Ben Frederickson Live
Bring your Cardinals, Blues, Mizzou and STL sports questions, and talk to Post-Dispatch columnist Ben Frederickson in a live chat starting at 11 a.m. Tuesday.
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Part of the reason the Cardinals never identified who would get bumped is because the guy who needs to be bumped can change over time. Why name today what could change tomorrow, right? Weaver's control issues and regression to picking instead of attacking is a concern, yes. But I would argue against cutting him from the rotation and argue for expanding the rotation. Make it a six-man, or something that can be disguised as such.
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Correct me if I am wrong but prior to Reyes getting hurt the knock on him was he walked too many batters, couple that with the control issues players have the year following Tommy John I am not entirely sold on him making a big splash this year. More fair to look for him to breakout next year?
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It's impossible to know how a player, especially one this young, will come back from TJ surgery.The Cardinals have been encouraged by the early returns and they have lost zero of their hype about Reyes' potential.No one should expect a seamless return. That's rare for post-surgery guys. Reyes should be viewed as a desirable x-factor, and a starter next season. Until something proves otherwise.
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He's pressing. Admitted as much earlier this season. Sometimes you want to hit so bad you put yourself in a bad position to hit. He's looked very close to lifting off for good more than once, then slid back again. No homers since April 12 is concerning. He needs to start lifting the ball, and limiting his swings on non-strikes. Easier said than done.
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Ben -Allen is the problem . Have you seen what Fluery has meant for vegas ? The Blues are going now here fast with Allen in net .He has had one good playoff series in 3 years. He is horribly inconsistent .The Blues need to focus on improving in goal and i think the rest of the team would be more consistent .
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Ben: Is there any concern about CMart's health? Despite his amazing start to the season, I can't help but notice how much his arm slot has dropped--alomst sidearm at times--and how much lower his velocity is most of the time. Today against the Twins, he seems to be living in the low 90s and upper 80s.
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In May, maybe. If they climb out of their funk, yes. That justification gets harder if they continue to under-perform. So, basically the same answer that I've given every time this question, or one like it, has been asked today. I'm not sure what else you want me to say.
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So, has the JMart experiment run its course? I think he's a fine role player, but playing everyday has exposed him both as a fielder and a hitter. MM rode his hot start, which was fine, but now, don't you have to let Gyorko play most days, and use JMart more judiciously at first?
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He homered today, for what it's worth.Again, the infield is going to be in motion. The hot hand is going to create more opportunities. Martinez is not immune from that, and he's received a lot of early at-bats because of that. They now see him as their starting first baseman. His performance created that spot. His lack of performance could result in the removal of it. He's still one of this team's most dangerous hitters right now.I've said this before, but I'll try to say it again. Looking at this infield as who should be locked in is the wrong way to do it. The playing time is going to be handed out due to hot hand and matchups, and sometimes opportunities created because of matchups lead to effectiveness. It's fair to wonder if Gyorko's numbers would be so eye popping if he was not appearing in spots that the numbers called for his appearance.The longer Carpenter plays like this, the more likely it is he joins a more traditional timeshare, or perhaps even less. Gyorko is trending up at the moment, but consistency has always been his challenge.
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Using this logic, he should have gotten a raise after the sweep of the Cubs.Decisions are not made based off one series.If you are looking for reasons to question Mabry, go with the lack of production from proven players so far this season, the offense's failure to launch, and the fact that many of the hitters who have turned themselves around in recent years have done it with help from the Class AAA hitting coach.Those are reasons to wonder if it might be time for a change.
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