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Lane Thomas in CF, Nolan Gorman in LF, along with Carlson will be a much improved OF next year. Personally I would like to see it this year. Bader / Oneil wasting more time.
As a general rule I have never paid much attention to ST stats. They usually don’t matter much one way or the other. I know they matter to the bench guys trying to secure a spot but I can’t tell you how many times I have seen a guy hit .150 in the spring then go out and have an MVP type season or hit .450 in the spring then be released by June. You just never know. I will start paying closer attention when we get to Cincinnati.
Forsch –
I was at Lombardo’s restaurant across from the St. Louis Airport a number of years ago and Bob Forsch and his wife were at the next table. We struck up a short conversation. What a great guy. He and his wife were really nice. That’s why I asked if you had ever met him.Lane Thomas in CF, Nolan Gorman in LF, along with Carlson will be a much improved OF next year. Personally I would like to see it this year. Bader / Oneil wasting more time.
I think our OF next year will be Conforto-Bader-Carlson, with O’Neill or Thomas as the backup. I think OF will be where they spend the money they will have opening up.
As a general rule I have never paid much attention to ST stats. They usually don’t matter much one way or the other. I know they matter to the bench guys trying to secure a spot but I can’t tell you how many times I have seen a guy hit .150 in the spring then go out and have an MVP type season or hit .450 in the spring then be released by June. You just never know. I will start paying closer attention when we get to Cincinnati.
I totally agree. We never know what players may be tinkering with in March that gets tossed when time to lock in starts. That goes for pitchers and hitters alike.
#stlcards tonight vs. Max Scherzer and #Natitude:
Edman 4
Carpenter DH
Arenado 5
DeJong 6
Carlson 8
Knizner 2
Dean 7
Nogowski 3
Thomas 9Gant 1
— Jeff Jones (@jmjones) March 5, 2021
Stinks that so many of these games aren’t on tv early. The Cards have a little more fight in them after the egg last night. 3-3 after Knizner tied it on an infield single.
Lane Thomas has been getting some hits here early. Drafted back in 2014 so its his 8th year as a pro. That alone says ceiling is not too lofty. I guess he’s plan B in CF.
I haven’t seen any games yet, and listened to bits and pieces a few times is all. But my impression is Thomas can play some and came to play. Anybody have thoughts on that?
Also, I think Carp’s BA is .000 as of now. He worked on bat speed over the off season I believe. Do we have any idea how he is doing as far as that goes? How does he look at the plate?
I haven’t seen any games yet, and listened to bits and pieces a few times is all. But my impression is Thomas can play some and came to play. Anybody have thoughts on that?
Thomas is a guy that Mo really likes, based on the way he’s talked about him before. His extended time in the minors was primarily due to injuries that continually popped up. He was one of the COVID bunch last year and said later that he had dizzy spells and fatigue for the rest of the season. He can play any of the OF spots with his good speed and has solid power. I’d think that he could potentially take either O’Neill or Bader’s starting spot if he stays hot; more likely the former.
I posted a response earlier but I guess it didn’t take. Its not here at least. While it is nice having a gold glove in LF, we really need to use that position to house a middle of the order hitter to complement Goldy and Arenado. DeJong would benefit from not being forced into that role. I see Thomas more as the CF type where the offense/defense balance is different. If he could hit middle of order that would be great. If not, we need to keep looking. Maybe Gorman in time is a plausible in house candidate. I don’t see anything else.
There is a lot of competition for positions and very available, not like the last few Spring trainings. OF is wide open…. one or two rotation spots will be up for grabs, in addition to the always juggling BP. Is 2B open? Edman up, Carp down so far. Will Gorman nudge his way onto the team going North? Backup C… is it a coin toss? I sure would like to see Knizner play some 3B if he wins out. That would give him some ABs while Molina still refuses to give him any behind the plate. All the help Yadi has given to Knizner couldn’t fill a thimble and it was the same with Carson. That Molina mentoring is a lot of craq.
Bottom line: there will be a few surprises when the games count.
I know Yadi benefitted a lot from Matheney who was a world class defensive catcher. But I do not remember the particulars. Not sure how the Yadi/Knizner dynamic would compare.
Reminder that today, Saturday March 6, is the first of two actual full days off for the Cardinals this spring. Sunday afternoon game vs. Houston on FOX Sports Midwest.
Oh now gscottar, you are making too much sense here.
GS, reply 155292, perfect.
Thanks gents. I am not saying ST has no value because it does but sometimes I think we treat each AB or pitch thrown like it is a world series game. That is probably because it has been a long winter and we are all desperate for some baseball.
While the stats can easily be explained away. They also are extremely important.
If Edman hits 100 and Carp hits 400 you think they wouldn’t consider starting Carp?
If Thomas greatly outplays offensively Bader you dont think he gets a shot at CF?
You think CMart gets to be the number 5 if he gives up 6 every start?
If Thomas hits 225 and Bader 210. No that probably doesn’t matter who ends up on top.
If the outfielders who we were worried about their offense hit collectively 200. Then yeah you pay attention and start trying to find out what to do.
The stats DO matter. One game or at bat or situation may not. Should not.
But the stats are important. It is how we and they evaluate their play.
I try not to hang on the totals but if there is competition and question marks on performance to spot on the team absolutely how they are performing during ST as evaluated by stats are Abig part of those decisions
Actually thejager, if carp hits two hundred they are probably going to play him no matter what seems to me, just to prove a point. Far as other guys, you can’t really say for sure. Lots of springs a guy or two wihit the cover off the ball but don’t make it over someone who didn’t. Also you have to look at who these guys got hits off of. In the end, they have in their mind whose going to make the team and who will likely start though I do believe the outfield is more open as it should be. Guys are going to have to earn starts but I also have no problem with matching up guys. There are only 4 position players on my mind that have a starter spot right now, molina, goldy, arenado, and Dejong though he needs more breaks this year. Everyone else has to be ready to play, sit, or do whatever to help team win. It’s up to schildt to manage it properly, I’m not big on him but he’s ok. Right now I’m not seeing anybody lighting it up but it’s early.
With a limited sample, like ST, guys can play better than their numbers. They can play worse than their numbers. There is context that matters.
Jager, what I am getting at is when people start becoming apocalyptic and start assuming that we are headed to a last place finish because we have a couple of bad ST games. The W-L record in the spring means zilch, nada, nothing.
Yes, there can be a few spots on the team influenced by spring performance but that wasn’t exactly what I was getting at.
3/7 lineup per ESPN
T. Edman, DH
P. DeJong, SS
P. Goldschmidt, 1B
N. Arenado, 3B
M. Carpenter, 2B
Y. Molina, C
D. Carlson, RF
T. O’Neill, LF
L. Thomas, CF
A. Wainwright, SPI have no access to spring training games beyond next-day box score and comments from you guys, but I note no sign of Bader playing these days. Have I missed something?
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