Rick Hummel's last Cardinals live chat: Talk with the Hall of Famer at 11 a.m. Monday
Bring your Cards questions and comments to Monday’s 11 a.m. live chat, Rick Hummel's last before he retires.
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Hi, Rick. I just wanted to thank you for your many years of insightful sports writing. I have been a Cardinals fan for 65 years and started reading your coverage of the team when you became the Post’s beat writer. Best wishes in your well -deserved retirement. One last question: Which players will comprise the Cardinals starting outfield in 2023? -
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Good morning, Mr. Hummel. Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving. First off, thank you for all the years of outstanding coverage of the Cardinals. While we look forward to your future reporting, you will be missed in the chats. My question, please: Do you think Josh Bell makes sense as the "protection" in the lineup for Goldy and Arenado? Thank you.
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Morning Rick and congrats on your career. Let's step into the wayback machine for a minute. WS 1985 Cards lose game 6 but if I remember correctly there was a rain out for game 7. I think Herzog missed a chance on that rain day to talk with the team and get them out of their funk from game 6. Not sure if getting everyone together in the hotel to vent, smash bats against the wall, yell they're voice out or what but it couldn't have hurt after the debacle of game 7. What so you?
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Hey Commish, so grateful for all the years of being our conduit to our beloved Cardinals! Would you please offer your observations on the evolution of the elite MLB players over the years? As they continue to argue with the owners over our wallets I can’t help but feel insulted as they play the game with an expensive and gaudy necklace draped around their necks. Maybe I’m being cynical about the good ole days of a simpler game but is flaunting your wealth really necessary while I’m trying to enjoy a $12 beer!
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I walked into the West Palm Beach Kennel Club with Joe one Saturday night and we were going to watch some live racing and then some simulcasts from around the country. He looked up at one of the screens carrying trotters from Yonkers, N.Y. He surveys the field and picks a winner. Of course, that trotter won. How did he know? Trotters? We didn't even have a program yet.Pretty darned good reporter and writer, too.
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It seems like free agent pitchers, especially left handed pitchers, come up injured in their first year after they sign with the Cardinals. I was wondering what medical process the Cardinals do on free agent signings? Whatever it is may need to change. Your thoughts?
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The Cardinals, presumably, have done the same due diligence as all other teams. But from Brett Cecil on down, their record of signing free-agent pitchers, left or right, hasn't been very good. This is one of the reasons whey they have shied away from that market recently. Their trades for pitchers, most recently Montgomery and Quintana, have worked out much better.
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Good morning and Godspeed, Rick. The excellent writing by you and Gould is the only reason I subscribe to the online paper.
Now on to a disturbing development.
When Jeff Albert leaves, the spin put out by a Cardinals’ spokesperson is that Albert was so thin-skinned he was driven away by criticism from Cardinals fans. He almost immediately takes the same position for the Mets in New York, a city known for having the most critical sports environment in the country. This is where the thin-skinned go to die.
When pitching coach Mike Maddux leaves, the Cardinals claim the 62-year-old pitching coach wants to slow down. Now he’s taken the same job — pitching coach — for the Angels. Presumably even more work since it is a losing team.
Reporters covering politics expect to be lied to by politicians, I imagine. But you don’t catch sports executives making such egregious and disprovable whoppers quite so often.
Which spokesperson within the Cardinals organization actually put out these lies to you and/or Derrick? Won’t it make it hard to believe that person in the future? -
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Thank you for your great coverage over the years. This is a time to celebrate all you've accomplished and to look forward to the great adventures that lie ahead for you. The Post is in great hands with Derrick. We will miss you. You were too soft on Cardinals ownership, but that's ok. You're human. Have a great semi retirement.
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I would think Quintana would get a three-deal somewhere. The Cardinals already have two left-handed starters in Montgomery and Matz. If the Cardinals bring in a pitcher, though, he would have to be better than Quintana, who does not really fill the bill of a swing-and-miss pitcher, of which the Cardinals want more .
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Rick, it's been a pleasure reading your excellent content for many years. Enjoy your next "journey". My question is, since it's obvious that the Cardinals need catching, who is the likeliest catcher the Cardinals will acquire? As you very well know, we've been spoiled for many years by the quality of our catching.The new catcher will indeed have big shoes to fill.
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Thank you very much to both of you, as I hit two questions at once. As for the catcher's spot, Molina's shoes never will be filled. I am in favor of a short-term contract for Christian Vazquez, most recently with Houston and Boston. I would like to see a big-time starter like Verlander on a short contract, albeit expensive, contract.As for the runner at second base. ,. , phooey.
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Have always appreciated your insight and comments. As a long-time baseball fan who rarely complains, there is one MVP award that always stuck in my craw. In 2013, Carpenter bailed the Cards out by playing a very acceptable 2B, a position totally foreign to him. Nonetheless, hitting lead off, he went on to hit .318 with 55 2Bs, 78 RBIs, a .392 OBP, and .481 slugging, despite hitting only 11 HRs. The MVP was awarded to Andre McCutchen who did have a very good year but, despite hitting .317, having 21 HRs, and batting 3rd in the Pirates line-up, he only had 84 RBIs and, if memory serves, many said his CF play had fallen off from the previous year. Despite his season, Carpenter didn't even finish second (3rd in voting). My contention has always been that Carpenter had been more valuable to his team and should have won the award.
One other comment, I hope the Cardinals brass doesn't wait too long before an Albert Pujols statue is erected right next to "The Man's". -
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I would like to think that all of them would fit into the "core" mold although one or more may have to be dealt to get something else. Herrera might be a concern but I am told by those who should know that he is better than he showed in brief flashes as Molina's replacement last season.
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Congratulations on an outstanding career. You have much to be proud of.
Do you anticipate the Cardinals to prioritize older players in free agency who are looking for shorter term i.e. Jose Abreu, Christian Vazquez or do they seem comfortable making long term offers for a player like Nimmo or Contrares? -
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Other than another cheap contract (Dickerson, Wittgren, Verhagen) do you think the Cardinals acquire a SS (Swanson) in free agency, trade for a catcher (Murphy), and go get Bassitt? They Pretended to give up the farm for Soto. They’re supposed to have money but DeWitt is back to his old self crying he doesn’t have any money. With that don’t you think that Nolan Arenado should have opted out as this team might not be better in 2023? What about packaging Gorman (no range to play 2nd base without the shift)?
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Murphy might make the most sense of those three you mentioned. He will be under control for three seasons and catching, if you've been watching at all, is the Cardinals' most immediate need. Swanson is a prize but I don't consider him a great shortstop. I believe Mo, though, when he says the Cardinals have money to spend. He normally doesn't say things like that. I still think Gorman can play second base well enough, but he could be a DH, too, and ultimately the protector for Goldschmidt and Arenado. Maybe.
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Thank you so much for your decades of providing us with great information and analysis! Enjoy your semi-retirement. It is good to know you are not disappearing from the Post entirely!
Questions: what do you think is the lesson to be learned from Daniel Guerrero's listing on Friday of expensive free-agents signed by the Cardinals in recent years? Is it that spending lots of money on free agents is no guarantee of success, or is it that this front office has done a terrible job in selecting and signing free agents?
And is this list, which is almost completely one of failures and disappointments, common among all 30 teams, or is it especially bad for the Cardinals? -
Thank you very much, I think one of the facets of Daniel's story was to illustrate how how unfortunate some of the Cardinals' forays into free agency have been. In that arena, the Cardinals have been less successful than some of their opponents, notably on the pitching side. They still, however, know they have to continue to explore that market. Just more responsibly.
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