Questions For 2023

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Viewing 25 posts - 826 through 850 (of 953 total)
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  • #207440
    1toughdominican
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    Yeah, but who and how much? We saw the addition of Matz last winter. How high do you think they’ll raise the bar above a guy like him? I’m thinking not too much. I have an familiar feeling that during ST we’ll hear about Flaherty and possibly Montgomery being the 1-2 guys that’ll take the Redbirds to the promised land.

    #207441
    1toughdominican
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    Something else to think about is who’s going to replace Albert Pujols? The great slugger contributed 24 HR’s and 68 RBI’s. And the vast majority of those HR’s and RBI’s tipped the outcomes of ballgames over to the Cardinal’s favor and added to the W column. For the entire second half, it was not unlike all of them came in games that were close and late. He did what all-time great players do and really stepped up. In reality, without him the Redbirds may not have won the NLC.

    #207442
    1toughdominican
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    I’m reasonably sure that others are aware of this, but I just now happened to notice that during Albert Pujols’ 12 total seasons with the Cardinals that his totals for both HR’s and doubles were indentical. The great slugger ripped 469 HR’s and 469 doubles while wearing the birds on the bat. To me, that’s right on par with Musial’s 1815 hits at home and 1815 hits on the road. You don’t get any better than those two all-time greats.

    #207443
    blingboy
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    Our whole outfield was offense challenged last year to some extent, plus Gordon. Hopefully that will not be the case in 2023 and it will offset the loss of Pujols. We do need someone to step into the middle of lineup role to complement Goldy and NA. There should also be better production from the catcher position. I would not be worried if Mo sticks to upgrading catcher and pitching.

    O’Neill is getting to the point where his salary and limited years of control negatively affect his trade value. That and the lengthening injury history. But the trade value may never be higher than it is now.

    #207444
    jj-cf-stl
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    The roster right now reminds me of a coin album with two coins missing. You know which ones are missing, the expensive ones.

    They are expensive because of their scarcity and that’s where the FO is shopping this winter. Scarcity at catcher and SP1 within mlb will likely yield only one of the two this winter, on the funds available, and they are making a big deal about catcher.

    That other hole in the album, you plug it with “a filler”, and look to upgrade in the future.

    #207445
    1toughdominican
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    Bling…It sure was. You could make a case that Nootz provided more offensive production than any other member of the OF. I don’t think there’s any question that the Cardinals have the best IF in the NL and maybe the entire Big Leagues. There’s a considerable inbalance on the playing field in regards to the IF and OF. The OF wasn’t horrible, but all three positions need to step up the pace regarding producing runs. If even one or two of the everyday OF’ers have improved seasons in ’23, that should vault the OF over the so-so status. And yeah, a catcher is something we haven’t had to think about for a long time, but the need is certainly there at present. As for pitching, I can’t recall the Cardinals ever spending the type of money required for a top-shelf SP’er. It may be the wise approach, because they come with both a lofty price and substantial risk.

    #207446
    blingboy
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    I agree about Noot. Its not easy to put up a 126 OPS+ when you only hit .228, and he was often a spark plug and a character in the clubhouse. He’s the sort that will get everything possible out of whatever ability he has. Those are the kind of players that populate winning teams.

    #207447
    1toughdominican
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    The guy who is a lookalike of a young Wayne Nooton certainly made a significant contribution and was a lot of fun to watch. I’d have to say that players like him are one of the many reasons baseball’s my favorite team sport.

    #207448
    blingboy
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    In a certain sense he reminds me of Rex “the Wonder Dog” Hudler who played here in the early 90s. One time he caught a june bug and some guys bet him several hundred bucks he wouldn’t eat it so he did. In the dugout, during a game. IIRC, he made close to a grand out of it 30 years ago.

    #207449
    1toughdominican
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    Haha! I remember that. The price went up to $800 and he ate the thing like he was mad at it. I just looked it up and if the source is correct, Pagnozzi was the guy who dared him to devour the six legged creature…

    #207452
    Cardinal in France
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    I know it’s difficult to make judgments when your only evidence is what you can see on your home screen, but I really like what I see of the Nooter. His attitude, enthusiasm and infectious smile shine through every day no matter what weight you ascribe to any given statistic. And his BA may not overwhelm, but he always seems to come up with a timely early game hit. For me and my TV eyeballs he’s definitely a keeper.

    I know, I know, smiles don’t win ball games…

    #207455
    bccran
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    Why is Mikolas not given enough respect? When he first came to the Cardinals in 2018, he was 18-4 with an ERA of 2.83 and a WHIP of 1.071. Last season he had an ERA of 3.29 with a WHIP of 1.033 in 202 1/3 innings. Seems to me he’s like Rodney Dangerfield. Those stats sure aren’t the stats of a #4-#5 starter. Rondon, whom some posters want as an “ace”, also had a WHIP of 1.03 in 2022.

    #207456
    CariocaCardinal
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    Noot seems like the kind you keep because ther teams seldom pay for intagibles such as he brings.

    #207469
    gscottar
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    I would not even be considering Bellinger or any other potential CF acquisition if I was confident that Carlson was the answer but I am not. He has had every opportunity to make the job his and has been unsuccessful in my opinion. By the end of this past season he had deteriorated into barely a platoon player. 2023 is crucial for him. He is either going to finally seize the reins or is going to go the way of Piscotty.

    #207472
    jj-cf-stl
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    Per Fangraphs, Carlson finished 12th in CF, just behind Bryan Reynolds at #11. Bellinger finished 21st.

    #207473
    stlcard25
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    I would not even be considering Bellinger or any other potential CF acquisition if I was confident that Carlson was the answer but I am not. He has had every opportunity to make the job his and has been unsuccessful in my opinion. By the end of this past season he had deteriorated into barely a platoon player. 2023 is crucial for him. He is either going to finally seize the reins or is going to go the way of Piscotty.

    I think you’re being a bit rough on Carlson. While he hasn’t become the star we hoped for, he’s been very solid in the OF. Between 2021 and 2022, his 5 fWAR ranks 26th among all OFers (that’s 90 starters and who knows how many backups). He’s just played all of 2022 at age 23. While I agree that we’d all like (and the Cards could use) him to take the next step, he’s been very solidly above average out there. At worst, he’s your cheap 4th OFer who can play all three positions and provide a passable sub for an injury, which of course we need with O’Neill a part of the OF and Nootbaar no guarantee to continue to be successful.

    #207474
    1toughdominican
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    Immediately after Bader was sent to the Yankees, Carlson was given a much publicised vote of confidence by several members of Cardinal brass as the unquestioned Redbird CF’er in numerous media outlets. He didn’t retain that status for more than a minute or two. I think the job still belongs to him, but he’s going to have to demonstrate that he possesses the talent to keep it. I’ll also say that I’m pretty certain that Carlson entered the fray with a lot more tout than did Piscotty.

    #207477
    1toughdominican
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    I’m aware that this sounds silly, but I’ve been hearing so much about Jordan Walker that I couldn’t resist taking a closer look at his minor league numbers. I’ve never seen him play, so I looked them over to the best of my limited ability. And then I looked at Albert Pujols’ numbers when he spent a short time at the Peoria A affiliate. I couldn’t help but notice that the numbers are remarkably similar…Haha! So what if he’s only 20? Dress that kid up in a Big League uniform and bring him on!

    #207480
    gscottar
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    Well instead of isolating my criticism to Carlson I will say that I am concerned by our OF as a group.

    Carlson has not lived up to the hype thus far.
    O’Neill is very talented but can’t stay on the field.
    Noot has overachieved. Is it sustainable?
    Burleson and Yepez have good offensive potential but can they play defense? Are they just DH’s?
    Walker seems to have a very bright future but I view 2023 as a transition year for him.

    Besides catcher we need an OF addition. I feel good about the IF though.

    #207481
    stlcard25
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    To me, it seems like the volume of options we have nearly assures us an average or better OF. What it doesn’t indicate is how much above average we’ll have. Adding a lefty impact bat to the lineup would be nice, I agree. I was warming to the idea of Rizzo as DH before he resigned with New York.

    #207482
    1toughdominican
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    I noticed while watching him in the batter’s box on TV during the second half that Carlson looked as though he could use a little weight and some baseball related strength conditioning excercise. I didn’t get anywhere near enough looks at Burleson to form any sort on impression. The only thing I recall about him was a HR he hit off a position player. O’Neill should be wrapped in cotton and isolated far away from sharp objects. I like Nootz a lot, but I’m not convinced he’s more than a 4th OF’er, although a good one. Going by the handful of times I saw him track down baseballs in LF, I only feel safe with Yepez at DH. I’d like to see Walker in ST and if he does good, put him on a Big League field. I don’t think they’ll do it, but if they pay money for a catcher, I’d like to see them pay it to Contreras. I’ve seen plenty of him and he swings the bat as well as any catcher out there, and I can’t tell why he’s relegated to such a low status for his defense. Unless of course, he’s being compared to the great Yadier Molina.

    #207489
    jj-cf-stl
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    GS, you should feel good about the IF, we spent 70 to 80mil bucks on the primaries. What did we spend on Noot, Carlson and O’Neill? 5mil?

    We can’t have MVP candidates everywhere, and a develop from within org NEEDS to graduate young players to offset the infield $ spent.

    Our outfield was top 10 last season and our pitching was bottom 10. I’ll leave it at that because I’m sure I’m sounding like a broken record.

    #207491
    gscottar
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    With only around $20M to spend some hard choices will have to be made. Catcher? OF? Pitching?

    The most recent revelation that we are on the hook for the entire $35M to Arenado in 2023 is still stunning to me. It is a budget gut punch.

    #207493
    stlcard25
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    Our outfield was top 10 last season and our pitching was bottom 10. I’ll leave it at that because I’m sure I’m sounding like a broken record.

    I would love to upgrade the pitching too, but it’s difficult to see it happening with the group that’s currently slotted into the rotation. If you want a fairly depressing read regarding pitching and payroll, here’s one:

    https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/2022/11/23/23473853/the-low-high-point-payroll-offseason-planning

    Bottom line, the rotation looks totally set, batting a shocking development. The author indicates that the Cards probably will upgrade catcher and add a lefty OF/DH type and a use the leftover to pick up a swing and miss reliever. I know you love Chafin, so he may end up being your prize of the off season.

    I personally think that’s foolish, as they’re going to have a lot more money to spend after 2023 and a lot of holes to fill. They’d better hope for three of Mikolas, Monty, Libby, Hudson, Graceffo, McGreevy, or some guy out of nowhere to be rotation worthy for 2024 because signing more than one FA starter rarely goes well.

    #207494
    jj-cf-stl
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    Maybe we trade away some salary too. I know they have been looking at catcher since the deadline, bet that one happens. After that? Who knows.

Viewing 25 posts - 826 through 850 (of 953 total)
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