Bernie on Twitter (has a different twist on Girardi, and other comments on firing)
"The lethargic and messy baseball aside, and crumbling player relations aside, I can share this: management was not happy with Matheny’s quotes in @markasaxon piece in @TheAthletic (1/2)"
"As I wrote for @TheAthleticSTL Friday, management uncomfortable with Matheny’s expressed zeal for old-school tough guy stuff and referring to today’s game as "soft" … felt (2/3)"
"That (3/3) whenever Matheny gets on the soapbox with old-school preaching that’s a huge turnoff to young players, it reinforced team’s rep as uptight, stressed, humorless and not a fun place to play."
"That’s why I was astonished by the attacks on @markasaxon ; without Matheny running his mouth and all but bragging over having Bud Norris being his enforcer/snitch, Saxon had much less to build his piece around. Today’s players are different. This manager never got that."
"If you go back and read the reporting on why Joe Girardi was sacked by the Yankees, you wouldn’t be so quick to assume he’s the right guy in STL. The ability to communicate-connect with young players, and all kinds of players, will be a priority in choosing next STL manager"