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A few thoughts on Mike Matheny's first coaching staff:

-- The level of continuity surprised me. I thought we'd see at least one coach brought in from the outside, but it didn't happen. All of the coaches were on Tony La Russa's staff, or already in the organization. (That would be the new 1B coach, Chris Maloney, the longtime manager in the Cardinals' system.) I thought that Matheny would perhaps push for someone that didn't have current ties to the Cardinals. But the Cardinals have been such a part of his life for so long, maybe Matheny is most comfortable in staying with a structure that's proven to be successful.

-- Of course, the composition of the staff will only feed the theory that GM John Mozeliak is in control of everything now. It could be that Matheny wanted to make these same hires. And if Matheny didn't want to make all of these hires, obviously, he wouldn't go public with his dissent. The perception that Mozeliak is running the show now will be there, and will stay there, until Matheny establishes himself as the manager. That probably isn't fair but that's just the way it is. Matheny will have to live with this for a while.

-- Glad that it worked out with 3B coach Jose Oquendo, a loyal Cardinal. This reflects well on both men. Oquendo wanted the managing job, lost out to Matheny, but is putting his ego aside to continue in an important role on the staff. And a more insecure person may have been wary of adding a rival (for the manager's job) to his first staff, but Matheny obviously trusts Oquendo, and that's a good sign.

-- The most important thing to do was retain pitching coach Dave Duncan. The Cardinals have been third in the majors in starting-pitching ERA and overall ERA over the last 16 seasons, which represents an impressive record of consistency and positive results. Duncan is the best there is.  

-- Maloney has been in line for a big-league job for several years, with no room at the inn. It was time. It's important to promote minor-league coaches/managers who pay their dues. So we're happy for Maloney. But the Cardinals have also reassigned two very good coaches, Dave McKay and Joe Pettini, to different roles. There's never a way to do this and make everything perfect. Someone comes in, someone has to go. It's too bad, but inevitable.

-- The most intriguing move was moving Mike Aldrete to bench coach. I was a bit surprised by this, initially. Perhaps I'm guilty of having a stereotype in mind: a bench coach is old, wizened and weathered and has been in the dugout for 50 years or something. (Think of Don Zimmer.) Which of course is ridiculous. Bench coaches aren't slotted in a particular age/experience group. Aldrete is a smart man. He has experience as a big-league coach and minor-league manager. He was a pretty good big-league hitter for 10 seasons. Aldrete has established a really good working relationship with Cardinals players and that's an important factor. The bench coach has to move around and be an all-purpose buffer and problem solver. Finally, Aldrete is a Stanford man. Gotta be intelligent to be a Stanford man, right? We'll see how it works out. But if Aldrete takes to the role and thrives, it could put him on track to become a big-league manager.

-- Mark McGwire certainly deserved to return. The team's performance on offense in 2011 was indicative of McGwire's development as an astute hitting coach. In his second season on the job, McGwire got players to buy into his concepts, with a special emphasis on plate discipline. The Cardinals not only led the NL in runs, onbase percentage, slugging percentage (tied) and batting average -- but they had the league's lowest strikeout rate and fifth-best walk rate. When McGwire was hired by La Russa before the 2010 season, the move was ridiculed by many for a lot of reasons. Some of the reasons were valid. Other reasons were stupid. And McGwire will always have his haters -- not that he cares. But he's a good batting coach.

-- The biggest immediate concern for Matheny and the coaching staff? Putting together the plan, the routine, for spring training. La Russa ran a great camp, highly organized and efficient and contoured to address specific weaknesses. It's more difficult than you'd think to set up spring training and keep it moving in a way that maximizes the hours spent on the field. It's important for Matheny, Aldrete and the other coaches to have good organizational skills.

Thanks for reading ...

-Bernie