Join columnist Ben Frederickson for a live STL sports chat at 11 a.m. Tuesday
Ben Frederickson answers your Cardinals, Blues, St. Louis City, Mizzou and SLU questions in Tuesday's 11 a.m. live chat.
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Has backing Jeff Albert so aggressively backed the Cardinals into a corner with Dejong? I’ve been saying he needs a change of scenery for 2 years now. I think there is a real chance he rebounds into a decent power hitter, but not with the Cardinals. If Dejong is traded, and he improves, that will be hard to explain away. What are the chances that it’s fear preventing the team from making a move?
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I don't see the faith in DeJong as a pro-Jeff-Albert stance by the front office, as much as it is the front office doubling down on its belief in the player, and itself.But yeah, it's not great that Albert has not been able to help DeJong out of this nosedive, because in the beginning, it was DeJong who sang Albert's praises more than any other player.The bigger question about the team's hitting approach and instruction right now is this.Check out where the Cardinals rank in the following metrics.Last in average exit velocity: 87 mphLast in hard-hit percentage: 32.9 percentThird-to-last in barrel percentage: 5.8 percentThe Cardinals lead the majors in launch angle (15.8 degrees) but it's not producing good results.These are the metrics that have been pointed to in the past to prove the offense was moving in the right direction, but now they are all pointing in a concerning direction more than a month into the season.
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Suppose Binnington has a great postseason and the team, at the very least, has a 6-7 game WCF run, and then come off-season the Leafs want to acquire him in a fairly even trade. Would the Blues do it and re-sign Husso, or would they believe Binnington is back to being "The Guy" and stick with him?
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Good question. Hard to predict Doug Armstrong. Sense all season has been that Blues were poised to let Husso walk and ride with Binnington and the contract. Binnington getting back the job and getting a win, with a chance for more, would probably encourage the Blues to stick with Binnington.
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I guess this falls into the category of be carefull what you wish for. Last summer Cardinal fans were clamoring for Texas' Joey Gallo. He went to the Yankees and finished 2021 batting .150 for them. This year he has yet to climb above .200. I have heard the bright lights of New York may be too much for this guy; but surely there must be something more going on?
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Rolen is going to get into the Hall of Fame, but not as easily as Arenado if he keeps this up. Boyer should be in (my opinion) but is not. So, that's one way to judge it. But Boyer and Rolen both have something Arenado does not. A championship with the Cardinals. Boyer totaled 58 Wins Above Replacement for the Cards. Rolen checked in at 26. Arenado's at 6.4, but climbing. Let's revisit this one at the end of Arenado's Cardinals career. I'm not predicting an opt-out.
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The Cardinals have talked an awful lot about not having ONE guy as their closer, so they want some flexibility there, but rest assured that if Helsley keeps striking out 64.5 percent of the hitters he faces, there's not much of a mystery who will be waiting to slam the door.I don't quite understand the angst about Hicks starting. Is it just because it's different? The Cardinals have won as many games he's started as they have lost. He's been going deeper the past two times out. They think this allows them to get the most out of him, and to have him at his best when the season is at its most important, and for the future.If Flaherty comes back and dominates, maybe then. But the Hicks experiment is not what is holding this team back.
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I thought that had more to do with NBA draft consideration and feedback than transfer talk.Not sure why Love would leave a team and coach that just played for a national championship if he was going to return to college ball.Never heard any buzz about him thinking about Mizzou after his UNC pick the first time around.
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I see it more as they are saying something and not delivering.They talk a lot about getting pitches to hit hard and hitting them hard.Easier said than done, for sure.But instead they are not hitting pitches hard. They're making the kind of contact that does not produce the results they seek. They have an offense that has the launch angle for big power but not the results.Something is off.With specific players, and the team as a whole outside of a few exceptions.Here's how the Cardinals offense ranks in the NL entering this homestand . . .Average: .239, seventhOBP: .313, ninthSLG: .368, ninthstrikeouts: 208 (fewest)homers: 23, 12th.I don't think getting on base is as big of a problem as not powering up. The numbers that are supposed to suggest more power should be coming (or not) are the ones I pointed to earlier, and they are looking a lot worse than the actual production, at least so far.
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The Cardinals trading Gorman would be a surprise. They have promoted him aggressively and been excited -- almost gleeful -- about his success during his rise. The arrival of the designate hitter makes it that much easier to benefit from his bat. I really think all of this talk from the Cardinals about not wanting Edman to shift off second base is, in part, just to slow things down on the calls for Gorman. I don't think they had the guy learn second base so he could be forever blocked by Edman, who can play multiple positions and played a lot of shortstop in the minors, which people seem to forget. We shall see.
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In terms of proof of NIL, I think Mizzou signing Luther Burden could be viewed as being as significant as Illinois bringing back Cockburn.
There's no basketball example for Mizzou, bc who would you have paid on that team? Just like there's no football example for Illinois' tire fire of a football team. Right? -
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Ben, the POBO and the hitting coach take reams of heat in these weekly posts. As a fan of neither, I find most of the criticism warranted. However, I also believe that as long as Bill DeWitt Jr retains ownership, John Mozaliak can stay as long as he likes. And as long as Mo stays, Albert can stay. Am I off base here?
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DeWitt is the boss, yes. Then Mozeliak, who is the head of baseball operations, and one who has the benefit of a long and largely successful run under the owner. DeWitt and Mozeliak have been doing this together at a high level -- lots of teams would still love to be the Cardinals -- and that factors into the trust the owner has in the president of baseball operations. But I don't think anyone has forever job security. In any field, let alone one as competitive as professional sports.
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Nothing would surprise me but I'd like to see some proof before belief there.The league has insisted the baseball in play this season are the same ones used in 2021, which were tweaked to not be so homer-happy.We usually find out more about the ball after the season ends. By being so secretive about what it has done to the balls in the past, the league has opened up the door to speculation, though it is doing a better job of addressing questions now.Whether you believe the answers or not is up to you.We'll see how they fly (or don't) when the weather warms up.
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The idea the Cardinals were going to rush to extend him was not a sense I got at spring.A deal similar to the Harrison Bader one would no have surprised me.Instead it went to a hearing, and now both sides await the results.Don't forget O'Neill is a Scott Boras client. That probably had something to do with it, too.Him falling into a hole to start the season didn't help either, I imagine.I said it before, I'd want to see one more good to great year from O'Neill before thinking long term.