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On a side note, FWIW…….Joey Votto is back for the red hot Reds tonight.
Time to go and jog and then water the landscaping. It hardly ever rains here in SW Indiana.
That’s three. Need to put some wins in the bank with the Yankees and Astros coming around the corner.
Love seeing Pugs back in the booth. With him and a guy named Caray, that is about as good as it gets when you are talking about Cardinal baseball.
Chip and Brad were talking about the Reds on the broadcast – calling them a young team with a swagger. Votto is the perfect guy to add to that club – sort of like us bringing in Albert last year. They might be a team of destiny, coming out of nowhere to win a post season slot.
Obviously I want us to somehow climb back in this, but if we continue to fumble around and can’t be there either Cincy or Pittsburgh is okay.
Nice to see:
– Cards win their third straight
– Cards come from behind to win
– Pitching staff shut down the Nats after a rocky start
– Hicks had his third straight good outing in closer roleCould Hicks be emerging as the closer?
I think it would take Hurricane Ida to get Hicks out of that closers role right now, 1964cards. I would imagine that Hicks has a very short leash though…….which is fine. If I were Marmol I would flat out tell Hicks that he has a short leash, as that sort of pressure would not adversely effect the mentality or the game of a bonafide true closer. And if it does, then he quickly fails and you can move on. Prospective closer prospects should ALWAYS have a ton of pressure heaped atop them from the get go……until they prove themselves.
Even though Gorman is 0 for his last quadzillion at the dish, he’s been spectacular of late in the field. He put on a clinic out there today.
Thanks BicycleMike! I owe you a fish dinner at…….forgot the name of that restaurant in Denver…… we’ll need to do lunch again soon, Mike.
Taking a gander at the out-of-town scoreboard:
Rockies lead the Reds 4-3 in the 6th at Riverfront. Joey Votto a dong in his return.
Arizona leading Milwaukee 6-0 in the 5th at County Stadium.
The Cubs lead the Pirates 3-0 in the 6th at Forbes Field.
Could Hicks be emerging as the closer?
I’m just hoping they don’t overuse him. He’s always had the stuff to be the closer, but it’s his usage rate that concerns me.
I’m cautiously optimistic on Hicks. Let’s hope he gets a good couple week run out of this. The bullpen has some high ERA’s which concerns me. Like to see them settle in. It appears the rotation is what it is at this point.
They ended a series well and started one well. That is baby steps for sure.
What concerns me about Hicks is his high walk rate. I don’t have time right now to review the data to see if there is a correlation between higher usage and higher walks.
If we run into a hot starting pitcher, we lose, same as any other club, then move on. If we lose due to another blown save, that will suck the remaining life out of this club
I am all for staying with what’s working while it’s working. Thinking Hicks suddenly turned into a different guy is unrealistic.
Hicks as a FA-to-be, would make a fine trade chip, if he makes it to the deadline and is still active.
GBs Fish & Chips was the place Pugs. Next time you are out this way give me a hollar.
Hicks’ history is that he is always a pitch away from losing command, or being injured. But if the command is there, which it has been his last few outings, he is a tough one to face. The other worry with him at closer is whether he can temper his arm stress, or will he burn out like before.
He would be in our rotation today if I had my way back a few years ago – would have had him keep working on command and arm strength in the minors. But it’s water under the bridge at this point, as the Cardinals will always use him as a bullpen piece.
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