Month: August 2015

David Ortiz: A true hitting machine

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boston_red_sox_david_ortiz_criticizes_pace_of_play_rulesAs he nears the age of 40, David Ortiz just keeps hitting for the Boston Red Sox. As play opens today across the Major Leagues, the savvy charismatic basher from the left side sits at 491 home runs in his career; not bad for a man who was released by the Minnesota Twins back in 2002 and picked up by the Red Sox after his friend Pedro Martinez put a call in. What has he done since?

A little bit. Some work perhaps. Ortiz has helped the Red Sox win three World Series titles, make more than a few All Star games, and become the face of Boston. If Tom Brady has any challenge for supremacy in Boston, it’s Big Papi. Ask anyone in Boston, baseball fan or not, and they know who he is. After all, it was right after the Boston Marathon bombing that he took the microphone in the middle of Fenway Park and proclaimed, “This is our fucking city”. Take the bat out this man’s hands and he has the power of a rock star mixed with a President.

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St. Louis Cardinals’ Hall of Fame grows by four

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Before the St. Louis Cardinals battled the Miami Marlins Saturday night, there was some history to take care of during the afternoon. The Cards were inducting four new members into their Hall of Fame. This year’s inductee’s included Ted Simmons, Curt Flood, Bob Forsch and George Kissell. Each person had a unique effect on the organization and each got a spotlight this weekend. They may never be able to join the greats in Cooperstown, but the four will always be remembered in St. Louis. Through sheer tenacity and dedication, the team has created their own baseball heaven here, making the official Hall of Fame a little less cool.

Simmons addressed this in his speech, poking fun at a famous golfer, saying Phil Mickelson(owner of the green jacket from the Masters) will never get to put on the sleek shiny red jacket the inductees got. Simmons is one of the most popular HOF snubs, hitting 172 home runs in his 13 years in St. Louis, including six All Star game selections and four seasons of 20+ home runs. He could slice a triple or crank a home run. His 248 career home runs, 2472 hits and .285 average along with the teams he played for makes a strong case for Cooperstown, but he will always be remembered for his offensive firepower behind home plate in St. Louis. He started his career with Bob Gibson as a teammate and ended it on Atlanta over 20 years later. His ability to hit home runs from each side of the plate marks his sweet spot as a Cardinal.

Forsch was one of the legendary pitchers to ever climb the hill for the Birds, a righthander who broke into the league in 1974 and fired 5 complete games in his first season, winning 7 games. When it came to Bob and pitching, durability was his strong suit. Forsch threw a pair of no hitters for the Cards in his 15 years but he also compiled 8 different seasons where he threw at least 5 complete games. He won 15 games for the 1982 World Series team and never depended on the strikeout during his career. Forsch passed away at the age of 61 right after throwing out the first pitch at a Cardinals-Rangers World Series game in 2011. He is still missed by ex-Cards like Ricky Horton, who remembered the pitcher fondly in the Fox Sports Midwest booth this week.

Flood won seven consecutive gold gloves in center field, won a pair of World Series titles and hit .293 in his 12 years as a Cardinal. His effect also lies off the field, where he paved the way for free agency by rejecting a trade from the Cardinals to the Phillies. Before that, players had little to no control in where they played, and Flood changed that. Players today who choose to sign a monstrous contract for over a hundred million dollars can thank Curt Flood for that. He put choice and control into the players hands when the games were over.

Kissell’s effect didn’t come with a bat in his hands wearing the birds on the bat, but across the field and in the dugout in a number of ways. “The Cardinal Way” stemmed from George’s visceral knowledge of the game and his ability to transport it into young players minds as they dealt with the rigors of the game. I’m pretty sure Kissell wasn’t a Twitter guy. He taught many baseball players what was expected of them outside of what we find on a baseball card. Jose Oquendo gives a lot of credit to Kissell for making him want to become a coach and learning how to push the right buttons.

Every Cardinal that goes into their Hall of Fame had their own special impact on the game. One guy may have hit a lot of home runs while another could do it from multiple sides of the plate. Another may have changed the game off the field while another taught rookies how to bear it. What makes the Cardinals organization special is that they never ever forget where they came from.

What are your special memories and thoughts on this year’s inductees?

Meet Alex Reyes: The Next Cardinals phenom

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There’s something cool, eventful and promising about a hard throwing young pitcher. It’s like hearing about a fireworks show about 30 minutes away. Do you turn the car around to go look or just keep driving hoping to catch one in front of you? The St. Louis Cardinals next phenom is named Alex Reyes, and he is ripping through the minor leagues as we speak. He’s 20 years old(turns 21 on August 29th), throws a fastball that reaches triple digits as easily as you rip open a bag of sugar to pour in your coffee and he’s only going to get better.

Reyes started this season in High A Palm Beach, where he struck out 96 batters in 63.2 innings, compiling an ERA of 2.26 and a WHIP of 1.26. He made the jump to Springfield last month, where he has 39 strikeouts to 12 walks in just six starts(24.1 innings pitched). Going into his August 24th start, Reyes has allowed a single home run yet this season. In his entire minor league career, Reyes has only allowed 8 home runs in over 258.2 innings covering 53 starts. That’s an impressive number. Opponents hit just .216 off him in Palm Beach and AA bats only .176 thus far. The only man who seems capable of beating Reyes at all is his own raw talent. It hasn’t even been fully unleashed yet.

In order to really get to know a talent, you must get a view from the seats. A face to face rendering. For that perspective, I reached out to Springfield Cardinals beat writer Derek Shore(who writes for Scout.com) for his thoughts on the talented young righthander.(You can find Derek on Twitter here).

Shore has seen three of Reyes’ starts with Springfield, including his last two, which were his shortest. “Reyes has often drawn Carlos Martinez comps and for good reasons given both have Dominican roots and signed to a comparable bonuses. I’ve talked to a scout who said Reyes’s arsenal isn’t quite as deep as Martinez’s, but his one-two punch are better than Martinez’s at the same age of 20 years old,” Shore said of the well known comparison between the two fiery young arms in the Cardinals organization.

What exactly does Reyes fire at hitters that makes him so special? Shore had this to say about the kid’s weapons of lumber destruction. “To go with that electric heater(clocking regularly at 101 mph across the league), Reyes has flashed a two-seam fastball in the lower 90’s with a 12-6 hammer. Along with the development of his command and all-important third pitch the changeup, a pitch that the Cardinals seem to have advised for him to throw more will determine his ceiling as a big-league starter.”

Why isn’t this kid already in the Major’s, outside the fact that the Cardinals don’t need him just yet? Shore attaches the slow build to the regular growing pains of a young thrower learning how to pitch. “His struggles at Double-A this season have been tied to overthrowing and working into deep counts a problem that’s hinder his efficiency at times and also a sign of a lack of command because he has a tendency to overdo his pitches. Stuff has been a non-issue, Reyes probably has the biggest right-handed stuff in the minors outside of the Nationals Lucas Giolito.”

Will we see this kid in September when rosters expand? I doubt it, for the simple fact that the Cards bullpen is stacked and that Reyes’ shoulder(which has barked a bit at times this season) may need the rest. If there is a sudden need, this viper whipping phenom will be waiting.

Otherwise, I expect this “freak” to make his debut in St. Louis sometime in 2016. Reyes is the chip that General Manager John Mozeliak wasn’t putting on a table this past July during trade talks. Other teams know this man’s heat will only be leaving jet fuel stains on a jersey containing the birds on the bat. Sorry, NL Central. The St. Louis Cardianals talent well is churning out another cherry red mustang that will make your lineups crack IPad screens and exhaust DVD players for the next couple decades. I’d warn you, but that just wouldn’t cut it.

Whenever people try to put a name tag on the Cardinals’ brand of success, I laugh. Small market team gone big? Mid-market special? Who cares? In the end, Mozeliak and company are just better at their jobs than most front offices and slowly, people are coming to terms with the fact that the National League Pennant chase will roll through the Arch every fall.

Alex Reyes is that big juicy looking steak that the Cardinals haven’t completely cut into yet to see how well it’s been cooked. When they do, the rest of the National League will have nowhere to hide.

Photo credit-Milb.com

What is ailing Cardinals’ second baseman Kolten Wong?

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I wrote weeks ago about how I think Kolten Wong can be one of the best second baseman to ever wear the Birds on the bat. I still believe that but it seems like plenty of others around St. Louis do not. After Wong’s two error game in a Sunday against the Miami Marlins, the toll on Wong’s mental approach to the game was evident. After another couple of errors this week, Wong’s confidence in the field is fractured. Could it be that Wong just needs a day or two off to clear his head?

It’s no secret Wong has struggled lately. In his last 30 games, Wong is hitting just .197 with an on base percentage of .258 and a slugging percentage of .262. His signature brand of pop is missing in August, as he has zero extra base hits and only 10 singles(.156 average). It seems like a decade since his last home run and his average has plunged from near .290 to .263 in the past month. His 11 home runs, 48 RBI, and 114 hits are still respectable but his overall on base percentage and slugging percentage is dropping. Is he still hitting baseballs hard? While his overall line drive rate is 23.5%, his game to game rates in August have seen less sting on balls he hits. It’s not a great trend.

Maybe it could help if Mike Matheny found a comfy spot for Wong in the lineup. This season, Wong has taken swings in every lineup spot but cleanup. He has over 200 at bats in cleanup and 40+ in the #2, #7 and #8. He doesn’t know where he hits and it stems from the fact that when the kid is right, his bat can help in a number of ways. He can collect a double, crank a home run and has speed on the bases(14 steals included). He is the prototypical #2 hitter but his best stats come from the pressure free 8th spot. He has 20 hits in 60 at bats there, with a .391 OBP. One thing Matheny can do is shift him there to take some pressure off and get him to relax.

Another thing Matheny could is rest the kid. Wong has played in 37 straight games. That’s at bat in every one of those games and starting over 95% of them. While Jhonny Peralta gets a day off per week, Wong continues to play and his bat, body and mind could use a rest. Wong committed his 11th and 12th errors on Sunday and when the kid messes up, he takes himself to school mentally for the rest of the game. Part of being a highly talented soon to be 25 year old franchise type player. Wong has put together a lot of great moments over the past couple years and was handed the keys to second base last season. There will be setbacks.

A couple days off may hinder an ailing Cards offense, but it may dividends down the road when the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs continue to shove the Birds for their share of first place. The Central division isn’t softening up, with all three teams having great months of August, especially the Cubs. The time could be now to release some of the pressure from a kid who has hit .206 with four extra base hits since the All Star break. Rest him.

Kolten Wong may not like it, but a couple days off could relieve the pressure. If not that, bat him 8th and keep him there for a while. At this point, Wong needs normalcy or a small vacation. Do what is needed to get this kid right. He’s too important to run into the ground. A small rest could do wonders for Kolten Wong.

Man From U.N.C.L.E is cool summer jazz

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Writer/director Guy Ritchie’s abilities have ripened well with age. While Snatch remains his masterpiece, his latest adventure, the “adapted” Man From UNCLE, shows how consistent he has gotten and how finely he has crafted his movie making ways. The film lays into you like a cool jazz tune. You may not think it was made for you, but you will smile and enjoy it.

Before I tell you the particulars, let’s take a brief moment to discuss the plot. Napoleon Solo(Henry Cavill, sleek, suave and muscled) is the CIA’s best agent/spy and he must join forces with a stern Russian KGB tank(Armie Hammer, not sucking for once) in order to track down some hot dame’s uncle, who supposedly knows the wherabouts to some nuclear warheads. Enough with the dull stuff. What worked?

The cast is aces. Cavill proves here he is more than a superhero, putting the “S” in suave. From the moment we see this handsome devil in a suit walking towards customs with a “I’m cool and you are not” glare, this much is known. When Cavill retires the cape, he will have his hands full with work. Maybe play someone called 007. Who knows? His future is bright and Solo proves he has some range to play with.

This is the first time I liked Hammer in anything, who up until this flick was only suited to play a piece of cardboard that moved and talked. Lone Ranger? Vomit. J. Edgar? Lost. Here, playing a fighting machine yet vulnerable man with a few secrets of his own, Hammer gets to unleash a little personality and displays a pretty decent Russian tongue. He shouldn’t join a Moscow steam room anytime soon, but he acquits himself well here. In other words, he didn’t stink up the joint.

The beautiful woman who makes the men run in circles here is Alicia Vikander, and if you weren’t paying attention earlier this year, she was the sophisticated robot in Ex Machina. Here, she toys with Hammer’s Prom King sledge hammer and trades barbs with Cavill’s slick agent like she’s been playing in the British Embassy cool school for years. If you didn’t know her name before this film, you will now. She joins Rogue Nation’s Rebecca Ferguson in the “pay attention to me now” train of thought.

The soundtrack is money here, perfectly placing in blues, jazz and hipster knee rattling tracks that never let the action overwhelm or the pace slow down too fast. You may want to get a hold of Daniel Pemberton’s wise guy score that never stops beating your ears up with easy joy.

Ritchie and Lionel Wigram’s script has enough historical reference(Russians, Americans, Nuclear warheads, the 1960’s) to mix in with its wild banging martini of an action flick that clears credibility by a few nose hairs.

The action is ripped from a comic book but has just enough realism to keep you from rolling your eyes. If James Bond had a sense of humor, he’d live in this world. And yes, you are not mistaken…that is Hugh Grant acting again and doing it quite well here as the one of the top suits playing these men of action like he has a remote control in his hand.

Ritchie doesn’t break any new ground here, but he crafted a fine action adventure with a tongue in cheek attitude about it. It’s like he mixed a few spices together that hadn’t been put together before and most of it tasted good. If you don’t take it too seriously or expect to be blown away, Man from U.N.C.L.E. may just put a smile on your face.

I know I’ll be in line for a sequel if these make believe jokers work together again.

49ers’ Aldon Smith: A terrible waste of talent

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“There’s nothing more sad in life than a waste of talent.”-A Bronx Tale

San Francisco 49ers linebacker and University of Missouri, Columbia alum Aldon Smith is in trouble again and the storm is substantial this time. Smith was arrested in Santa Clara, California on charges involving a hit and run, DUI and vandalism. I call it the trifecta of off the field athlete stupidity. A waste of talent indeed.

Smith is one of the best defensive players in the NFL yet he continues to damage his career by getting into serious trouble with the law. Aldon, you can break tackles but you can’t break the law son.

His rap sheet of charges is nearly as long as his lateral reach. In 2011, he had three felony gun charges knocked down to misdemeanors. In 2013, he was arrested on charges of drunken driving and sentenced to 11 days of work release. Last season, he was suspended for the first nine games of the season due to personal conduct issues. His arrest today marks the third time he has been taken in for drunk driving. I don’t even want to know how many times he has driven under the influence and gotten away with it.

All this comes after a week where the 49ers expressed interest in resigning the troubled young man. After all, Smith is only 25 years old and entering his 5th season of action. Smith recorded 19.5 sacks in 2012 and has 44 sacks for his career in 50 games. Where his career goes from here is undecided but I can promise another suspension will be handed down and it may be worse than the last.

How much longer can San Francisco go along with this? Will the NFL intervene and hit Smith where it counts? All of this could have been avoided if the man asked for a driver. How many times will athletes get in trouble for not requesting a driver? How many lives would be saved if people didn’t drink and drive? If you want to have fun, do it but get it done in a safe manner. There are no excuses for Smith’s behavior. He deserves to be punished. He seems to have no regard for his career, well being or the well being of others.

You teach him by taking things away. It’s time for the NFL to take more things away from Aldon Smith. Send a message. Make an example. People will tie this to Mizzou and that’s inaccurate. This is a separate case that got started after Smith left MU. The tremble may have been noticeable on that campus from time to time, but clearly Smith has lost his way.

Time for the 49ers and NFL to help him find it. Smith was released by the 49ers after the incident. What a terrible waste of talent.

Kevin Siegrist: The Comeback Kid of the Cardinals Pen

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I had a problem during Sunday’s game. Kevin Siegrist was in to pitch the 8th inning against the Milwaukee Brewers, and the Cardinals had a 4-3 lead. He allowed a hit, got the next hitter out on a sacrifice, and then Mike Matheny pulled Siegrist for Jonathan Broxton before Khris Davis took his swing. This infuriated me. One reason? Kevin Siegrist shuts righthanded hitters down, better than anyone on the team, including Broxton. Why was Matheny doing this?

The tale didn’t end well. Brox threw a first pitch fastball and Davis planted it in center field. Brewers win. Questioning the move got me some heat because it’s apparently illegal in the Midwest to question a 71-40 team. It just didn’t sit well with me. It also showed something that some mainstream writers have been missing. The brilliant comeback season of Siegrist.

Remember 2013? Siegrist couldn’t be touched. He struck out 50 in 39.1 innings. His WHIP(average walks/hits allowed per inning) was a scintillating 0.88. Siegrist was the bridge of chaos before hitters the ring of fire in the 9th. He was another reason that the Cardinals were revered. Along with Trevor Rosenthal, the bullpen was stacked. After a decent 2013 postseason where Siegrist seemed to finally wear down a bit and the roller coaster started to slip off the rails, it fell off in 2014.

The lefty was stricken with a forearm injury that never went away and sucked up months of his season. He was out of action from May 23rd to July 25th and when he came the results weren’t pretty. Siegrist allowed 15 earned runs in 10.1 innings the rest of the season, striking out 10 but walking 8. His fastball was flat and his breaking pitches sat on a tee. He had lost it and going into the 2015 season, nobody knew if he had it back. He was healthy but was the sizzle from his fastball forever lost.

Siegrist answered quickly. He was firing heat past wooden bats again. The contact was gone. Hitters had no clue, having studied that 2014 tape too much and forgetting what the kid could do. In May and June, Siegrist struck out 17 batters in 12 and 12.1 innings. His walks were down. He wasn’t allowed much. He held games in check for Rosenthal, and also took a few rounds in the 9th inning himself. Siegrist was the everyman for this brutally stout Cards pen. When the rotation needed help, Siegrist helped lead the charge to pick up innings. His 53.2 innings are tied with Rosenthal for the bullpen lead. With Jordan Walden out since late April, Siegrist has forged his role into a multi-faceted attack. He’s done so on the strength of a recovered four seam fastball, a circle changeup and a slider(per Brooks Baseball).

Not too bad for the 1,235th pick in the 41st round in the 2008 draft making 518,000 dollars. Siegrist didn’t disappoint in his June 6th, 2013 debut against Arizona. In 1.2 innings, he struck out 4 batters. Two years later, fans expect that dominance out of the 6 foot 5 215 pound Buffalo, New York native. After a stormy 2013 season, Siegrist is back in a big way.

Sunday, here’s why I wanted Siegrist to stay in there, just so I am clear. In 133 at bats against righthanded hitters this season, the lefty has held them to a .150 average(20 hits and 1 home run) while striking out 51 and only walking 8. Against lefties, Siegrist is much more human, allowing a .316 average and walking 11 in less than 60 at bats. The decision to bring in Brox to face Davis was dumbfounding due to Siegrist’s ability to get the job done.

Wednesday night, Siegrist recorded more than 4 outs for the 7th time this season, pitching the 7th and 8th innings to hold the Pittsburgh Pirates at bay for a 4-2 victory that pushed the challenging Bucs team 7 games out of first place. Just the latest example of the man doing his job in a big spot against a great team. The latest appearance in a season that rivals, if not shines brighter, than Rosenthal’s work.

How good is Kevin Siegrist? He has 65 strikeouts in just 53.2 innings, an average of 10.9 strikeouts per 9 innings. You may point to his 11.0 strikeouts per 9 last year, but unlike in 2014, Siegrist isn’t getting clubbed along with the whiffs. His fielding independent ERA(take away his defense) is 2.58. It isn’t the greatest statistic for a reliever, but shows how dominant he has been.

Siegrist isn’t arbitration eligible until 2017 and isn’t a free agent until 2020. He’ll keep doing his thing, deadly style, for another season on the cheap. While he isn’t exactly an unsung hero of this pitching staff, Kevin Siegrist doesn’t get enough credit for the transformation he’s shown this season.

-DLB

Will John Lackey pitch in St. Louis next season?

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imageedit_1_6878099780Ask any saloon owner and the last thing you want to do is lose your best cowboy to another town next season. With the way St. Louis Cardinals starter John Lackey is pitching right now, the question remains swirling around my head. Will he come back and pitch for the Birds next year?

The Texan has turned back the clock in 2015, reaching 10 wins for the 12th consecutive season he’s pitched in. He’s more efficient than ever, racking up a 2.87 earned run average and a 1.18 WHIP with 116 strikeouts in 159.2 innings this season. He’s only walked 38 batters. He scatters singles, allows a lot of singles and the occasional home run but for the most part Lackey has stepped into the Chris Carpenter role since he joined the team last July. He’s an angry man on the mound and lets his emotions fly. He commands respect that other pitchers can only dream of. He’s more than just a talented arm. He’s a simple man with a plan who hasn’t added a pitch in years yet remains efficient.

Is it enough to bring him back next year? Sure it is. I just don’t think Lackey will want what the Cardinals offer him. I don’t see John Mozeliak offering a soon to be 37 year old more than a 1 year deal with the fleet of young pitchers coming up through the minor leagues like a locomotive carrying silver bullets into town. Put yourself in Lackey’s position. If you are pitching this well, and doing it for the bargain price of 500,000 dollars(Cards slipped him a bonus at midseason to enhance the earnings), would you accept a lesser deal at this point in your career?

I think Lackey will look for a parachute deal, something to float away into retirement on top of. He won’t go pitch for the Marlins or anything, but other contending teams will pay him good money and guarantee it for 2-3 seasons. I think of the “who comes back” ordeal to center around Jaime Garcia and Lackey. Right now, brittle body or not, Garcia has a better chance of returning simply because he has half the leverage that Lackey does and he needs to prove he can start 25-30 games in a season again.

I’d love to have Lackey stout back for another round of drinks. He’s tough. Once Waino fell down and Lance Lynn struggled a bit early on, Lackey’s role became enhanced this season. With his fine work Saturday night, John Lackey has hurled 12 quality starts in a row, nine of them covering 7 innings or more. He has been one of the most impressive if not the biggest bright spot in the league’s best rotation.

Enjoy him while he’s here folks. Lackey is exactly the guy the Cards need in the postseason, a guy who has closed out two teams on two different teams to win the World Series(including the Cardinals in 2013). As a competitor taking the ball every five days, Lackey is one of the best. As the oldest starting pitcher on the Cards, he’s hanging with these younger guns just fine.

While he may not be a Cardinal past 2015, John Lackey has proven to be worth every penny and then some this season. I think that’s enough to sleep on for Cardinals fans.

Hey Cardinals, let’s sign Jason Heyward!

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usa-today-8672658.0(In case you missed it on KSDK)

When the news of the new TV deal between the St. Louis Cardinals and Fox Sports Midwest landed, the first thought that hit my head was simple. It’s time to sign Jason Heyward to a long term deal.

If there was hesitation before, the extra money that kicks in during 2018 demolishes the doubt. As John Mozeliak told KMOX last week, he’s seen enough to know that Heyward belongs in St. Louis for a very long time so let’s wrap it up. He was being brought in to be the cardholder in right field and be the future face of this franchise. He has delivered the play in the field to prove he is worth the big contract.

Heyward turned 26 years old on Sunday, so signing him to a long term deal would be a fine present. Why not? What has Heyward not shown you through four months that was expected?

If you are looking for more power, look elsewhere. No one ever labeled Heyward a home run threat. You don’t see him competing in home run derbies, do you? He’s hit 20+ homers one time, so stop looking for gold there.

Through 107 games and 384 at bats, Heyward is hitting .286 with a .342 on base percentage and a .430 slugging percentage. His strikeout rate is only 17 percent. He has drawn 32 walks. He has 9 home runs and 37 RBI. Heyward has gotten better every month. He has been hitting since May 1st.

Here is his OPS and batting average per month.

April-.611/.217

May-.783/.284

June-.881/.326

July-.806/.312

August-.740/.290(8 games)

In case you have been blinded by the light, Heyward also plays a mean right field, and that includes a missile for a left arm and an ability to make run saving catches. According to Fangraphs, Heyward has saved 13 runs in right field and has an UZR(ultimate zone rating) of 11.8. Adam Jones and Nick Markakis won a Gold Glove with lesser numbers in both categories last season. Heyward’s overall WAR  of 3.8(highest on the team) is powered by his gold glove caliber defense. It’s no lie that his greatest asset is his ability to take hits and runs away in the field, through physical action or reputation. For a team that relies on great pitching being aided by great defense, Heyward is a nice asset to have out there.

He can hit anywhere in the lineup. Clean up, move up to 3rd or slide down to 6th. Did I mention he’s only 26 years old? The capabilities for this guy haven’t reached the roof offensively either, so the baseball card mafia can still hold out some hope for some more boom in that stick. Yes, I’d like a home run from Heyward sometime soon(his last came in Miami on June 24th) but that’s not where his true value is.

Heyward’s value comes in a versatile tool set. He has 18 steals in 20 attempts and he has 24 doubles. He has recaptured the ability to hit lefties this year(.286 in 105 at bats) and hit the ball to the opposite field. When Heyward did display the power back in 2012, he was a big time pull hitter, almost to where teams would shift on him. These days, he’s refined that part of his hitting approach and its fits right in with the Cardinals. Whitey Herzog would have loved to coach Heyward, right?

The time is now to sign Heyward because he is getting more expensive by the week. The closer he gets to free agency the higher his price tag goes. The free agent market this winter will include Heyward, Yoenis Cespedes and Justin Upton as their premier young bats. If the Cardinals let Heyward reach November without a contract, his price will sky rocket. Don’t get into a bidding war with the Yankees. If the money is there, sign Heyward now. The promise of this movie trailer of talent hasn’t disappointed over the first 2/3 of the season. Mo has seen enough, so I expect a deal to get done before the start of September. There’s no reason to wait.

With aging players like Matt Holliday and Yadier Molina reaching their final contracts and their bodies wearing down, it’s important to secure a big piece in the future in Heyward.

How much for his services? The Cards traded a big piece in Shelby Miller to acquire Heyward, so Mo knows the market and the price. A deal like seven years/161 million carries an annual average value of 23 million doesn’t sound bad for either side but it could be higher. That’s a place the Cards could start with at least. Who knows? The next few weeks will tell the tale.

Heyward has shown me enough to want him here long term. Has he done enough for you? Tell me in the comments below.

Is Mark Buehrle Hall of Fame worthy?

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(In case you missed it at KSDK) At the ripe age of 36 years old, Toronto Blue Jays lefthander Mark Buehrle is having a career season. The St. Charles, Missouri native is 13-5 with a 3.31 ERA in one of the toughest divisions when it comes to power bats and high scoring in the Major Leagues. The stat that has marked the time for Buehrle in this league over his 15 year career is durability. Since his first full season as a starter in 2001, he has won at least 10 games every season since and 11 seasons of 13 or more wins. Buehrle has also pitched 200 innings or more in every full season as a starter. All of this considered begs the question. Is Buehrle a future Hall of Famer?

He won a World Series with the Chicago White Sox in 2005. He threw a perfect game on July 23rd, 2009 against the Tampa Bay Rays, which holds a lot more weight than a no hitter these days with the lack of frequency. Buehrle also has 212 wins and counting with 3-4 years left on his career. If he averages 12-13 wins the rest of his career, he’ll end up with around 245-250 wins. His career earned run average is 3.79 with a decent overall WHIP of 1.28. Once again, with the exception of 2012 with the Miami Marlins, Buehrle has amassed these numbers in the tough American League Central and East divisions.

He’s also done it without a power arm. In 155 innings this year, he only has 73 strikeouts. For his career, 3,239.2 innings pitched, Buehrle has 1,852 strikeouts. His strikeouts to walks ratio is around 2.5/1, which is solid and consistent. He has 33 complete games for his career. He doesn’t strike out a lot of guys or allow many walks. He pitches to contact, which may hurt him with the voters who love them some K’s. Efficiency shouldn’t be graded on a curve that supports pitching mound fascism though, right? Over 15 years, Buehrle has gotten the job done. But is it HOF worthy?

Let’s compare it to the latest Hall of Fame inductee, John Smoltz. Some were baffled Smoltz got in but let’s take a look. Over 21 years, Smoltz amassed 215 wins and an earned run average of 3.13 with a WHIP of 1.18 and 3,084 strikeouts in 3,473 innings. Smoltz put together 53 complete games. However, in 6 of those seasons, Smoltz wasn’t a full time starter. He saved 55, 45, 44 games from 2002-04 for the Braves. In the other three, Smoltz only started a combined 25 games. A wrinkle, if a successful interesting one, to a very long career that included a World Series appearance against The Minnesota Twins in 1991 that included a Game 7 duel with Tigers ace Jack Morris. Smoltz flirted with a no-hitter in 2007 but lost it in the 9th inning. Smoltz also won a Cy Young award in 1996.

While Smoltz has the dual sided career as a starter and great yet brief closer with the strikeouts to back it up, Buehrle has been a durable arm with the big career highlights(including four Gold Gloves and five All Star appearances to boot) that has stretched over multiple teams in a tough hitter’s league over 14 seasons. Smoltz was part of the outstanding 1990’s Atlanta dynamo with Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine(also inducted this year), and Steve Avery. Buehrle has anchored many pitching staffs himself.

When Buehrle reached his end, he will have a lot more wins and maybe another World Series title. While he isn’t a lock to be inducted today, if he keeps up this work, Mark Buehrle will demand a fair look at the end. The argument is there.

One more thing. Over his 16 seasons, Buehrle’s WAR(wins above replacement) is 60.8, which comes out to an average of 4.05 per season, an above average mark for a pitcher. Smoltz’s WAR over his 21 seasons is 66.5(an average of 3.16). If you just take Smoltz’s 15 full starter seasons, his average is up to 3.9. If you go old school or new school sabermetric, the numbers don’t put Smoltz too far in front of Buehrle, and it must be pointed out once again. The southpaw isn’t finished yet.

Is Mark Buehrle a Hall of Fame Candidate? Yes he is, especially if he remains consistent. Is he a lock? No.

What do you think?