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.
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Since the Cardinals are likely to have their playoff fate known well in advance of the postseason, Oliver Marmol will have to weigh giving guys extra rest with the need to keep everybody fresh. He will have to weigh that with every key hitter and pitcher on a case-by-case basis. Guys like their routine . . . but guys also get weary after six months of pushing hard. The fact that the Cardinals are likely quickly dive into a three-game series -- rather than enjoy a bye -- reduces the risk of giving too much time off.Here is one certainty: Once the Cardinals know their fate, Albert Pujols will get as many at bats as he can handle. That will make it easier to chase milestones.
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Let's see how everybody is pitching during the last turn of the rotation. As Max Scherzer can tell you, things can change in a hurry. Forecasting playoff pitching deployment weeks out is a futile exercise. Oliver Marmol has shown over and over that he bases his deployment based on performance.
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Hi
Thanks for the chat. I look forward to them immensely.
Yesterday, in the ninth inning both Goldchmidt and Arenado were pinch hit for.
It seemed to me that was like throwing in the towel.
I got up and left the ballpark in my disappointment!!
Did anyone ask why this was done?
I like Marmol and always figure that he knows a lot more than I do when making a decision but I can’t agree or understand the purpose of these moves.
Thanks again for the chat. -
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Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt had to cool off some time. At this point the club's focus has to be making sure they are in a good place come October. If that means more days off in the near term, so be it. As for Albert Pujols, this is a reality check. What he was doing was simply not sustainable, especially with more exposure to right-handed pitching.
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How many Western Conference teams are clearly better than the Blues? Colorado is the only guaranteed one I can identify. The Kings will be interesting to follow and might be. Calgary, Edmonton, Vegas and Minnesota are anybody's guess. Other teams are solid but not better than the Blues.
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There is not much separating those teams for sure. I like Calgary with its reload, especially with Darryl Sutter behind the bench. If Jack Campbell holds up in goal, Edmonton will be a handful. And I like Nashville this season after the Preds made a couple of nice additions. But like you say. Colorado is the only team that seems to be on another level -- unless its goaltending gamble backfires.
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Marmol keeps searching for a second hitter besides Donavan to hit at the top of the lineup. Nootbaar was good for a spell but has fallen off. Is it time to move Goldschmidt and Areanado to 2/3? If so, do you think O'Neill can offer protection at 4 vs RHP? Pujols? Yepez? With all the good RHP the Cards will face in the playoffs how would you construct the top of the lineup?
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Oliver Marmol likes having Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado hitting 3/4 as long as he has two guys who can work the count and get on base in front of him. If Lars Nootbaar's run is over, then perhaps Tommy Edman can replace him and get back into full-time leadoff work. I'd be fine with that for the postseason if Edman is still in a good offensive place.
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Three best Cardinals trades of all time.
1) Ernie Broglio for LOU BROCK Nothing needs to be said. 1964
2) Bob Sykes for Willie McGee. 1981 Whitey won this one hands down.
3) Gary Templeton for Ozzie Smith. Whitey won this one hands down to. At first it was questionable but Templeton a great talent got a bad knee injury a year later.
Maybe posters have one to add? -
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Good afternoon and thanks for the chat. Starting with a non-Cardinal question. What is your opinion of Juan Soto? He's an awesome OBP guy, getting tons of walks. But, honestly, he does not even sit in the top 20 in any of the classic offensive categories like hits, RBI, average, slugging, etc. Didn't finish high last year either. He did well 2 or 3 seasons ago, but just hasn't shown up in the last two years. I think that the Padres may regret that trade, and the Cardinals did well in not giving up the farm for him.
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Soto is a heck of talent, but his fielding regressed at a very young age and he certainly has NOT be a transcendent talent the past few years. We're not talking about somebody hitting like Aaron Judge and redefining elite performance like Shohei Ohtani. The Nationals brought up a 30-year-old career minor league who has outperformed the numbers Soto put up for that team this season.
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Jeff Here is my list of the top 3 worst trades in Cardinals history.
1) 1970 Steve Carlton for Rick Wise The Cardinals told Carlton he'd have to win 20!games to get a raise. Well he did in 1971. He asked rightly do for $6000 raise. GM Bing Devine dug his heels in and they dealt him to Philly where he won 4 Cy Young awards and had over 4.136 career strike outs. He had a stellar pick off move to first as well. Many say he was the best lefty of all time. One year he went 6-0 against the Cards with a horrible Phillies team. Gussie Bush was cheap and stupid.
2) Sandy Alcantara, Zac Gelken and Daniel Castano for Marcel Ozuna. This trade is not that old but it is extremely one sided. It is rapidly climbing the teams history ladder as an extremely bad trade. To make it even worse Ozuna could not reach the infield on his throws from left field. The injury was disclosed to Moziliak before the trade was made. It got worse during the year. Alcantara is a special talent possible Cy young winner. Gellen is also highly regarded. Ozuna played 2 years for us.
3) Keith Hernandez for Neil Allen and Rick Ownby. Hernandez is arguably the greatest defensive first baseman in baseball history. No one could bunt by him he would turn two on practically every one. They had to make a special rule against him standing in foul territory to gain an extra second on holding runners on. He was an innovator. Ownby and Allen were soon out of baseball. Whitey got hosed on this one.
Before your time (mine too) maybe fans have one worse? -
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No, I cannot explain WAR. The guys at Baseball Prospectus took a stab at that . . . and it's way over my head. I was beyond terrible in math.
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About WAR (But Were Afraid To Ask) - Baseball Prospectus
Baseball ProspectusOr: How to choose between Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani. -
Jeff, I was at last Saturday’s game against the Cubs when Waino pitched. He seemed to struggle the entire 5 innings he pitched, similar to yesterday’s outing against the Nationals. Didn’t seem to be any type of flow. I know there are ebbs and flows to a season, but I just wonder if Waino is running on fumes now. Which begs the question, can he pitch effectively another year? If I was a betting man, I’d say Waino will call it a career after this season.
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Physically Wainwright seems fine, but his margin for error is tiny on the mound. Everything has to go just right from a mechanical standpoint. And right now he is just a bit off.This tiny margin for error does point to the challenge he would face if he pitches again in 2023. This would only get harder. Of course, when you point that out to Adam it only makes him more determined to prove people wrong.
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I can see a spot for him as a defensive option. Nolan Gorman's fielding deficiencies at second base have been more glaring lately. That and his lack of production could set up scenario where Tommy Edman and Brendan Donovan start up the middle Albert Pujols could hit for Donovan against a lefty in a late RBI scenario.
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Oliver Marmol shuffles his deck regularly based on performance, as Dylan Carlson can tell you. For now, expect Alec Burleson to get some outfield bats and a chance to make his case. Also, he will need to lean less on Andre Pallante while envisioning a bullpen role for Steven Matz.
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Now that we as fans get to listen to Marmol daily it is a wonder that he's only 35 years old? How did he become so mature at such a young age? Will there be some in-depth stories at his early growth and fast rise? Is this a tread in all major sports and how is it happening?
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Oliver is very impressive. He puts in the preparation time, he listens to alternative viewpoints, he makes tough decisions without flinching and he explains those decisions to all concerned in a straightforward manner. He impresses me as somebody who could learn any business and then run it well.
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If the Cardinals pitch well and hit well, they have a chance to play for a while. I expect the fielding to be a given because I expect Oliver Marmol to start a good defensive lineup. As for the rest of it, who knows. We've seen this season, guys can go from helpless at the plate to torrid at the plate. Most of the pitchers have enjoyed shutdown stretches . . . and they have also suffered periods where they get hammered.So it goes in baseball. The New York Yankees were juggernaut, then they fell into a deep funk. The same went for the New York Mets. Maybe both will be juggernaut mode come October. Or maybe not. The Atlanta Braves have been on a lengthy heater, but what if they suddenly cool off in three weeks?
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When the 1982 Championship team was at Bush weeks ago it was interesting to listen to 82 year old Jim Kaat. He keeps himself really fit. He had a really long 25 year career. He still might get into the HOF. He said hands down the 2 best managers he ever played for or admired were Whitey and Billy Martin. He said Billy was brilliant during the games. Billy won 5 division titles with 4 different franchises. He was amazing taking last place teams and winning the next year with them. Why he never gets votes for the HOF boggles the mind. I understand he was an alcoholic. The HOF is full of alcoholics why is that held against him? Do you get to vote on HOF candidates?
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Notice his smile. Back in his days as The Machine, he wasn't yukking it up with teammates during the game. He locked into the competition. He remains intense, of course, but he is clearly having more fun during this farewell tour. It's fun to see him enjoy his work.
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I prefer the phrase "zombie" runner. "Ghost runner" was the invisible guy on base when we played pick-up games shorthanded. When a runner had to come off the base paths to hit again, the team in the field acknowledged the existence of ghost runner who could be pushed home by a real runner still on the bases.Anyway, I don't know if a decision on the zombie runner has been finalized for next season. We know the shift limits and pitch clock are a go and the robot umpires are a no-go for 2023.