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6:40 p.m.
RHP Miles Mikolas (1-1, 5.79) vs, RHP Marcus Stroman (2-2, 2.18)
MLB Network // BSM // KMOX
(and Bally Sports South/Southwest Extra)“We won’t have him in the outfield,” president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said Sunday during a phone call with The Athletic. “I know that came out yesterday, but after talking with him, it’s basically going to be more in the DH role right now. And there’s light at the end of the tunnel to get back behind the plate.
https://theathletic.com/4496561/2023/05/07/cardinals-john-mozeliak-willson-contreras/
When you’ve had the start the Cardinals have had added to fewer games against divisional opponents – this series is already really a ‘must win’ for StL.
I guess we will find out if today was just a blip or the beginning of a turnaround…
In reality it goes beyond a “must” win series to a must win game, ZTR. On only 2 occasions have the Cardinals managed to win consecutive games this season. Once vs. Toronto in the 2nd and 3rd game of the season and once vs. Colorado on April 11th and 12th. They’ve placed themselves in a position in which they can ill afford to burn any daylight at all.
I’m reasonably certain that this has been mentioned, but it’s worth taking a second look. The Cardinals are 1-7 in 1 run games and it’s still only the first week of May. Is this a BP disaster, or is the source and origin of this glaring set of numbers coming from another area?
I think I heard on the Cubs Marlins game that the Marlins were something like 11-0 this year in one run games. I’d say we tethered to the wrong horse
I’ll be darned, Mrperkins! Looks like Skippy was paying close attention when he was in the same dugout and clubhouse with TLR, Duncan, Oquendo and all of the other qualified and experienced professionals that once held court for the Cardinals.
What I’m wondering is what player in his right mind would want to come and play for the Cardinals after what this collection of clowns has done to Contreras the last couple of days? Think about that for a minute or two. Whether or not you like him behind HP is not the point. He’s been here for 35 games and in the last two days these nitwits have bounced him around as though he were a blind dog in a butcher shop in front of a national media who believe this team may well be run by a squad of lunatics. And you can be entirely certain that every Big League player, manager and coach is aware of the situation. They demonstrated long ago that they’re what I’d term common, but now they’ve entered an area that could well be called base. If these types of individuals are allowed to remain as the people who run this franchise, it won’t be long at all before no player with any self respect will want to play for this team.
Here is the part of that clip from The Atlantic interview posted above that is the tell:
I know that came out yesterday, but after talking with him,. . .
That is given as a direct quote, so I assume that it is. Mo is saying that a decision was reached about the direction of Contreras future role with the Cardinals, and announced on Saturday. Then, after that, they talked to Contreras about it. And now, after talking to him, we are changing the plan.
The very first thing that came to mind for me is I can just imagine what Contreras must have said when they finally talked to him, after having made the decision and announcing it.
Then, of course, I got to thinking about what this says about the decision making process.
Does it seem like the decision was made after looking at a collection of numbers on some printouts, with no thought to the concept that the decision to be made involves a human who will have to be on board with this if it to have any chance of success? Or was that an afterthought?
There is no way to interpret that quote that says anything good about the decision making process.
Meanwhile, there is a game to be played. We are due to face a righty again, like yesterday, so there is no reason to change the lineup on that account. I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled to see what OliMo rolls out for this one. Hold on to you hats.
I have more random thoughts about the Contreras situation.
The Cardinals coming to the conclusion that Contreras is not a good defensive catcher may indeed be the correct conclusion but the timing is awful. They should have come to that conclusion before he signed for 5/$87, not after. My guess is that they will reverse this decision soon and reinstall him as the catcher because they have created a big logjam with guys like Burleson and Yepez now having no purpose with the team since neither can play defense.
Also, it is my opinion that this Contreras decision was not initiated by the front office or the manager but by the pitching staff, especially their elder statesmen. I find it interesting that this bombshell was announced on the same day that number 50 was reinstated from the IL. Coincidence?
I think I accidentally posted din-din on the other thread. Anyway, din-din today is a thick center cut rib chop in the air fryer, a couple ears of corn, a glass of water, Ruffles potato chips, and a couple of those ice cream things with nuts on top for dessert.
Me and Whitey Herdog will be on the couch for this one. Along with a couple of 6×50 Palma Real cigars during the game.
r/Esteemed Rat
What is your evidence, gscottar, that Waino had any part of this? He hasn’t even been affected.
Wainwright is the last person I would suspect to go after a teammate, that is not his nature.
The one member of the pitching staff who has publicly criticized Contreras was Jack Flaherty.
They need to move Gorman down in the order. He is not a #3 hitter and right now he is slumping and needs to make adjustments. He is more a #5 or #6 hitter.
1. Lars Nootbaar (L) RF
2. Paul Goldschmidt (R) 1B
3. Nolan Gorman (L) 2B
4. Nolan Arenado (R) 3B
5. Willson Contreras (R) DH
6. Brendan Donovan (L) LF
7. Dylan Carlson (S) CF
8. Tommy Edman (S) SS
9. Andrew Knizner (R) CWhat is your evidence, gscottar, that Waino had any part of this? He hasn’t even been affected.
I don’t have any specific evidence other than the peculiar timing of the announcement and I know that Waino relied a lot on Yadi. Also, I suspect that if there was dissention amongst the pitching staff Waino might be nominated to go speak to the manager and PBO since he is the senior member of the staff. Pure speculation on my part.
There has been a lot of rain go through Chicago today. It does look like the skies are clearing and this game will be played. Sure hope so because the Redbirds are hot and want to keep that winning streat going!
r/Esteemed Rat
Waino wouldn’t “go after” a teammate, nor go public with anything negative. But if he did think that there was a problem with Contreras behind the plate, and that it was hurting the team’s chances and the pitchers’ chances of success, I can see him stepping up and bringing it to a head, privately. If he was involved, I think he is now appalled at how it was handled, bungled, by the organization. He would be the first to apologize to Contreras for that aspect of it because he is a pro and a person of high character.
That being said, I think the timing of the announcement on the day he returned is coincidence, and he had no part, or no leading part, in the whole thing,
I guess the line-up looks okay, but would it be too bad of an idea to slot Goldy where time honored reason and good sense says he belongs? It’s not like he’s mired in a slump…
Another member of this elite squad of Redbird baseball experts pointed out something to me that I wasn’t at all aware of. The Miami Marlins have an overall 17-18 W/L record which, I feel, is very respectable for that particular ballcub. Especially while considering the division in which they’re situated. What’s astounding, especially in light of their W/L record, (and it really is) is that in 1 run games, they feature a perfect 11-0 W/L record. Now, I guessed they may have won several of those 1 run games in walk-off fashion, but that’s not at all the case as they’ve only won 1 game in their final AB. Some of you may be aware that the Redbirds feature a W/L record of 1-7 in 1 run games this season. In any event, the member of this site that pointed out that simple set of numbers mentioned something that I think is well worth repeating. He said, “I’d say we tethered to the wrong horse”…Haha!
Gorman’s hype shine got kind of scuffed up last season, but nothing that won’t buff out with a stint in Goldy’s slot.
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