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Now that we’re past the All Star break and with the trade deadline upon us, it’s time to have a little fun prognosticating the rest of the year in St Louis. Granted, none of these are likely to turn out exactly as written but let’s see who can come closely with their crazy picks!
I’ll start:
1) The Cards play much better in the second half, going 41-27 to finish with 89 wins. This earns a wild card by a nose.
2) Tommy Pham has a higher OPS in the second half than Jose Martinez, and both are over .800. Tommy has been hitting the ball hard without much luck.
3) Adam Wainwright wins not one, but two games in the second half. The fans give him a standing ovation during his final home game, and he retires after the year.
4) The rotation in September includes at least one non-Wacha, non member of it now due to trade or innings limits.
5) Jedd Gyorko is the most likely Cardinal starter to be traded at the deadline, and Jack Flaherty the most likely starting pitcher to be moved. One of these two will be traded.
Interesting points.My take.
1.a small uptick.36-32 finish 84-78
2. Dont see it happening.JMartinez gets bunch RF time.Bader gets more CF time over Pham.ONeill also gets some OF time.JMartinez says close to .800 Pham .750
3.Wainwright gets a few games as long man.Retires after season.
4.I think you are right.I think Dakota Hudson gets called up for September.Sherriff gets moved to 60 -DL to open roster spot.
5.Agree .Gyorko could be gone .Hoe Wisdom gets att least some sort of shot.He is still leading Memphis in hitting ,walking more and striking out less.
I hope Flaherty is not traded.I would rather trade Carlos Martinez for good prospects and keep Flaherty.Carlos can bring back several good prospects.That said I think MO/FO hold on to their SPs .Love that sense of optimism!
I’ll be very disappointed if they trade Flaherty. I think he could be a future #1 starter. The buzz is that they are shopping CMart. Makes sense if they can get a big bat for 3B. Otherwise, forget it, IMO. I think they almost have to trade Jose Martinez although it might not happen until the offseason. He hits as good, or better, than many of the DH’s that are now playing in the AL. And he’s super cheap, comparitavely speaking. So I think he would be pretty valuable to an AL team. Just not sure if the right deal will come up before the trade deadline. If they could get a third baseman and trade JMart, it would be nice to have Gyorko as a super sub.
Without projecting numbers, Pham, Ozuna, Fowler and Wong will all be better. I also think Weaver and Flaherty will continue to improve as long as they start in regular rotation.
As for trades, I would trade JMartinez before Gyorko. Even with all of his offense this year, Gyorko has out OPS’d him (barely).
So I will predict a trade of Jose Martinez while his stock is high, but the club will make no other major moves. We then settle in with a basic lineup of Molina< Carp, Wong, DeJong, Gyorko, Ozuna, Pham and Fowler, with Bader starting a couple of games a week as well.
Hicks ascends to the closer role, with Norris primarily setting up and the bullpen gets some traction. The entire club gets into a rhythm with basically a set lineup, rotation and bullpen and the results are impressive. Players play with confidence and assurance, and are no longer concerned about how they are viewed by their manager – they just play. A late August/early September surge results in the Redbirds passing Milwaukee and finishing 3 games behind Chicago to earn the first wild-card.
They become sort of a replay of the 2009 Rockies, after the Rockies replaced Clint Hurdle with Jim Tracy.
I think Ozuna will be the second half NL MVP. All of our hitters with the most PAs are under-performing their wOBAs with Ozuna and Carpenter (even still) being the biggest under-performers.
Pham, Ozuna, Carpenter, and Martinez should carry the team.
bicyclemike
As for trades, I would trade JMartinez before Gyorko. Even with all of his offense this year, Gyorko has out OPS’d him (barely).
Gyorko’s OPS is at .729, .111 points below Martinez at .840.
During the ninth inning, both A-Rod and Buster Olney predicted the 2018 Cards would slip into the playoffs as a wild card.
During the ninth inning, both A-Rod and Buster Olney predicted the 2018 Cards would slip into the playoffs as a wild card.
And I’m sure you laughed like I would’ve if I watched the ninth.
Say the Cardinals do keep it head above water. You’d have to make multiple moves to make something happen.
How about this bold move if indeed we do decide to do something.
Jose Martinez. Carson Kelly for Eduardo Escobar and Zach Duke.
If we sell it’s going to be Bud Norris
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