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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There are some similarities, but the Blues paid a big price in that trade that included a first-round pick and prospect William "Aircraft" Carrier, who went on to have a nice career. The Blues did swap fading Chris Stewart for Steve Ott in that trade, which turned into a plus. Ryan Miller not only failed for the Blues during his brief stint, but he wasn't a great team guy. At least Marc-Andre Fleury earned great praise for how he fit in with the Wild.
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My thoughts on mizzou programs softball is playing really good and they look like the team pre season said they would be Baseball has improved but they have a long way to go to be a factor in SEC Womens basketball I have no clue what is going on their returning roster will struggle big time in the SEC. Men's Basketball has improved their roster but they have to get a big man and a shooter Football I am hoping for 7 wins but I think 5 or 6 is most likely QB and running back be a problem to compete in SEC.
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That's a pretty fair assessment across the board. Men's hoops might have squeezed out 20 victories with Jamarion Sharp as the rim protector. He would have freed lessened the defensive load on Kobe Brown and Mohamed Diarra and also freed them up to play out on the floor offensively. But apparently Western Kentucky found enough inducements to keep him.
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I imagine every expert will pick the Avalanche, and rightfully so. That team was a juggernaut this season. That said, the Blues elevated their game late in the Wild series and I'd expect them to be a tough out. If Jordan Binnington can turn back his clock to 2019, this could be a heck of a battle.
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As for the Xs and Os, most power plays use the same concepts. When healthy, the Blues have two good units capable of gaining clean zone entries, retrieving pucks when they have to dump it in and winning faceoffs. The Blues have three good power-play defensemen, with Scott Perunovich doing a decent Torey Krug imitation right now, and several excellent passers up front. You saw the Wild focus on pressuring the half-wall to deny David Perron and Vladimir Tarasenko their shots from the circle,, but the Blues worked plays down low with Brayden Schenn (who has been an excellent passer) and Ryan O'Reilly, who is always dangerous around the net.It comes down to skill and the ability to improvise. Past Blues teams had color-by-number power plays with predictable puck movement that was easy to defend. Teams felt free to pressure the puck. Krug, in particular, brought the ability to freelance with the puck in the offensive zone. That got his teammates moving and the penalty killers running around. Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas can add that element as forwards.
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Thanks for hosting these chats bobo
This team is totally constructed from Mo’s vision. Mo has a tendency to fall in love with players And force the Cardinals to deal with his strange Fixation.
Tie Wigington
Matt Carpenter
Matthew Leibator traded For rookie of the year!
Steven Matz is the same player he’s always been good game bad game
PDJ
Albert Pujols in the dusk of his career
I could go on
Yes they make the playoffs regularly but they don’t succeed past the first game or the first series most of the time. At this rate you’ll be retired or in Assisted living by the time they get back to the World Series
He’s pretty good at his job he just doesn’t have what it takes to get us to go all the way to the World Series and win again. The sooner BDW
Recognizes this,they can start building a great team instead of a good team
OK ready for the consecutive winning seasons, playoff appearances, answer I get every time -
The management dynamic hasn't changed a whole lot over the years. The business model is the business model. The shift to Jeff Luhnow's prospect evaluation machine produced an impressive influx of young, low-cost, MLB-caliber players that kept the team in the chase year after year. His exit, the "Hackgate" mess that followed and turnover on that side of the operation helped create a player development lull that was reflected in won-loss totals. The hiring of Randy Flores helped put the Cardinals on a somewhat different track with the acquisition of some higher-ceiling prospects. We should see that payoff in the next few years, barring stupid, short-sighted trades of top prospects for temporary help.In the interim, expect the team to continue to seek internal solutions and avoid the sort of huge free-agent signings that could block their top prospects and limit their future options.Is this boring? Sure. Has the approach worked for Bill DeWitt Jr.? Yes. because he likes selling tickets every year, not just some years. So fans will likely have to endure another 90-victory season.
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The Blues have a LOT of talent. I expect a lot of up-and-down play and a lot of goals. Colorado has a superior defense. Craig Berube and Mike Van Ryn found something with the latest seven-man combination, but can that group handle the explosive Avalanche rush game?We'll see. I expect the Blues to win some games and give themselves a shot, but that will require a fabulous series from Jordan Binnington too.
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Jeff, what does Army do about the goalie situation for next season? Binner has rebounded but I still think Husso is the goalie we should focus on the next 3-4 years. Hopefully we still have lots of hockey to play, but looking towards next season I wonder, with Perunovich playing so well, is Krug expendable now? Who might we not see again next season?
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There will be plenty of intrigue this summer. Nick Leddy and Tyler Bozak figure to be salary cap casualties, but more crunching will be in order because David Perron is earning another contract. Scott Perunovich is a young version of Torey Krug, so at some point Doug Armstrong may wonder if both can fit into the Top 6 of his defensive corps. Perunovich could be the trade chip, depending on what else happens.Jordan Binnington has reaffirmed his value to the Blues and reestablished some trade value as well. Ville Husso boosted his stock for free agency. My guess is the Blues will try to re-sign Husso to keep the asset for a while anyway, but another team could come along and outbid them. So Binnington's resurgence has been reassuring for Armstrong in that sense.Is there money for both goaltenders in the salary cap world? In the near term, maybe, but in the long term no. And the Blues like Joel Hofer for an inexpensive fill for the No. 2 spot.
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Kramer Robertson??? During spring training, the Cards advertised Yepez and Gorman were going to be given shots to make the club. When they struggled, they brought in Pujols and Dickerson. Both Yepez and Gorman have since lit it up in AAA. Yepez was promoted and has made a difference. They have the perfect opportunity to promote Gorman who could be a difference maker and do not. Solely due to super two status? As a fan it is maddening. We buy into the prospect strategy, yet when a team that is not performing and said prospect is on fire in the minors and is not promoted, it is confusing/maddening. What gives?
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Kramer Robertson is an organization soldier. The Cardinals needed a fill-in for a couple of days he was it. He got his cup a coffee and he went back to Triple-A. That was his reward for his hard work. The Cardinals were not going to call up Nolan Gorman for a cup of coffee.
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Nolan Gorman just turned 22 and he has years of low-cost production ahead of him. Xander Bogaerts would be a rental player. This would be the sort of stupid trade I referenced earlier. It's been a long time since the Cardinals had multiple high-ceiling hitters in development at once. Fans have complained for years about the team's inability to develop impact hitters. Now the team has Gorman. Jordan Walker, Masyn Winn and Joshua Baez on the assembly line. Now is not the time to disrupt the supply chain.
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Gorman's last game for Memphis illustrated his upside/downside equation. He smacked another homer and struck out three times. To get regular at bats in the big leagues, he will need to improve his contact rate. I expect that will come, because he has progressed quickly despite losing a year to the pandemic. I'd like to see Edmundo Sosa get a long, long look at shortstop to see if he can be the answer. He is a high-energy player who adds speed to a team that knows how to exploit it. Sosa is not a great option off the bench, so, yes, I could see him losing the utility job to Brendan Donovan if he can't play regularly at shortstop.
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I’ve read several baseball writers talk about St. Louis being the perfect landing spot for Xander Bogaerts if the Red Sox can’t sign him. Can you imagine an infield of Goldschmidt, Edman, Bogaerts and Arenado? What would the Cards have to give up? Also, wouldn’t we want to sign him for 3-4 years before making any deal?
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I imagine Xander will opt out of the remaining three years and $60 million on his contract in Boston. And he rejected an extension that would have left him with four years and $90 on his deal with the Red Sox. So you can only imagine what sort of number he would seek in free agency or a contract extension with his next team. He saw what other shortstops got and he would be foolish not to test that market.
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The Cardinals had some miserable stretches last year too. A big difference between Oliver Marmol and Mike Shildt is Marmol's unwillingness to offer positive spin in his postgame sessions. He doesn't rip the team, but he is more willing to point out shortcomings in an even-tempered fashion without any putting any gloss on his comments.
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A couple of things about the Blues, Jeff:
1. Binnington notwithstanding, don't you get a 2019 vibe from this team? They may not get past Colorado but I really like this team.
2. Why do chatters rag on Parayko? (Yes, Parayko; not Paranko.) I watched the game last night and I don't think I saw him make a single mistake. I guess he could be meaner but Chris Pronger he will never be.
3. I seem to recall Brayden Schenn, before Doug Armstrong stole him from the Flyers, was tarred with, supposedly, only being good on the power play. He seems like a 200-foot player to me. How did he get that reputation and was it ever deserved?
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I have no idea why the Flyers became so dismissive of Brayden Schenn's game. He showed up with a pretty complete game and the ability to play both center and on the wing. He showed up ready to help 5-on-5 and on the power play both. He arrived a big hitter and scorer. What a blunder by the Flyers, trading him.As for the Blues' team vibe, yes, there are flashes of 2019. The third period of Game 5 against the Wild and periods 2 and 3 in Game 6 looked familiar. But that 2019 team kept getting better and this team will need to keep taking big steps. The Avalanche are set up to win it all this year. The Blues will need to reach much higher levels to knock them off.
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He looks lost at the plate. I am less likely to dump on hitting coach Jeff Albert than others, but this is one of those scenarios that throws a spotlight on his role. His ability (or inability) to help O'Neill refocus and reset will be critical to this team's success (or failure) in the next week to 10 days. Clearly O'Neill let the salary arbitration process bother him. Now he needs to clear his head get back to basics.
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Gordo with the futility shown (for the most part) by the Cardinals offense isn’t it past time to bring up Nolan Gorman and see what he can do? The team was willing to send out their weak hitting but good fielding shortstop and play Yepez in the corner outfield to get his bat in the lineup instead of superior defenders so why would they not want to give their top hitting prospect an opportunity? Thanks and I look forward to your comment.
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Nathan Walker could factor into the Avalanche series because this will be a skill/speed series. But Craig Berube found something with his 11/7 forward/defensive configuration. He can get extra work for his skilled wingers with double-shift opportunities and he can spread his defensive minutes with that mix. And Alexei Toropchenko deserves to stick in the mix. He can skate, he like to hit and he has some offensive ability, as we saw in Game 6.
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