Yes. Most fans appreciate a team that is good every single year and features headline players with Hall of Fame credentials. This franchise's uncommonly consistent success leads to consistent attendance. Fans in Chicago, Milwaukee, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh look on with some envy. Some fans in this region will stay away from Busch Stadium in protest because this team hasn't won a World Championship in more than a decade -- but that is obviously a small percentage of the fans.
Your guy Nathan Walker is finally getting on the ice again. He is running out of time to keep his place.
Mizzou fans could always make it worth his while to stay. And clearly Kobe likes playing for Gates. But I expect he will at least go through the NBA evaluation process to get feedback from scouts on his pro prospects. Although his brother Kaleb is not in the current playing rotation, is presence in another issue.
Goldsmith has the pedigree for the job and he would be a natural. He did his hard time in the minors, starting the Grizzlies, and he has certainly earned consideration. Needless to say, this will be a highly coveted job.
Quintana pitched very well in his small sample for the Cardinals. But he took small dollars from the Pirates just to stay in the game in 2022. Even at his best here, he seldom got deep into games. If Miles Mikolas, Jack Flaherty, Jordan Montgomery, Steven Matz and Adam Wainwright are all healthy, then Quintana is No. 6.
Yes, Bally Sports has been rolling out direct-to-customer streaming. It remains to been seen if that will succeed at a level sufficient to support the massive rights fees it paid.
If Paul DeJong hits, he could some infield at bats so Tommy Edman or Brendan Donovan can move around the field some. If he doesn't hit, which seems far more likely, he will go back to his defensive replacement role until the team decides to reconfigure its bench.
Berube played Parayko and Mikkola together before, but that does put more burden on Parayko to be the puck mover. He has the skill for that job, but he can consistently make the right decisions under duress?
It takes more than keeping local talent to win at SLU -- and convincing kids to play in Midtown instead of Chapel Hill or Lawrence is a big ask. In today's world smart transfer portal shopping can be the equalizer, as Mizzou proved.
The Cardinals have dramatically outperformed peer franchises in that decade, so, yes, the front office has it in them. That operation had serious issues during the latter part of the previous decade, but improvements in scouting and player development the past few years has put it on the right track again. Do did the big moves for Goldschmidt and Arenado. Now Mozeliak and Co. have to do a better job mining other rosters for the right supporting cast pieces. In particular, they need to do a better job filling out their bullpen and bench to win more matchups.
No. MLB will enforce uniform infields.
Mikolas, Montgomery, Matz, Flaherty, Wainwright. I know Adam wants to be the innings-eater, but maintaining that role to the very end will be difficult.
In this case, the courts called "BS" on the amateur athlete ruse the college sports were running. So the NCAA lost enforcement power.
No. Like I said earlier, there is a set lineup, a five-man rotation, six good relievers, a surplus of young DH types with power plus Jordan Walker knocking on the door. So while they could certainly make a trade with the assets in hand, it seems more likely they would hold their chips to see how the season progresses (or doesn't).
Doug Armstrong is more than willing to trade players with expiring contracts. And if the Blues are still just muddling along as the trade deadline nears, that will be a real possibility. Trade offers tend to get much better at the end for a host of reasons. Right now teams lack the cap space and willingness to offer much for even a top talent like Tarasenko.
In the three-way trade, the A's got pitcher Kyle Muller, huge lefty who was an extra starter for Atlanta but should stick in the rotation for Oakland. He seems further along than Matthew Liberatore. Speedy outfielder Esteury Ruiz was another key piece for the A's. There is no doubting his wheels, but the lack of exit velocity on his bat worries scouts. There is no easy comparison among the Cardinals outfielders. The A's got catcher Manny Pina, who is better than Andrew Knizner. They got young pitcher Freddy Tarnok, who could end up in the bullpen if he adds velocity there like Zack Thompson did for the Cardinals. Then there is also pitching prospect Royber Salinas, who showed a big arm but the need for refinement in the low minor. I don't have a good comp for him.
I'd day the big different was Marmol's willingness to adjust day-to-day and inning-to-inning while showing less loyalty to incumbents. He definitely relied more on analytics, but he also considered the old school views as well. Marmol managed to maintain player loyalty while also challenging the troops. His blunt assessments during postgame news conferences reflected his straightforward messaging to players. And he had a group that responded to that.
Yes. Most fans appreciate a team that is good every single year and features headline players with Hall of Fame credentials. This franchise's uncommonly consistent success leads to consistent attendance. Fans in Chicago, Milwaukee, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh look on with some envy. Some fans in this region will stay away from Busch Stadium in protest because this team hasn't won a World Championship in more than a decade -- but that is obviously a small percentage of the fans.