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Colhusker…I think it’s more a manifesto on just how little the guys we’ve been clamoring to trade are worth.
So sad given all I heard for the last several years was how loaded our minor leagues were.
Pham move was good overall, not a game changer by itself, but combined with other recent moves — bullpen, coaches/mgr, Piscotty/Grichuk/Lynn from late last year — this is now a completely different team from a year ago. Really hard to put a playoff team together mid-season and they haven’t done that yet, but outlook for next year is positive. Pham’s performance was recently declining and combined with his age and eye issues, made for a good trade now. That said, his departing comments were gracious and I wish him well.
Interesting that the Post-Dispatch article mentioned the Cardinals approached Pham about a 2-year, $4M deal, but Pham turned it down thinking he could put together a monster year and earn more.
Pham was my favorite Cardinal last year, and I always championed him as a guy that should have gotten an opportunity to play more before last year. But time moves on, and both Tommy and the club have been a disappointment in 2018. We’ll see how all these moves work out.
Was surprise to see Mercado dealt as well. I am not sold on Bader as the answer in center field, although O’Neill is being given a shot as well.
There is/was no bigger Pham rooter on the planet than me. That being said, let’s look at the data:
Age – 30 (will be 31 before next season starts)
Health – significant injury history including a non-curable degenerative eye condition
Production – one quality MLB season (2017)That’s a player worth throwing a hissy over when he’s traded?
As far as the value received for him, the trade was clearly a long-term one for St Louis. I remember the J.D. Drew trade quite well (still have never seen a sweeter swing that WussCake’s). We got MLB-ready pieces Jason Marquis and Ray King plus a Double-A prospect named Wainwright. Remember hearing that the minor league pitcher was the gem of the trade. That turned out to be correct.
The trade only helps St Louis now in that it will give management more opportunity to assess what they have in Bader and O’Neill going into the off season. We’ll have to see how it looks after long-term plays out.
Now, if only Drew had Pham’s passion for the game… sigh
I’m kind of excited about ah-doh-LEES Gracia getting a chance at the major league level, followed closely by Randy Arozarena. I also love the enthusiasm for the game that Bader shows. If Pham excels in Tampa Bay, that only proves that he was pouting while in St. Louis. If he doesn’t excel, then he was blocking another OF prospect, or two, or three.
If Pham excels in Tampa Bay, it does NOT prove he was pouting in St. Louis. It may be something as simple as he has a hitting coach that’s better suited to him. OR, HE figures out his swing. After all, he was slashing .318/.430/.553/.983 on May 18th. That was after 158 PAs or roughly the equivalent of 1/4 of a season.
“If Pham excels in Tampa Bay, that only proves that he was pouting while in St. Louis.”
Are you just baiting people to call you an idiot?
Dan talked on the broadcast last night about Pham’s involvement in the community and how even on the road he’d take time to visit Boys and Girls Clubs to offer encouragement to the youth. It’s really a shame that he wasn’t able to follow up his stellar year from May-May. His slump, IMO, was probably the biggest single factor in the free fall in the standings from early June til now.
How good would Carpenter and Pham have been if they’re production had overlapped?
The best #1-2 in the league? It certainly would have been a great way to start a lineup.
Over on MLBTR, they have this quote from a rival exec:
But one rival questions whether the organization has “a real understanding of where they are within their process.”
In other words, our front office is in denial.
That sounds about right…like I said they’ll have to hit rock bottom before they admit that they’ve failed…
That rival exec was probably disappointed that MO wouldn’t trade the player he was interested in at the deadline.
Not a good start.
Fractured foot for #Rays Pham
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) August 3, 2018
#Rays hopeful Pham returns in less than a month
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) August 3, 2018
Clearly the Cards knew this would happen and cut bait at exactly the right time. Meanwhile, Genesis Cabrera becomes a future 20 game winner. Smart move
Yep, that’s some bad luck. I was randomly flipping through some games on TV when I saw Pham batting. Since it was him, I decided to watch his AB and saw the pitch that hit his back foot. He seemed liked he jogged it off without a big deal, so I moved on to the next channel. Did not give it much thought that he might have broken a bone.
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