Category: St. Louis Cardinals

Leave the power and take the OBP with Matt Holliday

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With the new sensations in town in Stephen Piscotty and Randal Grichuk, word on the street is Matt Holliday seems to expendable when it comes to the formation of the St. Louis Cardinals’ outfield this year, next year and beyond. While nobody is asking for the big guy to be traded or sent out, their lineups aren’t highlighting a hitter with some pop and production left in his bat. As Holliday works his way back from his second quad injury in 2015 and an injury plagued season, I’ll warn you. Don’t write off the Stillwater, Oklahoma native just yet.

Piscotty and Grichuk may be the brisket rub of the moment in this town, but they’ve been doing this for less than a season. Their contributions are great and have helped a team carrying an inconsistent offensive attack, but dismissing the idea of Holliday returning is quite humorous considering how this lineup thrives with him in the #3 spot.

It’s true. Matt Holliday doesn’t have the big boom in his stick anymore. It’s doubtful he will reach 30 home runs again. Those days are behind him but that doesn’t render his bat optional. While it’s nice to see Jon Jay making progress and Grichuk starting to do some activities, Holliday is the bat I am looking forward to seeing the most.

The Cards don’t run on power. They run on consistently good at bats and on base percentage. Holliday provides both and has been doing so for years.

People will complain he gets hurt a lot. Wrong. In five of the last six seasons leading up to 2015, Matt Holliday has played in 140 games or more. Holliday is no Tulo. He’s still durable at 35 years of age, and that comes from staying in marvelous physical shape and being smart with his choices.

Leave the power, take the OPS with Holliday. While his slugging percentage has decreased from .525 to .420 this season, his on base percentage still sits near .400. Before he got hurt, Holliday got on base 40 percent of the time. With his healthy .290 average maintaining fuel, Holliday’s OPS is a robust .829 this season. Over the past three seasons, it’s .876, .879 and .811. He isn’t diminishing in overall offensive value, so why hand this man the walker?

I understand transformation and bringing in new players but the kids will have to do more than spark a wire in a hot car during one summer in order to push Holliday to reserve status. He’s going to play when he gets back and he’s going to be here next year and more than likely, the year after that. If that means Matt Adams has to hold off Piscotty at first base, so be it. Competition keeps the kids hungry and the veterans on their toes.

Come postseason time, you’ll want Holliday and his 13 career October home runs. He has a thing for showing up in big moments. The man churns out game deciding hits like John Mozeliak changes bow ties. Sorry he doesn’t make diving catches in the outfield but there’s a guy named J-Hey for that.

Holliday has simply transitioned into a different hitter as his career hits the final strip of pavement. He has went from a power hitting Coors Field resident to an all around Busch Stadium stinger. Holliday still hits the ball harder than most, and his line drive rate is healthy. His plate discipline has never been better than it was this year, with 39 walks to just 44 strikeouts. He’s a smart guy at the plate and in a lineup full of easy 100 strikeout guys this season, that discipline is required.

While it’s normal to talk about the next generation of players, it’s wrong to start writing off Matt Holliday. If he is 100% in September and can contribute, he will play. He’s earned that right. Not to mention the effect he has on this clubhouse as a leader and in the community becoming the face of St. Louis Albert Pujols was before he departed for the West. Holliday can also hold his own in a broadcast booth, but that’s icing on the cake.

Appreciating Matt Holliday in 2015 is a little harder than it used to be, I know. The Baseball Card mafia has to look a little closer and see a guy with some gas left in the tank. Just remember this. Home runs are fascist and Matt Holliday isn’t going anywhere and for good reason.

10 Reasons To Love Lance Lynn

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(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

While he may not be as popular as his Cardinals rotation colleagues, Lance Lynn is valuable for many reasons. Here are 10.

10. He has a fun time with the media. He isn’t mean or extra courteous. He treats the questions like a playful round of poker instead of an interrogation.

9. Lynn throws strikes. He’s never walked more than 76 batters in a season and owns a career 2.7-1 strikeouts to walks ratio.

8. He’s old school. Don’t ask him about pitch counts. Lynn has fired 115 or more pitches 6 times this season, more than any other Cardinal.

7. Lynn is a winner, compiling 60 wins and a 63 percent win rate over his 5 years of play.

6. He doesn’t need help from his defense. Lynn leads the Cards in fielding independent ERA at 3.27.

5. Durability. Lynn is headed for his fourth consecutive season of 30 or more starts.

4. Lynn is a bargain. For a guy who averages 13-15 wins per season, he is only making 7 million dollars this season.

3. He doesn’t allow a lot of home runs. Over 763.2 career innings, Lynn has only allowed 57 home runs.

2. Did I mention he strikes guys out? Lynn has faced 630 batters in 2015 and struck out 23 percent of them. An average of 9.0 per nine innings

  1. He’s an emotional beast on the pitching mound, letting his emotions fly and power the tenacity of his pitches. How can you not like that.

Lance Lynn has 11 wins and pitches through injuries and disregards pitch counts. Don’t ask him about it. He throws fastballs and that’s it. 85 percent of the time in 2015 Lynn throws a four or two seamer. Old school, bearded and unconventional, Lynn doesn’t make it look easy but he gets the job done. Year to year. Appreciate it folks and have a good Monday.

Which returning Cardinal makes the biggest impact?

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As August ages into its final stretch, I wanted to look at the fleet of returning Cardinals and the impact they could have on the team. Most of the injured squad are hitters and that is something the team sorely needs as the page is turned onto the final few weeks of the season. As the Cardinals sit with a 5 game lead on the Pittsburgh Pirates, any help to an ailing lineup is welcome. Who is coming back and what can they offer?

Matt Adams

Rescue at first! The big guy headed to Florida Thursday for extended baseball activities and could be back in very early September. Adams’ effect is vital due to the inconsistent and quite missing production from first base. Brandon Moss hasn’t taken off, Mark Reynolds has showed a little more life and the Memphis duo of Xavier Scruggs and Dan Johnson provided little pop. Adams, if healthy, could charge this lineup up at a weak spot.

Matt Holliday

Lineup stability! When Holliday goes into the lineup, he offers stability in a number of ways. He is also an on base machine who takes a good bat, stings line drives and is clutch. Holliday’s versatile hitting attack and veteran presence would be a big boost. He could back in mid the 2nd or 3rd week of September.

Jon Jay

Versatility! When healthy, Jay offers Mike Matheny a number of things, including starting all three outfield spots, on base percentage and a steady diet of hits. Jay’s wrist has deflated all of his tools in 2015, so if he is healthy, Jay can ignite this team up and down the order. Keep in mind his career stats, including a .289 batting average and .356 on base percentage. With Jay and Holliday, you get ON BASE beasts. Jay could be extending his activities more this week.

Randal Grichuk

Stand by! He’s on shut down mode right now with elbow soreness and swelling. He can’t do much until the swelling goes away so while it’s only a 15 days disabled list stint listed, I see Grichuk needing more time. Elbow’s are tricky. He could be a mid September lineup guy.

Adam Wainwright

Health concerns abound here! As I noted in a column this week, expecting Waino back this year is a little foolish. He simply doesn’t have the time to get ready. He needs major league starts. He is recovering from a tricky injury, with the Achilles heel. Why rush that when deciding who doesn’t make a playoff start of your current 5 is hard enough? Cancel Waino out for 2015.

Jordan Walden

Unlikely! With the acquisitions of Steve Cischek and Jonathan Broxton, General Manager John Mozeliak was sounding the alarm that Walden and Matt Belisle were not coming back anytime soon. I would be surprised if I saw Walden on a postseason roster much less in September. He’s not throwing right now. See him in 2016.

 

That’s it. The Cards start play in San Diego Friday night with a 77-43 record, the best in baseball. That doesn’t mean there aren’t any leaks in the tank. Returning Cardinals could play a huge role these last 6 weeks.

Questioning Trevor Rosenthal’s paternity leave is ludicrous

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Congratulations, ladies and gentlemen, we live in a day and age where baseball players and their teams are lambasted for feeling the need to be with their wives as they give birth to their children. Yep, it’s not 1930 anymore. Players are allowed to leave the team via paternity leave to witness what every man should see at least once in his life. The birth of a baby. Nothing can equal it. Then again, if you ask some Cardinals fans, it’s just not right. The latest from the Twitter desk….

This is what started the firestorm today. John isn’t alone. There were others who said in not so subtle terms that Rosenthal leaving the team during a pennant race wasn’t convenient. I’m not going to track all the comments down. I’ll be subtle yet direct. At the end of the day, if people are sincerely mad at a player for wanting to see their child born, that speaks about something about that particular person that runs far deeper than baseball. That’s just ludicrous.

Mike Matheny has done this before. Peter Bourjos left to be with his wife. So have other players. It’s a staple in this organization and others around the league. That is why there are 25 men on the roster. That is why teams carry a deep bullpen and bench. That is why there are three farm teams at a team’s disposal. The grueling schedule of baseball covers more than just six months a year. It’s a year round job that doesn’t wear off until Christmas and sparks up again during the first month of the year. Baseball players are highly paid professionals but that doesn’t mean they can’t be with their families at a moment that is as precious as it gets.

So The Rosenthal Propane Fastball Distillery was closed for a few days. Get over it. The Cards can make due. They got others who can throw the heat and get the job done. It isn’t like this just sprung up on Rosenthal and the Cardinals. This had been in the making for months.

When my wife gave birth to our soon to be four year old son Vinny(Rosenthal’s first girl, Chloe, has a birthday on September 13th, one day shy of my son), I was at work doing my job. I was looking for a certain brand of ant killer spray and oblivious to how that would go. My supervisor came and got me, and told me what was happening and immediately followed it with, “Goodbye”. He knew how special the occasion was. I wonder if they didn’t tell me and I left my shift and it was over. That would have been wrong.

Why rob Rosenthal of that moment just because he plays for the Cardinals, one of the most popular teams in the country? At the end of the day, it’s human beings playing a game that they call a living. There will be times when the team has to make due without one of their guys. Good thing there is no “I’ in team, right?

Congratulations to the Rosenthal’s on the birth of their second child and girl. Lots of sleepless nights for Rosenthal and Cardinals fans this fall.

Hat tip to Joe Schwarz(@stlCupofJoe) for the tweet used here.

Photo courtesy of USA Today

Where would the Cardinals be without Jhonny Peralta?

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While Stephen Piscotty is the hot toddy of the moment and Jason Heyward is turning up the jets on the extra base hit plank, I beg to ask a simple question. Where would the St. Louis Cardinals be without shortstop Jhonny Peralta’s steady flow of production in the field and at the plate? It’s become something you expect, like the sun rising every morning. Peralta just keeps hitting, making plays in the field and generally gets zip on the major networks because he isn’t loud enough and doesn’t hit enough home runs. And his name isn’t Kris Bryant.

The Cards offense has been leaking oil since June, but Peralta has kept the vehicle moving. He was doing this before Piscotty showed up, as Heyward’s bat was still thawing out and Matt Carpenter’s bat was missing. Without Peralta, I think this team is without a few key wins and the success wouldn’t be as sweet.

Peralta’s finest trait is durability. Since he put on the birds on the bat, Peralta has played in 276 games out of 285 possible games, and assembled a fWAR of 7.8. That’s not bad for a guy who wasn’t exactly met with the cheeriest of greetings back in November of 2013 upon signing a 4 year deal worth an annual value of 13 million.

Entering Monday’s action against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Peralta’s offensive stats aren’t going to blow minds but they have been steady. Jhonny has 16 home runs, 56 RBI, 24 doubles, .285 batting average, .342 on base and .446 slugging percentage. He has lost a bit of power in August but just polished off a 5-10 performance in San Diego.

On the defensive side, Peralta has gotten job done. He isn’t going to add a gold glove to his shelf any time soon, but Peralta has a lean and mean .991 fielding percentage. Four errors in 452 chances. He makes the plays and makes it look as if his feet aren’t even touching the ground.

People may want more attitude, emotion and all together swagger out of Peralta but it isn’t going to happen. He’s a quiet soldier who goes about his business like a pro. He isn’t flashy but he produces. He is on pace for a similar season to last year’s efforts, with Fangraphs having finishing with 20 home runs, 73 RBI and an average right around .279. Take it. I’ll take that every year from Peralta.

People love the theme park ride allure of Randal Grichuk, the all around tenacity of Piscotty and Carpenter, but this lineup could use a couple more Peralta’s. Guys who can pop a home runs when needed(the Wrigley rescue shot), get a hit, make a play and resist going into a massive slump. He just keeps playing and it’s a good thing, because the only guys standing behind him are Pete Kozma and Greg Garcia, who the Cards can’t seem to resist sending back and forth between Memphis and St. Louis. At a position needing consistency and on a team full of injuries, Peralta has been there every day for the Cards.

While it may not be flashy and Sportscenter worthy, Jhonny Peralta’s value is quite clear. He’s not a life saver, but he sure is important to this band of Birds.

Cardinals need to resist bringing Adam Wainwright back

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It’s hard to deny Adam Wainwright in any arena. Fantasy football, barbecue preparation, dugout comedian, team leader or dominant starting pitcher. Having said that, the St. Louis Cardinals shouldn’t expect Wainwright back in 2015. They don’t need him this year, unless he can play the outfield and hit. The need for pitching just doesn’t exist on a team carrying the best team ERA in the National League.

All I have heard for the past two weeks is the idea of Waino coming back way before he was expected to return. When he tore his Achilles Heel back in late April, the book on his 2015 season was closed quite tightly. The recovery time was several months and would not allow him to return this season. If he were rushed back, infection and aggravation could cause more surgery, as was the case with Ryan Howard in 2012.

Wainwright has talked about it. Radio shows have discussed it. The question has been brought to General Manager John Mozeliak’s attention, and even he seemed surprised on the Fox Sports Midwest telecast Tuesday night. When asked about Waino saying his return this season isn’t out of the question, Mo’s silky smooth retort was, “Does he?” The honest response is Waino still has to clear a lot of major hurdles in order to get back. He has to throw from a mound several times, getting the feel back. He has to face some live competition. Live bats. He needs the proper rest in between. He needs the leg to not react badly to ANY of this. See how I am stepping into far fetched land here?

Why rush back your staff ace when the pitching staff is thriving? When there isn’t a need? Right now the Cardinals would have to make a tough decision on a playoff rotation. Who would get kicked out of a strong five man rotation? Why make Waino a sixth? Would he be at 100 percent? Would 65-80% Waino be any better than Tyler Lyons and Tim Cooney? No. People will then say, how about the bullpen? They look pretty stout down there from the right side, so why put Waino in a role he hasn’t been in since the 2006 World Series? There is no need.

Unless Wainwright is being brought back to hit, there is no reason. Can he play the outfield? Can he pinch hit? He certainly may be a threatening bat when mixed in with the Cards bench, but that’s how he hurt the heel in the first place so again, why push it?

Any answer lacks logic and I have heard them all. Adam Wainwright needs to focus on getting ready for 2016 and if keeping the competitive edge in his mind that a return this year isn’t out of questions helps him, so be it.

For all intents and purposes, Wainwright is still out of action this season. There’s no reason to change that. Wainwright’s 2015 season has been lost. There’s no reason to put his 2016 in jeopardy as well. Especially when it’s not needed.

Photo credit-USA Today

Jaime Garcia: A great yet breakable investment

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By now, Cardinals fans know the drill. When Jaime Garcia is on, he’s as good of a lefthander as you will find in this league. He makes MLB hitters swing awkwardly and ugly at several of his pitches. He doesn’t need a ton of pitches to get through 7 innings of work and he seems to have conquered the maturation on the mound aspect as he nears the ripe age of 30. However, the biggest problem with Garcia has little to do with pitching and everything to do with health. Can he stay healthy and for how long? Should the Cards invest in that going forward?

Garcia will be making his 10th start in Milwaukee tonight and his 2015 season has been impressive, albeit incomplete. While he doesn’t have the win total due to a lack of run support(19 runs in 9 starts), Garcia hasn’t been reached for more than 3 earned runs in his 9 starts, and he’s only needed more than 100 pitches once. He has a 3 to 1 strikeouts to walks ratio and doesn’t allow a lot of clean contact. His WHIP is a rude 0.92 and hitters have only scraped a .199 average against him. How is he doing it? Every Garcia pitch has movement, whether it’s is 91 mph four seam fastball or his devastating sinker and slider. He doesn’t get a ton of swings and misses but he does induce plenty of groundballs.

Garcia is a wicked bowl of talent that seems to slip off the counter far too often. It’s hard to get excited about Garcia because when you do, it seems to be a flicker of greatness. The southpaw is nearing the end of another season where he won’t make more than 20 starts for the fourth consecutive season. Garcia has an 11.5 million dollar option for 2016 and a 12 million dollar option for 2017, both carrying 500k buyouts. With Marco Gonzales coming up fast and ready to assume a role in this rotation, does Garcia return next year? Do the Cards take that gamble with his health? Let’s answer that question.

If he finishes the season(which is like saying if you finish that 1 pound hamburger inside 5 minutes), The Cardinals should bring back Garcia, as long as it’s just the one year. Until he establishes an ability to stay healthy, the team shouldn’t extend him beyond a year. At the same time, they can’t cut loose a guy who has honestly figured something out. He hasn’t been this sharp in years and whether it’s brief and not long lasting to this point, Garcia is a riddle for Major League hitters. In his weakest outings, his first against the Mets and last against Colorado, he still managed to keep the Cards in the game and pitch well. He hasn’t been beat up once this season and that can’t be discounted.

For now, enjoy the lefty while you can. He’s that traveling rock n’ roll band who may flame out at any moment, cursed by its internal structure and wiring. Garcia is easily one of the best pitchers in the National League…when he’s actually pitching. While a decision on 2016 will loom soon enough, Cardinals fans need to hope, not bet, on Garcia staying healthy the rest of the way.

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.