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In a game last week Nolan made an almost identical play where Goldy had to do the splits to make the out. Everyone on TV and the radio was bragging about Nolan but it was actually Goldy who made the play.
After last night it’s obvious to me that Nolan has difficulty making that play. Nolan is the only great 3rd baseman I can recall who likes to throw on the run, away from the play when he doesn’t have to. I’m reminded that Jim Edmonds used 2 hands to catch the ball whenever he could, even when diving for a ball, and I consider him the best outfielder I’ve ever seen. So just because you’re great doesn’t mean you won’t make mistakes, so you do everything you can to prevent them. I’ve been watching Nolan during clutch situations offensively and defensively because the greatest players make the clutch plays and hit when it matters.
Goldy made another amazing play last night when it mattered. Goldy continues to impress and after the play it crossed my mind that maybe Goldy should be making the 30 Million!
Yes, I’m angry and I do expect more just because he’s one of the highest paid players.
Crazy how an errand throw that would have ended the game, makes a 2-0 game into a 2-5 game. Yea it’s a big game because we’re finally playing a good team. Can’t get good unless you play good teams.
I loved Marmol’s intensity after the game though. Today’s game will be big to see how the team gets after it.
Yes, the game would have been over if Nolan made the throw. The Cardinals strength is defense but it wasn’t there when they needed it in a big game.
Gallegos doesn’t have a closer’s mentality. As others have mentioned he doesn’t attack hitters and when baserunners get on in high pressure situations he can’t handle himself. You have to pitch and be able to field your position. I’m gonna take a cheap shot but give him some pine tar and he pitches very well.
Loved Marmol’s press conference. I think we finally have a manager with a decent mindset. Doesn’t silver line, tells it like it is, and doesn’t dumb down the fans. Can’t wait to see him handle the bullpen in the future.
Somewhere in their thinking he won’t hit 700 without hitting some righties.
If Dickerson continues to hit as well as PDJ, it’ll make decisions easier.
Kscardfan,
When LaRussa & Luhnow left, their talent evaluation & player development began to decline. So to compensate they are now giving players a chance to compete so they can stop trading our best players away.MO’s response to their departure was to proxy their system which obviously did not work. MO’s inability or ineptitude set them back for several years.
So what we have to look forward to is the playing out of each player instead of knowing more of what we have earlier on.
The pregame shows could be more informative to discuss the issues the fans want to know about. But unfortunately they spend too much time tooting their horns.
Hammerfist,
Yea the Cardinals love catchers as far back as I can remember. We’ve had some good ones.
All we heard on the radio was that Yadi was staying ready as the season was on hold. What we are seeing is an out of shape catcher who only had a few starts in spring training.
Lopez carving up all these pull hitters. Attacking in. What’s worse is there are no adjustments being made. No 2-strike approaches are being taken. Even Poo-holes is taking 3rd strikes.
Not looking good defensively either. Bad game tonight so far.
We have 5 starters hitting under .200:
PDJ
Carlson
Dickerson
Molina
GoldyI want to see if PDJ can make good on this new mindset… it’s still early and I’m not convinced Sosa will be much better in the long run. He was having trouble making adjustments at the plate in the final third of last year. Pitcher’s know his weaknesses now. Looking forward to studying these players as the season gets rolling.
Hudson has shown sustained ability so we know it’s there. As long as Hudson is not injured Maddux should be able to coax his mechanics back over time. If not, I’d start worrying about Maddux and his coaching ability.
Arenado has had a lot of success pulling-off backdoor pitches this season. I thought it was funny when Thompson was making comments about it during today’s game and topped it off by saying he’s a pitcher’s nightmare. LOL! Gibson would knock batters down just for using this approach.
Both PDJ and Arenado will hit a HR, love the taste, and they just can’t help themselves. The problem with this, as Jimmy mentioned in a previous broadcast, is that you end up always looking fastball and you can’t hit the junk pitches unless they’re mistakes.
The point of my post is it’s just not the type of hitting approach you want to see if you want to be a contender. To make it to the playoffs means you’ll face good pitching. Good pitchers eat pull hitters for breakfast. If you’re hunting nothing but fastballs good pitchers will take advantage. As we have all seen Arenado and PDJ have sucked in the postseason. Small sample size yes.
Saturday’s game was fantastic. Lots of opposite field hitting.
They’re worried about the younger generations with their short attention spans. So they’re going to get their dirty little hands on everything. Fly in the ointment. This is what younger people want to see so the purity of the game will get destroyed. Records won’t be real records with the variables changed. Same thing with the stupid, constant rule changes in the NFL. I did like how the umpires on Thu kept the fans informed just like the NFL does.
Everyone’s opinion must be heard and we can’t say no.
Jimmy thought Pujols was jumpy at the plate (cheating a bit). It must be difficult fulfilling expectations the fans have for him. He’ll calm down.
Love when Jimmy is doing the broadcast. Provides so much insight into the game like no one else on TV. It makes all of other guys look like cool-aid drinkers and silver liners.
And this year leave Horton on the radio where his love of talk can shine. I’d be willing to bet his wife doesn’t let him talk at home. Now if we could just get Dan to pay more attention to the game at hand…
I’m on the DeJong bandwagon right now. I want to see if he can carry his new mindset into the regular season. Good to see him not pulling off, something he couldn’t do at all last year.
Bob Reed,
I’m talking about the period since LaRussa left. A shift occurred when LaRussa and Luhnow left and Mo became exposed. It took a few years to start seeing the effects.
I forgot to make a prediction. The only predictions I would make is that DeJong hits above .230 this year because he looks like he’s getting better instruction from somewhere, he’s going to left field A LOT. Arenado unfortunately is not. I predict his average to remain the same or even drop a bit because of his pull hitting mentality. I suspected an injury last year causing him to do this but he looks the same in spring training. I’m afraid we paid a lot of money for an excellent defensive player. He hits a lot of HRs but if this is what we can expect, he’s not a 30M a year player and they overpaid.
At ESPN they have the Cardinals finishing .500 with a 30.6% chance of making the playoffs. I don’t see any reason for optimism in the future under this current administration. There’s so much hope that goes into their strategy, so I’m hoping their new analytical, managerial approach can win them a few more games. lol
Card4Ever,
Yup, with the philosophy of building your team around home grown talent you have to make better draft picks and you have to be able to evaluate and build the talent you have better. They know what they want they just don’t know how to get there.
Just look at the rankings of the different farm systems out there over the last 10 years.
Look at how Carlson first came up and the hitting philosophy he had at the plate. They should be getting these guys ready to hit at the MLB level. You cannot take minor league at bats at the MLB level.