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

Even Arenado wouldn't say that. Goldschmidt has been too steady for too long this year.

by rhummel 9/19/2022 6:02:38 PM
Will the season be considered successful if they lose in the first round?

by BCB 9/19/2022 6:02:58 PM
Only marginally. The Cardinals would be division champions still but that wasn't their goal.

by rhummel 9/19/2022 6:03:39 PM
To me, it's damaging to MLB to have so many teams that choose not to compete. Cincinatti's off season talent dump was a travesty, that team would have been a playoff contender this season. Don't Manfred & MLB's owners get that?

by Rob 9/19/2022 6:04:06 PM
I don't like to see a lot of teams playing for the future, rather than now. But, as for competition on the field, I saw little wrong with the efforts put forth recently by Washington, Pittsburgh, Chicago and Cincinnati, against the Cardinals.

by rhummel 9/19/2022 6:05:53 PM
We have too many DH type hitters. Is this a drafting flaw? Defense helps.

by Joe 9/19/2022 6:05:57 PM
Too many DHs this year. But Pujols and probably Dickerson won't be here next year. Defense not only helps but it wins games and the Cardinals plan to have their best defensive team on the field at the end of games in October. That well could include DeJong and DeLuzio.

by rhummel 9/19/2022 6:08:02 PM
Commish
If the playoffs started tomorrow which cards would be on the roster for the playoffs?

by bigron 9/19/2022 6:08:12 PM
Tough question but I will offer up a 26-man list which would include O'Neill and Hicks coming off the injured list.
Position players:
(13)
Goldschmidt, Gorman, Edman, Arenado, DeJong, Donovan, Carlson, O'Neill, Pujols, Nootbaar, Molina, Knizner, Dickerson; If O'Neill still is out, DeLuzio.
Pitchers:
(13)
Wainwright, Mikolas, Montgomery, Quintana, Flaherty, Pallante, Hicks, Stratton, Matz, Romero, Thompson, Gallegos, Helsley.

by rhummel 9/19/2022 6:14:59 PM
Jack looked like he really didn’t want to be here Friday night, body language was terrible. Is he really that frustrated with his performance or is there something else going on?

Dakota looked really good Saturday, the increased tempo seems to help as expected.
Do you think he will continue with this when he returns or will old habits be hard to break?

by Bob Rogers 9/19/2022 6:15:15 PM
Hudson will have to maintain that pace next season with the new pitch clock in place so he might as well keep it up now. It has served him well in three recent starts, two in Memphis. He has pitched at least eight innings in two of them. Flaherty's dugout display after he came out Friday was not a big-league move.

by rhummel 9/19/2022 6:20:37 PM
Regarding the game last Saturday night, where Knizner was hit by the throw from third on a Goldschmidt grounder, it looked like on the replay that Knizner was out of the base path on the infield grass. He was not called for interference. Umpires judgement? And I read the the play was not reviewable. Do you know why?

by Ed 9/19/2022 6:20:50 PM
Knizner is allowed to run where he did as long as he keeps that same path all the way to the plate. That's what the umpire is looking for, or if the runner raised his elbow intentionally, which he did not. This play isn't the same as the runner going to first out of the batter's box where there is that restraining area 45 feet from the bag that is marked off. The play is not reviewable. Those are the rules. I didn't make them.

by rhummel 9/19/2022 6:26:58 PM
With Pallante already exceeding his career high in IP, and Hicks already throwing more than he ever has as a big-leaguer (and staying mostly healthy, thank goodness)...are they necessarily locks to be in the postseason bullpen? Or will they get the Strasburg treatment and be shut down in the name of bubblewrapping young pitchers?

by Andy in SEA 9/19/2022 6:27:06 PM
If healthy, Hicks very much is part of the postseason bullpen, as is Pallante, who won't be over-used down the stretch if the Cardinals are ahead comfortably.

by rhummel 9/19/2022 6:28:22 PM
Paul DeJong seemed rejuvenated for about 7-10 days after returning from Memphis… but it’s been bad since. When the radio guys are commenting on hard fouls and walks as signs of progress, we know it’s not good. Defense is good, but is it enough to keep him on the postseason roster ?

by Bob Rogers 9/19/2022 6:28:27 PM
DeJong will be on the postseason roster for his defense and he might even start against left-handed pitching.

by rhummel 9/19/2022 6:29:07 PM
Magic # is 8. What is your guess on when they clinch? I'll say in Milwaukee next week. Thanks.

by Josh 9/19/2022 6:29:49 PM
I'm going to say it might not happen until the first night back home on Sept. 30. This could be a tough trip.

by rhummel 9/19/2022 6:30:37 PM
At what point does Carlson just bat RH instead of switch hitting? Do we know how he fairs as a RH hitter vs RHP? It's hard enough to get in a groove for the batters who only swing from one side of the plate, plus adding CF defense as a recent expectation for Carlson. He's still young, and the talent is there.

by Dave 9/19/2022 6:30:47 PM
Carlson has been a switch hitter for his whole pro career so we don't know what his right vs. right looks like. At 23, it's still a little early to give up switch-hitting but he has to make some sort of adjustment.

by rhummel 9/19/2022 6:32:30 PM
How can we get everyone to put down their phones and keep cheering when Pujols comes up? It gets loud then gets tense with anticipation. It amazes me at how well he has handled it.

by Bob Rogers 9/19/2022 6:32:43 PM
Everybody wants a picture of the moment. It's not going to happen. Besides, people never put down their cell phones.

by rhummel 9/19/2022 6:33:47 PM
Commish, do you think Pujols could be an unanimous HOF selection?

by Long Tall Sally 9/19/2022 6:33:49 PM
It's awfully hard when there are nearly 500 voters but there wouldn't be more than a handful who might not vote for him on the first ballot.

by rhummel 9/19/2022 6:34:59 PM
I wonder how many if any home runs Albert loss due to rainouts?

by AustinTx 9/19/2022 6:35:02 PM
I don't remember any, to be honest.

by rhummel 9/19/2022 6:35:17 PM
I would really like to see the Cardinals acquire Cody Bellinger from the Dodgers this off season. I think he would be a very good fit as a Cardinal. What is your opinion?

by Bryan C 9/19/2022 6:35:23 PM
He's a fine outfielder and decent first baseman but he swings and misses a lot.

by rhummel 9/19/2022 6:36:08 PM
Feels like O’Neill, Bader Carlson are breaking up faster than Pham Grichuk Piscotty did.

How do you think Nootbaar fits going forward? Love his defense and arm, but he seems a bit streaky

by Bob Rogers 9/19/2022 6:36:11 PM
Nootbaar fits as an excellent fourth outfielder. Too streaky as a hitter, so far, to be more than a platoon player.

by rhummel 9/19/2022 6:37:16 PM
What do you think the chances are that Shildt will be a manager next year? There didn’t seem to be many managers fired during this 22 season.

by AustinTx 9/19/2022 6:38:16 PM
Shildt has a good chance to be managing next year because there are going to be a couple of job openings, such as Miami and Anaheim.

by rhummel 9/19/2022 6:44:17 PM
Does Helsley have a say about the red intro lighting or is that all on the Cardinals? Seems like a guy who's only been in the league a couple of years would argue it's a bit over the top and have the stadium put an end to it.

by Red_Baron 9/19/2022 6:44:24 PM
He likes it a lot. He was hopeful of something like that.

by rhummel 9/19/2022 6:44:56 PM
I guess Judge will be MVP in the American League this year.

by AustinTx 9/19/2022 6:45:04 PM
You think? Ohtani is the best player in the game, no question, because he is great in two areas. But Judge far and away is the most valuable player in the majors this year.

by rhummel 9/19/2022 6:46:27 PM
Hey, Rick: Just joining, and I imagine the state of the Cardinals' offense is the subject of much fan angst in the chat. One thing that I have noticed is just how often Cardinals hitters find themselves in 0-1 and 0-2 counts. I would think that this reflects scouting and the tendency for Cardinals hitters to take pitches early in the count. They rarely swing at the first pitch. Until they get more aggressive early in the count, that's not going to change. I'm wondering if you're seeing that as well.

by Dave G 9/19/2022 6:46:41 PM
The Cardinals' hitters do seem to hit behind in the count more often than is sustainable.

by rhummel 9/19/2022 6:47:26 PM
DeJong starting in the post-season? Commish, c'mon! That is flat out insane, especially with how futile this offense is already! He has like 7 hits in his last 65 ABs. He is cooked. And believe me, I was a supporter after his AAA stint this summer but facts are facts, this team can't squint and pretend they see something that isn't there.

by Tackleberry 9/19/2022 6:48:06 PM
I guarantee you that DeJong will be getting some starts against left-handers on this trip, probably in Los Angeles. If he does well enough in those, he well could start against left-handers in the post-season although there aren't that many of them until you get to the Dodgers. He hasn't been any worse lately than Gorman has been from the left side.

by rhummel 9/19/2022 6:51:34 PM