Live Chats

Join Hall of Fame baseball writer Rick Hummel for his live Cardinals chat at 11 a.m. Monday

Bring your Cards questions and comments to Monday’s 11 a.m. live chat.

3rd & 7 37yd

Greetings! Ten days into the season and the Cardinals' starting pitching was much better (Mikolas and Matz) than the first time around. Fifteen pitchers may be a big much inasmuch as many have not received enough work, mostly due to the scheduled off days and the two rainouts. Fire away!
Commish

by rhummel 4/18/2022 3:55:38 PM
I realize that it is too late to do anything about it, but.......am I the only one who thinks Jim Edmonds got screwed in the HOF voting? He had a great career as one of the best CF ever plus compared to some of the other players receiving votes he is worlds above them. Am I missing something?

by Scott S. 4/18/2022 3:57:01 PM
It is too late for the regular Baseball Writers' Association of America election because Jim did not get 5 % percent of the vote the first year he was on the ballot to remain on the ballot. But, after the 10-year period has elapsed for when he would have been on that ballot, he is likely to turn up on veterans' committee-type ballots every few years. This will take some time but Edmonds will benefit from the increased metrics emphasis on defense, in addition to his outstanding offensive figures.

by rhummel 4/18/2022 4:00:59 PM
Watching yesterday's game didn't it seem like the majority of borderline pitch calls went to the Brewers pitchers and hitters? Hasn't it been shown statistically that throughout the history of baseball home teams get the advantage? Are you ready to embrace the Automated Strike Zone when perfected even though it would be a radical change for the grand old game?

by Paul J 4/18/2022 4:01:14 PM
I am not ready for any sort of automated strike zone although I thought the zone of Alfonso Marquez, whom I consider a good umpire, seemed to vary later in the game. I perceived no home-team favoritism. The Brewers also walked seven.

by rhummel 4/18/2022 4:04:19 PM
After seeing the Brewers so much in recent years where do you rank Craig Counsell as a MLB manager? What are his strengths?

by Paul J 4/18/2022 4:04:23 PM
Counsell is one of the best, notably at handling a pitching staff. The Brewers' payroll traditionally is lower than other top teams in the National League and he gets the most out of what he has.

by rhummel 4/18/2022 4:05:46 PM
Watching Kolten Wong makes me wish former favorite players would end up in the other leagues as I get tired of watching them help beat the Cards.

by Paul J 4/18/2022 4:05:54 PM
I can understand the angst of fans who are frustrated when one of their former players comes back to haunt them. In this case, I do not think Wong is really any better than Edman, both of whom are good players at the same position.

by rhummel 4/18/2022 4:07:41 PM
Is it unusual to see so many mediocre records even though it's early in the season? The majority of the teams are hovering around.500. Did the shorten spring cause this and how long before the separation of really good and really bad takes shape?

by Paul J 4/18/2022 4:07:48 PM
I do find it odd that many teams are hovering around .500. Some of this has to do with the shortened spring in which the pitchers did not get stretched out to the point that they will. When that happens, you will see some separation. Part has to do with scheduling, too. For instance, Houston, which is one of those .500-ish teams, hasn't had any home games yet and the Astros are very good at home.

by rhummel 4/18/2022 4:10:35 PM
Has adding the DH simplified managing so much so all including Marmol won't have hardly any questions to answers post game strategy wise?

by Paul J 4/18/2022 4:10:43 PM
There still will be pitcher use and lineup questions but, offensive strategy, as we used to know it, largely is gone.

by rhummel 4/18/2022 4:11:46 PM
Are you going to write an article on all of Albert's stats so fans can follow more than just the 700 HR chase?

by Paul J 4/18/2022 4:11:53 PM
I believe we have had a considerable rundown of Pujols' career statistics but as he approaches milestones besides 700 home runs, they surely will be revisited.

by rhummel 4/18/2022 4:12:43 PM
After watching his start of this season what's your gut on Dejong chances of revitalizing his hitting and remaining the everyday SS?

by Paul J 4/18/2022 4:12:47 PM
Despite his low average--Paul Goldschmidt also is very low--DeJong has shown me more patience in his approach, as witness a key walk he worked yesterday in a good eighth inning for the Cardinals. He still is the everyday shortstop for me but I think it's fair to play Edmundo Sosa once in a while. He was two for five in the game that he played.

by rhummel 4/18/2022 4:14:37 PM
Do you see Pujols getting 400 AB's this year? Has he done enough in the off season to battle father time? With him returning does this warrant an Albert the Machine statue standing next to the Stan the Man one at the entrance?

by Paul J 4/18/2022 4:14:45 PM
Albert will have a statue but I don't see it as being next to Musial's imposing one. One player was here for 22 years, the other for 12. Four hundred at-bats might be a reach but I can see Pujols getting between 300 and 350, which might be enough for him to approach 700 homers. He still will have to be more productive against right-handed pitching to merit those at-bats. He has shown he can wallop left-handers, as he did last season with the two Los Angeles teams.

by rhummel 4/18/2022 4:17:23 PM
Is there now in place a better way to track birth certificates of foreign players seeing that $100 of millions of dollars are being given out to young stars somewhat based on their age?

by Paul J 4/18/2022 4:17:43 PM
A few weeks ago you ranked the top all time Cardinals who came out of amateur drafts / internally grown. Thanks for that. In this regard I do not if recall “home”grown and rookie of the year for 1974 in Bake McBride made the cut? Please comment here on where you had him.

by Nick N 4/18/2022 4:18:21 PM
If a player was signed from 1971 on, he would have been in there.
As for the previous question, I presume teams' ability to track ages of foreign-both prospects is much better than it used to be.

by rhummel 4/18/2022 4:20:03 PM
Seems like the Cardinals are missing all the ingredients. Sometimes they have hitting but lack starting pitching sometimes they have starting pitching the lack relief pitcher. will They ever put it all together?

by B 4/18/2022 4:20:12 PM
It happens every season as teams look for that great meld of pitching, offense and defense. The good teams will find that mix. It is early yet. We should reserve this question for several weeks into the season when teams have played more games to get a reading.

by rhummel 4/18/2022 4:21:23 PM
Why do you think Woodford has not been used? He has looked very good. What do you think the plan for him is?

by Tim 4/18/2022 4:21:27 PM
I am a bit curious why Jake Woodford hasn't been used more. I am presuming he will be the first "long" man out of the bullpen now that Jordan Hicks will be starting.

by rhummel 4/18/2022 4:22:10 PM
Here to enjoy my helping of boiled crow. Glad to see I was wrong on signing Pujols. Hope there are many more moments to come.

by Larry M 4/18/2022 4:22:13 PM
Albert certainly seems rejuvenated now that he has come back "home." It might be too premature to speculate that he will be like this all year but he has shown enough to be an important part of the lineup. The DH spot is his full-time if he can show productivity against right-handed pitchers.

by rhummel 4/18/2022 4:24:06 PM
If there is a RHP starting Tuesday, I would put Noot in RF and lead off with Edman to give Carlson a day off. Otherwise send Noot to Memphis for a week to get him going. Also another week of DeJong doing nothing, it would be time to give Sosa a week's look.

by Larry M 4/18/2022 4:24:12 PM
Edman certainly is outperforming Carlson now, so you might see an occasional change at the leadoff spot, notably against left-handed starters, of which there aren't many, however. One of Oliver Marmol's missions is to find some time for Nootbaar in the field. Other than pinch running, he has appeared in only one game and that as the DH. Sosa will get his chance but I wouldn't say it would be a whole week's worth yet.

by rhummel 4/18/2022 4:27:35 PM
Commish, never been a fan of sinker ball pitchers. They have to have perfect location with no margin for error. Hudson will win 10 games but lose as many if not more. Maybe he gives you innings but is he really much more than Mike Leake 2.0?

by Jack 4/18/2022 4:27:51 PM
Hudson won 16 games in 2019 when he was the staff leader in wins for a division champion team. He isn't sharp now, for sure, but he has had only three starts in the past two seasons. This will bear some watching but I'm not ready to pull this plug

by rhummel 4/18/2022 4:29:45 PM
How wonderful do you think it will be for the city, the fans, the team and Albert IF he gets to 700+ career home runs by season's end?

by Nick N 4/18/2022 4:30:13 PM
I suspect there will be an uptick in crowds for September, which can be a rough month for attendance if your team isn't contending.

by rhummel 4/18/2022 4:30:43 PM
Going back into Cardinals' history....who would you choose as the top 5 Cardinal players of all time.

by Whitey Kurowski 4/18/2022 4:32:09 PM
You would have to separate those by those who played here the longest.
But my six would could be, in order of when they played here:
Hornsby, Musial, Gibson, Brock, O. Smith. Pujols

by rhummel 4/18/2022 4:35:17 PM
Do you know if Tyler O'Neill is always free to run or does he sometimes get a red light on the base paths to balance risk reward of stealing a base or taking an extra base to mitigate the teams injury concerns / potential of be out for an extended time based upon past history?

by Nick N 4/18/2022 4:35:26 PM
Not many players have an unlimited green light anymore because managers are afraid to give up the out, even though the runner might be an 80 % base stealer.

by rhummel 4/18/2022 4:36:44 PM
Much has been made that Oli would bring some new approaches to his managing. I wondered about three decisions he made during the Brewers series. First, he bunted with Edman with runners on first and second with no outs. That seems to go against the typical analytic approach. Do you believe this will be Oli's strategy in this situation? Second, he started Knizner three days in a row, including a day game after a night game. I know that Yadi is still getting into shape after missing much of spring training but does this signal a switch to Knizner as the starter? Finally, Oli pinch hit for Knizner yesterday. In the past managers have been reluctant to pinch hit for the catcher with only one backup. Do you think this will be his approach throughout the season including when Yadi comes up in a situation similar to yesterday's? Also, who would have caught had Yadi gotten injured?

by BobH 4/18/2022 4:37:14 PM
Edmundo Sosa would have been the emergency catcher yesterday and no one really wants to see that. Molina has been having some knee issues and Marmol was trying to give him another day off ahead of Monday's scheduled day off so that he would be ready to catch Wainwright on Tuesday. Molina still is the top catcher. Knizner was pulled, correctly, by Marmol, because Corey Dickerson had a better chance of doing something against tough right-hnder Devin Williams-with the bases loaded--and he did. He walked to force in a run. Using your second (and final) catcher in a game usually isn't done until the eighth inning, but it is a risk.

by rhummel 4/18/2022 4:40:51 PM
How long will Dakota Hudson remain in the rotation if he keeps going three or four innings a start? If he is removed from the rotation do you think he will go to the bullpen or Memphis?

by BobH 4/18/2022 4:41:04 PM