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3rd & 7 37yd

I offer BenFred a sip of that refreshing Cardinals Kool Aid from a souvenir Yadier Molina Tumbler before our video shoots, but he is NOT having it.
As for John Mozeliak, his firing of Mike Shildt was a bad look for an organization that puts value on keeping a good image. I'm sure Bill DeWitt Jr. didn't enjoy how it played out. Also the tens of millions in dead contract dollars can also chip away at an executive's job security too. So I wouldn't be surprised if the ownership spotlight on this season is bright.
As for Nolan Gorman and Matthew Liberatore, they get their chance to make their cast starting this weekend. Liberatore could still use more polish, so it's hard to argue that he was held back. As for Gorman, the additional Triple-A work did him some good after a rough spring. But now it's time to give him a bunch of big league at-bats to see what happens.

by Jeff Gordon 5/20/2022 7:01:49 PM
Jeff- i am a little tired of the complaints on Kyrou and Parayko. This team needs a scorer like Kyrou someone else can do the big hits. Parayko has been fantastic since December he is essential to this teams success. I'm super glad Toropchenko can hit and is a big guy but frankly those guys are much easier to find than Kyrou and Parayko. The same fans were complaining about Tarasenko the last 2 years, this team could win without Toropchenko cut not without Kyrou , Parayko or Tarasenko - they are game changers . Just cause a guy doesn't hit doesn't mean they aren't more important to the team.

by finish 5/20/2022 7:02:11 PM
I agree totally. Colton Parayko is back to being his old self after recovering from back problems. I loved the fact he asserted himself as a shooter in Game 2. He didn't score, but helped keep the pressure on.

by Jeff Gordon 5/20/2022 7:03:16 PM
Kuemper folded last night. I was surprised the Blues played so well. If Kuemper doesn't hold up Av's are done. He's never won in the playoffs has he? Possible big time Choke here! Did the game surprise you too last night?

by Roy Hobbs 5/20/2022 7:03:27 PM
There were many Colorado players who seemed to wilt in that game. I expect a huge rebound game. Then again, that's what I expected from the Wild in Game 6 and we did not see it.

by Jeff Gordon 5/20/2022 7:04:34 PM
Maybe I need to find better things to gripe about but shouldn't the CBS sports app have a photo of Albert in Cardinal cap rather then last years Dodger cap?

by Andy Andy 5/20/2022 7:04:53 PM
Well, Albert did take most of the offseason to finally land a job for this season.

by Jeff Gordon 5/20/2022 7:06:12 PM
Jeff I feel a little hypocritical. I was definitely not a fan of all of Mike shildts cotton candy and rainbows post game analysis of the players no matter how the game or they went last year or the last couple years I should say. And then when I first started hearing Marmol
And his Frank and honest critical analysis of his players in the games I liked it but now I catch myself feeling a little awkward and uncomfortable cuz he doesn't pull any punches. Sure I prefer it this way but gosh I'm just not used to it

by Patrick 5/20/2022 7:06:36 PM
Oliver Marmol shoots straight. He doesn't crush his guys during his media sessions, but they are not good enough he says they are not good enough. And he often acts on that assessment.

by Jeff Gordon 5/20/2022 7:07:26 PM
I deserve a long term guaranteed obscene contract or I'll declare for free agency and hire Scott Boras.

by Fredbird 5/20/2022 7:08:09 PM
And Scott Boras could probably talk an owner into giving you giant coin, He's the GOAT among baseball agents.

by Jeff Gordon 5/20/2022 7:08:46 PM
I do not recall Larussa singling out players for criticism the way Marlmol does. Could this be a problem for team morale in the future.

by Stlouis81 5/20/2022 7:08:53 PM
Again, it's not like Oliver Marmol is ripping guys, And if guys gets butthurt when their manager matter-of-factly notes performance shortcomings, that's not a great sign for their professional future.

by Jeff Gordon 5/20/2022 7:10:22 PM
Earlier in the chat you referenced Matt L. as a "potential mid-rotation starter". I thought his potential was significantly higher? Am I foolish for hoping for more?

by Andy Andy 5/20/2022 7:10:24 PM
Once upon a time he was an elite pitching prospect. Based on his pitch arsenal and his developmental path, the Cardinals should be happy if he some day fits into the middle of the rotation.

by Jeff Gordon 5/20/2022 7:12:17 PM
I am shocked Gorman got called up. I was certain he would suddenly appear around July 20th with the "this is as good as a trade" tag attached to him by Mo. I guess at this rate that will probably be Flaherty, otherwise the internal clip is about empty for this wave.

by JoJo Disco 5/20/2022 7:12:47 PM
Jordan Walker is probably the next guy in line, but he only turns 20 in a few days. He is excelling at Double-A Springfield and guys have made the jump to the majors at that level. But he's probably not going to be a late-season savior.

by Jeff Gordon 5/20/2022 7:15:26 PM
I, for one, like Marmol's candor and follow through. No mincing of words, no ducking responsibility--just the honest truth. He's not as entertaining as Whitey was, but who can be?

by Dairyman 5/20/2022 7:15:30 PM
I disagree with Stlouis81, this is the accountability that has been missing since the start of Shildt's second year. All the back rubs and friendship bracelets are gone and players are forced to make adjustments and enhance the focus on their craft.

by JoJo Disco 5/20/2022 7:15:43 PM
Mike Shildt drove fans crazy with his news conference. He said he didn't to "alibi" poor performance, but he usually followed that with a recitation of mitigating circumstances working against his guy or guys.

by Jeff Gordon 5/20/2022 7:18:21 PM
If the deadline was tomorrow and you could get a solid #3, innings eating starter or a 6th-place hitting SS with an above average glove and some pop, which would you say is more crucial to this team if they want to make a deep run.

by JoJo Disco 5/20/2022 7:18:33 PM
I would say starting pitcher is the biggest need, because the shortcoming there is killing the bullpen. I don't see much in the way of internal pitching solutions. As noted earlier in this chat, the Cardinals do have a few different paths to try at shortstop.

by Jeff Gordon 5/20/2022 7:20:17 PM
Happy Friday, Gordo!
If Marmol "shoots straight," then I assume he's ripped Albert Pujols for being 4-for-36 versus righty pitchers this year, correct? Or maybe Marmol has ripped on himself for allowing Albert to get 70% of his plate appearances against righties? (Pujols OPS v. RHP was .500 last year and under .400 thus far in 2022.) Watching Pujols ground into the critical 10th-inning double play with two men on base against yet another righty was excruciating, Bobo.

Let's not give Marmol too much credit for being Mr. Honesty And Transparency, please. Especially not with the way Jake Woodford has been shafted this season. Thanks for letting me vent, Jeff.

by Brian Jordan was twice as good as Bo Jackson 5/20/2022 7:20:43 PM
Your guy Jake Woodford will get more opportunity this season. I'm a fan too. But it would help if he pitched well at Memphis after getting sent down there.
It will be interesting to see what happens with Albert Pujols if Nolan Gorman is ready to add more offense than Corey Dickerson has. Will that make Albert even more of a part-time guy or will Oliver Marmol feel obligated to keep giving him spot starts against righties?

by Jeff Gordon 5/20/2022 7:24:02 PM
Could you explain a discrepancy I see in your answers? Until recently you weren’t on board with calling up Gorman. His strikeouts are too high, but other than that he’s been fantastic with the bat. I understand why you would mention Mayson Winn for someone down the road, but he’s in A ball. We can’t call up a guy in AAA who’s tearing the cover off the ball because he’s not perfect, but we should also wait to sign a shortstop because we have a guy in A ball? Doesn’t that line of thinking contradict itself?

by WP 5/20/2022 7:24:35 PM
I mentioned Winn as a long-term possibility at shortstop and an additional reason not to throw giant money at a shortstop. But as I mentioned again in this chat, Edmundo Sosa has hit pretty good when used as a starter. That was an immediate Plan B at shortstop. Then you had the Tommy Edman/Nolan Gorman equation as Plan C. When Sosa suffered minor ankle injury, that knocked out Plan B for the moment.
I've always been high on Gorman. But there was a reason to keep him in the minors for a while longer. Now with Sosa dinged up and Tyler O'Neill hurt -- which opened the door for Juan Yepez to play outfield and somebody else to take some DH at bats -- taking a look at Gorman makes sense. Also, since the last chat he went on an 8-for-14 tear that added 31 points to his batting average.
Since he is hot, this a great time to take a look at him and see what he can do. If he stinks at second base, I imagine Brendan Donovan could play there instead and Gorman can DH.

by Jeff Gordon 5/20/2022 7:34:18 PM
Jeff -- If the Florida/Tampa game would have gone OT (which it came within a second of doing), any idea what the NHL would do with the Blues-Avs start time? Go at 8:50 and kick it to TBS or something?

by Jock Ewing 5/20/2022 7:34:35 PM
That company has a million channels, as we saw during the NCAA Tournament.

by Jeff Gordon 5/20/2022 7:35:21 PM
Are we seeing a lot of the same thing playing out from last year with the Cards pitching? We kept hearing how they were signing strike throwing ground ball pitchers. Where did they go? Again the pitching staff has been left short.
I think MO was setting them up for failure with the Hicks SP at the big league level from the beginning. He was never the best strike thrower and was good for 20-25 pitches an inning. Why try to turn things around at the highest level then put a burden on a yet established bullpen?
Woodford was very respectable for August and September last year but was never seriously considered for the starting role and was only given cursory time as the long reliever. It's no wonder he started out shaky at AAA because he wasn't getting innings.

by Fred 5/20/2022 7:35:50 PM
If Jake Woodford can excel at Memphis, I'm sure he will catch one of the shuttles back to the STL. The roster is not frozen.

by Jeff Gordon 5/20/2022 7:36:23 PM
Is a lot of fan frustration with Parayko (I am on and off that train a lot) that when Pietro walked he was supposed to be the Pietro replacement? Did professional evaluators think that Parayko would grow into Pietro's shoes?

by Scott Stewart 5/20/2022 7:36:36 PM
You may recall that the team acquired Justin Faulk as insurance against Alex Pietrangelo leaving. That policy paid off nicely after Alex left. The front office hoped Parayko would continue his growth and he did, once he pushed past his back injury. He logs the tough minutes playing against the toughest opponents and he's been terrific from the second half of the season on. Consider him the new Jay Bouwmeester. Torey Krug signed after Pietrangelo left and he took the power-play portion of Alex's role.

by Jeff Gordon 5/20/2022 7:40:14 PM
Hey Gordo!

As a fan, it’s always exciting to me to see high-end young talent being promoted to the big club for the first time. Gorman and Libertore may do well or fail during this first call-up, but it’s still great theatre to see them debut. And, given the opponent is Pittsburgh, it seems that their chance for success is high.

What are your thoughts on the chance one of them performs well enough to make a significant impact on the lineup and stay with club permanently?

by Robert 5/20/2022 7:40:28 PM
Gorman seems more likely to have a big impact this season, for reasons we've already explored.

by Jeff Gordon 5/20/2022 7:41:12 PM
I think you’re insight is right on
What other job do you waste 80 million on dexter failure , 60 on Mike leake 5 Cory Dickerson Ty Wigington 40 Matt Carpenter Paul Dejong and get rewarded?. I want that job
Pundits say it’s only 5 million for Cory Dickerson but that’s twice what Pujols is making and that’s real money in my book

by How’s Luke and Baker doing? Does he have a future 5/20/2022 7:41:33 PM
If Corey Dickerson ends up being a few million dollars poorly spent, so be it. That's not enough to send me into rage, but that's just me.

by Jeff Gordon 5/20/2022 7:42:24 PM
Shildt would've matched up perfectly with Walt Jockety. Walt never hesitated to go get a veteran and Shildt didn't like playing youth unless given no other choice.

by Fred 5/20/2022 7:42:32 PM
That's a bit unfair to Mike Shildt. He came up through the system with some of these guys and he was quite fond of them younger guys. But he was old school in a sense that veterans with proven ability got every chance (and a few more chances) to get back on track.

by Jeff Gordon 5/20/2022 7:43:57 PM
In my opinion, the rotation is the main issue facing the team. I was thinking Hudson would come back strong, but believed the effort to put Hicks into the rotation was misguided. Put me in the camp of only being right 50% of the time--my Koolaid must be watered down. Where does the club go from here if they continue to falter and Liberatore is mediocre? Mid-season trades have a tendency to rob heavily from the future.

by Dairyman 5/20/2022 7:44:12 PM
We've noted most weeks in this chat that the rotation is working without much of a safety net. To get back to Jake Woodford, he was sent back to the minors to stretch out and get ready to start. He's likely the next man up.

by Jeff Gordon 5/20/2022 7:45:49 PM
Good afternoon and thank you for the insights . Do think Thomas is nursing an injury? Seems like he is a half step behind when skating back on a play; in the offensive zone he just does not have the ability to drive to the net. Overall, he just seems a bit disconnected from his line mates.

by Chuber 5/20/2022 7:45:59 PM
I thought he did a nice job getting on the forecheck in that game. And he flew in the offensive zone, made a great cut, created a wonderful shooting opportunity in the "home plate" area Theusday . . . and then made a dumb pass instead taking the open shot.

by Jeff Gordon 5/20/2022 7:48:30 PM
Hi, is Flaherty's move to the 60 man IL retroactive?

by houston, tx 5/20/2022 7:48:33 PM
Yes,

by Jeff Gordon 5/20/2022 7:49:06 PM
Jeff:

The Avalanche must be feeling pressure - much more so than the Blues - because of current expectations and past failures.

Like you, I was surprised the Wild folded in game 6, but I do not expect that from this Colorado team. They are more experienced and have more high-end talent IMO for that to happen.

What adjustments do you envision the Avs making in game 3 to try to rebound?

by Robert 5/20/2022 7:49:18 PM