ST. LOUIS -- By the middle of last week, as Mike Matheny was focused on digging his team out of a slow start in Pittsburgh and beating the Milwaukee Brewers, he began getting ticket requests from friends and neighbors. People in St. Louis were fixated two series down the schedule, on the Chicago Cubs.
“You can see the legitimate ... I don’t know how to say it. Hatred? Close to it,” Matheny said. “That drives people to the fields and creates energy and an environment we talk about a lot. It’s fun to play in, whether it’s for you or against you.