Join columnist Jeff Gordon for his live STL sports chat at 1 p.m. Friday
Bring your Cards, Blues, Mizzou, SLU and MLS questions and comments, and talk to columnist Jeff Gordon in his weekly live chat.
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I've made my case for Edmundo Sosa. As for Nolan Gorman, he hasn't played a full year in Triple-A. An injury kept him from making the most of the Arizona Fall League last year and the lockout cut into spring training this year. He didn't make his case to make the team in his exhibition at bats. So there was nothing nefarious about his demotion.But now he is doing serious damage at Triple-A. IF he keeps this up and IF the Cardinals clearly need an offensive lift, then we will see Gorman. The timetable will depend on both his progress and the success (or failure) of veterans ahead of himThe Cardinals do not want Gorman sitting around as an extra guy. If he comes up, he will come up to hit. -
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Let's not forget that Molina was a late arrival to spring training due to a personal issue. So he is still in spring training mode, a process that was slowed by a minor injury. He is one of many prominent big leaguers (Mookie Betts, Kyle Schwarber, Marcus Semien, Jose Altuve, Gleyber Torres) hitting below the Mendoza Line as they try to get their timing back.
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Sad to lose the classy Mike Bossy and the legendary Guy Lafleur in the same week. What great offensive talents they were. Even so, it took Lafleur a couple of years to really "blossom". The pressure on him to be the next great Canadien must have been unbelievable. Not to mention living up to being the number 1 overall draft puck.... followed at number 2 by Marcel Dionne, selected by your Red Wings. Another guy who know how to find the back of the net.
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Yeah, it's hard to imagine how much pressure French Canadian stars felt in Montreal -- even when the Canadiens ran roughshod over the league. I heard an old interview with Guy on NHL Radio where he talked about winning the Cup in Chicago after failing to clinch it at home. One the team flight back to Montreal he drank so much champagne they had to stretcher him off the plane.So it sounds like the Blues' motto in 2019 was "Be Like Guy!"
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Gordo,
Assuming all are healthy, what's your 4th line look like? I'm going Toropchenko, Brown and Walker. I think that gives it more balance, with 2 wings who can hit and shoot, and a big body in the middle. I might be tempted to go with Bozak strictly for zone faceoffs, but I'm set with the 2 wingers. -
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The big issues for Mike Shildt was the substandard bench in last season's first half and the pitching shortage. Finally the Cardinals upgraded both the rotation and bullpen from the outside and found some internal solutions for the offense.I can see giving Paul DeJong one more run to start the season, given his generally strong fielding and his contract status. But given the role Edmundo Sosa played in last season's surge, giving him some work also makes sense. What we've seen from DeJong this season so far is a carryover from the very large work sample from last season.Is John Mozeliak pulling for DeJong? Absolutely, since he doesn't want to have still another dead money scenario on his watch. But if it turns out that Sosa can hold up, that makes the organization look smart for sticking with him.
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I don't think Marmol is the only one who decides who starts. His boss gave DeJong the contract, so I'm thinking he's going to start until the boss says so. Albert needs to sit against hard throwing righties. I hope the manager has enough pull to make that decision. With the Cardinals it's kind of weird as a fan because I have no idea what authority the manager has. It's confusing
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Why does the NHL have to chase every last dollar? What exactly does the extra money bring? Does it make the sport better? My whole point is, chasing every last dollar lessens the quality of what you're producing. In the end, it loses them money. Sports ratings are down because the product is being watered down because they're too thirsty for the immediate buck and they're not protecting the future.
With baseball's expanded playoffs, it sure has to opened the door to skip the season until September. You'd have a month to catch up on your team, and see who's on it. Enjoy any sort of pennant race if they can have that anymore and get ready for October. In today's age, with so much content to choose from if you can't see that MLB has left the door open for casual fans to ignore their ultra bloated regular season then you're just as blind as the baseball owners. -
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A sitting veteran coach with a winning track record was not going to take the Missouri job unless the school put crazy money on the table. The best route was to find an up-and-comer with a winning track record AND significant high-major recruiting experience. Dennis Gates checked those boxes. He worked quickly to build a more competitive team for next season and hired an elite recruiter as his right-hand man. If he can land one more player -- a big man capable of playing 20 to 25 minutes a night -- then I believe he can get Missouri over .500 (overall) in Year One and recruit from a stronger position for 2023 and beyond.
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I recall going to Cards games throughout the 70s when the team only came close a couple years (73 and 74, I think). For 87 to 96, we did not do well. The present era began with Pujols and we won a lot. I went to games in 2007 when we were under 500. Why? Because it was fun to root for the Cards and particular players. A portion of the fan base (in comments here and twitter) seem to believe they are entitled to win the WS every year and love sarcastic comments about only winning 90 games. Their right to complain, but I think they miss the point of being a sports fan. Maybe it's the internet. The last 20 years plus have bene great for the Cards, but I'll still go when they inevitably have a losing year.
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You may be an outlier in our chats on STLToday.com, but I believe you are in the mainstream where most fans are. Other franchises subject their fans to years of suffering why purporting to load up for a big run or two. Most fans want to be fans year after year, not periodically.
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Jeff, last week during Jim Thomas' chat-o-rama I brought up Binner's problem with his"five hole" and it showed itself again. He doesn't keep his stick down when going down into the butterfly, if I noticed it you know everyone knows it. It was good to see once the first goal went in he closed off the five hole for the rest of the night.
Not to brag but in September I wrote in the Blues chat Tarasenko would have a monster year, I assumed he wanted to show the hockey world he had a lot more in the tank after being sidelined for two years. There were doctors who examined his past two shoulder surgeries and were convinced his last one was the correct procedure to finally repair the shoulder.
I have no other predictions or observations, only that the series with the Wild is going to be one for the ages, a real "barn burner". -
Yeah, the Blues have had success against the Wild but nothing much separates the teams. The Wild are in "win now" mode with more roster changes coming after this season while the Blues still have several Cup holdovers who know how to win. If the Blues can play consistently smart and tough, their superior skill could decide a close series.
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I like the line-up tonight. But the "DH is our 5th hitter" streak continues and it highlights a bigger issue with this roster. If Dickerson is hitting 5th than you don't have a 5th place hitter. Pujols is fine there against lefties but this league is 80% righties.
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It's good to see Edmundo Sosa and Lars Nootbaar get starts to open this series in Cincinnati. Let's see if they can make a case for at least periodic work. Andrew Knizner gets another start for Yadier Molina, who has had a less-than-ideal season start across the board.As for Dickerson hitting fifth . . . yeah, it's hard to imagine that being sustainable. He is a solid pro, but this is where the Cardinals need Nolan Gorman to step up. The team didn't spend long-term dollars at DH because of him. So his development will be crucial to this season and beyond.
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Your former P-D cohort, Bernie, made an impassioned plea for everyone to back off DeJong on his radio show this week. He supported his claim with facts, but most of the numbers ended with the words "...right at league average for SS" - which he notes is down right now due to slow starts. And that is what the hang-up is for most fans, what if Sosa can be elite? Why stick with "league average" because it is "fine." - BTW when are you going to get on his show like Hummel and Goold?
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I'm not sure Sosa will ever be elite, but if he can hit .260 or .270, steal some bases and not get the yips defensively, then he can add something to a mix-and-match offense. He's not likely to become a big on-base plus slugging percentage producer, but if he can add some offensive life with his speed (as he did last year) then he can help. The teams needs to find out, right? If he flops, at least you know.As for KFNS, I go on from time to time with Frank Cusumano in late morning and Charlie Tuna in early evening. It's fair to ask how much more of me that listeners can withstand.
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BoBo have you seen Gorman's strike out rate? Brian Walton had expressed concern for it on Danny Mac's podcast because it's over 40% at AAA so he's not yet ready for the majors and I would like to add that I'm a huge Gorman fan and because of that I don't want to see him rushed. Wouldn't it make more sense to give Burleson or Yepez a shot first? Yepez is a RH batter but he has hit RH pitching very well. Have a great weekend BoBo.
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Nolan Gorman has work to do for sure. He did cut down his strikeout rate notably from 2019 to 2021. After he started this season 0-for-9 with five strikeouts, he settled into a pretty good groove. It makes sense for him to continue his education in the minors for a while longer, but that early 1.114 OPS does jump about at you. Paul DeJong has had similar strikeout rates while doing not a lot of damage in the past one-plus seasons.
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