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NJ – I think way too much emphasis is placed on the manager whether they win or lose. Hall of Fame manager Tony LaRussa was bashed constantly on baseball forums for decisions he made. The same with Matheny. Players can be criticized on here, but the nastiness goes to a whole new level when talking about BDW, Mo, and MM. Mean adjectives are used that are abasing. I don’t pretend to have knowledge of matchups stats, unpublicized nicks and injuries, frames of mind, fatigue, etc. Or trades that can or can’t be made based upon what the other team wants. Or free agents who prefer certain cities over others. A manager and GM have this information. I don’t. Other posters don’t. Therefore, my main constant is to tend to be less judgmental than some because I recognise that I don’t have all the facts to input into the equation. If I have any constant, as another poster (who piled on) referred to, it’s that. I doubt that any poster on here has the breadth or depth of baseball experience that our GM and manager have. And yet they think they do, and constantly try to portray it.
Starting pitcher does a good job. Oh, Lyons, and Rosenthal do the jobs they’re paid to do – one inning each of holding the opposition. And the 3rd place hitter hits a 2 run homer. We win the game. Well, gee, what do you know about that. The players did their job tonight.
How in the world did the Cardinals win tonight with such an awful manager. It simply doesn’t make sense.
C – Yadi is Yadi
3B – Peralta failed
SS – Diaz failed
2B – Wong was hurt
1B – Carp’s BA way down
LF – Grichuk failed
CF – Fowler was hurt
RF – Piscotty underperformedIt’s the players, folks.
Some people make a game out of Monday Morning Quarterbacking the manager’s and general manager’s moves. I just enjoy watching the
games. Simply approach, but different strokes for different folks.Some people make a game out of Monday Morning Quarterbacking the manager’s and general manager’s moves. I just enjoy watching the
games. Simply approach, but different strokes for different folks.The Cardinals made a decision some time ago that they would put heavy emphasis on pitching. It’s paid off. They also have draft a few position players in the first 3 rounds. Not many, really.
Cox In 2010.
Wong, Tilson, and McElroy in 2011.
Ramsey, Piscotty, Wisdom, Bean, and Kelly in 2012.
Mercado in 2013.
None in 2014.
Plummer, Denton, and Bader in 2015.
Perez and Carlson in 2016.
Hurst in 2017.
My opinion re the problem, for what it’s worth? The loss of OT and the 2013 and 2014 drafts.
I
It lacks a feared hitter because no one has elevated their performance to be that feared hitter.
Grichuk and/or Piscotty were groomed to be that feared hitter. They haven’t performed up to it.
DeJong and Bader have been given a chance. The jury is still out on on all 4 of the above. Kelly is slowly being given a shot. O’Neill and Garcia are in the wings. Strength is 90% built from within. Can they find another Berkman or Beltran type in the off season as insurance? We’ll see.Ms – when you judge Bill Dewitt, Jr., take a look at the full body of work under his ownership. It’s at or near the top in all of MLB. He’s just as big a Cardinal fan as any poster on here, is a very sage and insightful owner, and, yes, he hates to lose. Believe it.
DeJong, although he got off to a hot start, is not a proven major leaguer yet. He needs to counter back the adjustments the pitchers have made.
Gyorko, although having shown some success as a starter, is really best as a super utility 5th infielder.
Grichuk has a hole in his bat.
Piscotty is messed up with all the adjustments to his swing.
Fowler is best at lead off.
Carp is best at lead off.
Pham at least can drive in runs. Maybe he’s best there.
Right. The offense has been poor and the bullpen has not been consistent enough to overcome it. That sums it up. The mixes and matches can be frustrating, but any manager would try to do that to find a key.
Peralta totally failed in his come back, after he looked good last September. Unexpected.
Diaz regressed badly. Unexpected.
Piscotty regressed badly. Unexpected.
Fowler’s OBP regressed badly. Unexpected.
Oh regressed badly. Unexpected.
Those things had nothing to do with the manager.
2018 will certainly not be a repeat. Count on that. But this team needs to be shaken up badly. The competitive, hard 9 attitude just isn’t there with this bunch. Grichuk and Piscotty were the middle of the lineup hopes and they’ve flunked. Fowler was a poor signing. 2016 was his career year.
Cecil’s career year was 2015. Another poor signing. Let’s just hope that Bader and O’Neill can
step it up and Sierra arrives on the scene soon. And that Mo can land one or two true leadership guys over the winter.Okay. You’re the manager, Forsch. You have the position players that MM has. How would you play them, and why would that make a difference? Please be specific and tie changes specifically to advanced performance you’re sure would result.
The issue isn’t with the selection of the players. It’s the performance of the players. Position players Molina, Carpenter, Gyorko, and Fowler were to provide leadership. Younger players like Wong,
Diaz, Piscotty, Grichuk, and Adams were to mature and up their performances. Fowler has stumbled.
Diaz and Piscotty regressed big time. Grichuk can’t lay off low sliders and high 4 seamers.Mo put good players on the 25 man. MM has done the best job he can with them. In the end, it’s the players who play the game. The problem has been certain players playing way below their career norms. Want an example? If Oh, Siegrist, and Cecil had done the jobs expected of them and what they’re capable of through the first 2/3 of this season, the Cards would easily be in 1st place right now. Check their career, 2016, and 2017 stats. How do you plan for a number of players suddenly under performing?
DeJong –
At Memphis this year – 13 HR in 190 PAs.
At St. Louis this year – 14 HRs in 213 PAs.Total – 27 HRS in 403 PAs.
Had 8 HRs in 101 PAs in July.
Major league home run production extended to 600 plate appearances – 40 HRs.
Has slumped lately, but perhaps he can come back strong in August and September. Put him at #4 and leave him there?
Weaver, Reyes, Flaherty, and Hudson. 4 young studs, on top of Martinez. We should be in good shape for years to come.
Someone posted that starting pitching is just above average? Here are the top 5 rotation ERAs in MLB –
1.) Dodgers – 3.20
2.) Diamondbacks – 3.55
3.) Nationals – 3.64
4.) Cardinals – 3.76
5.) Astros – 3.99They are only teams with a rotation ERA under 4.00. And we have Reyes, Weaver, Flaherty, and Hudson in the wings. That’s a lot better than just above average.
And believe it or not, the bullpen ERA ranks 9th out of 30 major league teams.
Look to the offense. It ranks 20th in runs scored.
Our pick in the 1st round last year (#23 overall) was supposed to be, almost automatically, the highest ceiling SS in the system.
He’s only 18, has struggled, but is still intriguing enough for occasional eyes on reports to check progress. Perhaps those reports have been here. I just haven’t noticed them with only quick daily glances at TCN forum posts.
