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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What do you make of Jordan Binnington? The Blues broadcasters (who I think do a great job in general) seem to be very defensive of him and constantly point out that he faces a lot of high quality chances. This is true, but he also has a -5.6 goals saved above average per MoneyPuck, which is supposed to account for the quality of the chances against. That's good for 72nd out of 83 goalies who have played a game in the NHL this year. (For what it's worth, Ville Husso is #71 on that list.) I don't know if anyone really expected him to be a perennial All-Star when he was signed to his current extension, but I think it's fair to expect him to be an average starter - somewhere in the 15-25 range on the list I mentioned. That would put him in the range of +5 goals saved above average, or a 10 goal swing. That would be huge for the Blues. They'd be nipping at the heels of the Wild or at least a wild card spot with that, all else being equal. How much of the Blues' struggles do you put on Binnington?
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Not much, honestly. I think the goalie tends to get blamed in times like this. He's been playing a ton. Some of the play in front of him has been brutal. Some of the Blues' best wins, those games you hope stick and become footholds for a consistent climb, have been spearheaded by him. Don't get me wrong. I'm not absolving him, but I don't think he is to blame more than anyone else. And I think the Blues would be worse off without him.
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Thanks for all of the Winter Warmup coverage, Ben. (I'm the guy who's been harassing you with Ivan Herrera queries. But it doesn't mean I'm not grateful for the day-to-day work that you and your fellow ink-stained wretches are putting in.)
My question: Are you surprised when a guy like Gordon Graceffo -- who already throws 96-98 on a regular basis -- says he is working on increasing his velocity? I'm surprised, and very disappointed. Because the one thing he *already* has is the minimum daily requirement of velocity. I'd much, much rather hear that he's working on control, command, movement, stamina, a pickoff move, basically every single thing *except* adding more velocity. I want him to be Wainwright or Lance Lynn in a few years. Not Rosenthal or Hicks or Motte or a starter like Noah Syndergaard, who obsessed about weight training and velocity, and it pretty much ruined his career. -
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All good. I think Herrera could have a great career. Just don't think it was timed up right for the Cardinals to throw him into the big league pressure cooker this season.Everybody wants to throw hard, so young guys trying to throw harder doesn't surprise me. If it comes naturally as strength and stamina are built up, great. He's not solely working on just trying to max out mph. Pick-off practice and all of the other things are not ignored for mph hunting. Promise.
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BenFred -
When looking at this team's likely position player reserves, it seems reasonable to expect some combination of 5 of the following 6 players:
Yepez
Burleson
Gorman
DeJong
Knizner
Walker
One thing very conspicuously missing from this group is defensive accumen. Especially when it comes to infield help (3rd base, short stop, 2nd base), its scary to think how much time DeJong is likely to see as a starter. Do we need to upgrade that infield utility? -
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BenFred -
Seeing Walker at the Winter Warm Ups really makes you realize what an absolute unit he is. Went home and watched his 2022 highlight tape after (the full 15 minutes). He looks like a bigger, more athletic Carlos Delgado. Can't imagine him not making a serious impact on the big league team in the immediate future. Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself, but its not often you see a 20 year old that makes other, older professional athletes look like boys. -
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I think ex-Cards hitting coach Jeff Albert did some things well, but preparing a lineup for the postseason was not on that list. I think Turner Ward moving up into that spot will help produce better and more competitive postseason at-bats.I do also think having a hitting catcher is going to help the offense quite a bit. It's been weighing down the offense for a while, even when Molina so often came up clutch.
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Both gave very specific details on what they are working on and why it should lead to positive change.Hudson is probably easier to bet on. He is a year removed from Tommy John and some neck tightness messed him up last season on top of the grind of first season back from the TJ.Dusty Blake, perhaps the most praised name during WWU, has opened his eyes to some of the changes he wanted Hudson to make regarding pitch use and tweaking certain things. He's all in on the pitch clock and how it can help him. He seemed really encouraged and is fired up to prove he can be a piece of this rotation, not a piece on the fringe.DeJong seemed at peace. He's simplified his swing and tuned out all outside nose. No more leg kick. No more head movement during pitch tracking. Just short and direct to ball. Muscle memory over over-thinking.He also knows no one will buy any of this until or unless he does it in games that count. He gets it.
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I've gotta get going, folks. Thanks so much for your questions and comments. I got to as many as I could, and I will collect the best, add some more and send them out in my Wednesday newsletter, along with a special treat for fans of retiring P-D legend Rick Hummel. Interested? Sign up here below. Thanks and have a great week.
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