Join Cardinals beat writer Derrick Goold for his live chat at 11 a.m. Friday
Bring your Cards questions and comments to Friday's 11 a.m. live chat.
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I remember Arozarena hitting .380 at AAA and for some reason the cardinals never gave him a shot. Then he got traded and was Babe Ruth in the Playoffs. The cardinals vowed to not let that happen again. But aren't they doing the same with Burleson? He's dominating AAA and even when he could have had a solid month of play with Oniell Bader and Dickerson out they chose not to give him that run.
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I enjoyed most of it. I did not go expecting a classic. Taika Waititi infuses his movies with such joy for filmmaking and visuals and character rapport that it's hard not to just have fun at his movies. Christian Bale's villain was one of the most sinister and compelling since Thanos. I'm not kidding. And his introduction/origin scene set that brilliant contrast of callous extravagance vs. unimaginable loss.
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Why does MLB continue to have the worst blackout rules of any sport? Baseball attendance is dropping, popularity declining, and declining viewership makes these blackout rules look as if MLB wishes to shot themselves in the foot. I live 225 miles from St. Louis, over 300 miles from Atlanta and Cincinnati and MLB blacks out all games from these teams. It makes me feel like the 1970's when we were lucky to see our teams play on a national broadcast once a month. MLB is not fan friendly.
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An outdated model that is changing slowly and needs to change faster, as the commissioner said this past week at the All-Star Break. Some of it is meant to protect the investment of rights holders so that one of the most valuable pieces of content -- live sports -- remains valuable and not accessible everywhere, except through them. That said, the tech is there now that blackout rules are archaic. Manfred acknowledged this. Said they need to get to a place where the game is available where, when, and how people want to watch it. And that's overdue.
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Every time MLB tries to do something to seem hip, it comes across as forced and inauthentic. Such as Player's Weekend, the Cityscape uniforms, ASG uniforms, Let them play campaign, having players in the field miked-up, etc. Do those things really attract new fans? The game itself and its own built in quirks have always been what it has set it apart. What do you think?
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Oh my goodness do they attract fans and sales an excitement. The All-Star Game was one of the most talked about in years because of the exchanges between mic'd up players. That was huge and enjoyable, and it's what my teenage son wanted to talk about. Heck, it's what middle-aged baseball fans wanted to talk about the next day -- that window into pitching and the catcher/pitcher relationship.City Connect jerseys are doing gangbuster business. Some of them are fantastic, and creative, and you see them throughout the stands. The best ones are so popular teams are wearing them more often than originally scheduled.Do I need to go on?- All-Star Game uniforms are not my thing, but the players dug 'em.- Let Them Play campaign was great, good commercial, and did add zest to the game; look no further than some of the things we've seen this season with young players showing their personalities more and more and more and more and more and more for the benefit of fans and the game. Heck, at the draft, two players said they were the best player taken in the draft and wanted to prove the other teams wrong -- on live TV, on stage. It's WWE-like. And awesome.These are the quirks that make the game great, that allow it to evolve, and not stay static. It should reflect the time in which it's played. And baseball is doing more of that.You ask if these things really do attract new fans?Damn straight they do. And they intensify interest from current fans, too. Oh, and they make money. They make money for the teams and the leagues and some of that, more and more of that, gets to the players.That's all I think. Bring this stuff on. And if it doesn't work, move on. No harm.
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First, a sincere thank you for the considerable time, talent and insight that you put into your reporting. For those of us who live outside the STL, we value it more than you could know. I have been fascinated by Molina’s actions for his final season. Was it possible that he was disappointed his off-season conditioning because of his damaged knee(s), that’s why he reported late out of shape and that’s why he has chosen to stay away from the team? Or is there a personal matter that he chose to keep private (not health-relates) that guided his decisions?
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I hope you understand it's not place to divulge here in the chat, what I could not divulge in print. Same rules apply for an article, a tweet, and a chat. I have to confirm to report. And if I speculate I owe it to you, the reader, to make that clear, because otherwise it comes across as if I'm reporting or that these speculations are in the wind and could happen. I've seen a lot of that in Twitter recently, where musings by a reporter are taken as things that could really happen. That's not fair to the readers, and it leads to confusion.To your question.The reason for his delayed report to spring training was not related to the knee, from what he told us. He had a personal reason that led to a late start on his conditioning and readying for the season. One of the reasons he gave was the chance he had to spend more time with his son, and that was important to him. He declined to elaborate. But the delay in his workout program is why he asked for a few weeks to get in spring-ready condition and then, as he told us, continue to do it on the job. He and the Cardinals agreed he could do that. It's a chicken-egg by May: Did the knee keep him from improving his conditioning or did it strain the knee trying to do so? Either way, he and those close to him, have said he wanted this time because he was frustrated by his performance, frustrated by his production, and needed the time to mend the knee and build that game-ready fitness.
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How often do questions in these chats allow you to talk about things that you'd really like to cover, but perhaps don't merit a full article in the P-D? Are there times when comments or questions here lead you down a rabbit hole that later turns into an in-depth article? Anything you really wish somebody would ask about today because you're kind of excited to share it?
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Happens all the time. That's the best part of the chats. When it gives me a chance to tell a story or explore a topic that I don't always get to in the paper, and then realize I should.What is the question that I wish was asked? I don't know off the top of my head. The surprise is part of the fun.I guess I could go on for a few hours about the difference between forceout and fielder's choice when it comes to scoring a game ...
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During the all star game one reporter asked Manfred about blackouts and the fact that some games are broadcast on streaming services that require a monthly fee. Do you recall what his response was as it seemed to me he talked around the issue, kind of like a politician.
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I thought it was a direct answer. I included it in the coverage here:
All-Star Game notebook: With CBA spat behind them, MLB and MLBPA shift to future conflicts
STLtoday.comLOS ANGELES — With a 99-day lockout in the past and a game trying presently to reclaim attendance and capitalize on its fountain of youthful talent, comments Tuesday from commissioner -
Can I just publicly express my dismay and disgust that American adults continue to support comic book movies? I've seen Ragnarok, Black Panther, and the first Wonder Woman movie in the past year and they were all garbage as films, as storytelling. Self-referential, lazy, and the opposite of plot-driven. Like going to a fireworks display. All spectacle, zero substance. Americans are idiots, and popular culture is moving backwards at an ever-increasing pace thanks to grownups who do not demand grownup movies. In other words, people just like you.
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That's not how I saw it. Gallegos closed some games. Helsley closed some games. It just depended on where the opponent was in the lineup. Middle-order in the eighth? Helsley. Top of the order in the ninth? Helsley. Back third in the ninth? Gallegos. That was finally what the Cardinals have talked about doing in the past few springs, and it was happening.
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