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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I do not believe Carlson's career has flamed out. He is 23 years old. Let's see how it plays out. Also, he was not graded as highly as Walker as a prospect in terms of power-hitting upside. If you are betting that Jordan Walker will not make it in the big leagues, a lot of people will take that bet. -
Jeff,
What is your take on Drink as the Mizzou coach? Is he the guy? He defiantly has the gusto to win PR, recruits, and fans, but after Saturday I'm not sure he can convert that into Ws. I wish I knew what his process is the he keeps referring to (does he realize that his predecessor was fired for .500 ball and mediocre bowl games not total futility). Anyway I hope they turn it around but unfortunately I feel quite a few more rear end stompings ahead. Enjoy your column sorry for being toxic 😀 -
Drinkwitz has done lots of good things since taking over as coach. He has taken the massive challenge head on. He has put down some of the groundwork needed for success. But he has had to learn the "build a program" process on the fly while competing in by far the toughest conference. The SEC has chewed up and spit out coaches with extensive head coaching experience and better resources to work with. And now the Name, Image, Likeness business and the transfer portal has made things even more difficult. There is no way to overstate just how enormous this challenge is for Missouri.
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Jeff: I was fairly surprised that Kyrou got the same deal as Thomas. While they both took big steps forward last year, it seemed to me that Thomas took those steps in all phases of the game (defense, face-offs, board play) whereas Kyrou's progress was almost entirely on the offensive end. I also thought that a center has more value than a winger (maybe I'm wrong about that). Seems like there's a lot more risk and more unanswered questions with Kyrou. I'm guessing you knew that a Kyrou extension would be pretty much the same as Thomas's were at all surprised that the Blues felt the need to match the extensions?
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Kyrou is a different type of player. He has tremendous offensive upside still and that sort of pure offensive skill is hard to find. As BenFred and I discussed in our video, Thomas did take the bigger overall step last season. Then again, Thomas was coming off a worse overall season. The matching contracts made sense given the corresponding ages of the players, but the Kyrou contract does represent more of a bet on upside.
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I'm guessing if all the seats are sold, that's a sellout and any standing room tickets sold are gravy. And I'm sure how the rooftop seats across the street are factored into what constitutes a sellout. But that would be a question better answered by Derrick or the Commish.
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What is the status of Dylan Carlson's injury? The Cards best defensive OF, O'Neil LF, Carlson CF and Nootbar RF is massively better than any other substitutions. Given the Cards pitch to contact staff, having the best defense on the field makes the most sense if they can hit. Is Carlson still in the October mix?
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Matz is fine for the postseason, since he was on the 40-man roster. Burleson was added to the 40-man roster after Aug. 31, so traditionally he would have to make the postseason roster as an injury replacement via a petition to the commissioner's office. I have seen beat reporters cite this rule as still in place, but I'm not sure. Chatters advise me that this has changed and anybody in the organization can be added.
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Heya, Gordo.
I need to confirm something, good scribe. Earlier this year Marmol played Yepez in the outfield repeatedly. And yet it's Burleson who the manager said "needs to improve defensively" in the outfield in order to secure playing time?
It feels like just because Marmol talks a lot, that doesn't make him "transparent" or logical or even-handed in his treatment of players. (Yepez is one of the worst defensive outfielders I have seen in half a century of following the Cards. Burleson is Clemente by comparison.) -
Marmol said the same thing about Juan Yepez, that he needed to improve as an outfielder just to become average. He only played Yepez in the outfield as much as he did because he was desperate to find offense when the team was sputtering.Burleson is ahead of Yepez as a fielder because he played the outfield coming up in the minors while Yepez played corner infield. Still, Alec needs more work out there.
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On 101.1 yesterday they were discussing playoff eligibility and according to the afternoon show, anyone within the organization as of Sept 1 is playoff eligible even if not on the 40 man as of that date. They thought Burleson was eligible, albeit, I did not check them out on that.
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To be honest that is something I have had to look up, since roster rules have changed the past few years. I know that teams had to do the workaround/injury thing when guys weren't on the 40-man roster before Sept. 1 -- but that also when teams could have their whole 40-man roster up in the majors for September if they chose. Remember those double-decker bullpens back in the day?Anyhoo, that is a better question for Derrick or the Commish.
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I totally understand your point about selling low on O'Neill, but to me, there's also a pretty big potential cost to keeping him. How long do you give him to see if he's 2021 TO or every other year of his career TO? Meanwhile, you've got Carlson, Burleson, Yepez, Walker, Nootbaar, and Gorman all fighting for ABs. How many games of .220 BA with 30% k-rate do you suffer with until you move on? And what might you cost yourself during the process? A handful of wins?
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I don't see the downside to keep O'Neill into next season because I see exactly zero outfielders who have clearly displaced him for 2023. The Cardinals have a bunch of guys still trying to establish themselves. The Cardinals got a premium for Harrison Bader because he is an elite center fielder and they are hard to find. They could get something for O'Neill, but would it be a premium? Couldn't they get a similar return next season if, in fact, other outfielders outperformed him? That is the calculus.
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Actually, this team has gotten good mileage from their prospects this season. They did not expect to promote so many players this season. These guys have all flashed promise and Brendan Donovan has been the one position player to sustain it. That is the challenge for all of these guys, to sustain the success.After seeing several of their top prospects star for other teams after getting traded, the Cardinals seem more committed to giving their home-grown players a longer look before moving them.
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Hope you don't mind an Illini gridiron query, Bobo.
The team took a step forward last year at 5-7 including a pair of upsets over ranked opponents -- but lost twice (Purdue, Maryland) when Bielema wimped out with a 4th quarter lead instead of actively trying to win. And same *exact* thing happened this year, in the Indiana game. With a very small late lead he becomes incredibly passive and hopes for the opposition to screw up -- which they haven't yet in three such games. Thus we know one thing: Bielema does not learn from his mistakes. At all.
So anyway, do you think Bielema can nevertheless make Illinois a consistent 6-7 win school, or is he too cowardly of an in-game tactician? Thanks, Gordo! -
That seems a bit harsh. Certainly you are talking about an old-school Big Ten coach who wants to build power on both sides of the ball and win by controlling the line of scrimmage. But it's a fair point to raise with a program that is still digging from some ugly seasons. Play to win! I'm not saying go for an onside kick when the game is under control, like Nebraska did, but I'd say definitely push for the win when the chance is there. Play like the underdog you are. The chance to play power football may come in time.
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Gordo, thanks for doing these chats! doesn't the lack of having the whole 40 man hurt this cardinals team? The cards usually have better depth on the 40 man than most....
also---Dakota Hudson pitched 7 1/3 in a 2 HOUR 35 MINUTE game, and 8 2/3 innnings in a 2 HOUR 34 MINUTE game. one game had 12 total runs, the other 11. Is there any better advertisement for the pitch clock/limited pickoff attempts? -
Back in the day, the Cardinals had an edge when they had some extra power arms to use in the pen. Their depth is not quite as good this year.And, yes, the pitch clock could get no finer endorsement than the one Dakota Hudson gave it with his starts. That clock could be a big asset for him next year in the majors. He will be better pitching with tempo.
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I don't understand the rush to trade O'Neil. He finished 8th in the MVP voting in 2021. He has been injury prone. But his tools and potential are immense at virtually zero payroll cost. Even if he doesn't start, his elite defense, speed and power potential are more than worth the payroll cost. If you look at both O'Neil and Nootbar, when they show plate discipline, there hitting is superb. When they don't, well...
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Thanks for the chat, Gordo!
A colleague of yours at the P-D very recently opined that the three greatest position players in MLB history were Willie Mays (sensible), Hank Aaron (perfectly plausible), and Rickey Henderson. Either Rickey must be replaced by Babe Ruth or Josh Gibson, or IF the third guy must be post-color line then replaced by Musial, Mantle, or Ted Williams, yes? Rickey was great but he's in the Mel Ott/Frank Robinson/Mike Schmidt level, and not a top 8-10 all-time. Agree? -
I appreciate Henderson for his base stealing, his high level of production during the first half of his career and his remarkable longevity. People forget how great he was in his prime. He disrupted games with his speed and he also hit for some power. But there are so many great all-around players to consider for Top 3 status, including the immensely unpopular Barry Bonds. I can't put Rickey anywhere near the top of that list.
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MIzzou should fire Drink. It was a miserable hire, and I've felt that way since the day he was hired. I'm a 1985 MU graduate, had season tickets from then until the football team walked out a few years back. While Drink had been an OC for a while, 1 year as a head coach in a tier 2/3 conference is not the pedigree for a successful head coach in the SEC. University needs to move on, and this season will be a train wreck, and the good players are going to Portal out, University can find the money from a donor Nebraska realized what a mistake it made, and has made the right call getting rid of Frost..
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Of course, the question becomes "Then what?" Missouri is a bottom-tier SEC team when it comes to fan support and financial resources. The arrival of Texas and Oklahoma will make the challenge even greater. So where would Truman go for its next coach? How much more are boosters willing to spend on the head coach, his staff, and the NIL budget needed for keeping up? Missouri could start cycling through coaches the way Kentucky did before sticking with Mark Stoops through his lean years.
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Thanks for chatting, good scribe!
Injury or no injury, Dylan Carlson's struggles and successes this season have *precisely* coincided with his time in and out of the leadoff slot. Leadoff the first few weeks, and terrible hitter. Removed for three months and a really excellent hitter (OPS+ nearly 130). Returned to leadoff in late July and a return to awfulness (immediately went 4-for-34). Has Mr. Transparency ever at any point acknowledged this set of facts? In other words, has Marmol publicly accepted any responsibility whatsoever for Carlson's struggles?
Thanks again, Gordo, and have a great weekend. -
So there's one chatter who definitely does not like Oliver Marmol. Dylan Carlson is not the only hitter who has struggled in the leadoff spot. Tommy Edman has been better as the No. 9 hitter than as the leadoff guy. The same goes for Lars Nootbaar, who did get hot for a stretch hitting atop the order. Brendan Donovan has been infinitely better hitting No. 2 than leading off.Trouble is, somebody has to lead off. Blame the manager all you want, but can't leave the lineup spot blank.