Cardinals chat with Derrick Goold
Bring your Cardinals questions and comments, and talk to Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold in a live chat at 1 p.m. Monday.
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We're not going to solve this year in a chat about baseball. I am the son of a school teacher and my parents met while both were math teachers. Many, many of my friends are teachers or counselors at schools. I adore them. I'll tell the whole story: The other day, when I got the phone call about an award, I happened to be leaving The Post-Dispatch office and stopped to take the call. As I was listening to the gentlemen tell me some particulars, a book caught my eye. It was in a stack on an abandoned desk, and it read, "Ravenhill" By Timothy Hillmer.That was my seventh English teacher. He was really the first teacher who urged me to write and write a lot and to read authors who would show me different ways to write. He got involved in the school's literary magazine. He was our coach for Odyssey of the Mind. He catapulted me into an interest in writing -- even showing me how if I wanted to draw cartoons or comics, I better learn to write them, too. I'm not in that newsroom at that moment getting that phone call without him -- and there is the novel he wrote in Boulder, Colo., and it's there on a desk in St. Louis at that moment.Amazing.Teachers deserve more than we can give them. Always have.That said, we cannot ignore the value our society also puts on entertainment. That's what this is. I don't hear much hand-wringing about the money Tom Cruise makes for a movie or the billion that Aquaman just pulled in or the billions that Marvel makes or the billion billions Disney does with its armada of content. And, yet, there's no difference between Cruise and Trout, no difference between Stanton and The Avengers -- all are blockbusters meant for entertainment. If 40,000 people paid to watch me type, my salary would be higher, for sure. Forty thousand do show up to watch baseball players play, and even more tune in at home. It's a form of entertainment, and moreover elite baseball players -- and that's what they are -- are performing this entertainment at a level only athletes reach. That's what drives salaries. Your interest in watching the best at their best do their best. I can say I wish teachers were paid more and that our culture values them more and still be OK with the salaries baseball players make. Other people in demand (actors, authors, artists, CEOs, lawyers) at their peak make a lot of money too. That's where the meritocracy works. -
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Why do the cardinals continue to be cheap? Intelligent fans aren’t fooled. Trading for 1 year of PG is not enough. It’s clear Harper and Machado are both available for less than most thought - why not offer 8-9 years 300+ million to Harper? Luxury tax hit is nothing compared to revenue they generateplus tv
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When I coached football - I had a rival coach that worked his kids long long hours- he wanted to win, but really wanted to brag that he outworks everyone- do you ever get the felling Mr. Mozeliak really wants to win, but really wants to do it cheaper than anyone to show what he can do? And that’s why he goes in with so much uncertainty (corner outfielders coming off horrible year or shoulder surgery) when he has the money to buy certainty?
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DG - thanks for the chats. Your coverage and the PD's coverage is so good, I have no questions. I can trust when you have solid reliable news you'll share it.
I'm high on this team and looking forward to a great season.
Keep up the great work.
... P.S. I lied. Thought of a question, I contend that Kolten Wong (he's doesn't get much love from the twitterdom) may be one of the most important parts of this team. A full, productive season from him is a huge key to contending this year. Do you concur? -
I don't think Wong is the pivot to this season, but his play as a complementary player can certainly turn a team that is competing in the division to one that is leading it. I say that because of the defense he can bring alongside Goldschmidt, and if he gets that OBP going and plays about 130 games in the coming year then you're talking about a part of the lineup that turns it over, and often, and scores a lot. He can be a contributing, not leading, but contributing part to both run prevention and run creation, and if he does that to his ability then I imagine he could get those All-Star votes and appear there, like he'll do at some point in his career.
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Derrick, do you agree that major league players (current and former) are often the best judges of the talent and abilities of other current players? I tend to think so, and I had the privilege of talking to a former big-league pitcher recently about the Cards’ offseason thus far. He held his thumb and forefinger close to each other and said that this is about how close Goldschmidt is to what Pujols was as a Cardinal. I think some fans may be underestimating him. Thanks for the chats!
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Hey, Derrick: I loved your discussion on the most recent BPIB about the concept of value and the stranglehold it has had on baseball. I got the sense that you feel many teams would rather acquire a less productive player who is a greater value in terms of salary to production ratio than acquire a player who will produce more but whose "value" isn't as great. Did I understand your view of this correctly? I tend to feel like this is one of the reasons that the Cardinals have gone so long without a marquis player and have only recently begun to realize that a team full of value players isn't necessarily a playoff team.
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You did. I argued that it's infiltrated how we cover the game and how we even talk about players. Look at Daniel Descalso. For years, we have talked about how the Caridnals moved on from him because he had priced his way out of their structure. Same with Skip Schumaker. In several cases, the Cardinals didn't talk about getting a better "talent" for that role, they described getting a better "value." And we see that in other decisions teams around baseball are making. Could the Giants get a better pitcher than Holland at this point on the market? Yep. Did they think they were getting the right "value" at this moment? Apparently. Hence, the deal. It's the difference between getting a .900 OPS and a mega-deal a .900 OPS commands and a team willing to take a .800 OPS at a .700 OPS price because that's better "value," better bang for the buck, even though it's less bang. And so on. Sometimes the better talent is the better value. You could reasonable make that argument with Paul Goldschmidt. He was both the best talent moved so far this winter and also one of the best values.I think the toothpaste is out of the tube on this one when it comes to moves the teams make, and it has been for a long time, it's just now fine-tuned through Hedge Fund Baseball.But we can change the conversation by talking honestly about teams that are out to get the best talent at the best value, or teams that are just out there looking for the best value and willing to take lesser talent as a result. Because, you know what that means? It means teams, even ones that don't have to, are trying to value their way to the World Series, not talent their way.
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I find it interesting that the polls, routinely, are more optimistic about the Cardinals than the questions are. That speaks to the people who come read the chat -- and that skepticism continues to drive questions. Makes sense, really. Still, find it interesting.And that brings us to the end of another Cardinals Chat to be Named Later. We're speeding toward Jupiter, Fla., and the one day a year pitchers and catchers report and Hummel and I get to sleep in. Oh, we don't? We have to cover that, too? OK. Well, we'll be there. Next week has a holiday on Monday and it is the final day of the Winter Warmup. Check your local listings for the chat time and place. We'll unleash the hive to cover this weekend's Winter Warmup. We'll have rolling and constant coverage throughout the days of the Warmup on StlToday.com and then additional, expanded coverage every day in The Post-Dispatch. We'll have videos from the pressers, slideshows from the signings, and any news that bubbles up. Dexter Fowler will be present. Yadier Molina is scheduled to sign this year. Paul Goldschmidt and Andrew Miller will be introduced to the fans for the first time. And, on Sunday night, the baseball writers' will host their 61st annual dinner and this year we're honoring Bob Costas, Vera Clemente, Sharon Robinson, Miles Mikolas, Matt Carpenter (who won't be traded), and many others. Tickets are still available via Metrotix.If I don't see you there, I'll hear from you at the next chat. For sure. Now, I'm off to look at more of those posters. "Roboback" was a cool one. John Elway as "Rifleman."
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