Bobo's here after taking a Thanksgiving weekend break, We've got some ballplayers lined up, so let's go!
There has been very little buzz about Willson Contreras to the Cardinals, due to his limitations behind the plate. There is certainly more buzz about a possible trade for Sean Murphy or Danny Jansen, as Derrick Goold wrote today.
Dennis Gates seemed positive, yet vague about Mosley after the Wichita State game. It will be interesting to see if Isiaih is a go against SEMO in the final warmup before Kansas. Mosley has a pro career ahead of him somewhere, but he could use a positive year playing with intensity in Gates' system to get him there.
I expect Tom to chip in on pucks, too, but we need a MLS writer and Tom has experience covering soccer at the highest level. We're fortunate to have his expertise on staff for the launch of the team. And we've hired a terrific, experienced hockey writer to come on board.
Toronto is looking for a left-handed hitter with many years of cost control. And it seems the Cardinals are more likely to stick with Tyler O'Neill after his injury-ruined season than to sell low on him. The outfield market is pretty iffy this offseason with other injury cases like Michael Conforto and Mitch Haniger, so replacing O'Neill's potential offense could be an adventure if the Cardinals do move him to fill the catcher need.
Yeah, that's just part of the deal with soccer. Diving is one thing, but all the thrashing about added on is too, too much. Maybe if officials could remove these "injured" players from the game -- the guys who go, stay down and act like a grizzly clawed their leg off -- that would cut back on some of the theatrics.
Mullins offers three years of team control and the ability to play center field. So, yes, that would be attractive. His salary for this year will come in around $5 million. The Orioles are looking to compete this year, not rebuild, so I'm guessing they would want pitching that could help them in 2023 as well as other long-term assets,
Law is in the numbers-crunching crowd that makes its judgements off of WAR and other metrics. And that wing of the voters is skeptical of Molina. The wing of voters who rely on more traditional standards -- such as factoring in intangibles, leadership, winning and such -- will come in on Molina's side. Yadier will get into the Hall of Fame, but it may a committee selection some day because the numbers guys will hold out on him.
Judging from what Derrick Goold has written, Jansen is definitely one of their trade targets.
He is still a pretty good goaltender. And he's not skating away from his $6 million-per-year contract.
Soccer is not gone after tomorrow. The MLS has arrived and we've got the inaugural season coming. And a lot of St. Louisans are jacked up about that.
Funny thing about names -- they tend to come and go in cycles They fall out of vogue and then they creep back into the mix. What hasn't come back is giving out the old-timey nicknames like "Strawberry Bill" and "Biscuit Pants."
Jim does still touch base with Mad Mike from time to time. Martz is back in town. It would have been fun to see him coaching in the XFL, but we had no such luck.
Zadorov is not a free agent until 2024, so your long-running dream of the Blues signing that third-pairing defender will have to wait
Every movie ever made gets remade at some point. The trouble with remaking Capricorn One is that that a chunk of our population would believe that a fictional movie about a fake Mars landing was actually a documentary about a real fake Mars landing.
Trading low on O'Neill is something a fan would do, but not something an executive would do unless the other side was willing to pay 2021 prices for O'Neill. Also, some of the more prominent replacement outfielders in the market are also injury cases. As for the catcher, there aren't true No. 5/No. 6 hitters at that position that are available. But there are guys who could add depth to the lineup and add an upgrade over the low production the Cardinals got at that spot this past season.
Wynn got some negative reviews in the Arizona Fall League, but also some positive reviews. So it will be interesting to see how open the Cardinals are to moving him. If he is really a second baseman, for instance, than will there be enough offensive potential there to stay the course? The bidding on Murphy will be high, so Oakland could ask for one of the better young starting pitchers in development, one of the young power hitters and another good long-term asset.
I do probably 45, 46 of these chats per year. I do all of them in either sweat pants or gym shorts. Got a lot of sweatpants during the pandemic. I even have "dress sweatpants" for running errands and dining casual and tattered sweatpants for around the house.
I agree about the power bat, or lack thereof, in the market. Adding that could take a trade that nobody is talking about or a gamble like Cody Bellinger. The Cardinals might be better off keeping most of their power hitting DH types and hope that some combination of them, Tyler O'Neill and one of the proven mid-level bats you mentioned could be sufficient. As for Rodon, the bidding on him will get very high and I do not see a contract well over $100 million for a pitcher being in the Cardinals budget given the needs elsewhere.
You have to go with the Chicken. He mastered the art form and made mascots a thing in Our National Pastime, for better or worse. That's no knock of Morganna. I'm old enough to remember her in her prime, especially with her affinity for George Brett.
Woodford is just a guy? Don't say that in this chat. He has at least one highly passionate fan in here. Don't undersell Gorman, who could hit a LOT of homers in his career. But on this team, he doesn't have a long-term spot in the field and team can only find so many at bats for the DH types.
