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

Hey, Rick! Thanks as always for these chats. It looks like Masyn Winn is tearing it up in Class A ball so far, but I don't think he has pitched. Do the Cardinals still project him as a two-way prospect? What are their plans in developing him?

by Mike in Virginia 5/9/2022 7:35:29 PM
As long as Winn hits, he will remain a position player. But that doesn't mean that couldn't change if he is stymied at higher levels.

by rhummel 5/9/2022 7:36:09 PM
What would your thoughts be on batting Bader 2nd in front of Goldy followed by Arenado? Bader hypothetically would see more pitches in the zone and would have two very fast runners on in front of Goldy?

by Ben 5/9/2022 7:37:02 PM
I don't think Bader gets on base enough yet to pull this off.

by rhummel 5/9/2022 7:37:40 PM
Hiya, Commish!
Triple-A backstop Ivan Herrera (still just 21, like Nolan Gorman) started his season by fanning in 10 of his first 17 trips to the plate -- but since then he's been terrific, batting roughly .330/.440/.530 with just 6 strikeouts and 8 walks. So my question is, if Herrera is still hitting extremely well come mid-late June, and Yadi is scuffling as badly as he is now, could Ivan be called up to share in the playing time? Thanks for your time, doing these chats, Rick. It's a pleasure and honor, interacting with one of the greats.

by Silver King 5/9/2022 7:39:05 PM
No rush here. Knizner and Molina should have this covered for most of this year, anyway. Let's see Herrera play a whole season in Class AAA, rather a month. He will get this chance.

by rhummel 5/9/2022 7:40:38 PM
by rhummel 5/9/2022 7:40:41 PM
by rhummel 5/9/2022 7:40:42 PM
by rhummel 5/9/2022 7:40:42 PM
Commish for those who think it is impossible to win championships with a defense-first shortstop, maybe you should do a quick review on how Dal Maxvill worked out?

by MS Bird Brain 5/9/2022 7:40:57 PM
I believe the Cardinals won NL pennants in 1967-68 with Maxie at shortstop. But the game was different then. Maxie never would get a sniff today in the launch-angle world of baseball as we know it.

by rhummel 5/9/2022 7:42:35 PM
Commish- cmon saying Trevor story is hitting .200 to justify keeping Dejong rather than signing him is ridiculous. Dejong has been awful for 2 1/2 years now but we keep hearing got to give him another chance . i don't know if story was the answer but I do know the track record is there that Dejong is not .

by fred 5/9/2022 7:42:57 PM
Those two were the NL shortstops on the 2019 All-Star team for the National League. Neither was on last year's All-Star team.

by rhummel 5/9/2022 7:43:59 PM
Even knowing what I know now, I still would not have signed one of the big free agent shortstops. They cost a minimum of 23 million per year, and none of them have an OPS of .700 or better so far. Yes, they'd be better than DeJong at the plate...but once you include defense, they are all shockingly close to DeJong's underperformance so far this year. (And watch out for Masyn Will. The 20-year-old shortstop will be in AA by the end of this month at the rate he's going, and the majors by sometime next year. One more reason NOT to hand out a huge lengthy shortstop contract.)

by Brian Jordan was twice as good as Bo Jackson 5/9/2022 7:44:39 PM
Marcus Semien, .184. Javier Baez, .236. Trevor Story, .194. Corey Seager, .238. Just to name a few, who would have cost a lot more money. Is DeJong as good as those? No. But look around. Few of those high-priced spreads are tearing it up.

by rhummel 5/9/2022 7:49:16 PM
Can you give us any insights as to the workings of the Red Ribbon Panel? Is there autonomy form the organization? Who places players into nomination? Is it formal debate, or more open discussion? Secret or Open Ballot? Just curious, what a privilege it must be to serve on that committee!

by Jim 5/9/2022 7:50:34 PM
The club places the players into nomination although the committee is permitted to bring up others that might be omitted when the Cardinals Hall of Fame is considered. Secret ballot. .Open discussion, more or less.

by rhummel 5/9/2022 7:52:18 PM
Fangraphs might give a 42% chance for the playoffs, but their team rankings always over-regress defense and baserunning, which undercuts the Cards more than any other team in MLB most likely. (Remember that Fangraphs, like the PECOTA projection model, has *always* underrated the Redbird teams, year after year.)

Look at the Baseball-reference odds for something more realistic. The B-Ref odds for a Redbird October appearance are at 93.7%, with a 5.1% chance to win the World Serious. Not bad at all. So my question is, why do cardinal fans dwell on the negative so often, Commish?

by Brian Jordan was twice as good as Bo Jackson 5/9/2022 7:53:20 PM
I sometimes wonder. But being a fan means you can offer up any opinion that you want, whether it has a lot of merit, which some of these responses have, or little merit at all, which also is in play. .

by rhummel 5/9/2022 7:55:16 PM
Have you gone on an “old man” walk with Waino yet?

by Stan the Fan 5/9/2022 7:55:26 PM
He walks too far.

by rhummel 5/9/2022 7:55:39 PM
Thanks again, for all your questions and comments. See you again next week.
Commish

by rhummel 5/9/2022 7:56:12 PM