Join baseball writer Derrick Goold for his live Cardinals chat at 11 a.m. Monday
Bring your Cards questions and comments to Monday’s 11 a.m. live chat.
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It will not be based on his batting average. That won't be what gives away his chances of making the team. I mean, unless he's hitting .500 and then if he is he's likely slugging 1.200? Goodness. Look more for how he plays, how his metrics look, not what the box score says. And if he's getting a lot of playing time toward the end of spring training, that's the biggest tell of them all.In 2001, they kept throwing new things at a young player to see if that was the week that convinced them he needed more time in the minors.In 2023, we'll see some of that with Walker.Wait till you see him get those starters against aces.
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Atlanta is not motivated at all the make that move. And, yes, it's good to constantly write about the qualifying offer attached to Contreras. Cardinals have not done many deals with that affixed. But it's not deal breaker. It's just part of the cost for the Cardinals.
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While we've been chatting, a new podcast has posted:
Major topics with Best Podcast in the Minors, a Post-Dispatch baseball crossover - Best Podcast in Baseball
The Best Podcast in the Minors, the weekly show produced for StlPinchHits.com, invited Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold to talk about the minors, review the season, and discuss development within the Cardinals system. In other words: Crossover podcast! BPIB is proud to give its listeners a peek at its cousin podcast, available at StlToday.com's StlPinchHits, and the conversations co-hosts Daniel Guerrero and Carter Chapley have weekly. In 30 episodes this past summer, they've had on coaches and prospects and given updates on top performers throughout the Cardinals' organization. The Best Podcast in Baseball, sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis, is a production of the Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold. -
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HI Derrick, nice meeting you in Houston a few weeks ago. Finding a bat to replace Pujols and protect Goldy & Arenado can come only via a major trade, in my opinion. If they weren't willing to do it for Soto, it's hard to see them doing it for another substantial bat. Is it possible they add someone (in addition to a catcher) like Haniger/Bellinger, hope for a revival from O'Neill and increased contributions from Carlson/Nootbar/Gorman, etc., then maybe, maybe take a run at Ohtani when/if he gets to free agency next year? Shohei in St. Louis would be something.
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Nice to meet you as well. Hope you enjoyed the game. A run at Ohtani as a free agent would definitely be a whopper for the Cardinals -- a play as big as the fans hope, a play as big as the team has ever done, and hard to see one that they win. But there's time for that to change, I guess. Would be something to cover, for sure. Just the pursuit alone would drive so much interest in the game, in a team like the Cardinals, for an entire winter.I don't see many trades that would be akin to Soto or close to the kind of bat that they'd like to add. That's just how it appears right now. I'm asking, searching, but haven't found that move that is even in the air.You outlined it well. The options are all available for a reason, so it will be on the acquiring team to really know what they're getting, what they hope to get, and what that cost will be. It may take a reach to get the bat that they want, so make it a calculated reach or swing big and see if the risk pays off, right? There's probably an argument for the latter with the young players the Cardinals have ...
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I get tired of this everyone must be a gold glove caliber defender that fans seem to have. Burleson and Yepez are fine in the outfield. It’s not far fetched that in a platoon they could have 80-100 rbis and 30+ homers. One other thing players can improve. If you’re judged by the player you were at your first shot at the majors then Mike Trout is a .220 hitter with a .671 OPS
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Is Jack F. ready to pitch when spring season starts? If he is ready will there be any limitations put on him? Do you think that our rotation with Waino, Miles, Matz, Montgomery, Jack, and Dakota are enough to be outstanding?? Thanks for the chats and have a blessed thanksgiving.
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Yep. All set for spring training. That's the word. That's the plan. That's where the Cardinals expect him to be, and where Jack Flaherty expects to be. Big year for him. Free agency beckons, for example.Outstanding? If every pitcher is at his peak, sure.The best in the division? It doesn't take every pitcher being at their peak for that to happen.Best in the league? Not at the moment.Best in October? Have to get their first, and we'll see.
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Haniger has played 100+ games twice in his career and turns 32 next month. Hard pass for me. I swear, Derrick, when the Cards aren't winning in October, it seems like every player on every other team is somehow more attractive to the Redbird faithful than the guys on their own roster. You sportswriters fall for it, too, by the way. You've said the Cards need a threesome like Harper, Realmuto, and Schwarber to win in October like the Phils did this year. That's correct, isn't it? Well, Nootbaar, O'Neill, and Brendan Donovan all have higher career OPS+ numbers than J.T. Realmuto, not to mention Goldy & Arenado. The Cards don't need better players for October, they just need their current guys to play better in October. And their current manager to manage much better than he did in Game One.
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"You sportswriters"? Huh. Well, maybe you should take into account the full context of what I said, if you're going to quote "you sportswriters." I said that the leading teams all had three players who were part of the MVP consideration. For the Phillies, that was Schwarber (based solely on the homers) and Realmuto (who finished seventh) and, come October, Harper, the 2021 winner of the MVP award. That's not an award based entirely on OPS or entirely on offensive numbers. Plus, two of the Phillies' three are left-handed power sources, so again ... Maybe consider the full comment, not cherry-pick what "you sportswriters" say."You sportswriters" rarely use one statistic when we have a whole galaxy of them to explore.Let's just pluck one out of thin air, what do you way? wRC+. That's weighted-runs created, and it's on a scale where 100 is average, while it also takes into account all of the things that a hitter brings to the table that creates runs.Phillies top three in 2022: Realmuto 128, Schwarber, 128, Hoskins 122.(Harper missed time with injury, did not qualify for the NL rankings.)Cardinals top three in 2022: Goldschmidt 177, Arenado 151, Edman 108.That's three player above average who had enough at-bats to qualify. Nootbaar, who had fewer than 400 plate appearances and did not rank, had a 125, so right there by Realmuto except for the significant gap of playing time. If that's sustained then you've got it. Realmuto did it.Harper, for what it's worth, had a 171 wRC+ in 2021.So, yeah, I stand by what I said. If Nootbaar emerges as part of the three, then the Cardinals are even better if they already have that three because they'll have four.Even "you sportswriters" can do that math.
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The catcher/outfielder/LH bat need is all known and covered by most.
However…
The Cards have just one starter on payroll going into 2024. With Flaherty and O’Neill having upsides and in their last year old control, should the cards cash in on those ceilings while they can get a return? Maybe to get a starter?
This scenario would be freaking me out if I were Mo. -
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Contract and current availability aside, who is the one player in baseball that you would add to this Cardinals roster that you feel would have the most offensive synergies and propel this team the furthest? Please consider all prospects and bounceback candidates who might benefit from less pressure to perform at a high level immediately as a result.
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I am in the opinion of I do not care who paid Arenado's contract for 2021 2022 2023. Can we just sit back as fans and thank Arenado, Colorado, and the Cardinal's for doing whatever needed to make him a Cardinal. Bottom line that it is the important item for a fan like me. Thanks for letting me vent
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Alright, we're nearly 5 1/2 hours and Cody Bellinger talk ... though the chat did pivot at some point in there ... as it always does. Need to get to work on another project at the moment. Some things to tie up before the Thanksgiving holiday arrives.Look for coverage in the coming days at StlToday.com, and a special treat is coming next week, next Monday, to the weekly Cardinals chat.Rick Hummel, Hall of Fame writer, one last chat!It should just be several hours of compliments for his decades of excellent coverage and of course Cody Bellinger questions.Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy the weekend ahead.My next chat will be from the winter meetings at San Diego when baseball finally declares on the free-agent market: surf's up.Aloha.