Yadier Molina Tells Mike Matheny To Can It

How mad does an All-Star catcher have to be to air out his manager on Instagram? Yadier Molina, definitely mad online, gave Mike Matheny the business after Matheny barely stopped himself from calling Molina tired—or maybe old, depending on how generous you’re feeling at the moment.

Yesterday Matheny gave an interview to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about the Cardinals’ rookie backup catcher, Carson Kelly, who was called up from the minors last week. The story discussed how quickly Kelly has been thrown into the fray, and quoted Matheny as such:

“Yadi’s caught a lot,” Matheny said. “Yesterday, just kind of watching him go around the bases, too, you could tell that he’s, you know...” Matheny changed course mid-sentence, but he was implying that Molina is tired.

Matheny also added, “When you bring a player like (Kelly) in, we’re going to have to keep him engaged if he’s going to be able to contribute like he needs to.”

Most of that is fair. Molina is a notorious backstop hog, and prides himself in being consistent, which has been great for the Cardinals throughout his 14-year career, but leaves little room for a new kid to get his share of reps.

If Matheny had just said something along the lines of, “gee, this dude is in the squat all the damn time” without zeroing in on Molina’s baserunning speed, the Post-Dispatch story would have been quaint, if pedestrian.

Instead, Molina is pissed:

Yikes.

Matheny seems like kind of a dunce, and the Cardinals have had problems for a while now. St. Louis fans seem fed up with him, Molina calling him out on Instagram is a bad sign, and yet, Matheny is seemingly safe, having signed last winter an extension through the 2020 season. Molina is also signed through 2020.

Have fun out there, guys.