Mike Matheny held a team meeting with the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday afternoon, then emerged to take his first look around Marlins Park and announced he would be throwing batting  practice.

He's trying to keep everything as simple as possible.

Maybe that's the right move for the rookie manager of the reigning World Series champions, who begin their defense of the

crown Wednesday against the newly renamed Miami Marlins.

Matheny says he tried to learn something new every day during spring training, and that he has spoken to several people with

managerial experience to pick their brains.

And of course, he's been in contact with Tony La Russa, who retired after last season - but is still a mentor of sorts for Matheny.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)