Join columnist Ben Frederickson for a live chat at 11 a.m. Tuesday
Ben Frederickson will answer all of your Cardinals, Blues, St. Louis City, Mizzou and SLU questions in Tuesday's 11 a.m. live chat.
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First I wondered if the report had legs.Second I wondered, if the report had legs, if Drinkwitz had signaled to Walters that he should start looking around.Walters just got a raise at Mizzou when Colorado came calling last time around.His defense was playing really well earlier in the season, but did not finish well and was really exposed when the COVID cases, contact tracing and opt-outs started adding up.Lateral moves raise eyebrows. This would be a step back. The real story will come out eventually with this one. -
Ben,
The XFL was great for STL, and it was AMAZING to see the city take to the team with such passion. I believe it was about this time in the previous regime (1 year prior to the season) that the XFL started announcing things. Do you think we will see some new info coming out of the new ownership group soon? -
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What do you think about the NHL selling the naming rights to the 4 divisions? It seems like some people really (like really) don't like it. I don't see the harm in it and more money doesn't really seem like a bad thing. I mean, most fans are probably going to say the Blues play in the West, not the Honda division...
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It's good the Blues are in the Honda division. Good gas mileage for all of those miles. None of us should be surprised that leagues are slapping sponsorships on whatever they can to make as much money as they can. And if it works, and makes money, don't expect it to go away, either.
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It's great to have a Gold Glove winner in left field, but O'Neill is on the team for his power potential, and it has not been there. It's declining. Alarmingly. The Cardinals have not said that they have given up on him. They haven't said anything, really, about how they view their outfield entering spring training -- other than they are hesitant to make grand conclusions based of a the strange 60 game season. More time to sort things out means another chance for O'Neill, but I don't know that he's going to be viewed as a starter like he was entering 2020. He did not capitalize on that chance.
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I understand the opposition of banning defensive shifts in MLB, the idea of "hit it where they ain't" makes some sense.
However, it isn't that easy. These hitters have been training and working their entire life to do what they do and rewarded with success by doing so...from Little League on. In fact, showcase leagues ingrained in these players to pull/launch to boost their draft status. Which are now directly into a shift unless it's over the fence.
In the spirit of sport, you're asking them to change after a lifetime of doing it another way. The advantage that analytics gives organizations against individual hitters is significant and has made the game less exciting in many fans minds and eyes. Isn't there a difference between making adjustments to entirely changing a hitters lifelong approach? -
They don't have to entirely change anything.They have to lay down a bunt or poke a ball in a general direction when there is a massive gap of space available on one side of the field.They are great athletes.I think they can figure that out and still hit home runs.Good hitters have multiple types of swings meant to do different things.
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I noticed that Mizzou football and basketball games had some serious COVID social distancing regulations and seating arrangements that spaced people quite far apart. I recall a Texas A&M football game where the end zone had shoulder to shoulder fans. Is there an SEC guideline for this and do you know of any team who got fined for not adhering to the seating rules?
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The SEC is not in charge of how many fans can be at a game. Wisely, the conference said that's up to teams and their respective state and county health officials. So, teams that play in states that are more opened up are going to have more fans in the stands, most likely.
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Do you think the Cardinals unwillingness to sign an in their prime high end offensive player has caused some of the Cardinals development issues? For instance if Dejong was on the Dodgers he would absolutely play, but he would probably be hitting 7th or 8th with no real pressure. Giving him more time to develop without pressing.
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I think there is something to that, sure.DeJong being rushed to the middle of the order.Bader being cast as something other than a defense-first No. 9 hitter.O'Neill being a potential "answer" before he could prove he was a major league hitter.There are others.A better lineup takes pressure off every piece of it.The Cardinals' lineup, the past two seasons, has put stress on every part of it.We saw it with Ozuna. We saw it last season with Goldschmidt, who got pitched around a lot.
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Interesting. I think seeing games on TV makes people more likely, not less likely, to get to a game. Out of sight, out of mind. That kind of thing. Cardinals and Blues games missing from living rooms means missed moments between fans and teams, and missed chances to make new fans, etc. I do think it hurts, though I'm not sure how it could be measured.
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There's always a scenario. Edman could start over him. Someone not currently on the team could. But considering he's getting paid $18.5 million, and is still on the team, and with what we know about how the Cardinals will try and try and try again to make a contract work, I think the bounce-back theory has to be the expectation at this time. No, that doesn't mean anyone has to like it.
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