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Here is something for JJ to work on. But having said that, playing at Busch hurts the entire offense. JJ is just the worst case.
Biggest difference in home and road OPS among current Cardinals:
Wetherholt:
Home – .623/ Road – .802(+179)Burly:
Home – .737/ Road – .907 (+170)Walker:
Home – .780/ Road – .920 (+140)Church:
Home – .599/ Road – .692 (+93)Ferminator:
Home – .630/ Road – .692 (+62)…— Cardinals Stats And Facts (@STL_Stats_Facts) September 2, 2026
I don’t recall who or where it was said, but it think it was earlier on this thread where someone asserted that the ballpark doesn’t matter much in hitting home runs. The facts disagree.
For example, there have been 73 more HRs hit in Cincy vs. StL so far this season.
Here are my disagreements.
Belitting his injury by calling it an “boo boo” as if he is a three year old is a cheap shot. A dude in his armchair questioning a player’s toughness after he tried to play through an injury for weeks.
Constantly harping on his BA while not acknowledging his strengths shows a strong negative bias.
What happened to the days when fans rooted for players on their team instead of demeaning them?
After bling took another of his regular potshots at JJ on today’s Game Thread, I am going to reply here so it isn’t lost.
Our contract guy is out with a boo boo risking whatever chance a .240 hitter has at ROY.
Wetherholt played through wrist tendinitis for at least the entire month of August, during which he hit .200 and logged a .595 OPS. It may have been bothering him longer.
If you leave it to them, every player wants to play every day. The finger should be pointed at management regarding his downturn as they played him for a month or more when hurt.
On July 1, he was hitting .261
On August 1, he was hitting .251
Now he is hitting .242Not that BA is particularly relevant. Here is a far better measure, even more so considering his role as leadoff hitter.
On July 1, his OBP was .358
On August 1, .348
Now it is .343. That is still fourth best among NL qualifying rookies at all positions.And his defense is conveniently and consistently ignored, probably because it takes work to look up and understand. BA, taters and ribbies are right there on the back of his baseball card.
You weren’t being ignored, MT61. Injury information is often hard to come by, especially so in rookie ball.
Here are a couple of shots I took of Guribe during spring training.
Double-A Springfield went 4-2 on the week and clinched the second half division title. Before going on the IL, #stlcards OF prospect Tai Peete was red-hot, hitting .615, 8-for-13, including two HRs, plus three walks, two SB, six RBI and eight runs scored. https://t.co/q4A8ig98fe pic.twitter.com/ZeEIAqiwZr
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) September 3, 2026
That was before the other owners learned that the Dodgers would outbid them for most marquee free agents.
I agree about team valuations as a driver.
jnevel said:
However, I’m not crying for the players either. They are very well paid for what they do. It’s enough to heavily incentivize thousands to try to make that a career.
This same “incentive” argument was used for decades by the owners to justify below minimum wage pay for minor leaguers. “They’d pay for free just for the chance to reach the majors,” they said, while pocketing the vast majority of the profit for themselves.
Owners have a long history of protecting and enriching themselves, which I understand. I’d probably do the same myself, if I was in that situation and could act unchecked as I pleased. The players have to fight for every increase, but without them, there is no game. Do fans watch and go to games because of players or owners?
If anyone is overpaid, who deserves it more – the players who sacrifice to reach the top and then have a relatively short time there, or the owners?
It’s the fans that get left behind again and again in these negotiations.
Of the two sides, which do you think is more responsible for the increase in costs suffered by the fans?
Not a bad month for Winquest before he was called up, either.
The #stlcards system was 2-2 on Wednesday. The Cardinal Nation’s Player of the Day, Peoria DH Andrew Williamson, hit two singles and a double, walked, drove in a run and scored twice. Other standouts include Caden Ferraro and Jesus Garcia. https://t.co/AmpFcRdVex pic.twitter.com/kU4QQKYlxE
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) September 3, 2026
gscottar said:
Currently a $130M CBT payroll would be ranked 25th highest in MLB.
That raises what I find to be an interesting question. In normal times, this would suggest payrolls will be going up in 2027. But this isn’t going to be a normal off-season. With the shortened free agent period pre-lockout, it could be tough sledding for free agents. How many owners will risk increasing payroll when they don’t know how many games may be canceled? Will some owners actually cut payroll?
After past off-season work stoppages that continued into the regular season, I recall they had a very short window to finish free agent signings. That won’t be conducive to big, long-term contracts.
Of course, we don’t know the luxury tax, ceiling/floor or anything else that will govern how teams will operate.
We are going to have a lockout because these owners, who can sell their teams for upwards of $4 Billion, are too poor to pay their players.
It's going to be a horrible winter ahead. Don't you dare let the owners trick you into joining their side. https://t.co/W0uHCNmY1M
— Nick Pollack (@PitcherList) September 1, 2026
I don’t understand why progress is only evaluated at the MLB level. When you are on a stated multi-year developmental path, you also have to consider if the upper levels of the minor league system are improving, readying the homegrown players expected to contribute in the future years.
On the number of wins, the current team is on pace for 80 this year. I don’t see why getting to 85 or 86 next year couldn’t be accomplished with improvements from current players.
In fact, progression can come from a combination of any players on the roster, or even ones not yet there.
Regarding the stepping stone theory, it makes sense. However, until the Cardinals articulate that as their plan, it is only a good idea, one of a number of possibilities. As of yet, I am aware of any comments about what they will do next year, specifically, potentially re-ramping up spending BEFORE they are competitive.
Until they say it, I will remain skeptical. Even then, we can’t be sure until they DO it. In the past, they’ve talked about payroll increase, but from a different base than we were expecting.
I understand your thinking but we don’t know if the Cardinals have an appetite to add stopgap players for 2027 to better compete or whether the external additions will occur later on when they are ready to actually contend.
Regarding specific positions:
3B – Are they done with Jordan and Gorman as a starter?
CF – Are they done with Scott and Church as a starter?
SP – They had good luck with May and will probably still have a need.gscottar, why do you anticipate they will spend the $35 million you calculate? Why might they not spend less than 2026 as they shift to a younger, more homegrown roster?
Every veteran they add conceivably blocks a younger player who they may want to get an extended look at. And we all know that neither 2026 nor 2027 is primarily about contending. It is about building from within.
I don’t see how we can make any estimations of what they WILL spend or even what they COULD spend when we have no visibility to their financial situation. If I understand correctly, the info above is based on bridging to 2026 and assuming payroll growth.
jnevel said:
I would think that gives them at least $30-$40 million to spend as additional dollars in 2027.
That is a big assumption, IMO, one that has NOT been confirmed by the organization. I get the comparison to the past, but that was a different world under different conditions.
We have no idea how much they’ve lost the last few years. Are they willing to risk taking a loss in 2027? How many games will they play? etc…
My feeling is that conditions (between labor disruption and their internal development schedule) are not good for the Cards to spend in 2027. (That is only a “feeling” since none of us can see the Cardinals’ books.)
I respect the optimism, but I hope that doesn’t lead to disappointment. My personal 2027 spend expectations are low.
The #stlcards High-A Peoria Chiefs went 4-2 at West Michigan before dropping the opener to Quad Cities in their final series of 2026. Chiefs pitching set a new single season strikeout record, thanks in part to Ty Van Dyke’s 11 K effort on Wednesday. https://t.co/N5xSzCPLcP pic.twitter.com/WJ2jGantZs
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) September 2, 2026
