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Some good thoughts ‘64. I like most of what the club is doing much more than the year-by-year model that Mo employed over his last half dozen or so years.
No TV for me this weekend with the blackout of Rockies games, so will dial up Rooney & Horton when I can. Meanwhile I am heading up to the old home town for a high school reunion, so not much chance to watch anyway. Always nice visiting the old haunts and seeing my sisters and brothers-in-law.
Wow, 28th. Never thought I would see the day the Cardinals were that far down the payroll hierarchy. But then times have changed – my sense is there just is not the passion around Cardinal baseball in the area like there was for so many years.
You guys will like watching the Rockies. They are similar to us in that they are essentially a young club with a lot of heart. They get after it, and play with enthusiasm. The main difference in them and our club is our bullpen is better, or at least has been better, and our starting rotation is probably a bit better as well.
On the lineup, with that bunch I would have probably flipped Fermin and Herrera. Other than that not sure what else you can do. Church has been hitting well of late after a July swoon, so putting him 5 seems okay.
Yeah KCB, my parents got me a yearly subscription to TSN for my birthday every year from around age 15 to 20 or so. I poured over that thing each week as well. Plus I played a lot of APBA back in the day so I knew every team’ lineup and had a good idea of their strengths and weaknesses.
And on another note, I just met Willie McGee last Friday. Had him sign a 1984 Topps card at the National Sports Collectors Convention. Thanked him for his years as a Cardinal and giving us so many thrills.
Sometimes guys just have down years. Hopefully Herrera comes back strong in ‘27.
But yeah, lucky 13 then zero. Early in the season we would have scored 10 and then 3 and won the series. But things have not gone as well for the last two months or so.
It’s tough to put a number on the impact JJ has made to this year’s team, but it is significant. As KCB said, you can see the importance of his presence when watching the games. Both him and Winn are extremely valuable, probably saving anywhere from 2 to 5 outs per game at times. And JJ is no slack on offense either.
That quick bat is going to keep him improving and his traditional stat line will show it in coming years.
Kind of funny – I flew home from Chicago and the National Sports Collectors Convention on Saturday. I am in the train at Denver International that takes you from the concourse to the main terminal, and a young girl maybe 13 or so had a JJ Wetherholt t-shirt on. 😁 It was real crowded and I did not get a chance to talk to her, but thought it cool that she was a Wetherholt fan.
My first impression is I like what we have done. If you can get a couple of guys that will be in your top 10 prospect list for guys who are not signed after this year, that is progress. And none of May, Romero nor Nootbaar are big enough difference makers that they would put us over the top.
If May was more consistent, then he would be a guy you might want. But so far he has not been. My sense is he will be real good in Milwaukee down the stretch. That organization just seems to bring the best out in players. Good luck to those guys, and welcome youngsters!
Weird deal with Bader and scooter accidents. He must feel that when he over does it with the booze, he will take a scooter so he can avoid a DUI. But when you cannot even handle a scooter, then you might need to address the root cause rather than the effect.
Good to see Libby strong today. But as we have talked about, consistency is not his strong suit. He gives you one of these great efforts but then throws three mediocre-to-poor games. Gotta find that consistent good rhythm.
Mathews looked pretty good yesterday. Kind of has a bit of that herkyness in his delivery that can make hitters get a little off stride. A bit of a latter day Curt Simmons to his style, although not as herky-jerky as Simmons was. Seems like a great kid too. Enjoyed the interviews with his family and himself talking about what got him here. Lots of humility and thankfulness to all who were part of his journey.
Was on a plane flying back from Chicago so missed this one. But it looks like part of the difference is our hits were more timely Raley on, and not so much now. Plus home runs are not quite as prevalent.
But hey, we were expecting to be under .500. There was even talk of a 100 loss possibility. So far we have done alright. But still after the nice first half it’s tough to see things go south. As I said after the home run derby – that might be the highlight of the year for Cardinal fans. At least we won something. 😁
Back in the day when management had all the power guys would sometimes get a cut if they did not have as good of a year as their prior season’s production. But these days the standard has changed to where a bad season means you do not get a raise, or maybe a small raise, if your compensation is not contractually stipulated.
Nice to come back and win that one.
Great one to see in the former Comiskey Park last night. That is a nice ball park – really enjoyed it. My first game there so I added another park to my “collection.” White Sox give up 4 in the first, but come back late to tie and win in extras.
“ Hot dogs…I think Willie Jr. prices them at about $20 to $25 a dog. Cokes are about $12 to $15.”
Hopefully that is an exaggeration. At Coors Field you can get a kids dog, which is really just the traditional sized hot dog for a little less than $4. Cokes are around $6.
And you can get $3 beers up until first pitch at a place in the stadium. When working the games I get asked a lot, “Where are the $3 beers?” 😄
Not much to add that has not been said. Usually in a 162 game season the breaks will even out, and that seems to be happening. Our record more accurately reflects our talent, whereas during the first half we were somewhat charmed.
Din-din here is burgers from our favorite food truck. I am at a local brew pub enjoying a cold frosty one while waiting for the burgs. Taking them home and we will have them at the homestead.
On the side are not traditional fries, but their version which are more like chunks of potatoes deep fried and seasoned. They are really good!
Tomorrow evening I will be at the White Sox – Yankees game. My cousin and I are doing our annual trek to the National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago. I have an autograph ticket for Willie McGee, and hope to add a couple of Jackie Robinson cards to my collection, along with other items.
When Pete Rozelle became NFL commissioner, he changed the league’s mindset from one of 14 organizations each looking out for themselves, to an NFL organization looking out for what’s best for the league. A weak link hurt everyone.
I think MLB needs to lean a little more that way – close some of the revenue disparities.
There will always be better run organizations, but some movement to where any team at least has a shot at acquiring a big name star if they choose would be a better system IMHO.
It’s a compromise, which means neither side gets everything they want, but you look at the big picture.
I don’t think switching Walker and Herrera is why we are not hitting much, but I don’t think it is the best use of them either. I think the other way around was better.
While maybe there are not optimal barring orders, there are orders that are better than others . The Red Sox of the ‘40s and ‘50s had one of the best on base guys in the history of the game in Ted Williams but never had him lead off. His power and all around hitting was better utilized behind the top of the lineup, not the bottom.
Us humans always try to connect the dots and find cause and effect. It helps us feel better about things. But life is full of randomness, and sometimes things just happen.
Maybe we can randomly hit tonight! 😄
Could be. Or maybe he becomes more of a “Mickey Moniak” where he finds success later with another organization.
We will just have to see. Some guys eventually put it together and others not so much.
Another comp could be Darnell McDonald. An absolute stud who had a full ride offer from Texas to play football, but took the signing bonus from the Orioles and went the baseball route. Had some success in baseball but not what was forecasted for him. Darnell struggled to adapt to wooden bats.
Pittsburgh now a game and a half up on our club as we are at the .500 mark – 2-8 in our last 10.
We are not getting the clutch hits we got earlier. Plus Ollie has screwed around with the top of the order and is not using guys where their value best applies like he did most of the season, at least in my opinion.
And of course the pitching is showing some stress.
None of this is a big surprise since we are looking more at the longer term. But our first half play gave hopes of competing this year. Maybe that will still happen, but I think we will end the season anywhere from a few games under to a few games over break even.
Pozo replacing a guy named Sam Huff. Wow – those of us around in the ‘60s remember Sam Huff as a middle linebacker for the New York Giants and Washington Redskins. I think he became the color guy on Redskins broadcasts for many year after his playing days.
Yeah, that could be it 1TD. He also took 2022 MVP Paul Goldschmidt, who hit third all season, and moved him to the 2 slot in ‘23.
The way our club struggles for runs and Walker being more of a production hitter than get-on-base guy, we need him getting ABs behind on-base guys.
