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And I agree with the Thomas Nestico post above from Brian. Manfred and the owners have tried to convince everyone that MLB is dealing with an existential crisis but a more realistic take is that they want a salary cap to increase the valuations of more teams. Yes the gap in team revenues should be addressed but it could be accomplished by making the CBT more stringent instead of blowing things up.
I have been following the Mark Walter issue. The fact that he sold the Lakers after only 14 months and the fact he is under investigation is probably not a coincidence but that is just speculation.
It will be interesting to see if he also sells the Dodgers. If he does I doubt if Ohtani would leave. He isn’t going to walk away from that contract and if he demanded a trade there are few teams who would take that deal on. The Mets could afford it but why would he want to play for them? The Yankees might be a possibility but I bet he stays in LA. If a sale would occur I assume some other mega wealthy billionare would buy the team and they would continue on.
For what it is worth, and I have said this before on this board, I do not think the Dodgers will win the WS this year. I have my doubts they even win the NL pennant. While they still have a plethora of marquee names their core is getting old and less productive. Their calling card has been to coast along during the regular season then turn it on in October but that is a dangerous game to play. They were very very fortunate to beat the Jays last year in that Game 7. I think their luck runs out this year.
We have played the Cubs tough this year but they have been hot lately. I would probably settle for taking one out of three this weekend although we can wish for more. I just don’t want to get swept by those rascals in blue.
The Brewers scored three in the 9th last night to beat the Dodgers. That gives the Crew a 4 game lead on the Cubs. I like that.
I view it completely opposite mud. I am not necessarily opposed to a salary cap although I don’t think it will be the panacea everyone seems to think it will be. But I am 100% opposed to a work stoppage. It is unnecessary. MLB already has a soft cap in the CBT. It needs to be strenghthened instead of blowing everything up with dynamite.
My preference is simplicity. White uni’s at home with red caps. Gray uni’s on the road with red caps.
No “The Lou” on Friday nights.
No “St. Louis” on the creamsicle jerseys on Saturday home games.
No powder blue jerseys on Saturday away games.
No Redbird on the Sunday hats instead of the STL.I guess I am a stick in the mud and not a marketing guy. I just prefer the classic look. The Cardinals, Dodgers, and Yankees have the three best looking uniforms mostly because they rarely changed until recently.
Having said all of that if Bloom can build a world series caliber team they can wear the shorts that the White Sox wore in the 70’s if that is what it takes.
Correct Rat. The Cubs are definitely on a roll.
The Brewers are not. As we speak their lead over the Cubs is down to 4 games. No disrespect to May and Romero but the Brewers did not do enough at the deadline. They have lost momentum and are going to be in a dogfight to win the NLC.
Anyway, hopefully we can steal a game or two in Wrigley this weekend. Our only chance is that our top 4 guys in the lineup do major damage because the 5-9 guys in the lineup are very weak.
Our lack of major league pitching injuries has been amazing. Quite frankly it is probably the big reason why this team has been able to be competitive this long this season. I just wish it would translate more to our minor league pitchers.
The Winn/Wetherholt comparison is a glass half empty take. There is no real evidence to suggest that JJ will follow the same trajectory. He could but we really don’t know. Different players progress differently. I have more faith in this front office to develop players than the previous front office and to identify talent. One of the players in this discussion has a long term contract and one doesn’t. That speaks volumes as to what the front office thinks.
Also, as a comparison here is the stat line from another player in the NL. His rookie season in 2024 was:
.237/.286/.384/.670In 2026 it is .286/.388/.544/.931. His name is Pete Crow-Armstrong and he could very well be the NL MVP this year.
Astros Claim Nelson Velázquez, Designate Shay Whitcomb For Assignment https://t.co/qZ0fEJKaPk pic.twitter.com/xffvOHa5gG
— MLB Trade Rumors (@mlbtraderumors) August 10, 2026
I like the idea of having defensive stability up the middle at C, SS, 2B, and CF. But somewhere along the way those guys also have to hit some. I don’t worry about Wetherholt too much. He is going to hit but the other three positions are question marks.
I was referring to the paragraph below. I have also heard him say similar things on his online video shows. It is my opinion that he thinks Manfred and MLB are using one team to try to influence popular opinion in favor of an issue that they would like to implement.
The sport’s economic system needs addressing, no doubt. Not necessarily with a salary cap — a demand by the owners that threatens to wipe out part or all of the 2027 season — but with other ways that help benefit the small markets and allow the sport to continue its renaissance.
That is correct. We don’t know exactly what was said but I do recall him expressing surprise that he got sent to Memphis and admitted that it impacted his play there for awhile. I agree that he is a AAAA player but I just like to see guys get a shot when they earn it on the field.
I agree that there is almost zero chance of a salary cap being implemented which is why it is so frustrating to think that the game could be shut down over an issue that is not going to happen. Is this just tough negotiating by Manfred and the owners or do they just not know how to read the room? I would not assume it is the former.
I also believe this is why Ken Rosenthal keeps penning articles about the anti-Dodger hysteria. It isn’t that he loves the Dodgers or is a Dodger shill. It is that it really irritates him that the Manfred and owners are using the Dodgers as an excuse to get what they want, which is to suppress expenses to build up team values. And they are willing to shut the game to do it, even though it would be a massive PR blow to the game.
What is really frustrating is that there are tools in place to deal with the revenue disparity issue without resorting to a hard cap. They just need to be implemented.
I’m quieted for a bit on Herrera. He does run pretty fast to catch up with the balls that skip past his glove.
The Rockies desperately need a player development system. It’s as if they draft well and then just sit back and watch what happens.
The Rockies did build themselves a beautiful stadium. And, if I’m not mistaken, the Owners paid for it themselves.
Herrera is a DH not a catcher. Most everyone but the Cardinal front office are acknowledging it.
The Rockies tried to be the Angels 2.0 for many years but finally hired a real PBO last offseason. I think they are going to get better and better but are in a tough division.
I posted this in yesterday’s game thread:
Even though Winn got a couple of hits today he has been one of the biggest disappointments offensively to me. He is a wild swinger and a dead pull hitter. With his magical glove and cannon of an arm he could be a perennial all star if he had a better approach at the plate. He is starting to remind me of Javier Baez without the power.
Velasquez wouldn’t have gotten to that ball but it also should be mentioned that he wouldn’t have been in LF at the time anyway. He would have either been DH or would have been subbed out for a late inning defenesive replacement.
I know I keep griping about Velasquez but I just don’t like how they handled it. We all know that established veterans don’t really have to perform well in spring training to make the team. They are just there to get some reps and tinker with new approaches or whatever, however, for non-established players spring training is their time to prove whether they should be given a shot on the team or not. Velasquez did everything possible to make the team but didn’t get the nod then nosedived in Memphis until getting over the surprise.
Most likely he would ran out of steam eventually even if he had started in STL but that isn’t the point. If you tell a guy that this is your chance to make the team but you don’t really mean it then why say it? Maybe they should have said “hey we are going to sign you to a minor league deal and send you to AAA no matter what and maybe we will call you up if we get hit with injuries and are desperate.”
ATM is correct in that we currently have no answers at 3B and CF. I would even add LF to that mix. Baez is still an unknown at this level and Church and Torres are really better suited as 4th OF’s to be honest.
Yeah the 5-9 spots in the lineup have been dismal for awhile. I question the choice of Crooks batting fifth. I know that Ollie is adamant that we go LH-RH all of the way down the order but Church or Torres would be a better candidate than Crooks.
Even though Winn got a couple of hits today he has been one of the biggest disappointments offensively to me. He is a wild swinger and a dead pull hitter. With his magical glove and cannon of an arm he could be a perennial all star if he had a better approach at the plate. He is starting to remind me of Javier Baez without the power.
I’m not very optimistic about this offense the rest of the year unless Baez comes up and gets hot. Most likely we are going to have to grind out some low scoring wins if we want any chance of staying above .500.
Herrera has been red hot this series. That is very nice to see and should quieten the critcs for a bit.
Like I said I don’t think letting him go is going to make much of a difference in how far we go this year but I think he is capable of doing some things with the right team. As jnevel said I don’t think the team expected much out of him and was very surprised at spring training.
One word of caution though is that if we are going to be a team trying to win on a low to moderate payroll then every decision matters no matter how trivial they may seem.
This discussion makes me think of Luis Arraez and how much the game has changed in my lifetime. Arraez has a career average of .318 and has won three or four batting titles but is essentially just a journeyman bouncing from team to team on one year contracts. He was born 40 years too late. In the 80’s he would have been considered a star.
It makes me wonder how players like Rod Carew, Wade Boggs, Tony Gwynn, or Pete Rose would be valued now.
The Cardinals handling of Velasquez has been a bit odd this year. It’s true that he is hitting .216 so a DFA or release isn’t shocking but the path to get there has been curious to me.
He was arguably the most impressive player in spring training but surprisingly didn’t make the team which seemed to set him back mentally. He finally regrouped in Memphis and started slugging before getting the call up. I think he has some value because of his power but his inability to play the field limits his options since we already have a guy in Herrera who is a DH five or six times a week.
What is strange to me is that the Cardinals surely knew when they signed Velázquez that he was a platoon DH bat out of options but are now getting rid of him because he is demonstrating he is a platoon DH bat out of options.
With Baez probably coming up in a couple of weeks this would have happened anyway but I hope Velasquez finds a spot with someone. He deserves it.
The Rockies have been poorly run for a decade, mimicking the Angels approach of assuming they are a contender and never doing a rebuild, but I think they are now trending in the right direction.
They finally went outside the organization to find someone to run the front office. Paul DePodesta used to work in the Dodgers front office and is now focused on building from the ground up. I suspect they will continue to get better but unfortunately for them they are in a very tough division. They do seem to have very good fan support though. Despite their w-l record they have always drawn well over the years.
Cardinals will be removing Nelson Velázquez from the active roster tomorrow to open an active spot for Everson Pereira. He is out of options, so that will require a DFA or release.
— Jeff Jones (@jmjones) August 8, 2026