STL sports chat with Jose de Jesus Ortiz
Bring your Cardinals, Blues and St. Louis sports questions and comments to a live chat at 1 p.m. Wednesday with Post-Dispatch columnist Jose de Jesus Ortiz.

3rd & 7 37yd
3rd & 7 37yd
B
S
O
close
close

-





-
-
-
-
Not a big soccer fan but would love to become one with a local team. How can we actually work to get it here? Seems like city/county/state officials are rather short-sighted on working with SC STL to make it happen and not thinking about the long-term benefits and revenue.
-
The best way to guarantee St. Louis gets an MLS franchise is to have an ownership group committed to building a stadium without public funding. If they take it out of the public's hands and build it on their own, I have to believe that would make it easier to bring a franchise here. The key, however, is to find an ownership group that has the funds to make that happen. Otherwise, it's going to be an uphill battle to get the public funds. It also might help if the SC STL folks build a more modest stadium.
-
Are the Blues suffering from Hitch fatigue? I'm out 80 bucks for the two nosebleed seats I bought Tuesday, and I've got to say, that'll be the last 80 bucks I'll spend this season if the players are just going to float through home games until it's too late. Seems to me there's got to be more than just lousy hockey (and goaltending!) going on. Problems with the coach? Problems with team chemistry?
-
I don't think that the Blues' problems can be traced back to the players tuning out Ken Hitchcock. I don't think anybody in the Blues' organization expected Jake Allen to struggle as bad as he has this season. Allen let in a pair of goals early that you would expect a good goaltender to stop. He just hasn't been consistent enough. The team is too inconsistent defensively as well.
-
-
For the Cardinals to contend, they'll need Adam Wainwright to bounce back from his disappointing 2016 season. If Alex Reyes settles into the a front-line starter and Carlos Martinez continues to pitch like an ace, the Cardinals will definitely have the pitching necessary to contend for a playoff spot. If Peralta bounces back, you also have to like the Cardinals' playoff chances.
-
-
-
The 1967 Cardinals World Series team being honored this weekend was how many of us older people started in become absolute fanatics with this franchise. Who is among your personal favorites from that team and why? I also eagerly await to get a read about who you will get some quality time in with yourself too! And thank you.
-
Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda is one of the athletes I have admired the most. Obviously Curt Flood and Lou Brock are two other greats that stick out. And you have to appreciate Hall of Famer Bob Gibson, who was an impressive 3-0 with a 1.00 ERA in the 1967 World Series.
-
-
This is a very interesting question. Sometimes the Blues play like a very good team. Unfortunately, they are way too inconsistent. They are a decent team at best, and some might even call them mediocre. I will tell you that the Blues would be the first to concede that they should play better.
-
How come when they compare Mike Trout to historically great baseball players the only stat they ever compare is war? I would like to see an article written comparing trouts traditional statistics to some of the Great players he is often compared to. Could you do it?
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
I don't know if it's a reflection on the coach or a reflection of a team that has gone through lots of transitions since Doug Armstrong let David Backes and Troy Brouwer leave via free agency. Also, keep in mind that the Blues are a young team with young leaders still settling into their new leadership roles.
-
The ownership for SC STL may be an impressive group, but I have not been very impressed with how they have handled this (at least based on what I've read in the media). There has reportedly been numerous miscommunications with the Governor and city of St. Louis. They overestimated the cost of the expansion fee at $200 million and didn't lessen the ask from the state/city when it was announced that the fee was $150. Plus, the recent MLS history of stadiums being $100-$150 million, mostly privately funded, and none having been funded with a new sales tax being introduced to a city doesn't look good compared to what they are asking for. On top of that, we've basically heard nothing from them since the first announcement. It almost seems like they completely misread the situation and are now scrambling to figure something out.
-
I try to give the SC STL ownership group the benefit of the doubt, but I cannot honestly disagree with your statements. I also wouldn't say that we have enough information to blame them for all the failed miscommunication out there. On more than one occasion they or local politicians appear to have been completely caught off guard by things that you would have thought they already knew.
-
Mr. Ortiz, it is fantastic being able to directly pose questions your way. I guess in analyzing the Cards infield and projected starters, it really doesn't seem like they addressed the defensive problems from the prior year. Any chance we can trade for a good glove SS like Simmons with the Angels? Sure would help the teams ERA and WE BOTH KNOW THEY NEED IT.
-
The middle of the infield hasn't changed much, but you have to believe that Diaz might benefit from his year in the majors. It took him a while to adjust to the speed in the majors. I don't know what Wong can do on a consistent basis, but Matt Carpenter is better off at first base defensively.
-
In my opinion, and maybe only my opinion, you're being a bit idealistic in your stance on stadium funding - obviously, it would be ideal for millionaire owners to pony up for a new stadium, but if there are other markets seemingly willing to approve public funding and with STL seemingly lacking in the millionaire/billionaire willing investor category then why should STL not consider the proposition and put it to a taxpayer vote? It's not about being a "Big League City" but rather doing what it takes to attract an additional source of revenue and civic pride to the community.
-
I have definitely been accused of being too idealistic in the past. I won't argue that. I work hard to save for my kids' college funds. I work hard to pay my bills on time and to live within my means. I have always believed that everybody should carry their own weight. I also have studied past stadium bond issues, and not one study has ever been done proving that communities get the return on the investment. I'd rather spend tax money on education, infrastructure and police. I'm also from Los Angeles, where we proudly told the Rams to take a hike 22 years ago when they tried to hold up the community for a new stadium. My colleague David Nicklaus wrote a great column on this issue recently. I agree 100 percent.
Nicklaus: Sports subsidies can be defended, but not as an investment
stltoday.comNo matter how many times we're told otherwise, sports don't make a city more prosperous -
Jose, really concerned about my aTm Aggies. Beyond the Manziel era, they've continued to tread the waters of mediocrity under Sumlin. The alleged SEC gauntlet schedule can't be used as an excuse anymore (well, beyond 'Bama). Are my expectations too high or will they remain afterthoughts as they were in B12 and SWC?
-
As long as Alabama is in the SEC West it's going to be difficult for every other SEC West school to win a football championship. Nonetheless, Kevin Sumlin has a good recruiting class this year. At this point, the Aggies need to worry about beating LSU consistently before they are too concerned about Alabama. Don't fret too badly.
-
I agree with your theory that if we want an MLS team, the owners need to build a modest stadium for ~120 million. Quoted at the price now of 200 million, how much more modest will the stadium have to get? I haven't seen details about the stadium itself, but where do you think they will have to make some cuts?
-
-
-
-
Allowing Eric Fryer to enter camp this spring as the defacto back up to an aging Yadi Molina for this coming season seems a bit aggressive. Understanding Carson Kelly is waiting in the wings should #4 become injured is comforting, but ya think we may see another veteran catcher being brought in just in case too?
-
-
-
I would say 60 percent. Grant Wahl, the stellar Sports Illustrated soccer writer, tweeted yesterday that he thought the SC STL group's $80 million request was ridiculous. I have said that same thing from the start. I honestly think that the SC STL folks shot high in hopes of getting as much public financing as possible, and you can hardly blame them. Now they must decide how committed they are to bringing MLS to St. Louis. If you consider all the initial numbers they mentioned when they introduced the ownership group, you'll notice that the expansion fee is $50 million lower than they initially predicted. That's a huge savings right there. Then if you lower the stadium cost from $200 million to $150 million, that's another $50 million savings.
-
-
-
-
-
I don't see the need to freak out about the Blues. I don't believe they are too far off the pace the Blues were on last season. Even more, I don't believe the Blues have played their best hockey, and currently, we are in 3rd place in our division, so we can only go up. I know this team has its issues, but currently we are in the playoffs and playing the Wild. Maybe it would be good to avoid the hawks in the first round?
-
-
The February 25, 1972 trade of Steve Carlton was one of my worse days ever. I saw that Lefty won 17 games in 1967 and started a game in the World Series. To think of how many more championships that Redbirds may of won if they kept the future HoFer still probably haunts many. Is he expected back this coming weekend?
-
-
Jose, what do you think of national sports media (or just media in general) saying STL will never get an NFL or NBA team again? Also, do you think STL can actually be called a top tier sports city without the two most popular leagues in America (NFL and NBA)? I personally don't.
-
-
A disappointing aspect of our State and City handling of the soccer stadium issue is this. The proposed soccer stadium is proximate enough to Union Station it may help revive what now appears to be a failed investment in Union Station. I have not seen anyone include that potential benefit when analyzing the proposed stadium. Compare that to the proposed NFL stadium where the potential collateral benefits were small, and the soccer stadium is almost a no brainer for the city. I am not a huge soccer fan. But, this is an opportunity our city and state should embrace.
-
-
Appreciate your response re: stadium idealism - to continue the discussion - A. the Nicklaus article acknowledges civic pride but does it take into account the economic benefits that could (capital "C") from a revitalized area around the stadium? I don't think anyone who is advocating for public funding is saying that the stadium should be viewed exclusively as an investment tool for the city. B. I too would love to pass taxes that fund education, infrastructure and police and would vote for those too, but the "opportunity cost" argument only works if its one or the other. Or if there was an equal likelihood of approval so to use that as a fallback alternative seems naive. C. Do you really think it's fair to compare LA to STL in this instance? I personally believe STL to be a great city, but to think you can compare the two cities in terms of attractiveness to franchises, access to investors, or any metric other than civic pride is misleading.
-
-
-
Don't fool yourself. The SC STL folks can control their own destiny. They either are strong enough to build a stadium on their own or they give control of their destiny to the voters who must decide if they want to build a stadium. Don't let anybody tell you anything different. If MLS doesn't come to St. Louis it's because there wasn't an ownership group that could make it happen. As of now, SC STL is an ownership group that has said MLS can only happen here with heavy subsidies by the public. That would be like me saying I will bring MLS to St. Louis and then claiming I can't bring it because the public failed me by not approving the $200 million I need in tax credits.
-
-
-