Mike Matheny knows Jason Heyward was just trying to be honest, but that doesn't mean he has to like it.
The St. Louis Cardinals manager wasn't happy with his former player's comments regarding the Cards roster, which Heyward intimated was up in years.
"You have Yadier (Molina) who is going to be done in two years maybe," Heyward said at his introductory new conference. "You have Matt Holliday who is probably going to be done soon.
"There were already moves made with Jon Jay gone and then Tony Cruz and (Adam) Wainwright is probably going to be done in three or four years. ... Guys like that are what really introduced me to the St. Louis Cardinals' organization. I felt like if I was to look up and in three years see a completely different team, that would be difficult."
Matheny was less than thrilled.
"I don't think it's going to ring too well with our club," Matheny told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
"I told Jason this before. I've got a lot of respect for Jason as a person. He's got to go make the decisions he's going to have to live with. If that (core group comparison) is a big deal to him, he's just being honest with people.
"But I don't think we have anything to apologize for in having a group like a Holliday, a Molina, a Wainwright. Those are the kinds of guys everybody wants on a club."
Matheny said a better excuse would have been a better move than going after the age of the roster.
"Say we hadn't made an offer. We made a terrific offer. With all that being said, it comes down to what does a guy want? (Staying in St. Louis) just wasn't what he was looking for."
This will probably just add fuel to the ever-growing fire between these two rival organizations.
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