Brodziak has been awful in Edmonton. Upshall's days are over and Reaves is a fringe player. The problem is the important players -- top three lines, three defensive pairs, two goaltenders -- haven't been nearly good enough. You can assemble the greatest fourth line in the history of the NHL, but if the 17 more important players are failing . . .
If Yeo is willing to die on the Bouwmeester hill he may not last much longer. I have defended JayBow in the past, but right now he just isn't good enough to play. Let's see what Gunnarsson can do after a few AHL games and lets see what Walman has at some point as well.
Yes, this team needs an elite lefty reliever. There will be a couple on the market, so the Cards may not have to take on more dead money to get one. As for the offense, this team does need another bat. It cant count on Ozuna to get healthy and duplicate his strong finish. The Cards must also be mindful that Carpenter started bad and finished bad -- and that Wong can't stay healthy. Then there is Bader. Is he for real? Can he hold up as pitchers get to know him?
This assumes there is a trade market for Martinez. I believe the Cards have explored that before without success. Remember, Mozeliak was committed to seeing Fowler play every day in right field post-Matheny and he shopped aggressively for relief help. I'd keep Martinez as a good part-time player rather than wasting him in a minor trade. As for Murphy, I still don't see the fit.
Are you saying those tickets haven't been sold? That paid attendance figures are made up. As for actual attendance, any idiot can see how many people are in the stadium.
The Kings quit on Darryl Sutter and it can be argued that his tactically behind the curve. Also, he seems pretty serious about retiring. As for Tarasenko, he is on a team-friendly contract and other GMs are hoping the Blues do give up on him.
That would be a good idea from the Cardinals side. If I'm Miles, I'm taking my time with that. If he bets on himself and replicates his success,.he could triple his pay.
Ah, good one. Do the Cards fear a brain drain?
I'll defer to Mr. Goold on that. I can't imagine he would get much out of arbitration if he is eligible. Those dollars don't come until deeper in the process. Also, actually pitching games helps drive up the numbers.
He seemed to be out of answers, which is a tell.
Scapegoating a single assistant coach when a team is this far off its game is silly. This is a massive collective failure.
Glad to hear Hullie was in good spirits. He treated fans well here, even after his big breakout. I'm sure he has a lot of opportunities around North America. One of the all-time greats and an engaging person to boot.
Later game starts and more pitching changes, please!
I'm not going to give Bouwmeester a pass and blame his disastrous play on the coaches. I like the guy and I believe he was underappreciated here in the past, but bad is bad and the guy has played badly.
Martin will get there. Jontay would have eased the transition this season as the build-up continues, but Cuonzo is starting to land his kind of guys.
Ownership has played a part. At various points in team history ownership failed miserably. Ornest, the Civic Progress guys booting out Shanahan, the Lauries tanking and bailing, Checketts running out of money . . . quite a story. I was there when Federko and Co. had to fly discount commercial flights to save money. Bernie did NOT take this stuff in stride, and rightfully not.
I don't see major clogging on the 40-man roster or any huge Rule V concerns, but Mozeliak didn't sound committed to giving Gregerson another chance after all of those injuries. He seemed more inclined to stick with Cecil, but we'll see.
Cano at third base? No thanks. Murphy? He can still hit in streaks at 34, but he looks like a better fit for Chicago to bump Baez to shortstop to fill the Russell void.
Yeah, his numbers don't hold up at first base. That moves Carpenter to third base, where he can survive . . . I would need more incentive before rallying behind moving Carpenter back to third.
Brodziak has been awful in Edmonton. Upshall's days are over and Reaves is a fringe player. The problem is the important players -- top three lines, three defensive pairs, two goaltenders -- haven't been nearly good enough. You can assemble the greatest fourth line in the history of the NHL, but if the 17 more important players are failing . . .
