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The club might “chance it” if he looks good in the Spring and is able to go 5 or 6 late in the exhibition season. But most likely they will ease him into a longer work load during the season.
Nice step forward for the Twins. The Rockies lost 87 games last year, so they are also having a nice turn-around. I’ve been impressed with their GM as well, Jeff Bridich. He’s come to a couple of our SABR gatherings, and has been very good about answering questions and taking the time to explain the organization’s plan going forward and what they hope to achieve.
Let’s hope next year the Cardinals can reverse this trend they are on, and get back to a post season berth. I would like to see Lance Lynn back, but doubt that will happen. If he stays in the division, we may regret letting him walk. He seems like a good fit to replace Lackey in Chicago, and I don’t think the Cubs would flinch at the cost although I am not familiar with their potential prospects who might fill that role.
Wow, great game. Would have been nice to not let them back in it, but Nicasio was tough. We’re probably about done with the Brewers and Rockies both winning, but at least tonight we had what it takes.
Apparently Pham is hurting from that HBP. The bad move tonight was not staying with the lefties when you had Heyward and other lefty hitters coming up. Maddon could have made a move for a righty hitter like Russell. Still jist a strange move.
Would have mich preferred Pham up there with two on than Piscotty. Hopefully nothing serious from that HBP.
Still you’re up 8-3, so Lyons has some breathing room and you have two lefties due up. If anything, I would think you might summon Sherriff if you are going to make a change. Maybe they do not have confidence in him either.
Sheesh, this is getting tight. Man, you had the two lefties coming up and took out Lyons for a righty. Why wasn’t Sherriff ready?
Curious move here, bringing in a righty to face Heyward. Lyons did hit a guy then walk a guy, but he should be able to arve up Heyward with that curve.
That was a bomb by Gyorko. Funny, as I said that one probably went 444 feet, and later Edmonds guessed the same number.
Grichuk looks about as good as I have seen him at the plate. Looks confident, and has stayed on the pitches rather than pull away as he does so much.
Tonight I actually like the way Matheny has used his pitchers – so far anyway. I thought he would keep Martinez out there through 5 so he could have a chance at a win. But he pulled him before things got any worse, and the lefties have stabilzed things.
Dexter has that style where he looks like he is not going all out, but he is. On the triple, it looked like he was running at half speed, but he has those long strides and is a little deceiving.
But I will say that on that outfield play, I do not think he expected Contreras to run.
Man, Tommy Pham is really good. It’s taken him awhile with all of his injuries and the eye problem. But he’ got it all when he is healthy – speed, power, defense, arm.
Rockies up 4-0 in the fourth. Crew up 6-3 in the sixth. This night could about end it for us. Need to get the momentum back in this one.
Rockies up 4-0 in the fourth. Crew up 6-3 in the sixth. This night could about end it for us. Need to get the momentum back in this one.
Heyward’s numbers still not anywhere near where they were in ’15. Unfortunately Martinez’commamd is poor, and is inviting the Cubs back in.
Edmonds said Gyorko did everything right on that play, but just did not have the ability to finish due to the hamstring issue. He said Gyorko should have held, and when the coaches questioned him he could have told them he did not think he could make third with the compromised hammy.
Man, we could have had a huge first inning. We got 3, but all three strike outs were on pitches that would have been ball four had the batters held up.
I don’t consider winning a division that big of a prize, although it certainly beats not winning it. It puts you in a good place to get to the World Series, which is the main goal.
Good question on whether or not the Cardinals have ever clinched anything in Chicago. Whether we have or not, we have many more pennants and World Championships than the Cubs.
That said though, they are getting some nice revenge these last three years. So far Jason Heyward was correct when he characterized our club as one on a downward trend, and the Cubs going upward.
We are getting to the place where we almost have to win out to get the right to play Arizona for a playoff spot. I would probably put us at about 4-5% on doing that and overcoming Colorado and Milwaukee.
Tough season. So many disappointments, and yet some nice contributions from guys we would not have expected.
I see the anthem as representing the nation’s principles and ideals. When you show respect, you are honoring the principles that the nation was founded upon.
Unfortunately we are a nation of people, and people are flawed. The protests seem to be aimed at society’s injustices, and not the nation’s principles. In that way, there is a disconnect between where these protests are focused, and where they should be focused. What needs to happen is for these high profile members of society to get into their communities, and be a conduit to conversations between the community and those in power in order to make the positive changes that are needed. That would be a far more powerful course of action than simply taking a knee at a sporting event.
On a national level, I would like more efforts made at finding common ground and less at fanning the flames of discontent. In reading about the Detroit riots of 1967, members of the Detroit Tigers did just that. Willie Horton went out into the streets in his Tigers uniform and called for calm, and urged people to go home and to stop destroying their city.
On a personal level, I would never be in any position to protest the anthem, having never been denied opportunities unless I created those barriers myself by being a knucklehead. I cannot speak for those who have been denied an opportunity based on something other than character and credentials. But if we look back on history someday, and these “taking a knee” demonstrations helped start effective communication, then maybe they are worthwhile.
Yeah, no way Miami makes that deal, and no way St. Louis takes on Stanton’s contract. If I could get Stanton for Flaherty, Piscotty and Grichuk, I cannot make that deal fast enough. But it would be tough to fit that contract into the budget.
At this point, living in the Denver area, I am fine with the Rox getting that last playoff spot if it’s not us. Our club has never gained the consistency required to get to the post season, and unless we suddenly turn it on this week and beat these good teams we won’t be going anywhere but home in October.
The Rockies are doing things right as an organization and are on a good trajectory, plus I think Bud Black is an excellent manager. A wild card spot would be a nice step for them, even if they go “one-and-done”, which is most likely what will happen.
We’ll see how the week plays out.
Mike has shown over the years that his late game managing is often questionable, and sometimes downright bad. When talking about bringing in a new guy, the real questions become:
1. Do Matheny’s other leadership qualities at least even out his propensity to often not give the team the best chance in games that are late and close?
2. All managers make mistakes similar to Matheny. For example, Maddon was horrible in last year’s World Series at times in how he used Chapman, but got away with it. Would another guy be consistently better than Matheny?
As I have said many times, I think Matheny has gotten better, and is not quite as “push button” with his bullpen as he once was. He still seems to struggle with analyzing the potential counter moves from the other team. Too often he seems to think only of the current batter-pitcher matchup, without taking in to account what might change in the next few match-ups as a result of his move.
It’s a tough call as the team is competitive, so you do not want to get too emotional when making a decision to stay with your manager, or make a change. If I am in the front office, once the Cardinals season end I take in a lot of opinions and advice from those around me and from contacts around the league, before making any decision on Matheny’s future. And if I do lean towards firing him, I have a good plan in place for replacing him. What ever you do as a decision maker, don’t go all “Gussie Busch” and have your course of action based primarily on emotion.