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. Monday.

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A few things to consider:1) The Cardinals played five games in four days. One of those days included a doubleheader. There is no hiding bad relievers in this setting. None. Bad arms get exposed, and the Cardinals' bullpen has too many bad arms.2) Shildt has tried to give guys some sort of shot at redemption under his lead. Fowler isn't the only one. That's understandable, to some degree. But I don't think he can be more patient with Cecil, for example.3) Yes, Matheny would have been beaten up for the bullpen this weekend. And yes, some of it would have been unfair. But Matheny had 6.5 years of work that were marked by some bad and questionable bullpen decisions. Both things can be true; Bullpen management was a weakness for Matheny; This Cardinals' bullpen is weak, no matter who manages it.
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A series win at Wrigley Field might have led to a parade.You are going to see an upbeat approach toward Shildt from the media, because he's massively better to deal with than Matheny.There's no sense in sugarcoating it, or pretending it's not the truth.Media is part of a manager's job, and Shildt does it very well.Matheny's approach didn't help him much.
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Offense, yes. Still very early. But safe to assume the commitment has helped him refresh a bit.Defense? Not so much. That booted ball in right field was tough. Kinda looked like he was not familiar with how the ball was going to play in that spot. Kinda looked like the thing that can be tested out during a practice session.
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Since the start of the 2017 season, Jose Martinez ranks 17th in average (.302) and 54th in slugging percentage (.492). He has the same SLG as Edwin Encarnacion during that time. He's under contract through 2023. Why wouldn't American League teams that are looking for an offensive upgrade consider him? There is no such thing as too many good hitters if you are trying to win it all. Martinez has a .832 OPS this season, down from .897 last season. I just checked American League team's OPS from the DH. All but three have a lower OPS at their DH spot than what Martinez has provided. I have a hard time believing he could not be move for something(s) that helps this team.
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