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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First they need to get back to looking like an NCAA Tournament team.Hard to knock them too much for the Arkansas loss.Razorbacks are hot and it's going to be hard for Tigers to win without Tilmon.But the Ole Miss loss was a real dud. Lack of effort and energy. Can't happen.Tilmon is going to be gone again for tonight's game, and I don't know if that's because he's still with family after the death of a family member, or because he could not get cleared through the COVID protocols in time to rejoin the team for the flight. But I do know COVID has hit Tilmon's family hard this year. Harder than most. Him getting back, and being fully back mentally, is probably the biggest key to Mizzou's future at the moment.
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Looks like I had an Internet glitch there. This was my answer to a question about Nolan Gorman potentially getting some reps at first base instead of third: Could happen. Corner outfield too. DH also going to come into play likely sooner rater than later when the new CBA -- hopefully -- comes on line.
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I think Cuonzo's team has been a bit exposed in the last week. All I am hoping for from them anymore is that they make the tournament and win a game. While I like the team, there is no depth and certainly no quality depth in it. I do not understand why Wilmore could not be used judiciously to protect Mitchell Smith a little more. Mark Smith is having a disaster of a senior season. Three of the eight shots he missed on Saturday (0 makes) were not within five feet of the rim. I think he is doing some weird kick at the end of his shot that is throwing it off. I hope someone is going over film with him. He is a good kid and I want to see him do well but, right now, he does not look like a former Mr. Illinois Basketball. Thanks for letting me put in my two cents, Ben. I applaud your support of "Future Enterprisers".
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How much do you think the de-juiced ball this year will impact run prevention teams like the Cards or Rays? Do you think this is really the best move for MLB to make seeing how offenses are so dependent on homeruns and the game has trended to either HR or strikeout at bats? Could it make an increasing boring game as games are increasing being played based on stats and splits, more boring?
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It should help the Cardinals. A plus defense can't do much to stop home runs. The Cards pitchers are not a strikeout-heavy bunch, so balls in play -- without as many balls going over the fence -- should be a good thing, especially with a strong defense. I like home runs but seeing a scaling back of three true outcome baseball would be a plus for enjoyment factor, I think. Teams will adjust. They always do.
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Controversial food take: I think Booches is overrated. When I last went it was 2019 and we were still cash only? In the 21st century? Inconvenient. And can we discuss why they don't serve french fries? Makes no sense. Lastly, bit overpriced. Maybe we can agree to disagree. Shakespeare's is different. Thanks
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I like Cuonzo Martin and think he’s been a good, steady coach who seems committed to Mizzou for the long haul. My worry is that what we’re seeing this year is just about his/ Mizzou’s ceiling. He put together a good veteran team who play hard but aren’t quite talented enough to win on talent alone. Do you think he can consistently land the type of recruits to flip that narrative and turn Mizzou into a regular in the top 10?
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Expectations check.Mizzou has never been to a Final Four.Some fans of the Tigers forget that.Martin landed Family Porter along with Tilmon.I think he will continue to get some good players, and continue to get some players who turn out to be better than people think, like Xavier Pinson.I think the longer and more established he as at Mizzou the better his chances are to land some of the bigger St. Louis fish.
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Depends on what they're looking for.If they want beaches, night life and a high rise, no.If they want to be in a city that goes nuts about baseball and with a team that can be in the mix every year, there are a lot worse places to play.I'm sure Arenado would have loved to be a Dodger at one point, but I bet he takes to St. Louis just fine.
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I think Illinois has the best chances of the three to make a deep run.SLU and Mizzou have proven they can lose to any team, and Illinois lost to Mizzou.But I don't see Dosunmu letting the Illini get bounced early, especially after missing his shot at the big dance last season.I'll say Billikens and Tigers.
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Unless something changes, I'll be headed down for the final three weeks as usual. It's going to be a different kind of coverage I think, but it sounds like we are going to be able to get some eyes on the back fields and in games that might not be broadcast, so there's a benefit to being there. The starting pitching pool is fascinating and should have some clarity by the time I arrive. This will be one of the more fun seasons for lineup speculation, too, now that Arenado is here to join Goldschmidt in the middle. Both will be covered thoroughly I'm sure. I'm writing a big column on Flaherty for the season preview. Looking forward to reporting on that.
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To me, the NL has 4 tiers of teams:
1. The Favorite: Dodgers.
2. The Really Good, Just Not As Good As The Dodgers: Mets, Braves, Nationals, San Diego.
3. There's A Chance: Brewers, Reds, Cubs, Phillies,
4. Participation Trophy: Marlins, Pirates, D-Backs, Giants, Rockies
How'd I do? Where do you think the Cardinals fall? -
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Hi Ben,
With the recent sexual harassment claims against former Mets GM Porter and currently suspended Angels coach Calloway, it seems clear that MLB needs to implement mandatory training. You can’t just ask guys “hey have you ever sexually harassed anyone” when you “vet” them for a job because they don’t see their behavior as harassment. They don’t think they did anything wrong. They don’t understand why sending sexual texts or constantly asking someone out for drinks is inappropriate, disrespectful or intimidating. And they don’t get why a woman wouldn’t just tell them to stop when she feels she may lose her job if she does. Just adding rules that say don’t harass or policies that state sexual harassment will not be tolerated won’t fix the problem. MLB should also institute a confidential hotline run by an outside third party to allow people to report sexual harassment and domestic violence. -
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Thanks for the clarifications on my question about why there is no agreement to push the start of the season back. I had been wondering about that for a while, so it makes sense. If I were the players, I wouldn't trust Manfred either. He's clearly incompetent as exemplified by allowing under-capitalized groups to buy teams (see: Marlins, Miami), who are now in a capital-call situation; has no grip whatsoever about the degree of sexual harassment going on at the executive level in the game; and seems to contradict himself at virtually every turn.
That said, it seems like the owners would be wise to uncouple all of those proposals and attempt to address the season start on its own. -
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I'd say the same thing about our government removing add-ons to plans to help America combat the pandemic, but I'm sticking to sports :)You're right. If health, safety and having the best season possible is the number one priority, there should be a lot less horse trading between players and owners. But remember, EVERYTHING is viewed in front of the backdrop of the next CBA negotiations that arrive after the 2021 season ends.
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The rush to assume this says anything about how Flaherty and the Cardinals are going to handle his long-term future is one I would not join.I repeat: He is not a free agent until 2024.There will be a lot of conversations and chances to revisit plans before he departs via free agency.Flaherty won a round.Maybe he really is determined to get to free agency as soon as possible.Maybe he's not.Maybe he feels that way now and changes his mind.Assuming the tone of the conversation as it stands before spring training in 2021 is going to define the relationship forever? No thanks.I don't think the Cardinals should have taken Flaherty to arbitration over $250k, but they did. I imagine there is an extension offer they could pitch him at some point before free agency that makes him forget the slight. First he has to pitch well enough again to push that envelope. He was not the Cardinals' best pitcher last season.