Join columnist Ben Frederickson for a live STL sports chat at 11 a.m. Tuesday
Ben Frederickson answers all of your Cardinals, Blues, St. Louis City, Mizzou and SLU questions in Tuesday's 11 a.m. live chat.
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They just seem to know them. Rick Tocchet has Berube's team figured out. Blues are now 3-5-2 against Arizona under Berube. They've never won more than two games against them in a row. This marathon series is a joke, by the way. It's not natural. I know it's the best of a worst situation, and better to have hockey than not, but a pseudo playoff series in the middle of a season is just odd. -
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Here are my rankings of what the Cardinals still need to be a true World Series threat:
1. Corner outfielder
2. Utility guy who can hit OR a 2nd baseman who can hit and move TE into utility role
3. Starting pitcher
4. Platoon for Bader
What are your thoughts on this? Would you change the order? Take anything out? Add anything in? -
They are probably a top 6-10 team in baseball as currently constructed.Their outfield is the big unknown.Adding certainty there would certainly help, but I can see why they want to see what they have -- at least before reassessing at the trade deadline.Same for the rotation. Dropping in a proven, established starter would have a double benefit, boosting the starters and helping the bullpen by trickle-down effect.The biggest way to boost things, a lot more than a minor infield depth move, would be to wait it out to see if the DH arrives and then grab a big bopper. That would be a very smart move, if the situation presents itself.
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Tommy Edman and Dylan Carlson could get looks, at either spot.Mike Shildt told me he has plans to experiment with leadoff during spring training.I think we will see a few different things, but that there is a good chance of winding up seeing one of those two up there when games start counting.
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Idk why but I feel better about the outfield offense this season. It could be that since Dexter is gone the younger guys will actually get the playing time they need to grow. The last few years Dexter, while he wasn’t the problem, wasn’t a clear upgrade over them but he played because of the contract. I think we will see a solid season from Lane Thomas. Bader can match what he did last season and that’s good enough if others meet their expectations. And Carlson could be rookie of the year hitting in front of goldy and/or arenado.
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I tend to agree with you. The mixed messages are no more. The Cardinals last season pitched the idea of outfield competition but did not really follow through. Fowler, because of his veteran status and contract, always seemed to have a head start. Now it really does look like a rolling competition, and I think that can be conducted in a healthy way that might get the best out of these guys. If nothing else it will provide answers so we are no longer talking about the same things a year from now. There is value in that, in deciding things for good. If the Cardinals are really going to do it they can readjust at the trade deadline. And their moves up to this point have been smart if that is the plan, because they are showing an interest in clearing out room for the competition while strengthening the team in non-outfield areas, by bringing back Molina and Wainwright and trading for Arenado, and perhaps by adding another starting pitcher.
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You mentioned the Cardinals' weariness of shipping a young outfielder away only for him to have success elsewhere, do you think they are at all concerned about something similar happening with Fowler in LA? That would definitely show some lapse in the Cardinals' hitting instruction, no?
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It's more likely that Fowler's ceiling as a player has been determined than a prospect who is traded away without much MLB experience. Fowler's best two years were 2016 with the Cubs and 2017 with the Cards. If he has a season that tops those in 2021, that would be very impressive. The wild-card for Fowler is not the name of his hitting coach as much as it is his health. If he's healthy, he can be an above-average major leaguer. He was on the injured list four times in four seasons with the Cardinals. Joe Maddon very well might get the best out of a healthy Fowler, but I don't think the Cards are going to be kicking themselves for trading him away. And if they are, they will have the answer to their outfield experiment. The conclusion will be that they need better outfielders.
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Oh yeah. I wrote a column about it recently.
BenFred: Best St. Louis sports trade ever? Arenado now is in the mix, but competition is stiff
STLtoday.comBrock-for-Broglio tops my list, and there are many other names worth mentioning -
We keep hearing about how the Cardinals players that we ship out are performing well because they finally have a shot at playing time. Couldn’t it be that we’re not that good at getting the most out of players anymore? It used to be that we would get a decent player and turn him into a stud (TLR, Dave Duncan era) Now we send off decent players and they turn into studs. Is the playing time excuse running stale?
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I think those are two different topics, both of which are fair.A player is going to have a hard time showing what he can do without some playing time to prove it. That's one topic.The other?The Cardinals are experiencing a run of players who have experienced trouble sustaining the success that brought them into the majors, and building off of it.Examples include Harrison Bader, who has been up and down, Tommy Edman, who took a step back last season after an awesome rookie debut, and even Paul DeJong to some degree. Dylan Carlson will try to snap the streak.The Cardinals have said they need to be sure they are giving opportunities to the right guys, but that doesn't eliminate the conversation about why some of the guys they are giving opportunities to have experienced plateaus in development.Some of this, of course, has to do with expectations.I think Cardinals fans have a bad habit of expecting every rookie to be a star.That's just not how it works.But the team has fed into this notion, especially when it is lacking in star power.That's why an Arenado addition helps in so many ways. He takes some of the spotlight and pressure, and he is the kind of player who deserves both.
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They were hunting for some financial flexibility and not picking up Wong's option was one of the easiest ways to create some. They didn't have a lot of quick-fix ways to create cash flow, and picking up his option would have meant committing what had become an above-market salary to a player who was going to be a free agent after 2021. I don't think it was Arenado specific as much as the easiest path for some increased financial freedom.
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I think they are a top 6-10 team with Arenado. Don't forget how many teams are taking intentional steps in the wrong direction this season. Including in the Cards' division. A top 6-10 team can win it all. Might need a break or two. But remember last season the Cardinals did catch a break -- the erosion of the Padres pitching staff -- and still did not win that series. The Padres went out and got better, motivated by the Dodgers, who also got better. So, yes, the Cardinals can still improve. I think they are looking for ways, though I don't know if it will be another big bat -- unless the DH comes into play, and it might. Maybe the Cards are playing possum with their commitment to the internal options in the outfield. That would be something, if they swung a trade to make a splash there. More realistically, I bet they let this outfield try to figure things out and then revisit the scenario at the trade deadline. We'll see.
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So if there is a DH in the NL why would Carpenter be the obvious candidate? Isn't hitting a pretty big prerequisite to the role of Designated Hitter? How many more coins is the team going to throw into that fountain and expect a different outcome? From the middle of '17 thru '20 there has been one 2-month period that the club continues to believe will somehow resurface.
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I don't know Jake personally but there is a lot of discussion around his name that says he is very interested and intrigued in the idea of playing for the Cardinals. The Cards have committed about $180 million over the last half-month. They don't seem to be as worried about spending as they once sounded.
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Have you caught wind of any of the numbers that other teams were offering Yadi? I'm interested to see how other teams value him. $9M seems like a steal for the leadership, game/pitcher management and situational hitting he brings. Not to mention...have you seen the stats on how little people run against the Cardinals!?
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Elway was his guy. Now Elway is out, or at least headed for a much smaller role. Not a great sign. Still think he would be better off with a better offensive coach. Maybe he gets that chance if the gets moved? He would be great for a team like Tampa that is willing to take some risks downfield.
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