Bobo's here and we have some ballplayers. Let's go!
Gunnarsson is at the end of the line and Scandella has been out with a significant injury. I like Mikkola, but he's coming off of a bad game and he has a much different skill set. Jake Walman has virtually no NHL experience and now Scott Perunovich is sidelined until next season -- realistically pushing his NHL impact back to 2022-23. So there's not much flexibility with the defensive lineup these days. Dunn pretty much has to play, although Berube is sheltering him more than ever before -- just 30.8 percent of his zone starts this season have come in the defensive zone.
An outfielder who could hit for average and lead off.
That Ole Miss loss was disconcertinng. 80-59? The fact the Tigers needed pulled themselves together is a scary sign for them. It will be interesting to see if Cuonzo Martin and inspire the right response. Arkansas likes to play fast, so that should help the Tigers get into a rhythm and stay in one. If Xavier Pinson wants to play pro basketball next season, he needs to bring it ever possession of every. He just disappears in some games, which is odd. Arkansas has a gigantic slow guy at center and also an athletic guy at center. The slow guy can shoot long range and the athletic guy can attack. It will be interesting to see how Jeremiah Tilmon handles that game.
Again, due to injuries the Blues don't have the defensive depth they envisioned. Parayko is playing, but he is struggling to stay in the lineup. Bortuzzo came back from his latest injury, but he's not durable. And we mentioned the issues with some others on the blue line. By default Dunn has a higher profile these days. Bennett has a good postseason reputation, but I don't see the team taking on his salary with Tarasenko coming back this season. The Blues may have to move a player or two without getting a salary back. I could see Bennett landing with Pittsburgh, team desperate to add grit. I'm not sure how the new management team would make the cap numbers work, though.
We talked about that on the Net Front Presence. Jim Thomas wonders if the injury a long-hault problem that wouldn't go away if Colton took a game or two off.
I can't help you with. I'm sure we'll have reporting on that as the games get closer.
For the moment the Cardinals do not seem interested in expanding the payroll. They were able to do the Arenado deal because Colorado underwrote the front end of Nolan's money. The Cardinals could change their view if the incumbent outfielders fail and Mozeliak and Co. can't fine low-cost production to plug in.
The Cardinals were holding spots on the 40-man roster for potential supporting cast help. They found a depth reliever and a potential backup catcher for this season. Ali Sanchez could be the stopgap behind Molina in 2021. His catching skills are advanced. Andrew Knizner can hit, but he is still learning to play the position. Ivan Herrera is the Next New Thing for the Cardinals, but he needs to test his hitting in the high minors before getting regular major-league work.
I don't believe the league wants one set of playing conditions for the Canadian teams and another for the U.S. teams. It would be easier to reschedule if all the game weren't in the division, but that approach does cut down travel by quite a bit -- thus cuttng the exposure to the outside world.
What makes this trade such a blockbuster -- one that I could not imagine, despite all the rumbling preceding it -- is the small price the Cardinals paid in this deal, plus the money the Rockies kicked in. Colorado was a really motiviated seller. Teams never want to reach that point with such a key asset.
Too late -- he signed with the Red Sox.
I do like that player. I had him in fantasy baseball. Useful with mulit-positional eligibility
Interesting to see that Brad Miller got $3 million from the Phillies. His name has popped up in this chat. The Cardinals are looking for utility protection, but not at that price.
Yeah, he died at the plate at the end of the season. And those you mention were scary.
He's been Mr. Royal for sure. His style and personality would fit here, but at some point that team has to give Mike Matheny something to work with.
The beat guys have no idea where Scott got hurt. He spent time with the taxi squad and those workouts are not attended by the media. I'm sure the Blues gave him a thorough physical before he signed his first pro contract, so I'd be surprised if he came out of college compromised by injury.
Adding Arenado without subtracting a meaningful hitter does make the offense better. And yet there are still holes, as I noted today on Tipsheet. As for adding more talent, the Cardinals had a stated goal of reducing payroll this year due to lost revenue. So even with Colorado covering the front end of the Arenado money, the Cardinals are likely to shop the bargain bin until further notice. Their last two acquisitions underscored that.
That can work both ways. Guys coming back from the short season are like guys coming back from iinjuries. They need to rebuild strength. At the same time, like you said, they saved their arms a lot of strain. I'm with you, it seems like they all had enough time to ramp up and make this a positive. It's not like these guys played into December and then had a short turnaround.
Vince Dunn was very valuable as a LH PP and puck moving defenseman in 19 & 20. But he didn't play PK or against top lines and never usually even started in the defensive end because of his small size and skittish play plus we had enough other big defenseman to cover for him. Now w Krug and Faulk he is not only not needed but a glaring weakness in our defensive makeup and PK possibilities on the left side. How long in this shorten season w us losing valuable points will the coaching staff continue to have him in the lineup?