There is some concern about about the dip in velocity and quality of his stuff that has the club looking for what is amiss, whether it's a mechanics or something that maybe is a drag on his arm, or a potential injury risk. All of those things are being explored, have been explored, and are on their mind.
I am not. There's a ballgame that night. There's a certain concert that evening.
These aren't make up games. There is a three-game series at PNC Park to end the season.
Not sure. But something I will definitely be exploring once the openings become clear. If not this year, then in the near future. He's considered one of the top prospects for manager in the game. The job he has now has been good for launching someone into a manager's position. Bell. Shildt. Marmol. Last three to hold it have all become managers. Granted, two as Cardinals.
Marmol had an interesting view of it: Team that puts the ball in play ran into a pitching staff that let too many balls get in play. Baseball ensued.
He has a good history of success in Queens, especially in October.
There will be allowances for that, yes. Same for the catcher.
Something has been off. The Cardinals have allowed a hits and they've had so few of them with runners in scoring position. They've needed Albert Pujols to hit two home runs to rescue them in back to back games. They need production from elsewhere in the order than the two MVP candidates and the three-time MVP. When they got it, they won. But getting that earlier or day to day is what would have elevated them against down-ballot teams.
Not to mention drafting him in the 13th round to begin with.
Tomorrow is the day that he will be re-evaluated for baseball activities and swinging the bat. Unless that changed from last home game and it became today. It was not supposed to be earlier than today, so that's still a few days away from a rehab assignment, if he takes one at all.
All fair points. And you also captured part of my skepticism. For the shift to work, there has to be a ball in play. So the play made on the shift implies what we want to see more of -- balls in play, action.
The definition of game-winning RBI has changed a few times through the years, rendering a narrative stat all the weirder by its inconsistency.
Corey Dickerson is a .283/.326/.485 hitter with a .811 OPS this season, and last he was, overall, a .271/.326/.408 hitter with a .734 OPS, and in his career he's right in the middle there at .283/.326/.485 with a .765 OPS, and so it sure seems like, yep, this is what he is. Balancing to the career numbers there. He is not as good a field as O'Neill in left field, and O'Neill in center is not as good as Carlson or DeLuzio, so there is some give to the defense when it comes to getting his bat in the lineup.
That is definitely one way the Cardinals could go, for sure.
Actually, one thing I missed about the Burleson conversation when asked in previous chats, was exactly what the Cardinals could do: They could clear room by removing a similar player who they felt was behind Burleson on the draft chart. They did that. So they replaced Capel with Burleson and away they go. I should have made reference to that for the chatters. That's on me.
Carlson at his best is a good fit there. Donovan is an intriguing, somewhat old-school stacking OBP notion that should work well. Kind of retro.
I imagine that the opponents have something to do with it, and also the way the games went. The Cardinals lost a game to the Pirates that the Pirates tried to give away early with misplays and poor plays, and still the Pirates won. That's miss for the Cardinals should be the team that capitalizes on mistakes from lesser teams. But, yes, cannot win them all. But can avoid letting a winnable game slip away.
Hey DG, thanks for always doing these great chats. It has to be kind of a nice role reversal from your usual job of asking the players/coaches questions. My question is regarding the struggles of Goldschmidt recently. His swings and misses have seemed to exponentially increase in the past 2 weeks. Is this just a timing issue most likely? I assume they are hoping the days off will give him a break to reset.