have been alleviated if he had mentioned it to the training personnel. He could have been able to get out of the inning without allowing that grand slam home run.
Instead, after discovering Matz wasn’t hitting his spots, the Pirates were more aggressive with first-pitch hitting. Matz misjudged the spot on a curveball with the bases loaded as they loaded the bases.
Matz got through the third inning, but that was it. For the rest of the game, the Cardinals had to rely on their bullpen. That’s OK, but the Cardinals don’t want to make a habit of it this season.
Matz was acquired with the intention of being a dominant mid-rotation pitcher. They can’t piggyback on a pitcher. Adam Wainwright, Miles Mikolas, Matz, Dakota Hudson, and Jordan Hicks are the starting pitchers for the Cardinals. They also have former closer Jordan Hicks.
On opening day, Wainwright pitched brilliantly, collecting the win after six innings. Mikolas struggled in his first start, allowing six hits in 3.2 innings. The game was finished by five relievers, with Kodi Whitley receiving the win. After missing the whole 2020 season, Mikolas only pitched in nine games in 2021.
Following Matz, the Cardinals called in Jake Woodford for three innings on Sunday. Andre Pallante, who was making his major league debut, pitched one inning for them. Aaron Brooks, who hadn’t pitched in the majors since 2019, pitched two innings for the Cardinals.
And, ostensibly, their aceAfter missing much of last season due to injuries, Jack Flaherty began this season on the 10-day injured list.
Things happen, but they must be shared in order for this club to avoid repeating the problems of last season. This group has big goals. To be as successful as possible, the Cardinals need their pitchers to be effective and dependable.
