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Once again, it’s time to test your prognostication skills and put your best foot forward. On the line is bragging rights for the best and BOLDEST picks.
Remember, those are BOLD picks, so be brave and don’t pick the easy picks (for example, Arenado to lead the Cards in HRs…not BOLD. Arenado to hit 50 HRs…BOLD).
Let’s see what you’ve got!
My picks:
1. Dylan Carlson primarily bats leadoff and leads the team in WAR. I like the trajectory the kid is on and think he takes a big step forward this year. I’m saying he slashes .280/.370/.500 with solid RF defense.
2. Following a continued run of pitching injuries, Mo does the unthinkable and pulls off a big time trade at the deadline for a starter. The trade will cost us one of Gorman or Edman, plus several prospects. Some names to consider: Frankie Montas, Sandy Alcantara (sigh), Zac Gallen (double sigh), Aaron Nola.
3. One of Alex Reyes or Jack Flaherty finds themselves pitching their last game for St Louis this season.
4. The Cardinals enter September on fire and with a 10 game lead in the NL Central, only to lose 16 of 17 games to fall into a tie entering the final game of the season, which they win to clinch the division over the Brewers at 86-76.
5. The Cards are uninspiring but then slip past the Brewers in the opening round, then the #2 seed Braves in the NLDS. In the NLCS, they trail the Dodgers 3 games to 2. In the top of the 9th, pinch hitter Albert Pujols eviscerates a Craig Kimbrel pitch way into the left field seats at Chavez Ravine, silencing the euphoric Dodger Stadium and sending the Cards to a 5-4 victory. Unfortunately, the Dodgers win game 7 and end the Cardinals season. Retirements announced: Waino and Albert. Yadi doesn’t commit to ride off just yet. Also retiring: Craig Kimbrel, who throws 7 wild pitches in the Dodgers World Series loss to the Astros.
At ESPN they have the Cardinals finishing .500 with a 30.6% chance of making the playoffs. I don’t see any reason for optimism in the future under this current administration. There’s so much hope that goes into their strategy, so I’m hoping their new analytical, managerial approach can win them a few more games. lol
I forgot to make a prediction. The only predictions I would make is that DeJong hits above .230 this year because he looks like he’s getting better instruction from somewhere, he’s going to left field A LOT. Arenado unfortunately is not. I predict his average to remain the same or even drop a bit because of his pull hitting mentality. I suspected an injury last year causing him to do this but he looks the same in spring training. I’m afraid we paid a lot of money for an excellent defensive player. He hits a lot of HRs but if this is what we can expect, he’s not a 30M a year player and they overpaid.
Bold predictions aren’t usually my thing but I’ll give it a go but not as much detail. 1. Harrison bader hits 24 home runs this year, hits for a .275 batting average. 2. Waino goes 20-7, wins the cy young. 3. We do pull off a big mid season trade for a big name starter. 4. Pujols hits 25 home runs. 5. We win the division by 8 games. Winning 96.
1. Our top starter will be Dakota Hudson who goes 15-8 with a 3.4 ERA.
2. Brendan Donovan comes up before May and stays the rest of the season. He hits .275 over 275 PA’s and becomes an almost every day player by the end of the season.
3. Kodi Whitley has a breakout year in the pen ending up with a 2.95 ERA, 1.2 WHIP, 22 holds, and 7 saves.
4. Mo trades for Zach Davies at the deadline to bolster the rotation (Wait that isn’t very bold).
5. The Cards finish 89-72, three games behind the Brewers in the division. We beat the Phillies 2 games to 1 in the wild card round, only to lose to the Dodgers 3 games to 2 in the NLDS. Pujols and Yadi retire but Waino says not so fast and comes back for 2023.
I love this thread every year. I use it to make dire predictions that if even one or two came true, it would be a truly dismal year. Here we go for 2022.
1. The Cardinals, floundering at a 37-50 mark at the All-Star break, fire manager Oliver Marmol and hire Albert Pujols as player-manager.
2. The Chicago Cubs put on a late season surge under new manager Mike Shildt, hired after the firing of David Ross in June, to sneak into a post season spot. Their September push of 22-9 put them in a 85-77.
3. Clubhouse unrest took hold after the Spring bliss, as the much ballyhooed dugout fisticuffs between Paul DeJong and Adam Wainwright exposed the warring factions the had been brewing under overmatched manager Marmol. DeJong’s release, and fines to 6 of the 8 starting position players as well as four pitchers, and coaches Mike Maddux and Jeff Albert resulted in a promised house cleaning during the off season by management.
4. Bill DeWitt, disgusted by the turmoil of his club and fed up with the business of major league baseball, sells the franchise in December to a group lead by TCN executive Brian Walton, and several other TCN personalities.
-Dejong rebounds 25HR, .260 AVG
-ONeill regresses at plate
-Pujols gets 700
-After early poor performance out of the 5th spot and an injury to one of the starters, Moz calls up JA Happ and brings him in as a band-aid…it doesn’t help. The pitching which saved the Cardinals early last year is the part the fails miserably this year despite the offense being ok.
-Libertore is brought into rotation and fails miserably as he isn’t ready, then revolving door once again of kids and band aids.
-Mo seeing tickets sales drop in the summer because of the poor results, knee-jerk trades for a decent starter to boost interest…unfortunately we trade a major piece…one of Gorman, Walker
-Cardinals miss playoffs and get 3rd place in Central
-Mo is “fired” but they say he is “retiring” or “moving on to other interests”
-Marmol and J.Albert are out the door as well, Girsch too…
-Front office tries to save face by blaming Mo and the coaches…then bringing in expensive manager and new GMCarlson will continue to improve. O’Neill will be about where he was last year. He’s a keeper. Goldy will play at his level for 2 more years. Arenado will improve a bit at the plate. His defense is the best on the Team. Albert will retire before the All-Star game. He’s not going to be very productive. Dejong will improve his average to about .230. Gonna see him go for the downs more than just a few times. Bader you saw his career year last year. His Defense is the reason he is here. But his decision making not so great. Too many diving attempts at that crowd pleasing play. Better swing a trade quick before he reverts back to what he has been for 4 years now. Yadi is Yadi. Won’t hurt us on D but his offense will head further south. Edman is adequate at 2B makes a great 6th man. Need Sosa and Gorman to step up and take the MI positions. Sosa beat out Dejong last year but it didn’t matter to MO. He’s the one holding the reigns here. The Pitching staff will not overwhelm but will be adequate. The bullpen will be solid. This team could have really used a bat like Castellanos. They elected not to spend. The defense won’t overcome the offense this year. Looks like 82-86 Wins max. Hate to be pessimistic but that’s my feeling on the subject. Oh and Bally sucks.
Cardinals take the division with 94 wins.
They beat the Braves in the NLDS Paul Goldschmidt is MVP
They beat the Dodgers in the NLCS Nolan Arenado is MVP
They beat the Yankees in the World Series Drum roll please….Albert Pujols is MVP of the World Series.1. Carlson settles in nicely at lead off and becomes the team’s second best all around outfielder hitting .289 with 26 homers.
2. Hudson is perfectly fine after TJ and wins 18 games with a whip of 1.08. He gives up a few homers but brings the walks waaaay down.
3. Jordan Hicks stays healthy all year.
4. Jake Walsh finds a role on the staff somewhere.
5. DeJong only bats .241 but hits 31 homers.
Connor Thomas is called up on May 17th to assume the 5th starter role and goes 12-5 with a 3.12 ERA over 23 starts, winning N.L. Rookie of the Year.
Adam Wainwright staggers to a 2-7 start with a 5.78 ERA, earning a demotion to the bullpen…where he becomes one of the best relievers in the Central. He saves the deciding game in two playoff series.
Harrison Bader hits 37 homers to lead the team, gets a pair of ground-rule doubles in the All-Star game, and finishes 5th in the MVP balloting.
Jake Woodford quits the team in disgust on June 1st, as his 0.00 ERA over the first two months fails to earn him a chance at a rotation slot.
The Cards win 92 games, finishing 2nd to the Reds, who go 93-69. But the Birds win the Wildcard Series in 3 over the Mets, the Division Series in 5 over the Dodgers, and the LCS in 7 over the aforementioned Redlegs. They then sweep the Cleveland Indians in the World Series — the Indians having changed their name back in an effort to snap a 22-game losing skein in July. It works, catapulting them to a controversial, bigoted, insensitive, glorious 25-game winning streak. But they are helpless in October against the Cardinal juggernaut.
I thought this was the bold predictions thread, not the actual what you think thread
Yes, Willie is correct. These are BOLD predictions. I see a couple of invalid entries.
I usually don’t do this. Not afraid to predict but usually find the thread either severe depression or homerism.
I think we will have a good year with at least 90 wins. Position will depend on how much the other teams have improved and I have not followed them enough to predict.
We have the top defense in the game and solid hitting power except we have a pitcher’s ball park.
We potentially have a lights out bullpen with Hicks, Gallegos, Cabrera, Helsley Pallante (real sleeper but great upside), and the vets.
Starters depend on a healthy effective Flaherty and Hudson. Mikolas, Matz and Waino will be steady. Expect Waino to be more 50/50 this year. Woodford a sleeper.
Hitting will be inconsistent again with coach Alberts loft and pull strategy. I believe Arenado and DeJong will alter their approache a bit and be more productive. Albert who seems to be an emotionally driven guy should have some good moments particularly in the first half. Dickerson a solid utility guy. Expect some help from the group of Nootbar, Gorman, Walker, Donovan and Yepez. Sosa, Edman and DeJong should be at least adequate in the middle and above average defensively. Expect Goldy, O’Neill and Bader to be close to last year. Could get something of a breakout from Carlson.
Don’t think we have the horses to win it all, short of a very hot spell at the right time. Mo will not make the moves to put us over the top. He will go for the Happ, Lester types and will not be as lucky as last season.
I think Marmol will do fine. How much real authority he has is now a question in my mind. Didn’t feel that way with Shildt but obviously was wrong when a winning guy gets fired because he wanted a different batting coach. Think we will always be just above average with Mo in charge.
The Cards win 92 games, finishing 2nd to the Reds, who go 93-69.
That would be a shocker Bob. I have the Reds finishing 4th in the NLC.
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