Join columnist Jeff Gordon for his live St. Louis 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.
-
-
The Cubs have a staggering revenue advantage over the Cardinals and there is no reason why that franchise doesn't spend to the luxury tax threshold every year. As for the rankings, I believe the Cardinals are within a single-digit percentage of the next five teams above them in the current projected 2023 payrolls. They are in the big pile of mid-spenders, miles ahead of Pirates and miles behind the Mets.. Some fans with smash their heads into a wall again and again and again in blind rage if the Cardinals finish, say, 15th or 17th in payroll instead of 11th in 2013. But that pile of teams will finish with pretty similar numbers.And odds are, the Cardinals payroll ranking will ultimately align fairly closely to its overall revenue ranking. -
-
-
-
I appreciate Onyxdog’s point but that is exactly how the team wants fans to think. “Let’s kick the can down the road for a while and see what happens.” But here’s what happens: Player X is washed, down to their last straw, when they miraculously walk into two doubles in a weekend series and the team immediately declares them as having turned a corner, no move necessary. The last major in-season acquisition they made was 2009 Matt Holliday.
-
Or what happens is, the Cardinals add two valuable starting pitchers plus bullpen depth before the trade deadline after adding several valuable newcomers from within the organization on the fly. Chatters insisted the Cardinals were content to bid for the wild card slot last season while falling way behind the Milwaukee Brewers. Thanks to their wholesale in-season upgrades, the Cardinals won the division.
-
-
-
You've been here long enough to understand the difference between the Cardinals fan base and the time and dollars they invest in the team as compared with the Royals and Tigers, right? I get confused by your justification for the Cardinals "consistency" because of the failures of other organizations.
-
Well, they are in the same business. So it's relevant when one franchise dramatically outperforms other franchises in similar markets year after year after year. Fans here complain about being subjected to the horror of perennial playoff contention while fans elsewhere wonder why their team hasn't played a meaningful regular season game in years.
-
The point about the roster being different after the trade deadline is only half valid. Outside of last season when was the last time the Cards were buyer at the deadline? MO made trades to "survive" in 2021. I believe he stated his only goal was to just "secure innings". If they had a recent history of improving the team during the season, I would have more faith. When they don't spend during the offseason or improve at the trade deadline then they'll continue to not make much noise in the playoffs.
-
One thing the Cardinals have done -- and call the organization stupid for doing so -- is it acquired key players before a season so they have them for the whole campaign. Maybe some fans hated to see Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado arrive before the end of July, but it worked for this team to have them starting in April. The Cardinals have also sustained a farm system that could add guys like Brendan Donovan, Juan Yepez, Nolan Gorman and Zack Thompson on the fly. Those concepts are crazy, I know,
-
Just when you think the bar couldn't be set any lower for the NFL. Even if the lawmakers waste most of the NFL settlement money, I'll still be happy that St. Louis isn't in business with this sewer of an organization.
A player was on the verge of death and the NFL was itching to get the game restarted because the game, a game mind you, is more important. And now the NFL is willing to trash Joe Bucks credibility and the reputation of a network that pays them billions every year to show their product. Yes, the NFL is as close to bulletproof as it gets, still doesn't change how disgusting they are. I feel bad for their fans, their players and everyone who works to make these billionaires more billions. -
-
-
Admittedly the Blues haven't been either interesting nor compelling this season so their games aren't probably must watch in Manhattan, but how in the world does the league office pick Vladdy to represent Notes in the All-Star game? Jeff, is the band of the tin foil hat a little too tight to suggest the league picked Vladdy due to his injury hoping so it could place a player from another team in the Blues' roster spot?
-
-
-
-
-
I would like to express my deep gratitude to Mo and Mr. DeWitt for not bringing back Matt Carpenter.
I won’t miss MCarp scowling at the umpire as he walks back to the dugout after taking yet another called strike three, and I will never forgive him for doggedly insisting on pulling into the shift for out after out after out. -
-
-
-
-
G'day Jeff. 2 things: while reading your chat last week you mentioned to one of the weekly whiners that most Cardinal fans are happy with the continued yearly success, while a small percentage of fans will always be unhappy with the team. So, why is it that that small percentage is such a large percentage of your weekly chatters? Guess the majority is, indeed, silent. Just an observation from one of the majority :) On to my question. In 2019 the Blues won the Cup playing a vigorous physical game, with a heavy emphasis on defense. While there are a few holdovers from that roster, there has been considerable churn. The current roster is younger, with more of an offensive lean, and the young guns not yet in the NHL seem to be offensive-minded too, so is Chief the right coach going forward? Has Coach Berube's style seen it's day here in St. Louis? Thanks for your time.
-
The NHL game gets faster and more reliant on rush scoring all the time. I believe Craig Berube can adjust to that, but the hard part is to keep inspiring guys to play at the breakneck pace and the cohesive commitment needed to win. That is the path to the Stanley Cup, even for teams (like the Avalanche and Lightning) that have won with more superstar talent than the Blues had. Motivating players to sustain that level is hard, both with incumbent players who knew that feeling once and the newcomers who haven't felt that.
-
-
Good question. Skill-wise, he could be David Perron with his ability to drive play off the wing. But will he ever develop the fierce competitive and the nasty edge that allowed Perron to evolve into a strong all-round player well into his career? Bolduc is highly noticeable with the puck but not-so-noticeable away from it. Once upon a time that was Perron too. Remember, David struggled to stick at even the major junior level as a teen.
-
I meant to state that Contreras will likely take 300 plate appearances at DH because it is unlikely he will catch more than 100 games. My question is if you don't think Contreras will take 300 at bats at DH then how many at bats or plate appearances do you think he will take at DH? How many games do you think he will catch if he is healthy? Isn't he being sold as the #5 bat? If so shouldn't he be in the lineup most every game like most #5 bats?Thank you again.
-
Given the lack of offense at catcher behind him, I imagine the Cardinals would love to get 120 games out of him behind the plate, especially this season. As he gets deeper into that contract, the DH role could be a bigger piece for him if the Cardinals can find the right partner for him behind the plate. Maybe Ivan Herrera can be the guy.
-
it looks like a max exodus of players from the Illini basketball team. WOW!!!! talking about a team sinking faster after a great start. Ships didn't go down this fast from a torpedo in WW2. Underwood won't survive this if they finish less than 8 wins in BIG. Not after the start they had. AND his meltdown the other night. Their schedule is NOT getting easier.
-
Yeah, that was not a happy bunch of Illini when they came to the STL. And clearly things have not improved. Brad has tried to step on them in practice, just as Travis Ford has tried to work SLU in practice. It appears that both teams are headed the wrong way at a dangerous speed.
-
Don't you think Mo is over correcting after the disastrous Ozuna trade of top prospects? In reality
8 out of 10 "top" prospects are not going to blossom. I would not hesitate to trade Winn. His arm is in question now after the AZ fall league. And the way pitchers fall apart even though Alcantara was a huge mistake--playing the odds any young pitchers you trade probably will not be dominant in fact it's more likely they will break down. -
Odds are, almost every pitcher, young or old, will break down at some point. As for the prospect deniers, the Cardinals just got low-cost production from Brendan Donovan, Juan Yepez, Nolan Gorman, Lars Nootbaar, Andre Pallante and Zack Thompson last season. So, yes, they are going to hang on to most of their top prospects.
-
-
-
-
-
-
Regardless of the player or sport, giving out a 13-year contract is lunacy. If the Dodgers, arguably the best run and most successful franchise in the sport, refuses to engage in such contracts considering their bottomless wealth, it seems like the rest of the industry has lost its collective mind. In less than 10 years, baseball has gone from players yelling collusion to teams spending billions on FA contracts. Jeff, do you see a tipping point coming where the industry starts pulling back on length of contracts or are we one young phenom away from seeing the first 20-year contract in sports history?
-
Pulling back will take awhile, since teams won't feel the pain of these deals for many years. It will be the executives and owners who inherit these contracts well down the road who ultimately restore some sanity. Many of the men who agreed to give these forever contracts will be gone from the industry when some of these players hit their 40s.
-
-
Yeah, Newark is no picnic. Ottawa is kind of a bummer because the arena is out in the middle of nowhere. Raleigh is great college basketball country, but hockey? I like Winnipeg for its arena atmosphere and its enclosed downtown walkways, but getting there is a hassle. Florida plays out on the edge of a swamp in a quiet arena, but if you can stay way over by the beach that trip is OK.Arizona is better now that the Coyotes moved back from a distant suburb into civilization.