H and D are free agents too, just sayin' Let's get the band back together. Guthrie for pitching coach.
FUCK YEAH!!! Rusty’s back!!! Also have to laugh at TPJ. Went to a game in probably 08 I think, was a mod day Sunday game IIRC. Went to like 12 innings and we left, listening to the radio we had a guy on 2nd 2 outs and we didn’t pinch hit for TPJ, I was livid in the car...and he got like one of his 15 hits all season.
lol TPJ was a painfully bad hitter. He's so bad that one time I went to the batting cages when I was in college and he happened to be there with a friend. We took turns in the 75 mph cage and I outhit him. He probably should have gone to the 55 mph cage. /csb
Still have the internal debate. Does Gordo’s statue in the outfield have that finger point rounding first or him making a diving catch?
I know nothing about him but I bet my life savings he's a toolsy infielder who somehow has about 1 error per 9, and gets caught stealing about 50 percent of the time and hits about .230 and takes 2 walks a year. Looks good in the uniform though.
So he will start 140 games at second while we play whit out of position. It's like you've never watched this shitty team
The walk rate (or lack of) should fit right in with this team. OPS+ of 98 and 91 the past two seasons. That being said, he's definitely an upgrade over Nicky Lopez who sported a 53 and 59 OPS+ over that span.
Yeah, I mean, it's a minor league deal for a guy who was worth 2.9 WAR in 2019. Sure, there's lots to not love about his game; he walks less than Salvy and he doesn't hit the ball hard...but he also doesn't strike out, and as long as he's not an everyday player, that 91-98 OPS+ will do just fine. Hopefully he just faces lefties and continues his career .831 OPS vs them.
My post was poorly worded. I'm all for this signing. He's a definite upgrade and the OPS+ being near league average is pretty decent all things considered.
I'm kinda intrigued by the lineup depth we've got. They aren't going to be the 27 Yankees but should at least provide competitive at-bats through the entire order. If the young SPs can take a step forward, we could make a bit of noise. It doesn't help that the division should be salty as hell this year though. Maybe they will tweak the divisions again like they did last season.
I wish Benentendi had another year or 2 of club control but I'm not particularly married to any prospect outside of Witt. I think I'm ok with it. Benentendi is a good candidate to extend if he can bounce back this year.
This feels like the kind of move the Cardinals routinely make. Some other team's reclamation project and/or payroll casualty that turns out to be solid. Hope that's the case here.
I like it quite a bit. Of course I expect Franchy to all of the sudden stay healthy and mash in Boston, but oh well. And good luck to Lee, but not much of a loss there imo. The fact that we didn't have to give up any young pitchers (or witt) is the only thing that matters.
Really need a ST game on TV to get me out of the winter funk. The weather today sure helped. Anyways, I’ve been seeing a lot of people saying Lynch may have the highest ceiling of all the young arms. I’m guessing we won’t get Denny for the ST games unfortunately.
I'm weirdly optimistic about the squad this year. We probably aren't a playoff team but .500 seems attainable with upside in the future if even half of the young arms turn into rotation staples. 1. Whit - CF 2. Benintendi - LF 3. Soler - DH 4. Salvy - C 5. Santana - 1B 6. Mondi - SS 7. Dozier - 3B 8. Taylor - RF 9. Alberto/Lopez - 2B That lineup is pretty decent. I'm pretty meh on Taylor. The defense will be good but his hitting sucks. I have no clue why we always fall in love with these low-OBP guys. If Lopez does end up being the opening day 2B, I hope we treat him like a starting pitcher and pinch hit for him before his third AB. Poor guy can't hit for shit.
Sure. But we did. And his best attribute is defense, so I figured we'd play him at his best spot is all.
I don't disagree, FWIW. Whit should not play more than 2 days a week in the OF. Max. I am just frustrated they like to pencil him in out there daily while we let whatever light hitting 2B we have on the roster at any given time in the lineup. Moving Whit to the OF (at least the corner spots) takes what should be a strength - one of the best hitting 2B in baseball - and makes 2 spots in the lineup weaker.
Put Soler in RF, O’hearn at DH. Let Whit split between CF/2B then sub in Taylor/Lopez as defensive replacements and move Whit to RF.
Between 2019 and 2020 he has played 147 games: .195/.287/.351 slash line with a .638 OPS and 69 OPS+ 39 Runs 19 Doubles 16 HR 56 RBI -2.1 WAR, -1.7 oWAR He does, indeed, suck.
.950 OPS his rookie year though. Put McBroom in that role, use a platoon, see if Olivares can hit, anything. Use Whits versatility so you can avoid the two black holes of Taylor-Lopez back to back killing every rally.