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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Sliding a winger extra shifts on the fourth line is a common ploy. Another is sending out a scorer on short rest for an offensive zone start with a different offensive line. Also, coaches will send an entire offensive line back on the ice on short rest, on the fly, if the other team has its fourth line on the ice and/or is pinned in its own zone.
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Pretty embarrassing yesterday that the Orioles throw a bullpen game at us and beat us. Decent pitching from Matz but why do we score 10 runs one day and the next they are taking completely different at bats. In the 10-1 victory I noticed a number of players taking the ball the other way. Yesterday, not nearly as much. If the Cardinals are employing the same hitting philosophy throughout the organization, doesn’t it stand to reason if a player is having trouble at the major league level that not much is going to change at AAA, other than he’ll probably see a lesser quality of pitching. I think it would be an interesting to talk to former Cardinals players still currently in the majors and ask them the difference in the Cardinals hitting philosophy as opposed to their current team, regardless of their past or current average.
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Here's the thing about hitting philosophies: There are not 14,000 of them. Every hitter has a zone where they do their most damage,. Ever hitter has some pitches they handle better than others. Every hitter is working to get a pitch he can drive. So every hitter is looking for a ball in their zone, the type of pitch they want to hit or both. The best hitters lay off pitches that don't meet that criteria or fight them off when they have two strikesIn the modern game, hitting for power is valued more than making consistent contact. Homers are valued over crafty situational hitting. That seems pretty universal. Players who can hit for power and wait out pitches for frequent walks are especially valuable. Hitters who can do those two things can strike out a lot and still get paid. Three true outcomes!I am still waiting for an organization to go old school and preach hitting to the whole field. But we may never see that because MLB may regulate against the shift as early as next season and reward the power-hitting focus that led to dead pull hitting and launch-angle fixation.Ah, for the days of Rod Carew depositing hits to every area of the field . . .
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The Blues victory over the Wild was classic playoff hockey. The team with superior special teams and goaltending and can cope with an opponent who plays a somewhat heavy game wins almost every series. I assume Colorado has a great power play,but how did their penalty kill rank? And do you think their goaltending is superior to the Blues?
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Colorado ranked right in the middle of the NHL on the penalty kill. The 'Lanche are just average at that -- but given their offense, that's all they needed. Like the Blues, Colorado has two capable goaltenders. Both Darcy Kuemper and Pavel Francouz have played well in this postseason. And as Jordan Binnington proved, you don't need a Cup pedigree to win a Cup.
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Just want to make a comment that all 4 Cards affiliates have losing records. And they're not even close to .500. That aligns more with third party outlet's evaluations of the cards " prospects " being at the top of the lower 1/3. Which basically means, the few you mentioned plus a couple others all have to come thru since BDW isn't stroking a check for a player if there's competitive market for said player.
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The don't have a high quantity of top prospects, in part because they have traded some away to get veteran help. And their steady success has left them with less draft positions. But their top half-dozen prospects are well-regarded by independent analysts. So while they don't have a lot of attractive trade chips, they do have high-end prospects coming to fill needs.
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Colton Parayko will be making $7.25m next season, then $8m the next three seasons. I’m sorry but he’s nowhere close to being worth that much. He’s far too passive. Last night he was standing in front of Binnington and let one of the Wild players come around the front of the net and try and stuff the puck under Binner. He just stood there. I was screaming at the TV. I just think for the money, there are better potions out there.
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Not that he is the problem but Pujols is 2 for his last 25. It just speaks to how low the bar is set with this offense and that started in the off-season. The FO talked themselves into believing that the 17-game win streak was the truth but actually it was a red herring. They made mediocre moves to upgrade a mediocre offense and surprise, surprise the offense is still mediocre.
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The team counted on the progression of young hitters and we have certainly seen that with Juan Yepez. We'll see if Nolan Gorman can fill the left-side power need at some point this season. That was a big part of the offseason thinking so far these two guys have validated management's confidence in them. Both are on schedule.That said, the team needs Tyler O'Neill to hit to last season's breakout level. If he can Carlson can return to 2021 levels, that production plus the Yepez/Gorman push could get the team where it needs to be without an in-season trade.
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I can certainly agree with you that Gorman needs more time not only because he strikes out a lot but he needs more time at 2nd. I think a Donovan/Sosa platoon could work for this year and even in the future. this leads to my question and that is when is Burelson going to get a shot? Low strike out rate and hits for power. It seems everyone on the chats are clamoring for more offensive production at SS when I think Mo should be more concerned about the positions that traditionally produce offense and that is the Corner OF positions and the DH because their performance at the plate is terrible except for Yepez and I will give Pujols some credit against Lefties. As always BoBo thanks for the chats?
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Alec Burleson has work to do defensively, but then again the Cardinals are playing Juan Yepez in the outfield and he is pretty limited out there. Burleson's ability to drive the ball could allow him to pass Lars Nootbar as Next Outfielder Up and get a look should Tyler O'Neill fail to regain traction.
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When an owner allows a GM's pride to dictate the outcome on the field it is pretty sad. Mo backed DeJong, signed Dickerson & Pujols, and has continued to champion Albert. His fingerprints are all over this mess and DeWitt just sits in Cincinnati allowing it to continue. The buck has to stop somewhere and I think we are finally at DeWitt.
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Jeff thanks for the chats and your great coverage of all things Cards and Blues. My question: For much of the season Jordan Binnington was shaky at best and Husso clearly earned the net. With a game 1 shutout in his pocket Husso was not to blame for the meltdown in front of him in games 2 and 3 but in a BRILLIANT move Chief changed the momentum with Binnington reincarnating circa 2019. My concern when the Av’s come after him in waves how likely is JB to start his flopping around and lose composure? The Avalanche do that to many goalies. How likely is it the calmer Husso will play a part in the upcoming series? Thanks
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This will be a different sort of series. Binnington's puck handling was useful against Minnesota, which wants to get pucks in deep. forecheck and sustain pressure. The 'Lanche score every which way, but that team is especially dangerous off the rush. Can Binnington stop clean break-ins and odd-man rushes? Will he stay confident and aggressive against that skill? We'll see. I would not be surprised if we see Husso again. It's too early to say Binnington is all the way back.
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Which offensive flaws should be put on the the hitting coach/team approach, and which should be put on the players? I’m really tired of watching a broadcast and hearing Brad Thompson talk about a mediocre pitcher like they are great because the team is taking a terrible approach.
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Hitting approach is a synthesis of the hitter maximizing his own strengths and being prepared for strengths and weaknesses of every pitcher he faces. Again, there are not 14,000 different hitting philosophies. Nor is it as simple as one size fits all.You hear about the "work the count" philosophy. But if hitters always take the first pitch looking to build pitch counts, that team will see lots of 0-1 counts off first-pitch fastballs. Then those hitters spend the rest of the at-bats working from behind and fighting off pitchers' pitches.You hear about an aggressive philosophy. But hitters go up swinging, they will see a lot of first-pitch breaking balls off the plate. So they are back to 0-1, working from behind.So there are basic principles that decide success -- like insight on the opponent, pitch recognition, plate discipline, situational awareness -- along with the obvious need for physical ability. Small mechanical adjustments are important for any hitter, but dwelling on swing mechanics hour after hour, day after day can be ruinous. You've got a split second to hit or miss against big league pitching. How many times do you see a hitter stand there pondering life's mysteries while a fastball right down the middle sails past for strike three?That guy probably spent too many hours reviewing video.
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This whole "crystal ball" approach to which prospect is coming next and why a position shouldn't be blocked is garbage. Sure, signing Seager was never going to happen but the positional band-aid approach to get to like 2024 is ridiculous. Correa is a perfect example of a short-term option that should have been given a lot more consideration. Arenado and Goldy have primes, they're in them, play for the now.
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The Cardinals had a Plan B and a Plan C at shortstop. If both of those fail and Masyn Winn falls apart in the minors, then the Cardinals might have some regret about not spending big long-term dollars on a shortstop. Then again, those big money shortstops need to start earning their money.Correa was an outlier, taking what essentially is short-term money to rebuild his stock. But again, this team had Plan B and Plan C if DeJong failed.
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Watched the free MiLB. Gorman has power but he’s all or nothing. He’d get eaten alive at MLB level until he learns to increase contact. Walker looks like a giant among youths: totally dominant. Probably belongs in AAA soon. Gomez might just be for real. He’s built like Terry Pendleton. Likely should play almost entire season at AA, just to build confidence. Any idea how long the Cards have him under control? Would be funny if this were the reverse of Arozarena deal.
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Moises Gomez could be the reverse Adolis Garcia. That Cardinals gave away Garcia because they felt they didn't have a 40-man roster spot for him. At age 23 with a 1.287 OPS at Springfield, I'm guessing the Cardinals can find a 40-man spot for him for a while so they can keep control.
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Did you ever envision the Leddy pickup being so beneficial to the makeup of this roster? Conventional thinking was a bigger defensive minded D was needed and then seeing his average size and bad + - weren't you thinking "Army, what are you doing?". Could this trade rate right after ROR and maybe the Schenn deals?
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With regards to Parayko, I think he takes more heat than he deserves. As good as St. Louis fans are, they love to have one or two players to pick at. That being said, I would concur with Timothy Mark that CP55 is often too passive. Beyond what he mentioned, he all too often eschews standing up at the blue line when the opportunity presents itself and instead backs in and gives up scoring chances instead. It's a move I'd expect from a younger player such as Mikkola and not a veteran like CP55.
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Everybody would like to see him throw a few more body check. But he has shouldered a hard workload against top opposing forward lines and he has excelled from the second half of the season through the first playoff round. This team would be sunk without him.His playing styles helps keep him on the ice. Torey Krug wiped himself out of the playoffs by trying to make a big hit. Sure, Colton Parayko is twice as big -- but playing physical hockey AND playing huge minutes is a tough combo.