Join columnist Ben Frederickson for a live 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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That says more about the current structure of the collective bargaining agreement than anything. Lindor has never reached free agency, and the arbitration process has lagged behind when it comes to paying young stars during a time in which there are more and more of them in the game. Its' something players need to focus on before the next CBA is agreed to. -
Bama put on quite a show last night. I have to give kudos for Saban evolving with the game as it changes. We've seen many HCs not change with the game and were left with mediocre results.
I've thought Devonte Smith was terrific all year, but that was a magnificent performance. Had he not been hurt he could've approached 400 receiving yards against what was suppose to be the second best team in the country.
Now it's time to for some Blues action! -
I thought Ohio State might cover.Silly me.That said the Buckeyes were not healthy, but it would not have mattered, and Alabama had some injuries of its own entering and throughout the game.Just the most dominant team in the nation, no question.Would be fun to see the Tide play last year's championship LSU team.Ohio State deserved to be there. Second-best team. But a big gap between one and two.
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Are you suggesting MSU is trying to introduce opponents to the virus?That would be pretty twisted.Especially for teams that are not, you know, all that good in either sport at the moment.The timelines don't really match up either.Maybe Mizzou football had met its outbreak there, but the basketball team did not. The timing would not have added up.
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Perhaps it's baseball insanity from watching the Cards do anything this off season except let people go, but I think DJ LeMahieu would fill a big hole in the Cards lineup and fill the 2B role. He could be the bat they so desperately need while giving them time to figure out the OF (I don't have much faith the OF will change except for Carlson playing fulltime).
Yes it would mean the budget is bigger than predicted this year but would fit nicely in 2022 as other contracts come off the books. Make the commitment now that will be paid back over the next 3-4 years. -
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No team is perfect and there will always be fans who clamor for more/better, but I would just like this team to have a new set of problems. Totally appreciate Hummel's interview with Carpenter but remember that scene in Animal House where Bluto smashes the guy's guitar, that's where I'm at with this same song the team has been playing with their offense. Carpenter and O'Neill, blah, blah, blah... If Carpenter is the missing bat, than '21 will be an even longer season that I thought.
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Patience is thin in general these days, and Cardinals fans have seem to lost their patience in Carpenter. The team has more in him than most fans, so it seems he will get some sort of a chance to earn it back. As for O'Neill, I have never really understood why fans were not more hesitant about buying the idea he was going to be a middle-of-the-lineup answer. He hits some homers and has good power, but his offensive performance has been on the decline for three seasons now. I think some people bought the image more than the results.
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The more controlled the environment, the better, and this is as controlled as a tournament of this size can get. A few locations for games. Hotels with teams sequestered on separate floors. No airplanes or airports once everybody arrives. It's not perfect, but I think it has a better chance than the alternative of producing a tournament that can be finished, and that's the No. 1 goal for the NCAA.
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Let's just go ahead and assume the Cards will not be real players in the '22 FA SS market. Why not sign LaMahieu (fixes 2nd, adds a very good bat) and Pederson (potential upside as hitter) now at a semi-reasonable cost and get through the next two seasons with a legitimately competent offense?
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You're not going to find me arguing against the idea of the Cardinals singing DJ LeMahieu. Sign me up. Problem is, Cardinals have been pretty clear they are planning on cutting their payroll, not adding to it, and we're talking about a player who is going to get paid.
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It seems that SLU Basketball has a good but no where near a top even 16 team . Their claim to fame was coming close beating Minnesota ranked 16 who a top 5 team like Michigan beat by 25 points. It seems the top 10 teams at this point are far and away better than the rest in the top 25 (like Tennessee who Mizzou wasn't even competitive with). Agree?
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I guess you missed Minnesota's win over No. 5 Iowa.And Tennessee's loss to Alabama.No, the top-10 teams are not miles away of the rest of the pack.The top-two (Gonzaga and Baylor) might be, but if there is a line it is drawn there until further notice.SLU also beat LSU and NC State. Those are their best wins so far.LSU was picked third in the SEC and is 3-1 to start SEC play.NC State beat North Carolina.I think you're too down on the Billikens, to be honest.That said, I don't know what to expect from any team after a month-long quarantine.
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USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported MLB is on board, at least for now, with small and distanced groups of masked fans attending spring training games, but not with the all-access nature of the past that included watching back-field workouts, etc. Of course some of these things will be influenced by the rules and regulations in place in specific Florida and Arizona locales, but there seems to be at least some early optimism. Nice plug for Crux, too. I bought beans from there for family members as a Christmas present this year. You can order online!
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Good question. Seems like the Cardinals are taking their sweet time, and are not too worried about another team beating them to the punch. Wainwright has a case to get a little more guaranteed in 2021 than he had in 2020, because of how well he pitched in 2020. I don't think it's been as much a case of not being able to find common ground during discussions as much as it has been the discussion has not happened yet. The Cardinals are slow-playing everything it seems.
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I don't think anyone would argue that the 2019 team was better than the 2004 team, including the front office.The Cardinals might also point to the 2011 team as one that did what neither of those other teams did -- win a World Series -- while being somewhere in the middle.The best team doesn't always win, but the Cardinals as constructed are not a team built to win the World Series, especially now, when more bad teams are getting in.The front office does not need to admit that to make it the truth.
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I for one think they need to make a trade with Kninzer. He has value and would return something of need. Also with Carlos showing health, he too at $12 mil is not a bad value ( starter or closer ) for someone. Just make the deal and move on. It really is that simple....
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It was interesting to hear Mozeliak say during one of his recent Zoom interviews that he thinks the Cardinals -- if they don't figure out a way to bring back Molina -- would probably need to make some sort of addition at catcher, instead of saying the plan would be to play Knizner every day. This is a bad spot for Knizner to be because he's at risk of becoming the prospect who needs to play but yet isn't ready to play every day in the majors. I agree that if Molina does return it might be wise for the Cardinals to package Knizner in a deal that bolsters a weakness, because at some point he's going to be reaching declining asset territory.
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I'm sure the Cards do not want to trigger 2022 option for Matt Carpenter this year. Since it's based on plate appearances, I assume the Cards will sit him often. Carp will obviously know what is going on. How will this affect his play, his standing with the club and also with the players union. I'm sorry but no one should questions the Card's decision on a 18.5 million option for that player.
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The Cardinals are not going to shut down a performing player because they are on the hook for a mutual option. We saw an opportunity for that last season, and they did not do it. The example then was Andrew Miller. Now, if Carpenter does not play well, then he probably won't play all that much. Like his opportunities were declining last season.
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I know you get tired of the Cards fans complaints about the FO, but they are certainly warranted. There are a lot of fans that think our media is "soft" on the Cards FO, but there is a difference between reporting, adding perspective and adding opinions...it all depends on your perspective. I think you and your colleagues have a fair, balanced approach.
If you are okay with being competitive in a weak division, they get a good grade. If you hold the Cardinals and FO to a higher standard, they get a much lesser grade for all the bad trades, signings, extensions and player evaluations.
I am like a lot of fans that have more invested, years of season tickets, playoff games and exciting players to root for...players around here are oftened judge by their performance in the post-season and how that leads to success.
Mo had to say something about the Arozerena trade because it played out on national TV and the FO was called out. They missed out on star in the making and according to reports, they could have traded O'Neil instead...WOW
Hope the FO can dig out ot the hole they created for themselves and the team. Cardinal Nation deserves a more exciting, competitive team. -
I've never said complaints about the front office's recent swings and misses are not warranted. I have said that if we want this chat to be more than an airing of grievances, weekly, that the complaints need to come with questions or angles or discussions that have not been had time and time and time again. That's all. We can only rehash the Arozarena situation so many times. Yes, the Cardinals should be held to a high standard. The National League leader in World Series championships has not won one in going on 10 seasons. A decade is not a small amount of time.
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