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.
-
-
-
Worthy free agents are long gone from the marketplace and there hasn’t been much trade buzz around the Cardinals lately, given the fact they have a full lineup, a six-man rotation in place and bullpen that seems fairly set. Miami is shopping starting pitchers not named Sandy Alcantara, so that will merit watching. But as this point, nobody would be surprised if the Cardinals held on to their outfield/DH pile to let nature start running its course this spring.I don’t believe your beloved Cardinals front office will create too much distraction for you as you enjoy paradise. Safe travels. Let’s hope the FAA software can get you there and back in a timely fashion so you can weigh in on all the happy talk the Winter Warm-up will doubtlessly yield.
-
Well hello there Gordzonga! I know you can't wait for Friday's! At least we have some fun right? Nashville put a talented young player a former number 1 pick in 2017 Eeli Toivanen on waivers this past week or so. He has a wicked shot from the perimeter and he's just 23. Seattle claimed him and he's had 4 goals and 2 assists in 7 games. So here is a 23 year old talented Finnish player sitting at Army's door with a nice pretty bow on for FREE. And Army passes??!! We need young fast talented players! Since the screw up by Nashville the GM Poile says "this could be a mistake " putting him on waivers. We could have claimed him before Seattle. What bothers me my favorite Blues writers Gordzonga and Jimmy don't write a word about it. You would think you two would at least ask Army what he was thinking right? I understand your sportswriter/fans writing for a local population primarily. It's a whole another thing to just be a propaganda arm of Blues management even though they have done a great job over the years. It was a fair question to ask Army---but not a peep from you two--bad look bro--very bad!!!
-
We did have some press box discussion on Eeli and I certainly agree that he was worth a look, since the Blues could have run a couple of their unproductive fourth-liners on waivers to make room for him. I know there are always salary cap considerations when teams are jammed up like the Blues, but I might have gone for that. But the Blues have done a nice job with pro scouting, as evidenced by their success with depth defensemen up from the AHL, so I tend not to be overly critical of the front office on such issues.
-
-
In one of the other magazines, it talked about players who were once highly regarded and could be picked up on the cheap. One was Ian Mitchell from the Blackhawks. Right shot D man. His cap hit is less than 1 million. What are you thoughts on Mitchell? Only 23. Blues look to lose Mikkola.
-
Mitchell is a smallish puck-mover with solid college and AHL production. So he's a poor man's Scott Perunovich. He has been making the short shuttle between Chicago and Rockford the past few years and lately he has been getting regular NHL work for a god-awful team. So he would not be a Mikkola replacement. The Blues don't want to get any smaller on the blue line.
-
Seattle in year 2 is looking really good. Hakstol the coach they hired (that you didn't think was a good choice) does something very progressive. Progressive for the Dinosaur NHL at least. He plays 4 lines EQUALLY! What a concept! No energy or checking line like that has been done for 100 years in this stubborn league. In return Seattle is looking fresh as a daisy while Chief and other coaches overplay their top two lines which basically ends in injured or exhausted players. Seattle is now the front runner to win the Pacific.
-
-
Seattle is a nice story this year, but its Year 2 success has been aided by the underachievement of several Pacific Division teams. The Golden Knights, Kings, Canucks, Oilers and Flames have all disappointed to varying degrees. The Kraken are much improved as they should be, after their epic Year 1 failure.Rolling four lines makes sense for Seattle, given their lack of veteran superstars and their much-improved depth at forward with solid second- and third-line offensive guys. Matty Beniers is a building block for sure and I can see him pushing up to 18 minutes a night within a year or two as a true first-liner. He is the real deal.As for the Blues, in their Cup run they leaned on all four lines with the so-called fourth line serving as an effective second checking line and the so-called third line getting sheltered usage in office scenarios. Their first line was both a matchup and offensive line and their No. 2 was an offensive line. That was an excellent mix.When Berube has the personnel, he can spread minutes. There is nothing revolutionary about that for teams lacking a Connor McDavid or Nathan MacKinnon but possessing a deep group of versatile forwards, as the Blues once did.
-
-
I don't want to pick on Clark, but, yeah, for whatever reason it wasn't working for him. Sometimes these kids have a lot going on in their lives and that can be a mitigating factor. After teetering on the brink of implosion, the Illini have responded to Brad Underwood's prods. Note his pointed remarks about Terrence Shannon Jr. wanting to coached hard.
-
Gates has done a good job at restoring interest back in Mizzou basketball, but as many national writers have said this team is very flawed. The have zero room for error. No one's fault but they are way too small to compete in the SEC with the good teams. Kentucky isn't a good SEC. team and either is Vandy. Florida will beat us because of their size. Kobe will be in foul trouble just like last year because he is too small to guard the great Big's in the SEC. Ken Pom has them projected to win 7 SEC. game"s . I can see 5 to 8. But again, Gates has done great getting one of the worse power 5 programs over the last decade to be respected again.
-
The Tigers will no longer catch teams by surprise. I do expect them to bank some SEC home victories and perhaps pop an upset or two on nights when they knock down shots. They do have a lot of scorers. But, yes, the lack of inside heft is an obvious problem. It didn't help that Dennis Gates didn't find minutes for Ronnie DeGray and Mohamed Diarra during the soft portion of the schedule when he had the opportunity. Maybe they could be slightly better prepared to help now.It's much hard to play that frantic style on the road because their is no positive crowd reinforcement to feed it. At home Missouri can have some success playing small with that style, thus forcing their opponent to play small too. On the road, that is much harder.
-
-
The Cardinals could see bounce-back performance or natural progression from the following players: Tyler O'Neill, Lars Nootbaar, Dylan Carlson, Nolan Gorman, Juan Yepez and Jordan Walker. There appears to be more potential for improvement with this roster than potential for regression. But we won't find out until they play.
-
-
Oates wanted to renegotiate his already renegotiated contract, given the success he was having with Brett Hull. Jack Quinn grew tried to the drama that was creating.As for Rod Brind'Amour, what a fiasco! Brian Sutter drove the kid crazy. The Blues needed a defenseman Brian wanted to get his brother Ron on the team, so the Blues traded Brind'Amour, a Caron favorite, for those two.
-
-
Morning Gordzilla, been reading tip sheet since my year long subscription was $20 in the early nineties. Hope you have a few more years at the paper.
Like the way you handle the chats. You do great with the big Friday energy.
Anyway- going to my my 3rd MU home game weds. It’s a school night but I expect a pretty good game. Is Aiden Shaw paired with Kobe then demoi, honor, and ghoulston our best lineup? Sub in east Carter and gomillion/rdg3 the right way to handle it moving forward?
Need some boards and d from Shaw I think. -
I like that idea. Ronnie DeGray got a Starter in Name Only role and didn't seem to respond all that great to it. I know that Aidan Shaw can get a little too excited, but now might be a good time to open a game with that energy given the flat start against Vandy and the quick fade at Texas A&M. Tre Gomillion has drawn starts as the defensive tempo-setter, but the value of that ploy diminished the last few games. Gates likes to use DeAndre Gholston off the bench, especially to spell D'Moi Hodge, but this might be the time to play them together more. Sean East, Gomillion and Noah Carter could bring energy off the bench and DeGray could sub in to eat some defensive minutes inside.
-
-
-
Mizzou football is trending in my mind in a level projectory. I think if we can add depth to our defensive end position the defense will be pretty good. Offensively hiring an offensive coach is a great boost. Cook played the best when drink didn't call the plays. Drink will be a good CEO but he isn't an offensive coach. My concern is I don't see anything we are doing to improve the offensive line. We brought in one player but he allowed a bunch of sacks and hurries in a mid major school. I knew Drink was staying with Cook and Horn. Cook improved but if the line can't get to at least an Avg SEC line we will struggle again on offense. We also need a tight end that is a threat.
-
I still think this team needs an upgrade in the quarterback room. If Sam Horn wasn't good enough to play a bunch as a freshman -- when there were opportunities to use him -- then I can't imagine why adding a proven quarterback hasn't been a bigger priority. And, yes, better offensive line play and a tight end receiving threat as also needs.
-
I know it's a sensitive subject, but since the PD ran a story with a columnist giving his opinion, I would assume that means we all can share ours. I'll start by saying if possible, I would sign Bauer on a 1 or 2 yr deal. He's good at throwing a baseball and the Cards need another guy who's good at that. What I don't grasp, is the level of fairness in respect to the public's opinion regarding these athletes miscues. In Bauer's case, it appears this woman has done this before with other athletes. Maybe it's her thing? But Bauer gets crucified. Kobe Bryant had his deal in Colorado, found guilty, made a payment and they make some more shoes and put him in the HOF. Ray Rice, Dana White, etc... The list goes on and most still play on. Heck Marvin Harrison by all accounts shot and killed a man and got into the HOF. Just seems heavy handed by Manfred and I don't know if the punishment fit the crime. Stupid and dumb, sure, probably, not how I would treat the Mrs, but in 2022/2023, seems there's bigger fish to fry... Hypocritical I believe is the word to use.
-
Bauer established his pattern of behavior with many women, not one. And he is firmly unrepentant about it. I'd be surprised if he got another chance in the major leagues any time soon. This big issue aside, there are many teams that would not see him as a fit in their clubhouse.
-
-
-
-
-
-
Hello, Mr. Gordon. Thank you for the chat. Mizzou's last basketball game was a return-to-earth experience for Tiger fans. Years ago, college basketball analyst Billy Packer said you couldn't win the NCAA without strong guard play (of. course, Billy also felt that every ACC team automatically should qualify for the NCAA tournament every year). But, Mizzou needs more than a four-guard lineup. I know traditional position roles are changing, but if you are Gates how do you overcome Mizzou's inability to rebound? The guards aren't going to be making 3s every night, and Kobe Brown still hasn't learned how to stay out of foul trouble.
-
Yes, he needs to lessen the reliance of Kobe Brown's interior defense. Kobe needs to play 30-plus minutes a night in the SEC or things could get ugly. Gates will need to do more smoke and mirrors, like the zone defense he introduced to offset UCF's size, While rain-thin Mohamed Diarra can't defend the low post, he can use his wingspan to some effect in a zone defense with spot usage. I would say the same for Aidan Shaw, who has awesome vertical but is also displaced too easily under the bucket. Ronnie DeGray is sturdier in man-to-man defense and box-outs, but his overall play leaves him struggling to earn minutes.At home, the Tigers can play with pace, score off turnovers and make enough shots to force some opponents to play smaller. On the road, they are at the mercy of more physically imposing teams.
-
I am not a Trevor Bauer fan and I would prefer that he would stay off the Cardinals roster however tempting a Cy Young winner for league minimum might be. As a MLB fan I would like to know specifically what rule he broke? I would like to know what page, paragraph, section of the MLB rules he broke? Please keep in mind there wasn't enough evidence for the very progressive LA District Attorney to even bring a case. Thanks for the chats!
-
This is a pretty good summation, from the Los Angeles Times:
Q&A: What will Trevor Bauer face from MLB now that criminal charges won't be filed?
Los Angeles TimesWill Trevor Bauer face a long suspension? Here are answers to key questions lingering after the district attorney declined to charge Bauer with sexual assault. -
-
The Blues have quite an induction ceremony lined up for their all-time greats being honored. This franchise always does it up right. The main induction ceremony with a dinner, speeches and so forth will be tonight at the Missouri Athletic Club. That will be live-streamed via Bally Sports. Those going to the game should get there early to see the Hall of Famers honored.
-
-
JR had a great piece on Brett Hull in the Athletic. What a piece of work he was/is. Out of all the trades, player signings, coach signings/firings, the worst thing EVER done by the Blues was to hire Mike Kennan. Was there anything else that was worse? In your opinion or other chatter's opinions?
-
Yeah, hiring Mike Keenan and giving him all that power was a mistake. It seemed like a good idea, but Iron Mike let his power, his contract and his success with the Rangers get to his head.But I'll go back to trading away Rod Brind'Amour, who have have been an all-time great Blue. As I noted earlier, Brian Sutter didn't know how to handle him.. Had he figured it out, he could have had a much longer run as coach here.
-
Montgomery and Mikolas are not ace-level pitchers. Extending them eats up money that is going to be needed to sign an ace, or as your cohort Goold suggested on Bernie's show, maybe 2 next winter. This team needs to start producing prospects for the back end of the rotation, they have Matz in the middle, then they can take the money from Waino/Flaherty/Mikolas/Montgomery's expiring deals and go get a Rondon & Verlander. Stop gathering 4 "good" pitchers and go get 2 elite ones.
-
The Cardinals have never been willing to the pay the freight for one of the few "true No. 1 pitchers" that fans clamoring for. I don't expect that to change, with a single "ace" potentially eating up 20 percent-plus of total team payroll. That is problematic due to the injury risk every pitcher faces and due to the sport trending toward even shorter starts and even heavier reliance on relievers as managers play the matchup game.As for the Cardinals needing to develop more starting pitching depth, this is true, The cost of No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 veteran starters has gotten insanely high. Teaming looking to spend in the mid-level can't afford to do that AND lock in cornerstone players to long-term deals. Allocating, say, $50 million to $60 million for three pitchers to eat innings between their injuries seems untenable.
-