Join Ben Frederickson at 11 a.m. Thursday for a live chat from the Cards opener in Cincinnati
Ben Frederickson answers all of your Cardinals, Blues, St. Louis City, Mizzou and SLU questions in Thursday's 11 a.m. live chat.
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I’m a huge Molina fan, but I don’t see how anyone could put him lower than 7th in a lineup. At this point in his career he’s still a valuable player, but he’s well below league average with the bat. Is this an more of an indication the Cardinals offense is that weak, or a manager not being able to adjust to an aging star? -
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Yes, sir. Big year for the shortstop. Needs to stop what has become a decline of offensive production since his biggest season. Shildt could have constructed the lineup to take pressure off him but instead took pressure off Carlson and puts the cleanup spotlight back on DeJong, who had lost the cleanup spot by last season's playoffs.
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He's great in person. Zoom and its challenges weigh on everybody. Looking forward to getting back to in-person availability hopefully soon. Shildt likes talking ball. He's quick to answer and explain genuine questions. He lets you know when he disagrees with something, which is helpful. But he doesn't hold grudges and he understands the media's job. That's all you can ask for, really. That, and honesty. Because nothing decays a manager-reporter relationship like lies.
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The Matt Carp questions are hilarious to me because somehow we should expect some other team to value our poor performing players higher than we do, under the auspices of moving to a new city will somehow ignite his bat. If it takes changing teams to get MCarp to hit the ball, then the Cardinals have bigger problems in coaching and player development.
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Is the Carpenter situation one that is likely to drag on all season with him having a good at-bat here and there and the team rushing him into the starting line-up the day after he has a hit? Then come October, despite hitting +/- .200 all year, he magically ends up on the playoff roster because of his "experience"?
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I'll be provocative -- what kind of season does Randy Arozarena have to have to get Mo fired?
As impressive as his postseason was (it was otherworldly) I'm not ready to be too disappointed in the trade, though it does suggest a lapse in judgment in the FO's ability to assess talent and get requisite playing time to evaluate. -
Mo's not getting fired any time soon. He would probably walk away before that happens. And if and when that time comes, it won't be because of Arozarena.Now, I'll prepare for being called a water carrier. All good. Just keeping it real.Mo answers to DeWitt Jr., and DeWitt Jr. is happy with his president of baseball operations.Especially after the Nolan Arenado deal.
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The one-two punch works in boxing for a reason. That's the play here. The bigger discussion/debate was where to put them. Shildt said he likes them seeing a pitcher in the first inning, no matter what, because it creates a "punch in the face" in the first frame. You know, to keep the whole boxing metaphor rolling.
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Greinke and the Cardinals have never seemed like much of a fit. At one point I think the Cardinals were one of the teams on his no-trade list. Don't see it as a fit. He's an interesting fella. Not in a bad way or anything. But there seems to be a mutually held belief he would not be a fit.
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Not back in the clubhouse yet. None of us are. But in the press box, yes.He picked the Brewers because he makes his preseason picks on pitching strength at the start of the moment, and he likes the Brewers pitching better with Kim and Mikolas being question marks for now.
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All of that and much more covered here:
Why wait? Arenado makes Cardinals debut batting third, right behind fellow All-Star Goldschmidt
STLtoday.comAlso: Cardinals will steer games toward Alex Reyes to close, easing Jordan Hicks into high-leverage spots early this season. -
I know it has been made clear that a team wouldn’t DFA a long time team member and fan favorite that has made big contributions to the team over the years when they owe them 20M regardless. Even if it’s clear they are not the best player for the team right now.
Sorry Texas Rangers Fans, you just have to deal with Roughed Odor for a few years. Oh, wait ... -
Careful on the twisting of answers there.I've never said the Cardinals would never drop Carpenter and pay the freight for him to walk.I've said they weren't going to make that decision based on spring training.Carpenter making the opening-day roster was not a question that was going to be answered in camp. That was a given in the eyes of the team. Camp was about where he played, how much and how often. Most importantly, it was about how he hit. He struggled. Big time. So he left camp with a bench job and big questions about his ability to do that.That's another step toward not being around. The steps are not moving as fast as some fans like. That's pretty common when it comes to Cardinals in these situations. Especially ones with big contracts and lots of years invested with the team. The Cardinals want Carpenter to succeed. For more than just monetary reasons.Sometimes the patience runs out and those who called for the curb-kicking earlier get to take their victory laps.Sometimes the patience pays off. Adam Wainwright's resurgence is an example.
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I'd like it if the Cards' plan, unspoken to anyone, turns out to include:
1. Reyes is set up April-May, piggyback with starter June-July, fifth starter August-October;
2. Carlson succeeds lower in the order early, moved to 3rd to put lefty bat between Goldy-Arenado AND get more fastballs there;
3. Talks with Nats begin now, bear fruit in late July, brining Scherzer home to make the rotation playoff ready.
Please discuss. -
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Let's take a spin through these . . .1. The needle on Reyes is moving in the other direction. He's going to be a late-game hammer. Shildt basically said today that Reyes is the unofficial closer. So, it's probably safe to say that 100-inning goal Mozeliak floated earlier this spring is unlikely. Reyes as reliever means Reyes as high-leverage, short burst reliever it sounds like. This was easy to see coming.2. Carlson at two makes sense and I think that could happen. I'd be surprised if Shildt splits up Goldschmidt and Arenado. He doesn't want there to be a breath between those two no matter where they hit in the order, together.3. The Nats are not talking about trading Max now. They built a team they hope will win big. If the bottom drops out, could be a different story.
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I pressed the wrong button on my end and accidentally deleted a question about what should be a fair expectation for the Cardinals' ongoing outfield experiment. I think if this group produces a league-average OPS this season, between all of its different players, that will be a very positive result. The outfield doesn't need to carry this team. It just needs to not weigh it down. It has weighed it down too often in the recent past. Realistic expectations would be a combined outfield production that ranks in the middle of the pack in the National League.
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Do you think the Cardinals have an advantage by having most of its rotation being pitch-to-contact pitchers rather than strikeout pitchers? Quicker outs usually means more innings which will be valuable considering the pitch/inning limit on pitchers following the short 2020 season.
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I wouldn't call Flaherty a pitch-to-contact guy.When he's right, he strikes guys out.The other guys -- not Ponce -- are groundball getters and that pairs really well with this defense, for sure.Strikeouts are hard to get. Harmless grounders are easy on the pitcher and especially this defense. They gobble them up.
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They have said they want to get him enough work this season that he will be able to be in the rotation next season.That's where the 100-inning range comes from, his plans for 2022.His ability to stretch out and be a full-time starter without limits a season from now.There's a build-up that needs to happen for that to be realistic.Will he reach it?Hard to imagine it if he's the closer or eighth inning guy.He will get fewer innings but a lot of really important ones.In terms of innings being a measurement of stress on an arm, you're very right. Those are not the only tools to judge. Reyes can and probably will have more stressful innings in this role than he would have as a 100-inning reliever, but it might be hard for him to jump from 70-something innings to being a full blown starter, without limits, in 2022.
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Huh? Gambling hasn't come up in today's chat unless I blacked out for a bit. But because you brought it up . . . Pete Rose has an entrance named after him here in Cincinnati. There's a building advertising the nearest sports book prominently displayed on the building next door. Vegas got the official lineup before most of us here. It's the brave new world, folks. Like it or not.
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"With Bader out and Wong gone" WHAT? Are you suggesting that a Goldy, Wong, Dejong, Edman infield is better defense that a Goldy, Edman, Dejong, Arenado Infield? Common the defense has improved not regressed. I'll give you Bader being hurt is a minus on defense but having Arenado Infield instead of Wong is an improvement. I will miss Wong but a small market has to make some me sacrifices.
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Did I write that?Nope.I said the bullpen might be the strength of the team, more than the defense.The defense is still very good.It's not quite as good with Bader not in it.It would have been insanely good if Wong was with Arenado in the infield.Edman's looked quite sound at second base so far.
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