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I totally agree. We have been stuck in 2013 for quite some time.
The sooner we move on from the stars of yesterday the better. It is time for a youth movement.
Mo was on Frank Cusumano’s radio on 590 The Fan today: https://590thefan.com/radio-shows/press-box/
Frank and Mo talked about several of the players and several topics, but are the big ones in my opinion.
A Couple of Points:
Likes the idea of Tyler O’Neil starting until Ozuna comes back to evaluate him.
Carlos Martinez was going to go back to the rotation until Jodan Hick’s blew out his arm.
Addressed the Voit and Pham trades: Hints that the Cards probably lost the Pham trade; Sees the Voit trade as a wash considering how good Gallegos has been.Through the first half of 2019, the main problems are (at least as I see it):
-Goldschmidt has been a bust – he was expected to provide a big bat to keep the club from going through so many offensive droughts, and it just has not happened
-Bader has regressed – one reason for trading Pham was that Bader needed to play. But he has not hit enough to be considered the locked in center fielder. Last night he was even pinch-hit for by a rookie.
-Major regressions from 2018 by Carpenter and Mikolas, without anyone else having a significant improvement to offset at least some of this production drop
-Miscalculation in making Jordan Hicks the closer (worked to some degree for awhile, but this was not a sustainable solution)
-A minor one, but Yadier Molina is not getting any younger
Right now I would say our strong points are a solid middle infield tandem, and a decent, though not great and quite inconsistent bullpen. But you are basically stuck with the roster as currently constructed, so I think you have to play the hand you are dealt and hope that guys can play more to their norm over the second half, and you get some breaks that keep you in contention for the division title. Fortunately this division is weak, so there is hope, even at a game below .500 close to the All-Star break.
Very good points Mike.
Here is how I sum it up:
Waino: 37 yrs old, average production, owed TBD after this season
Molina: 36 yrs old, average production, owed $20M after this season
Miller: 34 yrs old, average production, owed $14M after this season
Carp: 33 yrs old, below avg production, owed $39M after this season
Fowler: 33 yrs old, below avg production, owed $33M after this season
Goldy: 31 yrs old, below avg production, owed $130M after this season
Mikolas:30 yrs old, average production, owed $68M after this seasonWe are the St. Louis Giants or the San Francisco Cardinals if you prefer. Too many aging players owed big money who will be very difficult to move.
We desperately need to get younger. If Mo signs anyone else to a long term extension within the next year he needs to be immediately fired on the spot.
gscottar:
That is sobering and depressing. There is really nothing to look forward to with this organization except perpetual mediocrity.
well goldy being signed to a five year deal is really looking bad right now. if this is what he is gonna be, its worse than fowlers signing. but you cant eat that much money. it also hurts us the most cause he was supposed to be the changing piece. its the problem with how the cardinals do things. they make a deal but they don’t follow up with another deal just in case the first one doesn’t go as planned. if carpenter doesn’t get back to form, we have to move on, same with fowler though he has been ok this year. I stay with Molina cause defensively hes still solid and better than what we have on the farm. plus I believe in loyalty to the guys that have been the face of your team to a certain point obviously. there are more important things than wins and losses to us lifelong fans anyways. I still believe in bader. while he has been bad, his fall isn’t as far as the others. the others were supposed to carry the load, bader was never meant to do anything near that and hes still solid defensively. doesn’t mean he has to start all the time or that he has unlimkited rope but he just needs to improve a little to get back to his projections, these other guys need to do a lot.
Looking at gscottar’s list, that is over $300M committed to guys past their prime. That salary structure is little top-heavy.
It indicates this should be a club built to win now. When you are not winning, it would seem to be a forecast of some lean years ahead. What has hurt is they have given up more offensive production than they have received in letting go of Voit, Pham and Piscotty, and offense has been the major problem.
But again, there is talent on this ball club. Whether they can play better in the second half and over the next few years is to be determined.
Mike, gotta throw Mercado into that list as well. Sure Torres is considered a top prospect but he’s several out from even helping the MLB club.
Zac Gallen should be grateful that the FO dealt him in the Ozuna deal. He’s now reached MLB with the Marlins.
His #s at AAA before his call-up. 9 up and 1 down – 1.77 ERA – 112 Ks/ 91.1 inn. WHIP = 0.71. I had a lot of hope that he would be doing it for the Cards.
Alcantara has pitched the most innings for the Marlins staff (17 starts). He sends his love to Mozeliak who is going with Wainwright and Wacha.
The Mercado deal was an odd one, but then at the time it was thought we had too many outfielders. Bader’s stagnation has really hurt.
Interesting question on Ozuna. If the club signs him he still could be a good run producer for us for a few years. If not, then it could be another negative return deal.
I wonder when it’s all said and done how the Ozuna trade will be evaluated?
A heck of a lot better if we had got that future HoFer instead of Ozuna, BlackHills. And with that I’ll stop beating that dead horse into the ground, but gosh darn it, I’ll never ever forget the first moment when I heard of the Ozuna trade…..sitting on the john reading the morning sports section and I literally yelled out “Why not Yelich…..we could have had Yelich”! Well that’s water over the dam now. And Ozuna, as mediocre as he was last year, has put together a real decent 2019 effort….but I fear what he does next year and beyond.
From Jeff Gordon’s mouth.
To a follow-up question about the Cardinals clearing the logjam in their organization’s outfields, Gordo replied:
I know the Cardinals have to trade guys to clear the logjam, but when you trade players (1) They’d better not be better than what you are keeping; and (2) You’d better get a good return. While the Cardinals would not have a Dodgers-like roster if they kept everybody, it’s fair to ask if they could have turned that surplus into more than the .500 team they are today.
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I think the media is finding it tougher and tougher to defend this FO administration. The word is getting around and must have found Mozeliak’s ears by now. Many feel is is too comfortable with his situation with DeWitt but the owner must be getting wind of some of the outrage of his fandom.They may be aware of the fan “outrage” but Gordo simply pointing out they need to make better trades seems a weak connection.
I still think the smart move is to let Ozuna walk and take the draft pick. We have numerous internal OF’s who can give us adequate production in LF. I would rather spend Ozuna’s money on a top of the line starter.
P.S. For those who wonder if the executives know what is being written and said, this is a line buried in the extensive bio of former Cards Communications VP Ron Watermon.
“Ron developed the weekly Executive Press Pass, to share a recap of media coverage and social media highlights with senior leadership and other stakeholders in the front office.”
Brian… I read Watermon’s “resume”. Since he doesn’t look too old and his age isn’t part of it, its hard to even imagine that he packed all of his projects, experience, innovation and a wide variety of achievements into one man’s life. And he is still going.
It seems to me that he might be part of a damage control operation for the Cards organization. And it would seem that the law degree from SLU in his pocket is a huge asset for what he deals with.
“Ron developed the weekly Executive Press Pass, to share a recap of media coverage and social media highlights with senior leadership and other stakeholders in the front office.”
His “Press Pass”, it appears, is just the tip of his “iceberg”.
He would be an intriguing and interesting guy to sit and spend some time talking with.
We are both Billikens but my degree was merely a BA in Poli-Sci(which I really didn’t get much use out of). However, I was a district leader at age 21. My years of hotel management, construction supervision and power plant emissions analytics. (I did get a BS in Human Resources that I took night classes for at age 52) simply dwarf in comparison and wouldn’t add much to the conversation. That’s my story, one lousy paragraph. Oh well, he’d have to do all the talking.
Boy I wish I had his ambition and intelligence. But we are both Cardinal fans, and for here that is the only thing that matters.
Forsch, that depends if we are talking about 2017 Ozuna or 2018 Ozuna? If we sign Ozuna to a five year deal are we confident we are going to get 2018 Ozuna?
I think some combination of O’Neill, JMart, Thomas, Arozarena, Adolis, and Ravelo could handle LF next year then by 2021 Mr. Carlson should be ready.
But you have to look at in the aggregate. We take that Ozuna money and go out and get a number one starter and this team looks totally different.
The concern that Bader has not become the player everyone thought or hoped he could be has thrown a wrench into everything. We need either Bader or O’Neill to be a solid everyday outfielder, or the deals of Pham, Mercado and Piscotty were giving up too much depth.
As time goes on, Bader is becoming more of a question mark, and O’Neill has not had an opportunity. So I think if those guys are both still uncertain at season’s end, and it could be worse for Bader, then Ozuna’s value to the club goes up.
I assume Hicks’ transfer to 60 day spot will go to Mayers. Both Urias and Williams are on the AAA IL and can’t be taken off the STL 40-man until they return to playing condition. When one does add Arozarena and see if he can give some traction to the team.
I wouldn’t put Carlson in the majors until he is absolutely ready. We can’t afford to mess around with our #1 prospect. Too many Memphis boys have disappointed in recent years. And the players we brought into the organization are not faring much better.
Our OF situation is not exactly all the FO has promised us.
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