Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
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.One other hypothesis is that it has been blown way out of proportion by the media and others.
Yadi is frustrated by the performance of the club. Spats happen, and then people make up and apologize. Media people keep the fire
blazing by keeping it in front of the public.Also, some have made the comment in their synopses that Kelly can only play catcher. I doubt that. He could probably play both 1B and
LF adequately. He was drafted as a power hitting high school third baseman. With some work, he could get some at bats in the next several year at other positions.Good business people measure success by ROI. The Cards have a formula for how much they will pay a player based upon runs produced and runs prevented. That formula has produced one of the most successful franchises in MLB over the past 2 decades. The Stantons of the world are way outside the formula. Dream on if you wish.
Do you want to put your money on Stanton being in the lineup in 2018 – or Ty O’Neill? Good business people don’t take on Stanton’s contract. Taking it on would be fiscally irresponsible.
I guess some on here, in their Cardinal bashing mode, have forgotten the Gonzales for O’Neill trade. He very well could be the big bat we’ve been looking for.
Tearing it up now at Memphis.
By the way, Memphis has the best record in all of AAA. Must be some serious talent there to do that.
With not many AAAA fillers.Here’s an interesting stat – the Cards relievers rank 9th in the major leagues right now in ERA.
Even after all the late inning issues we’ve had. They rank 25th in innings pitched.The Cards went into the reliever market in the off season and look what happened. He was supposed to be a big upgrade. They got burned. Brebbia’s performance, Lyons’ performance, and the seeming resurgence of Oh and Rosenthal may have altered their thinking. They also have Mayers, Tuivailala, Montgomery, Nielsen, Lucas, etc. – and Duke is back. Perhaps they didn’t see what they felt was a true enhancement over what they already have.
Buffoons don’t bring success like this ownership and management has
brought over many years. We’re spoiled. A little patience will go a long way.Agree 100% as far as OBP.
Carpenter –
2017 OBP – .381
Career OBP – .376Fine.
Fowler –
2017 – .333
Career – .364Big Problem. His OBP in 2016 was a career high .393.
He’s way off what we expected in this category.Piscotty –
2017 – .348
Career – .348He’s okay with OBP. His power is way down, though.
Gyorko –
2017 OBP – .347
Career OBP – .305Way up. Maybe here’s our future #3 hitter if he can cut down on Ks.
Grichuk –
2017 – .282
Career – .298Stint in the minors didn’t help much.
Molina –
2017 – .304
Career – .336The problem here is that his OBP in 2016 was .360.
Wong –
2017 – .377
Career .318BIG improvement.
Pham –
2017 – .371
Career – .361Fine
The real OBP culprits are Grichuk, Fowler, and Molina. Grichuk may see a lot less playing time if the Cards settle on Fowler, Pham, and Piscotty to make the run over the next 2 months. His door may be closing.
