This was more true before Tony La Russa finally delivered a World Series championship to the St. Louis Cardinals in 2006, but it remains a big deal: new skipper Mike Matheny has received the endorsement of Whitey Herzog, St. Louis's favorite manager and the creator of St. Louis's favorite style of baseball. Rick Hummel delivered the good news, letting all of us know that the White Rat thinks players will "respect his knowledge" so long as he remains honest and does it his way.
↵Given how popular Matheny was as a player, I think a Herzog endorsement pushes things over the top: People at Busch Stadium will love Matheny. So long as he wins.
↵If he doesn't do that—well, he might have to ask for another Whitey Herzog endorsement, lest people call for him to be replaced by Whitey Herzog (who's a year younger than Jack McKeon, as you might recall) or a big, sentient roll of astroturf in a Willie McGee jersey.
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