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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When I read Mozeliak’s comment about Dejong I thought that was a perfect microcosm of what’s gone wrong with the way the Cardinals build their teams. Dejong had a good two week section in the middle of a multi year down turn, and the two weeks are what Mozeliak talks about. I understand they paid him so they are going to defend him, but does he think we are all stupid? I’m not mad they made the mistake in giving him the money, but I’m beyond frustrated that they can’t just admit they made a mistake. -
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If the Padres could get all of those offensive muscles working at the same time, I would like their chances. Imagine if Juan Soto and Josh Bell suddenly heated up for real while Manny Machado was also launching bombs. The Phillies just had their Team of Destiny bubble burst, so it will be interesting to see if they can get that vibe back after their Game 2 breakdown.
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Gordo- a salary cap for NIL ?? huh the same cheaters will get around it i for one am glad its the wild west so everyone can do what they want and the NCAA favorite schools[NC,Duke ,bama ,etc} who never got really punished now at least have to be on an even paying field with the schools the NCAA did punish
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I am amazed at what it costs to outfit an NHL player these days. Skates:$1,200; stick, $350; gloves, $200; helmet, $100. I'll stop there. Do you have any idea how many pair of skates and how many sticks the average player goes through in a season?
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Colton would only see power-play time with a two-defenseman formation if Krug and Faulk are healthy. Leivo is one of those veterans who is good enough to fit in with skilled guys seamlessly but not skilled enough to make a big difference. He is smart with the puck and he has earned Craig Berube's trust.
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Fans are admittedly very reactionary to offensive outages and pointing the blame at Albert. But can anyone please explain to me where the unmitigated successes are? Every young hitter who flashed in the majors eventually faded hard, other than Donovan. Beyond Walker whose bat is rocketing up the ranks in the minors? It seems like he installed an offensive system throughout the organization but does that make him the best hitting coach for the majors? This team often lacks a solid plan of attack versus aces and new faces.
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As listed a few posts back, several key Cardinals enjoyed major gains at the plate this season. And several young hitters graduated to the majors. Will they all wash out? I doubt it. Let's see how they move forward with the lessons learned this season. Juan Yepez made some adjustments after returning to the minors. So did Lars Nootbaar. Let's see what Nolan Gorman does.
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Jeff,
We all know the Cardinals are not going to swim in the deep end of free agency(Turner/DeGrom, etc), nor should they, so let's take a real look at other real options.
Pitching - we need another top of the rotation option...
Trade: Miami wants good young, cost controlled hitters for some of their young pitchers, so.. O'Neil and/or Yepez maybe some other players for Lopez or Lazardo would be a good solution for both clubs.
Hitting - we need a middle of the order LH option in the outfield or DH. Even if Jordan Walker starts in LF/DH.
Michael Brantley - not a thumper but a professional hitter and won't cost top dollar
Micheal Conforto - now healthy, Houston wanted to sign him at the end of this year, so that tells me a lot - won't cost top dollar
Brando Nimmo - not ideal but could play center and open up a platoon in RF - won't cost top dollar
I think these look like realistic Cardinal moves... what's your take? -
As I noted earlier, Scott Boras is looking for big dollars and long term for Nimmo as the one quality center fielder in free agency. I like the Pablo Lopez idea because I can imagine a trade fit and his intelligent approach to pitching would be an excellent fit here. As for adding another outfielder/DH, I would have to see a LOT of power with that player to justify displacing multiple internal candidates.
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Post-Covid and Post-Pujols this team's cash position should be very strong again. So it really isn't a matter of can't or won't as much as it is do or don't when it comes to spending money. And as long as fans continue to accept the "don't" than we have only ourselves to blame. Cardinals games still happen if we watch them from our couches.
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Good luck organizing a fan boycott. I have heard a lot of "never going back" talk in my many years of doing the chat and only a pandemic cold slow the flow of fans into Busch Stadium. Bill DeWitt Jr. should spend more money, yes, but don't expect a radically different business model. The one he has used has worked very well.
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Hey Jeff.. Happy Friday sir... I had a thought.. Do you think Bill DeWitt's age has anything to do with what the Cardinals may do in the next 1-2 years? He's 80 (or close to it)... Some extra motivation to win another championship, ala Gussie when he brought in Whitey????... What do you think?
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The Royals have been spinning their wheels for a long time with this rebuild and clearly the primary owner, John Sherman, has had enough of that. Perez has three years left on his contract with $20 million, $20 million and $22 million owed, but a $13.5 million club option for 2026 with a club option. That's a lot of money, but KC isn't paying anybody else big coin and he is their most marketable asset by a lot. Maybe the owner believes the team can still build around Perez. As for your trade proposal, I'm guessing K.C. would want more than that from the pitching side. That is where their need is.There hasn't been much scuttlebutt from the national guys about a Perez trade, so I'm guessing all is still quite on that front.
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Every era of success for the Cardinals has been with players who were solid both offensively and defensively. At the moment, Burleson, Gorman and Yepez are DH candidates that you may not want to see in the field a lot for a pennant contender. Can they realistically carry all 3, or can they deal from the surplus to fill other holes?
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Hey Jeff,
I don't see the Cards spending prospect capital for an aging catcher, but had a follow up question to my previous post and your response.
Would Josh Bell qualify for a player wiht a lot of Power to go after, to your point, displacing internal options?
He's a switch hitter but better from the left side I believe. Sign him and take a flyer on Conforto on a pillow deal... use Gorman as a DH and 2nd base option.
What say you on this idea? -
In that scenario, Bell would be your designated hitter. As for Conforto, he is a bit of a mystery due to his shoulder injury. The 2017-20 Conforto was an excellent producer. But who is he now? I believe he still has Scott Boras representing him, so it will be interesting to see which team buys that ticket and how much that team pays.
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Pablo Lopez shoulder a full starting pitching workload for the first time this season, starting 32 times and pitching 180 innings. He did have three terrible second-half starts, allowing 20 runs in 11 innings in those outings. But he finished up with four quality starts, although I don't know what sort of velocity he had at the end.So the question is, has he reached the point of physical maturity where he can handle the starter's load consistently? Or is he just a supplemental starter? That is what other teams pitching trades must decide.
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Bouwmeester didn't get nearly the love he deserved for filling the role he did. When you face top lines and kill penalties, you are bound to have some bad moments around the net. And Jay had his share. But he did some heavy defensive lifting on several really good teams here.
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