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I’m with Bccran and ia applaud his standing up for his opinion on this one… people made up their minds a long time ago…some in this season some as soon as he was hired
crap there were TLR haters before during and after his WS victories
looking at defense we have progressed during the season
early on we were averaging .88 errors per game…now in August we are at .58 which puts us in a tie for 13th best overall at the moment
last year at this time we were at .66 at this time…2015 .59, 2014 .54, 2013 .46, 2012 .66, 2011 .7, 2010 .61
Looks like to me…he took over a pretty bad defensive group, then got them better…last year was worse than this year, and it leaked over into this year…but the team has righted itself and is starting to work it’s defensive issues out
(and yeah i am using errors to guide this because that is more often than not the only thing the fans get up in arms about so as to call out bad defense)
I’ve waffled over and over about Hosmer…i do like him, but i’d think as the announcers said last night on the broadcast…i think they let all the other vets go from KC so they can keep one…Hosmer…
but given the shot at him I think i’d go in on him…. he is kind of like joey Votto lite
still…he causes issues with what to do with Carp and Voit…
It’s tough…any move basically shows our hand on what we will have to do which lessens our position in trades or even FA
sign Hosmer… Wong is on the move
trade Carp…a 1bman is in the works…
trade wong…1b or 2b is up for grabs
trade for Donaldson…gYorko is available or Wong…
etc etc..i agree…. Grichuk is a way overpay for a 1.5 month rental…
i say look at the guys barely hanging on the 40man or guys we might not protect in rule 5 and offer one of them
Drake maybe? I don’t see him finding a way into our OF rotation any time soon…maybe Anthony Garcia (not on 40) maybe MArtini…but even Martini seems a stretch…though i don’t see how we protect him without a lot of others leaving in trades
maybe we offer Gilmartin back 🙂
Bruce fits what we need…not at a huge price….and again pick from uys who we might lose anyways and what are we really losing other than a few bucks
Anything be else watching on MLB.tv? My feed is all messed up. Can’t get it to work on Apple TV or iPhone
i totally agree…and while i responded to YOUR post it wasnt really about YOU…it was a general thing but i understand my place in the misunderstanding…so apologies
what i meant was…when i read views of any fan of any team who thinks the only solution is to get rid of management, coaching, and 85% of the 25 man, i think anyone would see that as something that is pretty unrealistic… and if doing that is the only means for fixing the solution for those people, then i’d have to think that is a pretty unrealistic way to go about viewing the future
and positing me and my opinion of everything going as “rosy” is pretty offensive…i have disagreed wit ha lot that has gone on…i have even hypothesized publicly about tearing it all down…probably more than anyone else… but when it comes to the end of the day i usually recognize my hypothesis’ as being unrealistic and things that won’t happen…and i accept that…and i recognize they rarely if ever will happen…so i dont let that fuel my anger and frustration…instead i look for other solutions or try to see what they are doing as positive in some way because i haev no control and hting just wears me out all the time…i’d rather be happy when i watch the games and think about the team…even if i disagree with decisions that are made…
but IMO i cant be a good fan and look at my team and coaches and management and hate on them or be bitter with everything they do…i cant look at this team and not be a fan of them no matter how they are constructed or whatever they do…do i want a World Series win? yep…but do i accept that sometimes teams dont work out the way we thought they’d work out? yep
i dont think anyone around here forecasted just how poor the team would hit…no one forecasted Gyorko’s great first half, or rise of DeJong…or even Pham… Yadi is about the only hitter who has lived up to expectations…well, maybe Grichuk too…as he is as unpredictable as ever…everyone else has been very low… you can’t blame management for Fowler, Piscotty, Diaz, and even Carpenter regressing so much….if it had been one or two…sure…but all o them? that’s just unlucky and unfair to judge them so poorly by….
now the defense and baserunning problems early? yeah that’s a team problem…but low and behold they straightened all of that out pretty well and we have been pretty good defensively since the abysmal start…baserunning mistakes still rear their ugly heads from tiem to time…but not as much as early on…AND for both errors and baserunning problems…that is just part of the game so they never disappear entirely
and by the way same goes for skipping my posts and opinions too if you don’t like them…but since we cant know what is written until we read it, it makes it pretty hard to ignore ….now responding…i get that and that is where my fault happened i admit that…
i also say that Valera played LF at least one day…
a switch hitting high average bench player with a little versatility is what managers dream of….even if they’d prefer power with it….but if he had power he’d be a starter
if you are only going to be “happy” if they clean house like you say…then prepare to nto be happy…it won’t happen…. so come to grips with being unhappy and deal with it…or readjust your expectations and learn to find some joy in what is in front of you… and if you cant do either…then pick another team and move on
i like trying him out there again to see what happens… though i’m not really sold on Wong as leadoff…i think in this lineup i go with Garcia as he has a knack for getting on base….or Pham and his SB potential…slotting Wong into the #2 or maybe even Piscotty…t o try to jump start him…
Kelly shouldnt have been up in the first place…BUT now that he is up and Fryer is off the 40 man…we dont have another catcher on the 40 man so unless we drop someone and add ROsario probably we dont really have any options… I’d probably do that at this point IMO…as we will bring up a 3rd catcher in September undoubtedly…so why not make the move now…i havent looked at the 40 man recently…but maybe not
anyone else think this offseason woudl be a good time to let Kelly try out 1b and 3b again? maybe even see if Voit could get his catching gear back on and be good enough to serve as 3rd catcher…. that way we coudl actually USE Kelly’s prowess with the bat from time to time and not be stuck without a catcher..
thick skin isn’t the issue… threads become full of some individual people’s notions and sometimes you just dont want to see that as the overriding opinion of the forum just because they post more than others… some people are not even worth responding to as they have dug their head so far into the sand that they serve only to antagonize or bring threads to grinding halts…
ignoring CAN have to do with specific people being harassing to you individually but in my experience what it really does is allow me to WANT to come back to a place even if specific individuals are annoying harassing or dominating threads with their opinion so as the other people’s comments get lost
page length is what it is…do what you want, but leaving at infinite seems not a good strategy as some threads are intended to go on for as many posts and arent subject to time limits like game threads and are meant to be continuous threads that change throughout the year
Is there any way to block people? or ignore their posts?
Now that ist has been a little while i am figuring out who some of the new screen names are….and remembering how long i have had them on ignore on the Scout forum and how that was a major factor in dealing with personal attacks and some people’s BS that only is posted to embarrass or instigate
also…is there a way to make pages in a thread? or at least make them so they list most recent to first instead of oldest to newest? Some of the threads take forever just to scroll to the bottom. Especially on mobile devices.
a stolen base where Pham is barely out is not bad baserunning
the pickoff of Grichuk wasn’t great but it happens sometimesid prefer them to be a bit more aggressive on the basepaths when runs are needed…
now had it been Carpenter, Voit or Molina getting picked off…sure…there is no need… but Pham and Grichuk both have good enough wheels to take advantage of a slow pitcher to the plate
mistakes happen in baseball sometimes for no reason and sometimes out of aggressiveness….sometimes it’s even a coach’s orders that go wrong…
the team has been much better on defense and baserunning in the second half (and even in the late first half)…i get that the early mistakes make everyone triggerhappy to call them out on every missed opportunity or mistake but it really is part of the game…
i mean i saw joey Votto last night at 2b with a 1 run lead and no outs…and Duvall hit a mammoth flyball to the warning track forcing MCCutcheon to backpedal and not get a good stance to throw at all…and he didn’t tag up and go to third…in fact he stood half way almost all the way to the ball into the glove…if MCCutch drops it he scores if he is tagging up or not…and with no outs he HAS to get to 3rd base…to get the sac fly in order with a 1 run lead…but he didnt… uts went back to third… NOW he is a an all world player great defense, consider very intelligent on the baseball field in all aspects and he still makes a dumb mistake…..it happens…and it doesn’t have to be signs of anything other than one mistake……
if the fans all out the players for every single mistake and then ask the coaches about it too..maybe even the GM too… do you really think they will keep trying to be aggressive? Everyone complain about the Cardinals never stealing bases….btu maybe some of that is on the fanbase…if we’d all stop expecting to see Vince Coleman, Ozzie, Willie and even Lankford all the time and accept that stealing bases means getting caught at 1st or at 2nd or 3rd…then perhaps they woudlnt be so hard on these new guys who dont have the same skills as those talented players… another case of the fans being spoiled in StL….even if we had a guy like Hamilton it woudl never be good enough…same goes for defense at SS….spoiled…. and soon to be catcher in a few years…..
Still some opportunity for moves in August…Stanton could still be moved and we’d get a crack at him before any of the big players like LAD or CHI…
and with MIA’s rotation being absolute shambles…(Volquez gone for this year and next now too)…Chen being a FA and their young pitchers outside of Urena showing little signs of living up to their hopes…and i doubt they go and get a big SP in the offseason… perhaps we coudl find a way to use those saved SP prospects (and an outfielder too…to offer to them Fro Stanton
It’d be a gutsy move…and expensive for salary and for prospects…but it would be a real move for the future and right now even…
When 2018 offseason begins…we and everyone else will want Harper or MAchado…but the money will get stupid fast….the guys outside of those two are still gonna get huge contracts too…
and Stantons 30million is big money but not potential stupid money…and we dont have to woo Stanton we can trade for him…and should he leave in 2020 then so be it..
Piscotty/or Bader or Sierra if they like them better) + Weaver (or maybe Wacha?) + Gomber (or another decent SP) for Stanton and all that contract….
too little? perhaps but that contract will hang heavy…and without any pitching they are just wasting Stanton;s huge contract anyways…at least Ozuna and Yelich are cheap and will be still young by the time they get a good rotation put together
crazy but not out of the realms of possibility…
I think you first have to look to the NL as we’d get a shot at them before the AL ones…
Jay Bruce i think could still help and probably would be available
I think Stanton could still be in play but i doubt they move him until the offseason unless the selling of the team gets rolling quick. There are a lot of teams that cant afford his contract and i dont think would put a claim in…we’d have the money…and we’d get a shot before several of the big teams in the NL
would Atlanta try? DBacks PIrates and Rockies get shot before us but i dont see them spending that kind of money PLUS all their outfields are stacked…Phils, Reds, Brewers, Padres arent going to pony up that money…though the Phils could be interesting…
Atlanta and maybe Phillies take a shot if he is put through the process…then we’d be up next…
Not saying it will happen…but it is a year where our record last year actually would give us a shot at doing something before the other big teams get a shot..
ooh…. I wondered if we’d jump in on Gray…i’d also bet it might have coincided with a move of Lynn to Cleveland if i am guessing…
Piscotty + Weaver or Flaherty for Gray? interesting…
As much as i think it would have been selling low on Piscotty and Weaver …maybe even Flaherty too… i think i make that deal…
it clears up some outfielder jam and some starting pitching jam but brings back a controllable #2 at worse
and it frees up some money…still, i think if we’d jumped in a little earlier on that deal i think they could have made it work taking out Weaver or Flaherty and including someone else of good value (or multiple) from t the pitching side…and if we didnt want to move Piscotty I think we could have used the young outfielders to make it work too
not sure what we were looking to get back from Cleveland for Lynn…
nevertheless, a deal for Gray doesnt make us worse for this year or going forward… dealing Piscotty may be selling low but he hasnt been doing well so his loss for this year would have been negligible plus we needed to clear a starting position somewhere on the field if we want to truly upgrade the offense even in the offseason (though it seems like they were willing to deal Piscotty it was just the pitchers added that got in the way) and losing only one of Weaver or Flaherty wouldn’t have killed us for this year at all and going forward we were going to have a hard time fitting them both into the rotation anyways…ESPECIALLY if we are now looking to keep Lynn after not dealing him..
sure i’d have liked to get maybe Ryan Dull also in the deal…or maybe sneak Alonso in for the stretch run…but it seems liek we had a shot to do exactly what we all wanted…make us better (or at least not worse) now…and going forward…at the expense of good players but IMO not irreplaceable ones…and both at positions of strength and depth for our system…yes it woudl be FOR a player we have strength and depth in BUT he is controllable and would be a nice young replacement we dont have to HOPE for being good in the pros…liek we do with Weaver FLaherty Reyes etc etc…
missed opportunity IMO…but i’m sure it is a lot harder than it seems…
Well it isnt like we will lose him for nothing in the offseason..a compensation pick between 2 and 3 at the worst is not terrible…
AND
heaven forbid we actually really like Lynn…and want to re-sign him…he is pitching pretty phenomenally and is only 30
then use our young pitching talent at the height of it’s value to go out and get that big bat we need.. i’d think the Marlins would be quite interested in our young starting pitching as they are quite thin there…maybe even revisit the Freddie Freeman possibility with the BRaves still needing starting pitching… maybe even the good old Reds are desperate for pitching….could the unthinkable happen and we target Votto?
If we go into the offseason with these top notch starting pitching prospects and package them right we could get a lot of value back…
Lynn slots in next year just fine, with Reyes coming back slowly and probably being the help the bullpen needs for a year before taking Waino’s or Wacha’s spot..
Heck…with a good finish to the year for Wacha…he coudl command big time value with ihis control and age if we want to move him…
not doing anything now though i think really forces this offseason to be active in trading and maybe even buying…if we make the postseason..it lessen the pressure a bit..but not much….
we have some serious 40 man decisions to make as well..
To me…a trade or two to clear up the 40man a little and help the team now woudl have let some of the pressure to fix it all in the offseason go away…but now they are in fix it or get fired mode for this offseason period…. which to me is just a terrible position to be in with the market having nothing for hitters…cmbined with the fact that the Cubs are in their prime years for low salary and big output…which means they can go out and spend a lot on their problems….forcing us to be in a position to fix it NOW…whiel they are in their best years is just setting them up for a letdown..
I believe in the process and the way they have built the organization…i believe they have a plan and i believe their track record gives them the benefit of the doubt for seeing it through…
I feel like we may deal at the waiver trade deadline too…there are some players that i think wont get pulled back who coudl help if we want them…. Bruce? Cozart (yes i know he is hurt)? both could be useful right now and not cost us much… problem is that if we wait on those deals we get even less back even if they do well for us..
blah blah blah….crazy day
looks like the answer to the post was answered…. “neither” it is…
I am curious how the front office will spin their position for not acquiring any help for now, or for helping the team going forward…
at the end of the day, we probably just didnt get the value for the things people wanted…and that can be just as good a move as doing bad moves just to do moves…
feel free to close the thread
wow…Darvish to the Dodgers…..cant say i ddint see it coming but it got so late i thought it wouldnt happen… no idea who they gave up…i’m guessing way too much for a rental
Dodgers are the 2016 cubs…throw it all away for the chance to win right now…worked for the Cubs…we’ll see if the Dodgers do the same
they acquired Cingrani, Darvish, Watson today…
Dodgers are already crazy good…Darvish makes them almost unstoppable IMO
Kershaw, Darvish, Wood, MAeda for their Playoff rotation
almost makes me wonder if Kershaw may be more hurt than they let on..
crazy..
WIth the Cubs depleting their farm system like they have done I am thinking they are in for a downturn…eventually…and though mosto f their youngster come up for FA around 2022….if they don’t lock many of them in before that, they will have a good chance to lose them…, they have big bucks…but they have a lot of young talent they are going to have to pay …and they still need to replace their closer and TWO rotation spots
If Schwarber doesnt figure it out and this year’s Addison Russell is the real one…not to mention the aging Zobrist..well…they may some issues in the lineup too
rotation:
Lackey is gone, Arrieta is gone
Lester, Quintana, Hendricks,…..Montgomery and Butler are nice ideas but they won’t be real options IMOthey use their money to go out and sign an SP….I’d think they’d aim high for Darvish but i think he’ll go somewhere else…then they will probably end up with ARrieta re-signing for more than he is worth or Lynn…who i’d hate to see in Chicago…but i could see him filling the Lackey void
will they sign two SP’s? I think they will not…barring a signing of a fringe starter to add to Butler and Montgomery for the 5th spot…but i am wrong a lot..so maybe they get Darvish or aRrieta and Lynn…we are talking 25 to 45million if they go with two…that puts them in the 120mil range
Wilson fixes the closer spot for one more year…but he just doesnt seem to be the impact closer they’d probably want…if they want a big one…what? 10-15mil?
To me it all comes down to when they decide to start extending their youngsters….Bryant and contreras…probably are the big ones…Baez and Russell are big too…but i could see them wait a little…Schwarber coudl bolt if he doesnt get paid too…but Rizzo deserves a raise…and shoudl probably fight for it…and i’d like to think he gets it…
Chicago has the money and the flex time…btu without a farm system i see their window being until about 2021 before all this using of their high end farm players comes back on them… all it will take is a couple big injuries and/or really down play from expensive signings to do it…
Slwo and steady has won the race for the Cardinals for a long time…but that does mean getting beat and out maneuvered for years at a time…
do i like slow and steady all the time? PErsonally i’d take a few more chances…but then again…i love the Cardinals…and they dont often take big chances and yet are successful and competitive year in year out…so maybe i DO liek the lack of movement…who knew?
I think he is dead on. Lots of people i have heard and read on several forums and sites made up their minds on this year’s team after the rough beginning. Then we came back, they shut up, then we struggled again and they come back wailing, then we get back up again…but not get to the division lead and they still persist to hate on the team and give it no chance to win…
this team is a few games out…yes they have been hovering for awhile in the same spot, but they have beaten good teams…and lost some games in stupid ways…but all the hate on the team for being under .500 thinly veils their argument…as before the argument was we couldn’t beat any good teams so being under.500 and winning the central was worthless because we couldn’t win in the playoffs…well..we have taken4 of the last 7 from the DBacks…swept the Rockies and beat the Nationals in the series….so i say…get in…and take your shot…
but the defense seems to have righted itself, the rotation is pretty fantastic, even the bench has been pretty impressive…the bullpen has been shaky…lots of ups and downs throughout the year…i blame mostly Oh, for not being the steady presence he was last year….which is what this year’s team really needed and needs
We have been hearing and reading SELL SELL SELL since the 1st month of the year…not too much of the likes of give them a chance…or let’s see what happens…it’s been pretty negative despite the outcomes and better play…
you see it very clearly in the hate thrown at Wong…who, though injured right when he was playing well, was absolutely HATED at the beginning of the year…and even though he is having a pretty good year now no one wants to give him any credit….same goes for Carpenter…who YES…didn’t turn out to bethe #3 we needed…and YES the average is still a bit low…his on base skills are phenomenal and he has been playing pretty well since the rough start…Cecil too…..Wacha too….and even Wainwright..
it even goes the opposite way on players like Gyorko…who has had a pretty good total year…but has really fallen off lately….
Sierra was a nice spark…Bader was a nice spark…i’m not even totally sold on DeJong being much more than a spark that gets more playing time…though i am very happy and impressed with him and think he has a chance to be pretty good going forward…
peopel hate on players…and think everyone BUT them can fix all the problems….I understand that view…i even hypothesize on it a lot… but putting on blinders to what this team has a chance to accomplish just because you made your mind up at the beginning of the season…or because they dont play defense and run the bases like the 80’s Cards….is pretty ridiculous…
i have watched every game this year too…i see the mistakes…i also see the impressive fortitude they have had all year to keep themselves in the race…
do they needa move or two to help? yep..i think they do…do i know what it is? nope i dont…but to yell SELL SELL HATE HATE THROW AWAY…is just lazy fandom… it’s easy to only root for your team when they are perfect or dominate…and if you dont have the will or desire to be a fan when things are rough then go away and buy a Dodgers cap or Cubs hat or whatever team will make you feel like you are invulnerable to having to actually care about a team that might not be perfect or win every game…
Im worried we wont make a move right now because it isnt the “perfect” move…and i worry some about MOzeliak and Girsch not taking chances….this team is pretty conservative…and that has paid off in the long run…but every now and then you need to pull a Colby Rasmus deal when you see a team that is close and needs kick in the butt…
Deal Lynn to Yanks for a couple good prospects (see if you can pry Betances away maybe…hard but maybe)
Give away probably nothing of worth to the MEts for Bruce
Snag Joe Smith from the Jays to help the pen…
…call up Oakland (as they want a young upside CFer)…offer Sierra or Bader add in whatever it takes…get Gray and Alonso……i know everyone wants Gray…BUT we do have a surplus of young Cf’s with good upside…and we have the extra pieces to probably get him too…
Gray takes Lynn place this year and next and is a solid good upside guy and good control…
Alonso isnt perfect…and moving Carp to 3 or 2 isn the best… but Alonso adds some thumpTwo rentals and a long term solution…for right now…
in the offseason use the young pitching depth and lack of NEED for it (with Gray added longer term and Reyes returning)…to acquire a big time hitter…like Stanton or whoever
lots of moves in not much time…most definitely wont happen…but fun to think about how we go for it NOW and going forward
🙂
i agree we are missing that big bat…but getting that player right now…just doesnt look feasible…Stanton is probably the big option and it sounds like they are moving anything until the offseason….which leaves pretty much DOnaldson as the only option…and while i like him for the rest of this season and next year…he still is only better bandaid and no long term fix….his price will be high in prospects…and while he’d bring something back after next year i doubt it makes up for what we’d give up
Trout isnt available…MAchado isnt available…no one…
so we go with what we have or we see if we can find a band aid for the year that doesnt cost us much…and we can attack the long range problems in the offseason….
investing TOO much in this season is probably a mistake…but not investing much…is well worth it with the central being there for the taking…and the only way to go after Donaldson now is probably to overpay…if this was 2 months ago…i wouldnt have minded…more than half a season PLUS 2018 AND his compensation pick…would have been worth it to me… but doing it with 2 months to go…i dont know how much id overpay if at all…
i have repeatedly said this has nothign to do with renting at all costs…it is only based out of the opportunity to take advantage of the low prices of renting right now in the areas we are looking for…
i have read multiple times that Cozart isnt drawing much interest….i read another item today saying BRuce isnt garnering much interest…all of which indicates low potential cost….
and in that case why not try to do it this year?
trading away some of the clutter in the system isnt goign to kill our farm…even if we lose a good talent for a guy like NEshek…btu lose very little for BRuce and Cozart why not?
Yes we are missing long term fixes…btu renting now with the low cost of these rentals isnt goign to hurt us in the long run at all…and it isnt going to turn a bad year into a bad decade
we need a big bat for the long term… I dont think Bruce is that answer nor Cozart.. .BUT Bruce coudl be had for the rest of the year for almost nothing it seems
we need a long term SS…and a good defensive one at that…and one that can hit well… Cozart probably isnt the long term answer to that either…bu t he is available now…and his cost isnt going to be crazy high
we need to replace Oh in the offseason and we needa closer…NEshek isnt that right now…nor is he a super long term answer…but he is available …and while he will probably cost more than he should…he has goodworth for a team in need of fixing it’s pen… especially to a team where the pen is costing us several games…and has lost us 20 games this year… even give us HALF of those back…and we are 5 games UP in the division…
a power lefty bat….a stellar defensive SS and high average hitter…and a setup/closer/stopper…all things we are missing…all things we need longer answers for… all things that are available…and all alre things that could get us to the playoffs…
Carp Pham Cozart Bruce Gyorko Fowler Yadi Wong/Dejong…. that’s pretty solid
and NO it isnt Stanton..or Donaldson…but it coudl be had for pennies on the dollar it seems
and let’s say we already had those ttwo…and adding them was cheap… then woudlnt our team make sense to ADD…even a rental like NEshek..even if he costs more than a rental should?
this division is giving us an opportunity to go for it short term without mortgaging the future AND still setting us up for the offseason to fix issues for the longer haul…
why not seize it?
Sure maybe you still trade Oh and Lynn …maybe even Grichuk too… but that doesnt necessarily kill our chances…Grichuk would be a bench bat with BRuce here…whatever we get back if we dealt him woudl make up for buying now…
losing Lynn would hurt…btu the return would hopefully be worth it…and Weaver/Lyons, Flaherty coudl figure it out for the rest of the season… PLUS in the playoffs you dont need 5 starters anyways…and his return still gives us value at replacing what we lost..
Oh is easily replaced by NEshek in this situation…even if his return is small it woudl still make up for anything we lost in “buying”
we are stockpiling good prospects…btu we have no room for more on the 40 man…and are going to lose good prospects if we dont add them…and i dont see how all the spots are going to work out….i’d rather trade some guys to clear 40 man spots or make new decisions easier…rather than lose them to rule 5 and get nothing.
doesnt matter…
NOTHING in what i said talks about throwing away our future to buy right now…maybe one good prospect for NEshek and a bunch of coin flips or farther down prospects or higher up AAAA pitchers with uncertain roles is what i am talking…
and again..this is based on the low returns for better players who have already been traded…
We look back at the games since the AS break
-2 losses to the Bucs… both walk offs that could have been won with only a slightly better bullpen..
IMO NEshek gets us at least one of those wins and maybe both (not just for his play but how his play effects use of others)
– 2 losses to the Mets…Leake loss is pretty much a L no matter how you look at it, though you could argue that we did have 10 hits…and just didnt get the runs in…that being said, a good average bat like Cozart and power bat of Bruce could have made that game a lot closer…second loss to the MEts is a brain fart by Rosy..BUT with NEshek I think we may not have been in that situation…still…i think we get the Rosy one back…as i think Neshek could have helped as well as two good bats get us an extra run in there
-2 Cubs losses…we all watched them…NEshek gives us 1 if not both of those wins…not to mention to good bats in the lineups could have made the difference in either as well2 me that is 4 games right there…puts us in 2nd place and only .5 games back..
yes it is all hindsight… but that is why i am talking about that a few key additions can go along way in making up ground quickly
yes they are rentals…yes they displace a few guys for a month… but we have some excess in the farm…decent talent that might be able to give us what we need to win these close games…
We have problems, but i think we could fix the issues without giving up major farm talent…and if we can get these fixes why not?
We dont need to extend these guys, (though id consider Neshek)…and their costs cant be that high…i read the market for position players is really low…and the JD Martinez deal proved it… if that is the case…snag BRuce and Cozart…they are what this team needs…. maybe you pay a bit more for a rental in Neshek but you get what we need…
trying to get Donaldson or Stanton or Ozuna is a great idea…but that will cost a lot and probably be a hard deal to make…plus will probably cost more than we want anyways… I still want to do those deals by the way…
I am only arguing that looking at the division adn our recent play and the play of our direct rivals it would be foolhardy to NTO try to win this division…and if it only cost a few mid level prospects then why not…
if someone said before the season started…give me Mayers, Arty, Mercado, and Seferina maybe a yougn pitcher….and I will give you the Division title…i think most would happily do it…
will it cost them? would it cost more? but you still have to ask yourself the same question…and we arent even talking BAder’s and Sierras and Weavers and Flaherty’s here… and at this point, a few key acquisitions are what could really turn the tide….and if they didnt work out..would it really crush us going forward?
yes a rental is a rental….you are losing value in a lot of ways…but when we did that with Rasmus…we got a World Series…yes we lost lots of his value…and we brought in a bunch of veterans..but they were the RIGHT veterans we needed..
Cozart, Bruce, Neshek… for a decent price IMO gives us more victories on their own, but also saves us from losses…we are competitive in almost every game…a few key veterans are ll that might be needed to tip us into winning streaks instead of 1 for 3 series or 2 for 3 series…
making up 4.5 games with the team on the field right now is do-able with 2 months to go….add to us and it becomes almost a sure thing that we can get at least VERY close to making those games up
many of you have already given up on this team…did so from the first losing streak…but the team has played and ought to stay in it…i dont care if the rest of the division was good or bad…. the point is that we are in it right now…and adding to this team right now…could make for a shift in the dynamic of the division…yes the Bucs are playing better…yes the cubs gave up their last prospect for Quintana…bYES we may not be able to solve the next years problems or next 5 years problems with a trade right now…but we coudl get ourselves to the playoffs… and without mortgaging the future…
i am not advocating for this deal…i am only advocating that a deal like this isnt as far fetched as some might believe…and that it has worth, value and promise in it…
you dont have to think so,….i get that…
I just dont understand why so mnay of you want to just give up and nto even try to get to the playoffs this year when it is absolutely attainable…and again…nto at the expense of our top prospects or even best prospects… this type of deal is based off the low value of rental players in the categories we are looking at…
the argument that why should we even try because we woudlnt win in the playoffs anyways is just not good enough…as we saw KErshaw or any star can go down at any time…you can have the best record (like us) at the end of the season and not win it… of all fans the Cardinals fans shoudl know the promise of getting inot the playoffs and figuring it out from there…we have won because of it and we have lost in the face of others rising up….
giving up just because you dont like the team is just lazy…admonishing the idea of only selling and only buying Mike Trout or superstars is just lazy… giving up is lazy…it’s easy to give up when the solution is not simple…
we arent clearing house…Lynn maybe Oh…maybe a surprise player is possible but we arent ditching Carp for nothing or throwing away Grichuk or PIscotty or Wong just because they ruined your fantasy baseball leagues…
we can be opportunistic with who we trade away…but we COULD also be opportunistic with looking at the low cost for rentals and see that going for it might just be cheaper than anyone thinks…
i expect the flames…so continue on
tough series…had a good chance at all the games…just like the NYM ones…
hard to think with losing such close games that a few small moves might be all this team needs to get over the hump…its not easy but i think the results are showing we are closer rather than farther away
as for lack of posting…i use my phone to post when not at work… (like now) and the phone interface for the forum is terrible to read and load and makes it hard to post… i have 1gb internet (190mb wireless), and an iphone 7 plus so i dont think it is on my end…it’s just that this style of forum just isnt good for mobile devices…i love the history here so i try to still read but posting and participating is getting very tough… i know Brian probably already knows all of this and is doing his best
yes Clippard.. who is only signed through this year so he’d cost only a portion of his total salary, and despite his high ERA, has a K per 9 of over 10…. he has been pretty reliable and times absolutely filthy as a 7th 8th or 9th inning guy…
also…and more importantly…attacking ONE of the players i put on a list as means to denigrate the argument is pretty pointless…unless the point is that you’re just trying to attack me on any grounds that you can… if you think the inclusion of Clippard in a list where the other options on the list are all valid is a means to think the whole argument is not worth discussion is on you…. feel that way if you want…but if you think saying “Clippard???!!!” is “adding” to the discussion…well your idea of what respectful contribution is IMO flawed
even so..i still think CLippard has value to a team…you can hate my opinion of that…but it doesnt change my opinion nor make yours any more right