Join Cardinals beat writer Derrick Goold for his live chat at 1 p.m. Monday
Bring your Cards questions and comments to Monday’s 1 p.m. live chat.
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Greetings. Sorry for the delay. Had a chance to talk with Yadier Molina briefly. He has returned, is going through some workouts today, and is in a team clubhouse meeting right now. He knew that he was going to report late to spring training -- but due to the lockout was not able to convey that to the Cardinals until the eve of spring training. They worked out how that was going to go. He declined to offer many specifics on why, only to say that it has been a challenging few months and that he needed to be there in Puerto Rico (and some here in Florida).He's been able to work out. Has not seen live pitching since last year. It's going to be four, five days before he's taking at-bats, and then it could take a few games for him to get that timing.He said he has enough time left on the schedule to be ready.He affirmed that he has thought about this being his last spring training and what it means to go through things one last time.You've got questions. I've got to move from interview to interview. But I'll do my best to provide answers.Away we go. -
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It can. And it's right to disclose those things, as I imagine you agree. He says he'll be there full time from here for the workouts and be with the team. The level of concern you have might be based on what you're considering. Getting his timing and readiness to play in a major-league game will have to be in a condensed period. There's the injury risk if he pushes too fast, and there's the possibility that he'll get some of the timing on the job, so it might be reflected in his production to start the season. He says everything that kept him away from the team is good, ready for him to get back to work. Someone close to him who I spoke with this morning said Molina is in a good place right now.
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The president of baseball operations can disclose a players medical information when given the OK by the player. There are policies in place that exist in any workplace when it comes to medical privacy -- however, when a professional athlete is injured that is news, and as you know that can be used in the sportsbetting industry, so teams do disclose it. Also, when a player goes on the injured list, a description is required and Major League Baseball does seek disclosure on the injury so that the IL is not being misused as an extended roster.Flaherty was clear that he wanted the information to include the information that the SLAP tear had been there for years, was not new, and had not increased in size. That information was not conveyed by the team. When asked what he got the PRP injection for, the team said it was to address the tear. That was not the entire picture, and the team made no mention of the bursitis that the PRP was meant to tame and alleviate.That was first reported by the Post-Dispatch after additional reporting.
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He did. He had an MRI during the lockout to determine if there was anything amiss. He said the MRI came back clean. So he adopted what he was suggested he adopt -- a conservative approach and await direction from the team.They weren't going to treat something they didn't see and wasn't bothering him.
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In defense of the segment of Cards fans wringing their hands over the Cards off-season, when else does this organization make meaningful moves? This ownership/FO has either been unwilling or unable to make an impact deal at the deadline for 8 straight seasons. It’s now or never… until this team shows fans otherwise. And no logical fan is holding their breath.
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The Cardinals admitted they made moves at this past deadline to "survive" not necessarily thrive, and it was only because of the performance of Lester and Happ (and the offensive upswing) that they looked to benefit from the trade deadline moves. They were just trying to "get by." They ended up getting into the postseason. Yes, the deadline has been dull for the Cardinals and they have not made the significant move that transforms a contending team into a favorite. That has been lacking.
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1) I don't recall them ever approaching Flaherty about a multi-year extension. If they did, it did not get much farther than the initial question. He was willing to talk about an extension but that conversation did not have much momentum.2) At this point, I'm not sure how to find those comps because he hasn't come back yet, hasn't pitched any of the two seasons that he has ahead of him before free agency. That is a massive hole in the information the teams interested in him will have at the time of his free agency. I just don't even know how to guess what he'll do in the next two seasons.
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Probably not. Have always been told that's not part of their business model. There is coming a time when the Cardinals' broadcast rights fees grow at a rate beyond the growth of the luxury tax threshold, and at that point -- especially if player salaries continue to climb and they try to keep some of the young players they have -- it may be necessary for them to get closer to compete. Their model will have to change.
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I was definitely "not in" on the Cardinals offering Story. The Red Sox egregiously overpaid IMO but time well tell. He may benefit playing in Fenway. All that said, what's the timeline for a go, no-go on DeJong. If he's struggling at .200 +/- by June 1, is it time to move on to Plan B?
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Hello Derrick. time to apply more sun screen. Will the team do like last year and slow play adding more pitching to offset injuries until it's too late, or do you sense any urgency to add someone? Also, are you hearing anything about adding a veteran DH, or are we going with unproven bats we have now?
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They did add a veteran DH. They signed Corey Dickerson. He's batting leadoff tonight against the Washington Nationals in West Palm Beach, Fla. This will be his game debut as a Cardinal, right there in the same lineup as Steven Matz.The urgency with which they view their pitching could be telling on multiple fronts:-- Thus far two additions, Brooks and VerHagen, have given the team confidence in their scouting and signing of the two. Strike throwers. Durable. Throw hard. They'll get a chance and the Cardinals aren't a team to create blocks when they've promised opportunities until they see an upgrade, and they're downplaying their view of the available free agents. Happ stands out as far as past interest.-- How they're going to use pitchers. They see that fifth spot as a piggyback at the moment, and they intend to throw quantity at it. They might open the season with seven, eight "starter" types when it comes to innings, and they'll turn to two of them to split the games on that fifth day. They'll count on four and then move to the middle relief. They're going to monitor workload quite a bit and you might only see Wainwright and Mikolas plunging deep into games.Matz has to make his bid to be that guy, and it starts today.-- And finally, No. 3, how the team views Flaherty's timetable and ultimate contribution.
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If you've been waiting 25+ years, what is going to make the 26th any different? I guess it depends on if you think they've ever made a "shove" or not. And if you do think they've made a "shove" then let me know -- so I have some context for the question. Otherwise, the answer is they're going to do what they've always done. They're a conservative organization that feels it can develop talent, identify overlooked talent, get value on their dollar, and contend every year.
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They do indeed. Very much so. I never got the sense that they had much interest in Greinke. I also am not convinced that Greinke would have signed with the Cardinals. He's been critical of them in the past, put them on his no-trade clause when he had one, and showed little interest in signing with the Cardinals.
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It might. A couple of things: Always remember that in free agency the player is free to choose the team, too. It also is becoming clear that the Cardinals had a ceiling on what they were looking to spend on a single reliever, preferring to spread that number around to multiple relievers if possible.