There's still two weeks left. The Cardinals may have to decide between DeJong and Gorman as to which might come up first, depending on how the shortstop situation is working out.
He felt uncomfortable opening up sometimes but he admitted his communication skills faults, worked on them in his time between managing jobs and has done nothing but draw high marks in Kansas City.
Any time the DH puts on a glove and goes to the field, the pitcher has to bat in the spot vacated by the player the DH replaces. For instance, while Goldschmidt would hit in the same spot when he moved to first base, t the pitcher would be the DH in Pujols' spot in the lineup in the situation you describe.
I don't think it was done for TV. It was done, in part, for the Busch Stadium crowd, which was having a good enough time
The hitting coach's job is to help get the most productivity out of what he has and also adapt to what style the front office wants to see. But, while the pitching coach can go to the mound to calm a pitcher, the hitting coach can't go to the batter's box and hold the hitter's hand.
Edmonds will do well when he turns up on one of the "Era" ballots the Hall has for players who did not get elected from the regular writers' ballot. He doesn't become eligible for a couple of more years yet but his defensive metrics will play more heavily than they did before, to go with a good offensive career in which he had nearly 400 home runs. Wainwright will have a better chance if he can get to 200 wins. He has 188 now so he could get there this season but he hasn't said yet that he won't be back next year.
Little early to speculate on next year's lineup. Still speculating on this year's lineup.
Peralta was smoother with a stronger arm. It would not be fair to compare the two.
It's a little hard to leave out Ozzie Smith's game-ending homer in Game 5 of the 1985 NLCS--it was his first homer hit from the left side. Or even Jack Clark's game-winner in Game 6.
Sosa will steal some bases. But he has to get on base enough to do that.
Jon will be eligible in three years. There will be others more prominent ahead of him but he had a productive half dozen seasons here.
Maybe. But, again, don't forget about Goldschmidt and Arenado.
I think they're trying to make Gorman a passable second baseman. It wouldn't take as much time to learn left field because there are fewer variables involved. The Cardinals' hope is that he could become average at second base. I don't think he is quite there yet.
Here's my take. At their best, DeJong is the better player because he has hit for more power and he is the better defender. But he has not been at this level for some time, especially in batting average and on-base percentage. Sosa deserves a shot at this point but he has to play within himself and not get too excited, yet provide the energy that is good for a team.
