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7:10 p.m.
RHP Miles Mikolas (8-9, 5.12) vs. RHP Michael Lorenzen (5-6, 3.69)
BSM // KMOX
Also BS South and Southwest ExtraMikolas has been inconsistent, and mostly on the bad side this year. We talk a lot about our veterans who have under-performed on offense, but Mikolas is in that same category as a pitcher.
This series looks like the one that might send us descending down the NLC standings. Get swept and we are on a four game losing streak and panic starts to set in.
To be serious about contending, we need to take two of three here. I just don’t have the confidence in our club to do that.
He’s made 7 bad starts out of 23 total. He also has 13 quality starts in those 23. He’s good almost 2/3 of the time, bad almost 1/3 of the time, and not often in the middle. The June 27 start when he was bad and they had no one in the bullpen who could replace him so they just left him out there inflates his ERA by .5. Overall though, he’s been what we expected. I wouldn’t say he’s underperforming like our other vets.
Miles will be 36 in a couple weeks, so he is not in prime time. That’s what, 28-32, say. He answers the bell every 5 days all year. Mostly we have some kind of chance, although he has gotten to really stink at holding a lead. He’s been not bad for an Asian league reclamation project. Its what you do when you don’t produce starters and your owner is not a big spender. Next season might be rough and he is due another $18.5M.
There’s n̈o way to overcome the total collapse of our middle of the order bats. And Gorman and Walker. They finally come thru a bit and our bullpen fails. Just doesn’t look like it’s going to happen for us. I’m going to try to enjoy the rest of the season with minimal whining, complaining, and beligerant comments.
They finally come thru a bit and our bullpen fails.
I don’t really consider what happened last night a bullpen fail. No pen is bottomless and ours certainly isn’t. I consider what happened last night to be a failure of the starting rotation. There were just too many short starts lately. The way OlliMo does it, a 5 inning start normally means we are going to use 4 relievers. How many good relievers are we supposed to have?
The playoffs are bloated. Just be average, get in, get hot, win a couple of series (as in get to the LCS) and the FO and manager are geniuses.
Even as they are, the Cardinals (and about a dozen other teams) are exactly 1 more frontline starter and a two week hot streak in October from appearing in an LCS.
It is the state of MLB these days and how business gets done. It seems very few franchise can afford or want to spend the money to build a top to bottom solid team only to crash out of the post season tournament because of the streaky nature of performances in baseball.
The mantra of ‘Get in and get hot’ rules the day and in my opinion does not lead to compelling baseball – at least not for the Cardinals.
Year over year churn and turnover of which teams are on top is fine; having the vast majority of teams playing +/- .500 baseball is just blah – at least to me.
Nice reply ZTR. Sadly, the 3 wild cards format is working for mlb. Expanded revenue, and now they can point at the NL and say it works. Both seasons the NL WC3 has made it to the World Series.
Michael Clifton Lorenzen. Aka “Cowboy”, the 32 year old righty has had a pretty mediocre ML career, as his 45-44 record, 4.06 ERA and 1.318 WHIP reveals. Michael is a pretty fair hitter though,
as he has whacked 7 career homers…..all in his home ballparks. Was drafted out of high school in the 7th round in 2010 by the Rays, but elected to go to college instead. Then in 2013 the Reds drafted him in the 1st round. As a high school freshman, he hit over .400 for his varsity squad. He is the fourth high schooler from Fullerton Union high school in California to reach the majors as a pitcher…….and amazingly all 4 have pitched ML no hitters. Walter Johnson in 1920 for the Washington Senators, Steve Busby for the Kansas City Royals in 1974, Mike Warren for the Oakland A’s in 1983 and Michael Lorenzen for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2023. Both of Michael’s parents greatly struggled with drugs and alcohol during his youth and in turn he too started taking drugs and alcohol in the 8th grade. However, when Michael was 17, he was tremendously inspired by a man on a street corner reading from the gospel. That day saw the end of his drug and alcohol usage. Today he is a devout Christian, married and with a 1 year old daughter.You’re very welcome, KCB.
Oh my…..I almost forgot din-din. I’m thinking a big steaming hot plate of Kentucky catfish fiddlers will headline the feast fit for a king. I’ll add on some hush puppies, jalapeño poppers and cole slaw and conclude glorious matters with a trip over to the local Popeye’s drive thru lane to secure 3 apple cinnamon pies.
I have turned STL inside out and cannot find catfish fiddlers on any restaurant menu.
Not taking no for an answer, I made inquiries at a wholsale fish and seafood vendor. I was told the reason is farmed American catfish is seldom harvested at the correct size to be cooked and served whole, and is instead cut into portions and sold as fillets or nuggets.
Hey BikeMike?
Cards can’t take two of three this series in Kansas City. The reason being is this is only a two game set. The Redbirds have Sunday off.Just glad tonight’s game is not the AppleTV game. It’s the Reds and Brewers from County Stadium in Milwaukee, that’s the AppleTV game.
And I am headed out to Lakeview, the Amish restaurant north of town that sits on the lake, for some Catfish Fiddlers today. I just hope my choking issues don’t rear their ugly head. I have an appt with the Digestive Care folks next week to check me out and see what’s causing my choking and coughing.
r/Esteemed Rat
Is this the final year of the Cardinals’ wait for Gorman to transform himself into a sub-Mendoza line power hitter and become a star? Or will they continue the K parade into 2025? We seem to have a houseful of guys who oughta be great but ain’t. I think MLB needs to add just a coupla more wild cards so we can claim success. Oh well, they’re still fun to watch when they do string a few hits together.
Rah Cardinals!
I’m afraid I’ll miss out on the Friday fiddler fest due to the absence of catfish, but I’ll make up for it with succulent monkfish, tasty but also the ugliest fish on the planet.
Thanks for the clarification, Rats. I just assumed this was a three gamer. Didn’t we have a Sunday off a month or so ago? Seems weird to have it off at all, much less twice in one season.
And you guys make some good points on Mikolas. He really probably has not under-performed much, as he has been only average most of his career. Still any stater with an ERA over 5 is pretty bad, and management has expected him to be a top tier starter. But that is more management’s poor judgement than Mikolas’ ability.
Instacart has marvelous catfish fiddlers, Bling. Let’s see a few more posters get on the Fiddler bandwagon here. Yes I know that reservations exist as catfish are indeed a lowlife, bottom dwelling, muck sucking species…..but don’t let that fool you. They taste simply marvelous!
Yeah, a Friday and Saturday game and then an off day on a Sunday? It doesn’t even qualify for making nonsense, but that’s pretty much the case with the entire scheduling format.
Catfish don’t spend their entire life feeding off the dregs of a river, lake, or pond and will actually devour a topwater or crankbait from time to time, whereas Carp and Buffalo are almost exclusively bottom feeders. But those two species are also really good for lunch or supper when prepared properly. Just be carefull of one of all those tiny hair-like bones getting lodged in the windpipe and ruining your meal…
The current playoff structure is a dream come true for most owners. Spend just enough for an 82 to 85 win team which should keep the turnstiles moving in August and September because there are enough delusional fans that think it is their team that will squeak in and get red hot in October.
The only thing that would make it better for the owners is if the playoffs expanded even more so that a 75 to 80 win team can get in. I’m sure Manfred has that on his to-do list as soon as two new expansion teams are announced.
In the not so distant future, the WS may be played between the only 2 teams that don’t qualify for the post-season…It could be termed the battle of the out of the ordinary.
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