When the strike zone is automated, and it will be eventually, the idea is there will be human-called balls/strikes and some challenges for both hitters and pitchers that automatically get decided by the automated system. Doubt we will see challenges before that comes.
There will be some intriguing candidates to consider if this season plays out the way the Cardinals hope it does with performance of young, rising stars. Nootbaar. Gorman. Walker. Just for starters. The Cardinals have made it clear and reiterated with the Mikolas extension that they want to keep guys who perform and want to be around. The Braves have a model more similar to the Cardinals than the teams that spend massively on free agency. I think we could see some similar extension discussions and attempts in the coming seasons, yes.
Again, the best way of securing great starting pitching is not much of a debate. It's best if you can develop it internally for cheap. No one disagrees with that. But when you're not producing it internally, and you're not adding it from the outside, you're not much of a threat to do much damage in the postseason. There's a reason really good starting pitchers make a lot of money. It's because of the value they bring, despite the obvious risk factor of throwing a baseball not being a natural thing and it likely leading to injury over time. If the Cardinals are going to scrap the belief starting pitching is valuable, they should go all the way, employing a six-man rotation, openers, bullpen games and weaponizing all of their available depth through a turnstile staff. Why don't they do that? Because they still, at least for now, see the value of starting pitching.
The B-Hawks have one a really good job of reading the market 99 percent of the time. It's helped them crush it on social media, sell tickets and bring a great energy to The Dome. That post was a rare miss, an a regrettable one.
I don't have much MLS experience outside of what we have observed here in STL. Actually, let me be more clear. I've got none. But I've talked to folks who do, and they're all saying similar things. They're impressed. With the way the team is competing, with the stadium and in-game atmosphere, with the support and culture that has already been established for a new team. The extra year baked in due to the pandemic, unfortunately, really led to a lot of things happening an growing organically that put the team far ahead of where most expansion teams start.
Question isn't if Cardinals agree with you. It's if it's working. Been a while since a parade, World Series appearance or anything other than an NLDS win.
I mean this as a compliment, but the atmosphere reminds me of a massively important big high school football game. The tailgating. The close-knit feel. The rowdy standing section has student-section vibes in the best sort of way.
I'd bet you a burger most shared my opinion.
Hey, thanks! Really appreciate you taking the time to read, subscribe and participate here. I don't think she meant any ill will toward LSU by what she said, but it wasn't off the cuff. She was behind a podium in front of cameras. And I think if it was up to her, Iowa would be invited to attend. She walked it back today, which was smart. I wrote about it because I think it illustrates what a lot of this debate about the post-game celebration of Angel Reese boils down to. We should see the irony in lifting up this year's epic women's NCAA Tournament for its competitiveness one moment, using it as legitimate proof women's sports is often not given the credit it is due for producing elite and intense competition, then turn around and say, well, Iowa played hard and had the best individual player, so let's treat Iowa like champions, too. Sorry, that's bad ball. Also, it's the biggest story in sports right now, not just the White House topic, but the post-game celebration of Angel Reese. As a funny thought experiment, what would happen if the roles were reversed? Say Reese, not Clark, was the best individual player in college basketball this season and led her team to the championship game. But Clark's team won, not Reese's. And Jill Biden invited both teams to the White House. Can you imagine the uproar that would have occurred? You can, if you are being honest. When something like that is so obvious, but not acknowledged, and it's a big story in sports, I felt compelled to attempt to point it out.
Yep, it's an adjustment. Not sure that it is as big of a one this year. Hasn't been as cold.
Pitch framing still plays a big role. Balls and strikes are still called by the human umpire eye. That will likely change in the future once automated zones are adopted, but still the most likely way that happens when it does is human-called ball strike and a challenge system that fact-checks with the automation if there is a dispute. So, it matters very much now and will matter still some (but not as much) when change inevitably comes. Contreras' arm has been huge and will continue to be as teams continue to use the new, bigger bases to push the limit on base stealing. He was one of the first two catchers in baseball this season to throw out multiple would-be base thieves. Like Molina, he's fearless about making any throw to any base in any scenario. He's going to be tested more than Molina, but that should mean more chances to throw guys out. Good pop-time too. That's a big part of it. He's working hard on his framing. If you haven't read it from the special section, Derrick wrote a great and detailed breakdown of all the little things he's doing to try to improve his standing in that department.
There have been some second-guesses on that within the organization, yep.
Hofer is set to be the backup to Jordan Binnington last season. Blues wanted him to be with Thunderbirds down the stretch and for playoffs. Greiss is hurt. I don't think there's anything more to it than that. Seems like they're trying to prioritize what is best for Hofer now that the season is shot.
I need to get a clearer version of the story to have much of an opinion. I've asked the team to provide some play by play on what happened, how they saw it and what has or will be communicated to fans and/or ushers about this moving forward. It's a topic worth addressing. On it.
Playing hurt happened a lot more often back then, too. The times, they are a changing. Cardinals are not going to let guys push through minor stuff in April, when some rest could be the reason better performance comes later. Hand injuries can really sap power at the plate. Better to be extra cautious early in a season.
No, he just needs to keep doing what he's doing. He's averaging .313 with a .353 on-base percentage and one strikeout in his first 16 at-bats against major league pitching, for a guy who spent zero time at Class-AAA. Just let him get settled in. The homers will come. Probably sooner rather than later.
B-Hawks will be in. Home-field advantage is real, and they have the best one around. I'm Kaw-Kalling it.
I don't think they would reverse course on him this season. Dakota Hudson and Matthew Liberatore would be first up if rotation needs a patch. Thompson as starter could be revisited at some point, perhaps this offseason, but I'd bet he's used primarily as a reliever this season.
Pitchers, catchers, pitching coaches work game planning together. Execution? That's on the pitcher. Woodford's punished pitches weren't outside. They were up. He got hurt on middle-up stuff that was higher in the zone than what we saw at spring training, where he really hammered the bottom of the strike zone. Inside/outside wasn't the problem. His stuff was up, up, up. He's gotta stay down low.
Should MLB consider allowing teams 2-3 challenges per game on called balls and strikes? Especially with gambling now being encouraged. Burleson being called out in the 8th inning in a crucial spot on a pitch not even close is not acceptable. 3 of the first 4 umpires behind the plate had just awful games.
