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7:40 p.m.
LHP Seven Matz (0-1, 6.75) vs. RHP Germán Márquez (1-1, 4.76)
BSM // KMOX
(and Bally Sports South Extra)The offense needs to get going. Two games in a hitters park and we score one run. Granted the Brewers had a couple of good pitchers but we need to turn it around in Colorado.
Just hope it’s not 44 degrees and snowy in Colorado this week. Anybody got a forecast for this series?
r/Esteemed Rat
I just checked the forecast for Denver the next few days. It is excellent! Highs in the upper 70s and middle 80s.
I am predicting some offense in this series. This trip to Denver might be just what we need!
r/Esteemed Rat
Thinking of algorithms…Mo could just hire a computer to manage the team. Put it on a serving cart with wheels so the bench coach can roll it around, throw a cardinal cap on top of it and – boom – done…
Not an ideal start to the season, but it’s early. We’ve played three good teams. I would have hoped for 5-4 or so, but sometimes you catch the wrong end of it. The pitching is worrisome, but the offense should be solid.
Every team has multiple 4-6 to 2-8 ten game stretches over the course of a season. You just don’t want very many of them.
Thinking of algorithms…Mo could just hire a computer to manage the team. Put it on a serving cart with wheels so the bench coach can roll it around, throw a cardinal cap on top of it and – boom – done…
I don’t think you are far from the truth. It is no coincidence that we have had three rookie managers in a row since the end of 2011. That is why it amuses me some folks get so bent out of shape about what our manager is and isn’t doing when a lot of the decisions are controlled from upstairs.
There is some concern as we are disturbingly weaker on offense than expected, and the pitching is also worse than we had hoped. And that is saying something as we did not expect to have real good mound work.
Per BR’s ranking of all 30 clubs, we come in at number 26. The Rockies are number 24, so two teams that are struggling early go at it.
I will be in attendance tonight and Wednesday afternoon. Always good to see a club in person as you get a much better insight into a player’s ability and instincts when watching in person than on television. The old fashioned “eye test” is still a good measure to use in assessing a player, as their are things you pick up that can confirm or caution what the numbers show.
Anyway, as Rats said gorgeous weather out here, so that will be a nice bonus. The Rockies will be happy as the Coors will be flowing freely and the Rooftop section will be filled with millennials half watching the game and half flirting. Or maybe it will be 1/4 and 3/4. 🙂
I think the problem with our birds is TOO MUCH managing. Too much live or die by right-left matchups, too much worrying about giving players a “rest” eight games into the season (Cal Ripkin where you), too much lineup juggling. Nobody can settle into a comfortable routine. These guys just don’t look like they are having any fun playing baseball, living the dream as it were.
Off the field, am I the only one weary of our analyst (BT) spending virtually all of his analyzing trying to guess what the next pitch is going to be?
There’s a lot of focus on the poor pitching and the offense not coming through in the clutch, but you can’t be terribly surprised by either of those this early in the season.
The hardest watch for me, though, has been the outfield defense. That is unexpected regardless of how few games they’ve played so far. Burleson should never get 2/3 of the innings in LF, even if Noot is injured. It’s an unforced error, especially so when you’re also experimenting with another new guy in the other corner who is far from a natural at it, while also experimenting with a corner gold glover at CF. They’ve consciously decided to weaken the defense at all three OF positions. If computers are making these decisions, then they need to get better computers. I guess the Cards are as cheap with their crystalline silicon as they are their pitching.
And on Burleson, if he wants to raise his ceiling beyond DH/pinch hitting, he might need to hire a personal trainer.
Burleson isn’t smooth in the OF, his best position is 1B but that’s pretty locked down, but he’s serviceable. To me he’s looked better in LF than Walker has in RF. O’Neill doesn’t need to be in CF at all. I don’t think he was ever a “gold glove” LF in my eyes. He HAD speed that made up for a lot of other very poor things, like routes, arm, coordination, and I say HAD because by statcast his speed is only about 70% of what he was prior to 2023 and why Marmol thinks he was being lazy. But I’ll agree the OF defense hasn’t been good though, with a 1B in LF, a 3B in RF, a LF in CF, and Carlson not playing and when he does it’s been LF and not CF where he is considerably better than O’Neill.
I keep saying it, O’Neill needs to go. No business in CF, and no business hitting higher than 8th vs RHP, LF- Nootbaar CF- Carlson RF- Walker, Burleson- 1B/LF/RF/DH, Yepez- 1B/LF/DH1. Brendan Donovan (L) 1B
2. Alec Burleson (L) LF
3. Paul Goldschmidt (R) DH
4. Nolan Arenado (R) 3B
5. Willson Contreras (R) C
6. Nolan Gorman (L) 2B
7. Jordan Walker (R) RF
8. Dylan Carlson (S) CF
9. Tommy Edman (S) SSThere’s a lot of focus on the poor pitching and the offense not coming through in the clutch, but you can’t be terribly surprised by either of those this early in the season.
Why not? Its early for everyone, not just us. If their pitching can be ready, ours should be just as ready. If their hitters can be locked in, ours should be just as locked in.
I think a decision has been made to see what the young outfielders can do, defensively and offensively, playing every day. Whatever defense we get is beside the point right now. I am sort of OK with that thinking as long as it doesn’t last too much longer and we get in a huge hole.
At some point some trades will need to be made. We seem to have too many redundant pieces between OF/DH/2B and not nearly enough quality pitching.
He’s inching his way up the order, but I’d swap Walker with Burleson. Has Burly been placed anywhere else in the order other than the 2 slot this season?
Nado got the light duty yesterday and today Goldy gets a day at DH. I could be wrong, but it seems like Eddie is the only player on this team to have played every inning in the field thus far.
Matz has had a tendency to allow the baseball to leave the playing field since he’s been a Cardinal. He won’t find any bargains in the venue in which he’ll be working tonight. He’s got to find a way to keep the baseball in play.
I believe Burleson has always hit 2nd so far. Not sure why except with Noot out we are short a top of the order guy.
I don’t think they will trade for a substantial pitcher until around the deadline. They could sift the burn pits but we know what we’d get.
I can’t see why Carlson is hitting 8th. If he’s an 8th hole hitter we don’t need him. Find out if he’s a player or not for crying out loud. Unless they have already made up their minds on that, which could be the case.
He’s inching his way up the order, but I’d swap Walker with Burleson. Has Burly been placed anywhere else in the order other than the 2 slot this season?
I don’t have a problem with Walker remaining down right now. He’s 20, keep as much pressure off him until he gets he’s feet under him a bit. I know he’s got a 9 game hit streak to start his career, tying him with Ted Williams for 2nd (behind Eddie Murphy’s 12 game in 1912), but I’m fine with giving him 4-6 weeks hitting 7th or 8th before moving him up a bit. I’d swap Gorman and Contreras for sure though. Gorman has had really good AB’s and working to prove my Russell Braynan comparison wrong. I prefer the catcher hitting 6th at the highest, even if we’d traded for Murphy, might make an exception for Realmuto or Piazza back in his day, their job to me is behind the plate and offense is a plus if they have it. Keep the C in the bottom third of the lineup and keep their load down more, in theory.
Which brings me to how much of a work load is going to be expected of Contreras behind the plate this season?
2022- 72 (starts) C, 39 DH
2021- 112 C
2020- 39 C, 18 DH
2019- 92 C, 1 1B, 1 RF, 1 DH
2018- 123 C
70% of the starts at C would be 113 games. Tonight is game 10 and his 7th start.I’m glad Carlson is in there and no O’Neill though!
From what I’ve seen out of him so far, I think Walker would be ideal for the 2 slot with Goldy looming. They probably don’t want to move him up in the order too quickly due to silly ideas about placing pressure on the rookie. Is so, that’s nonsense. He’s responding just fine to the Big Leagues. Place him in the 2 slot and if it doesn’t work out, move him back down to 7 or 8.
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