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11:35 a.m.
RHP Hunter Dobbins (StL debut) vs. RHP Paul Skenes (4-1, 2.48)
MLB Network // Cards.TV // KMOXSo are they bringing up Dobbins to be the sacrificial lamb against Skenes then send him right back to Memphis? Or are they going to let him take a few turns in the rotation?
They have to get through the 17 games in 17 days stretch first. At the end of that period, if Dobbins is pitching well and Leahy isn’t, they might make a change. Then again, they have been extremely patient this season to date. And a risk in moving Leahy to the pen is that with Fitts out, they would not have a clear no. 6 starter the next time they need one. It is a long season.
If Dobbins pitches well he should get it. It should be merit based and they can have one of the AAA guys be the 6th SP as they couldn’t perform much worse than Leahy has already.
ATM said:
“they can have one of the AAA guys be the 6th SP as they couldn’t perform much worse than Leahy has already.”
Be careful for what you ask for. I think back to Drew Rom and his 8.02 ERA in eight starts at the end of 2023 when they had no one else to start in August and September.
Now that we have won the first three games of this series this one falls into the category of a guaranteed loss.
The Pirates are desperate for a win and they have Skenes going. I am going to call this one 8-1 Pittsburgh with the Pirates scoring early.
And din-din for this one today will be a Hungry Man’s Chicken dinner. Along with an ice cold slushy Mt. Dew and a couple of big bowls of Turkey Hill Vanilla Bean ice cream.
r/Esteemed Rat
As of now neither Pallante nor Leahy are pitching themselves out of the rotation. Dobbins should get probably 2 or 3 starts I guess, and then a decision will be made.
Sounds like it is one and done for Dobbins. Who gets sent out to make room for him and who gets called up when he gets sent back down?
I looked up this morning how our team is performing in value by position compared with all other teams in baseball. This uses FWAR by position. Our best is 2nd and worst position is 29th in baseball. I’m betting both will surprise you – although our worst position player spot will not be a surprise.
2) Catcher (1.2 FWAR)
3) Second Base (1.5)
7) Right Field (1.0)
11) Third Base (.7)
16) Pinch Hitter (0.0) – just 23PAs
17) Left Field (.2)
18) First Base (.2)
19) Shortstop (.5)
21) Designated Hitter (-.2)
24) Relief Pitcher (.4)
28) Center Field (-.3)
29) Starting Pitcher (.4)We are elite thus far at Catcher and second base. Understand that only values Herrera when he’s actually playing catcher. Both he and Pages have been excellent. JJ has also been fantastic as the primary second baseman. RF is good too. We know Walker was amazing for 2 weeks anyway and continues to play good defense. Gorman is doing surprisingly well too primarily because his defense has been good with also an assist from Urias over there.
We are average at LF, 1B, and SS. I figured LF would be bad but apparently most other teams aren’t good there either. SS is a bit disappointing but Masyn is hitting better lately.
We are terrible at pitching – at least by FWAR. We knew the pen was bad, but Fangraphs thinks our starters have been even worse. And as we already are aware, CF has been a dumpster fire.
Sweeps, especially 4 game sweeps, are a most beautiful thing. And if you’re a Cards fan, you just have to love the pitching match-up today. Hunter “Bulldog” Dobbins will get the job done today. You just know that Paul Skenes is skittish about facing the team that he just can’t seem to defeat. Let’s call this one 4-3 Birds with Walker rapping a couple of rbi hits…..hopefully one of the long ball variety.
And what’s for din-din one may ask? Too darn early to start thinking din-din. I’m not like the esteemed Rat whom has his din-din docket planned out days in advance.
jnevel-
That was really interesting. Thanks! I was the most surprised at 3B. Winn has .8 FWar, so I’d guess we are hurt there by the backups (especially Saggese). And Burly has .4 FWar, so subs hurt there, too. Our bench is….not good. That the pitching and CF are concerns is….not surprising.
I’m toying with a post about whether we have the positions players present or in pipeline to be really good in 2028, and the question is whether we can get two top flight starters and some good relievers by then from guys who are on the farm. Unsure I’ll have time to do that before mid-May, though! The offense, espcially Wetherholt and Walker, is so much better than I anticipated that I am starting to think the turnaround could be faster than expected. (knocking wood.)
2B J. Wetherholt L
DH Ivan Herrera R
1B A. Burleson L
RF J. Walker R
3B Nolan Gorman L
SS Masyn Winn R
LF N. Church L
C Pedro Pages R
CF Victor Scott LTough for Fernandez after pitching well in the first game of the series. Hope that is a sign of more to come. We can use him. I’d guess that Roycroft will be called up tomorrow.
I was a bit surprised to see all the regulars in. I figured they’d give a couple of them rest on a day game after a night game and playing against Skenes. Ollie wants that sweep….
As a whole the Cardinals don’t do anything really well and do several things poorly. It is amazing to me that we are 17-13 but I will take it. We are scrappy.
7th in home runs, 8th in FWAR on the basepaths, 5th in DEF – those are some things they do well although the home runs may be a bit of a fluke.
Herrera is finally heating up so that is a positive. It was just a matter of time though. I still think he is our best hitter.
Herrera will likely soon pass Walker for the best wRC+ on the team. Wetherholt isn’t too far behind them to round out the top 3. I expect Herrera and JJ to be the best overall players on the team.
Speaking of Walker, cbssports has an article in the mlb section called ‘ 10 most pleasant MLB surprises after the first month of 2026, from Mike Trout’s renaissance to a Rockies ace’.
In that list of 10 notable surprises this season is Jordan Walker
It was quick, but I thought Walker’s eyes got very large as he was hitting that homer. 3 runs and 29 pitches for Skenes in the first???
We will definitely take this start. Now get Dobbins to go at least 5 innings and ideally 6 and all will be well. Plus a couple more bombs off Skenes would be nice.
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