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Chris Carpenter Finally Steps Down

November 23, 2013April 13, 2017 · Leave a comment ·

For some players, the game of baseball requires a heightened sense of intensity. While others merely play the game as well as they can and do it hard every day, they don’t come close to the ferocity of Chris Carpenter, who I have had the pleasure of watching drape his brooding figure in Cardinal Red since 2004. His story is truly authentic and special because he was deemed damaged goods in Toronto after 6 seasons of disappointment and he quickly flipped the switch in his first year here. A shoulder surgery tragedy walking into Busch Stadium, Carpenter leaves his career in the same place as one of the best pitchers in the history of the franchise. That remarkable run came to an end on Wednesday, when Cardinals General Manager John Mozelaik officially announced that Carpenter was retiring.

A quiet dignified exit for one of the Cards greats is appropriate. Like a gruff old cowboy, Carp prefers to just get on his old horse and quietly ride out of town without a clear cut goodbye. His career is similar to another former Cardinal, Jim Edmonds, in that both players enjoyed dominant seasons in patches but probably lack the overall numbers to stand out to the stat monsters standing at the doors of the Hall of Fame. However, as I’ve said many times, I will take the player who was dominant for a shorter period of time than players who were simply good over a longer period. That’s just me. Take 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010 and 2011 of Carpenter and match them against other sure fire pitching Hall of Fame likely arms. Go ahead and do it. Two separate three year periods.

Carpenter’s greatness stretched farther than stats and goes into the intangibles and complexities of the game that many analysts miss. He was a great teammate because he demanded his fellow players follow his work ethic and cut the shit. He had no time for excuses and helped nurture Adam Wainwright into his successor. He was blunt with the media and as tough as they come. When he couldn’t contribute with his arm, he lent his mind and expertise to the manager and his teammates in 2007, 2008 and 2013. When his body didn’t cooperate, Carpenter just hit the rehab highway even harder. How many pitchers extend their career by having a piece of their rib inserted around their clavicle/neck area? Carpenter did that. He tore his triceps. He had several shoulder surgeries. He underwent Tommy John Surgery and missed nearly 2 seasons. He just wouldn’t go away.

Take Carpenter away and The Cardinals probably don’t win the 2006 and 2011 World Series titles. In 2006, he started 5 games, won 3 of them and compiled a 2.78 ERA. In 2011, he was superhuman. After dominating opposing hitters in September to literally carry his team to a last minute playoff berth, Carpenter went berserk in the playoffs. He was 4-0 and while his ERA was higher(3.25), no one in baseball will ever forget his Game 5 clash in the NLDS with fellow ace and close friend, Roy Halladay. Clinging to a 1-0 lead, Carpenter shut down the Phillies in their own park and when it was all said and done, he unleashed a primal scream that may have shaken the Rocky statue. In the World Series, he made the famous dive for first base in Game 1 against the Rangers. He went out on 3 days of rest to pitch Game 7 and delivered a quality start to help the Cards clinch their 11th title. He was 10-4 with a 3.00 ERA lifetime in the playoffs. Carpenter was all guts and glory in his prime.

He was ferocious on the mound. He once made Starlin Castro and Hanley Rameriz cry a little during a game. He screamed at opposing hitters from the mound, ripped himself apart at times and carried a general disdain for his right arm when it wasn’t throwing pitches where he intended them to go. Carpenter was old school and truly one of a kind. Whatever his body took away from him, he gave back in attitude, confidence and sheer menace. His type of competitive intensity comes along maybe once a decade.

I watched him pitch for 2 seasons while I worked the final 2 years of the Manual Scoreboard at the original Busch Stadium. He is still the best pitcher I have ever seen pitch live. He wasn’t like the majority of pitchers who got the ball back from the catcher between pitches and seemed to look at it like a Rubik’s cube. He got it and threw it. I liked that about him. Why wait an extra 5 seconds if you know what the heck you are doing? Carpenter was all business and didn’t let feelings get involved. I will miss watching him pitch. I will miss his slow methodical walk from the mound after a decent if not great inning. I will miss his double fist pump after a huge out. I will miss him making hitters sweat because they weren’t sure if Carp was simply doing his job or holding a gladiator like grudge. There aren’t many pitchers who finish with 144 wins and hold a place in so many people’s minds.

I hope Carp takes a little time off and resets his clock to prepare for a long coaching career. I think he belongs in the dugout with the players more so than the office with the suits. He needs to stay close to the stink of the game, the intensity streaming inside him, and become a full time mentor to younger players. He will teach young pitchers how Cardinals are supposed to treat the game and themselves. He will help weaker minds with the mental grind. When someone gets hurt, he can tell them a lot of worthy stories about staying positive. Chris Carpenter has a lot to offer and I don’t think he will be able to stay away for too long. He is like Brett Farve. He has little time for a broadcasting job. He doesn’t want the bright lights flashed on him while sitting next to Pat Parris or Orel Hersisher. He wants a half full bag of sunflower seeds to tuck in his back pocket and a shaved head to lurk under his tightly wound wool cap. Chris Carpenter isn’t done with baseball yet. He is simply done pitching.

This is truly the end of an era and a bittersweet moment in Cardinals history. All good things do eventually come to an end. Now is the time to revisit his greatest moments while he reloads the body and mind before his coaching career takes off.

Also, there are perks to knowing someone inside the organization. On the day his retirement was announced, I got an email from the Cardinals about a request I made to my friend inside. A signed Carpenter 2011 World Series baseball arrived today. It will become my proudest Cardinal possession instantly.

Thanks for reading this,

Dan L. Buffa

@buffa82 on Twitter

Reach me at buffa82@gmail.com

Cardinal Blogger Awards

November 21, 2013April 13, 2017 · 1 Comment ·

Via http://www.unitedcardinalbloggers.com, here are the annual Cardinal Blogger Awards. Once a year, after the season has been wrapped up, a little awards ballot is presented. Awards for Cardinal players and bloggers are presented. My Picks are in BOLD BLACK.

Team Awards
1) Cardinal Position Player of the Year
–Matt Carpenter
–Allen Craig
–Yadier Molina
–Write-in: ___________

2) Cardinal Pitcher of the Year
–Edward Mujica
–Trevor Rosenthal
–Adam Wainwright
–Write-in: ___________

3) Game of the Year
–May 10 vs. Colorado (Miller’s almost-perfecto)
–May 11 vs. Colorado (Wainwright’s no-hitter into 8th)
–August 26 vs. Cincinnati (comeback capped by Craig slam)
–September 4 at Cincinnati (Adams 2 extra-inning HR)
–September 24 vs. Nationals (Wacha near no-no)
–Game 4, NLDS
–Write-in: ____________

4) Surprise Player of the Year
–Matt Carpenter
–Joe Kelly
–Edward Mujica
–Kevin Siegrist
–Write-in: ______________

5) Disappointing Player of the Year
–David Freese
–Pete Kozma
–Fernando Salas
–Write-in: _______________

6) Rookie of the Year
–Matt Adams
–Carlos Martinez
–Shelby Miller
–Michael Wacha
–Write-in: ______________

7) Acquisition of the Year
–John Axford
–Randy Choate
–Write-in: ______________

8) Most Anticipated Cardinal
–Stephen Piscotty
–Lee Stoppleman
–Oscar Taveras
–Write-in: ______________

Blog Awards
9) Best Individual Cardinal Blog*
–Write-in: __stlcupofjoe’s sports page____________

10) Best Team Cardinal Blog*
–Write-in: ____http://www.i70baseball.com/__________

*–Individual means the blog was written mainly by one person, while a team blog is composed usually by two or more. For classification’s sake, each blog under The Cardinal Conclave label are considered separate entities and should be considered in either team (Pitchers Hit Eighth) or individual (everyone else).

11) Best Media Coverage
–Derrick Goold
–Jenifer Langosch
–Stan McNeal
–Bernie Miklasz
–Joe Strauss
–Write-in: ____________

12) Best Rookie Cardinal Blog
–CardinalsFarm
–Dose of Buffa
–stlcupofjoe’s Sports Page
–The View From Here
–Write-in: ____________

13) Post of the Year
Bad Body Language Has No Place In Baseball (Cardinals Fan in Cubs Land)
Closing The Book On The John Axford Trade (On The Outside Corner)
Doors Close On The Cardinals In 2013 (Dose of Buffa)
How A B-17 Nearly Clipped Cardinals In World Series (RetroSimba)
Matt Holliday: One Of The Most Cost Effective Players In Baseball (stlcupofjoe’s Sports Page) My Pick***
Memories Help Come To Terms With The Season’s End (Aaron Miles’ Fastball)
RIP Stan The Man (Women Who Love Cardinal Baseball)
Time For The Relievers (The View From Here)
What Does Your Cardinals Jersey Say About You? (C70 At The Bat)
–Write-in: _______________

14) Best UCB Project
–Cardinal HOF Inductees
–Cardinal HOF Memorabilia
–Roundtables
–Top 7 Prospects
–Write-in: ____________

15) Best UCB Podcast
–Conversations With C70
–Gateway To Baseball Heaven
–UCB Radio Hour
–Write-in: ____________

16) Best UCB Twitterer
–Write-in: ___@stlcupofjoe_________

There it is. My picks. Cast your own vote at the site right here, http://www.unitedcardinalbloggers.com/2013/11/07/the-seventh-annual-cardinal-blogger-awards-ballot/

Thanks for reading,

Dan Buffa

The Elvis Andrus Effect

November 19, 2013April 13, 2017 · Leave a comment ·

By now, you get it. The Cards are looking for a long term answer at shortstop that could bolster their lineup and maintain their habit of defensively strengthened infield units. Unless you have been harboring yourself under a rock with Walter White and Breaking Bad’s 6o + episodes, there’s a fair chance you have heard about this. I am going to tell you why Elvis Andrus is a great fit for the St. Louis Cardinals.

I wrote last week about the idea of Troy Tulowitzki becoming a St. Louis Cardinal. However, anyone who plays monopoly knows that getting Tulo would put a mighty fine dent in our young player pool and hinge a 7 year, 134 million dollar salary on a team that doesn’t like to carry too much weight on the plane. That’s exactly why I called it the Idea of Tulowitzki. People ran at me afterwards thinking I was telling the Cards to do whatever it took to march this man down the Mississippi River immediately. Offer up a part of the Ballpark Village stock and get him here. Let him co-sign the Imos name and put him in red. Trade his mountains for our Arch. Name a few streets after him, right???….

NO. I was merely saying it was worth looking into and I would support it. So let’s move on and let the suits ponder that dreamy proposition. If you ask me today or even next month who I want the Cards to chase down in a trade this winter, my guy is Elvis Andrus. The Texas Rangers shortstop is under control until 2022, but he can opt out after 2018 or 2019. That’s at least five years at a relatively modest salary. He will make 6.75 million in 2014. Then he makes 15 million for the next four years. If he doesn’t opt out, the total cost of his Rangers negotiated extension is 8 years and 120 million. For a fine shortstop, that’s not a bad price. Andrus is 4 years younger than Tulo, is not injury prone and comes at a cheaper price. Andrus is attractive and would work very well in St. Louis for a number of reasons.

Consider the positives. Andrus would immediately alter the look of the Cards lineup. He slides in perfectly into the #2 hole and gives you a newfound boost of speed on the bases. He stole 42 bases in 2013 and has average about 31 in his five year career. In an offensive down year by many analysts, Andrus still collected 168 hits, scored 91 runs and hit .271 with 67 RBI. Over his last 5 seasons, per Bernie Miklasz, his 16 wins above replacement trails only Tulo and Hanley Rameriz. Andrus is a two time all star who is still awaiting his true breakout season. A young, speedy fine defensive shortstop. We got a taste of his ability in the 2011 World Series. Andrus can take over a game. Imagine him and Wong in this lineup with their speed and base stealing ability. The Cards offense would change overnight.

What cost? Texas is looking for a power bat to play first base and hit DH. Matt Adams is going to fall into this discussion and I would be able to part with him. Allen Craig is another story. He would be hard to give up because he is such a proven cost effective run producer. On one leg, look at what he did in the World Series. Adams, however, had a great rookie season that saw time off the bench and filling in at first base. In under 300 at bats, he stroked 17 home runs and collected 51 RBI. He began to get solved by pitching in the playoffs but is very young and also cost effective. However, you have to give up something sweet in order to get a fine piece of pie.

What else? Texas are stocked on young pitching but would pull a few known quality arms off our heap. They may want a reliever/starter type like Kevin Siegrist. I would part with him. They could a proven starter like Lance Lynn or Joe Kelly. They also may want Shelby Miller or Carlos Martinez. Young lefthanded prospect Marco Gonzales is probably off limits because he is the leftie of the future and someone I am sure Mo would hold onto. Which one is more expendable out of Carlos and Shelby?

In my eyes, due to his versatility and untouched ability, Carlos Martinez is the one you hold onto tighter. What if Miller can’t develop a fine secondary pitch? He was very good in 2013 but hitters started to hit him in September. He throws a lot of pitches. The Cards shut him down basically in the playoffs. Please don’t tell me he was a long reliever because I will laugh at you. Miller could develop into a Max Scherzer type one day but he needs a couple more pitches to meet that mark. I don’t want to part with either Miller or Martinez but in my eyes right now, Miller is more expendable.

Texas may want other players. Look for a package of Adams, Lynn and Siegrist and maybe another prospect. For a player like Elvis Andrus I would make that trade. When it comes to losing pitchers, remember the current scouting team of the Cards won’t suddenly just start drafting badly. John Mozeliak and his team have turned the Cardinals farm system into a well oiled machine that could run for years. Guys like Gonzales, Lee Stoppelman, Tim Cooney and other young guns will be coming up soon. Please don’t think the line ends with Wacha and Martinez because I assure you it does not.

Elvis Andrus has the defensive flair that Jed Lowrie does not. He isn’t as injury prone or expensive as Tulo. He is a better overall option than J.J. Hardy because he brings a speed element that has been missing from this team for decades. He hit better on the road than at hitter friendly Rangers Park in Arlington(.293 in 2013). He hits lefties and righties equally well. His strongest hitting months in 2013 came in the past 2 months, when he hit .303 and .313 and stole 18 of his 42 bases. Andrus is cost controlled, young and has his best years still ahead him even though sitting as a two time All Star at the moment. Something about him just feels right, safe and exciting. Sure, he could get hurt and miss time. Every player can. The sweet isn’t as sweet without the bitter in life and that applies in every sports transaction.

Are there other good options out there besides Andrus? Sure there are. Are there better overall options for the Cardinals when it comes to price in dollars and players? In my opinion, there are not. Elvis Andrus is the man I want wearing Cardinal Red at shortstop in 2014 and beyond.

What is your take? Respond with thoughts and inquiries to my email, buffa82@gmail.com or find me on Twitter at my handle, @buffa82.

Thanks for reading this.

United Cardinal Bloggers Roundtable Question

November 14, 2013April 13, 2017 · Leave a comment ·

Every year, once the season ends, the United Cardinal Bloggers, a blog I write about the Cards for, holds a roundtable discussion. Via google email chat groups, one person sends out a question in the morning and the rest of the crew answers. Today, I posted my question about the hottest topic at Busch right now. The Shortstop Dilemma.

This is my official question/paragraph opener to the group-

Since it hasn’t been broached yet, I am going to ask what is the best measure to take in the hunt for a shortstop? Who do you want Mo to target and who would work best for this team? Do we want the big splash of Tulo? The lineup changing speed of Andrus(40 + SB in 2013)? A guy like Jed Lowrie or Asdrubal Cabrera? Do you want to go young with Jurickson Profar?

Who do you want playing shortstop in 2014 for the Cardinals and why?

Here are the responses.

*Honestly, I don’t want to go young (Profar), I want someone established but not “old”. The team needs a long-term fix that is more of a certainty, not a two-year fix or a gamble on a rebound.

Andrus makes the most sense to me, though if the rumors are true the price of players being asked for is crazy. If you could get him for a couple of arms and a position player, I’m good with that. The Cards have the financial freedom to absorb the salary and he’s a player that has established what he brings to the table.

Tulo is an injury risk. Lowrie and Cabrera offer interesting and viable fall back options. Otherwise, there’s not much out there and it may be another stop-gap player that can be there for a year or two. *sigh*

I have a feeling that we will wake up with a player like Peralta because Mo will not overspend. It’s not a bad thing, but I wouldn’t be disappointed if they gave up a little more than they were comfortable with for a guy that could be here for a good, long time.

Thanks,

Bill Ivie
Founder | I-70 Baseball
Freelance Writer | i70baseball | Bleacher Report

twitter.com/poisonwilliam

_____________________________________

As long as they can hit the ball and play Gold Glove caliber defense, I’ll be happy. That and I want stability at the position. No more automatic outs when the position comes up to hit. No more screaming when another ball gets booted when it could easily have been stopped. No more revolving shortstop come opening day. This has been the Cardinals biggest problem. They went from stability with Ozzie from 1982-1996 to Royce Clayton to Edgar Renteria to David Eckstein. But since the end of the 2007 season, it’s been a new SS each year come Opening Day and that has to stop. I don’t care who the new guy is as long as they can play GG defense and hit the ball.

The Cards drafted SS heavy this past summer. They took Oscar Mercado with their second round pick and two others in the first ten rounds. What is their ETA with Mercado? Will he be a fast riser through the system like Piscotty and Wacha? Or do they have other plans in mind?

Daniel Solzman

_______________________________________

As I put on Twitter yesterday, I would like the Cardinals to go after someone that you did not list in the question. The players that I like on your list will take a large crop of players to get, and I am not ready to part with those types of prospects just yet.

This leaves me with two players–one player I have been pulling for all season–Jonathan Schoop from the Orioles–or a player I just came across from a friend (@LuckySTLFan) and eventually after digging through statistics, projections, highlights–Chris Owings from the Diamondbacks. I am actually leaning more towards Owings to be honest. After running the numbers and checking out projections, I legitimately believe that Owings could be the right-handed version of Matt Carpenter for years to come.

To acquire either, it would likely require one big name, a la Matt Adams, Lance Lynn, or possibly even Shelby Miller, but neither will require the Cardinals to trade players that I consider “untouchables”–Carlos Martinez, Michael Wacha, Trevor Rosenthal, and Oscar Taveras.

Will they necessarily go after either of the players I just listed? We will likely never know, but I assure you all that the front office “won’t leave any stone unturned” when it comes to searching for the shortstop of the future.

Also, when it comes to SS’s in the system already, Juan Herrera, the player acquired in the Scrabble trade, is likely to prospect to watch. I love Mercado, but I think Herrera is better defensively and hit decently well in Peoria after the trade.

Joseph M. Schwarz
Butler University
Pharmacy Class of 2015

__________________________________________

If we are looking for a stopgap then I would be ok with JJ Hardy. If we want someone young NOW then the D-Backs have a few they are willing to listen about in Gregorius and Owings.

Our farm shortstops are about 2-3 years away in Kenneth Peoples-Walls and Oscar Mercado. The other two, Garcia and Lemmerman, are not likely to make the grade.

-Tom Knuppel

__________________________________________

Bill hit it on the head that the Cardinals will not overspend. Now the question becomes where the limit is and who sets it? Mo and Co. surely could go to ownership for the right player/contract but in a trade situation the assets are the key.

I’ll admit to enjoying the Tulo talk because if nothing else St. Louis did it on the team’s terms. Yes, every team knows that SS is a need under the Arch but not for an unlikely deal. Andrus could be an option with the right pieces going to Texas but the most appealing in my opinion could be dealing with Oakland again.

Lowrie has proven to be less of a gamble and already was a target for the Cards on a few different occasions. Reading the letter of the law in regards to the question, however, I’m going to stick with Tulo just because it makes the potential lineup even scarier. We can talk about 2015 and on at a later date 😉

-Joshua and Christi Gilliam

_____________________________________

As long as it’s someone better than Kozma, I won’t be too picky. If I can have someone that can hit .275 and have comparable defense to Kozma, then it would be perfect.

Getting Tulo would be a dream. as he is one of the best, if not the best SS in the league right now. He’s a bit older, but he has a lot of time on his contract and he is superb. I think a more realistic option, and one that would not make the Cardinals “bet the farm” on him, would be Andrus.

The Cardinals have been stocking up on SS prospects this last year, through the draft and the trade that was mentioned earlier. I would like to see if one of those options would be good in a year or two. If that is true, then Tulo could be the stop-gap needed to get to one of those prospects. My mantra right now, like most others, though, is “In Mo I Trust”.

-Ben Chambers

The View From Here

cardsfantn.mlblogs.com

_____________________________________

We can’t rely on a future SS in the system. Peoples-Walls is moving to OF and the others are still really raw. I am starting to lean towards Elvis Andrus, but it depends on what it would take to get him. I am also not one that wants to hold on to all the prospects.

Peoples Walls is a great athlete and that’s why he is getting moved to the outfield.

Sorry for the short response. I’m on my lunch break and on my phone!

John Nagel

CardinalsFarm.com

___________________________________________

My preference would be the 2003 version of Edgar Renteria. Barring that, the preference is Elvis Andrus because of his age (25), speed (165 steals in 5 MLB seasons) and adequate hitting (796 hits in 757 career games). Cardinals lineup needs an infusion of speed (Andrus and Kolten Wong would create havoc for opponents) and, with Andrus, Cardinals can have a premier shortstop who hasn’t even entered his prime years yet.

Mark Tomasik

www.retrosimba.com

________________________________________

I feel like this is the offseason to fix shortstop for a good long time. You never know how highly prized these prospects will be again, you don’t know when you’ll have the money again. It really is a perfect confluence.

I think there are a number of solid options out there. I was initially hesitant over Andrus due to his contract, but I think 1) the Cards would get Texas to pay some, 2) they can absorb that into their payroll readily, especially with the new contract money, and 3) Andrus is younger than I thought he was. Put all that together and he’s a desirable trade target once again.

I’m not sold on Tulowitzki and I’d really not like to see stopgaps like Drew and Peralta, but many of the other names bandied about sound just fine to me.

-Daniel Shoptaw

Author, C70 At The Bat Twitter: @C70

Co-Admin, CardsClubhouse

Founder, United Cardinal Bloggers and Baseball Bloggers Alliance

Podcasts: Conversations With C70

Radio Shows: Gateway To Baseball Heaven (Sundays) and UCB Radio Hour (Wednesdays, in host rotation)

_________________________________________

It is clear that shortstop is THE position this winter, and with that said, I’m sure that something comes of it, albeit at a cost one way or the other that will make Cardinal followers do the Brett Wallace-for-Matt Holliday gasp (remember that? It’s even funnier now).

With that said, the field breaks into a couple of tiers to me: the property elite (Tulowitzki & Andrus), the property second raters (Lowrie, Hardy, Astrubel, Aybar, Everth Cabrera) and the property projects (Gregorius, various back ups). Then there are the free agents (Drew, Peralta, Furcal…kinda kidding).

The problem here is that the elite is going to cost big in money and talent, the second raters are prone to create overpays in talent, at a cheaper price and the youngers are uncertain commodities.

At this point, while Andrus and Tulowitzki are relatively affordable, sexy team upgrades, I don’t like the loss they take to gain. In the same vein, I’m not a fan of overpaying for a Lowrie or Hardy, who’s value is certainly boosted more because of the lack of what the Cardinals have over what their actual value is.

The real problem is that there’s a steep fall off from Shelby Miller and Carlos Martinez to Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly. Basically, the cost is too great to deal for All-Stars when its not necessary.

In this situation, I’d like Stephen Drew. Yeah, he’ll get more than he’s worth, but he’ll essentially get Beltran’s money and fill an instant need the same way Carlos did when he showed up. He can play a plus shortstop, can hit enough to make the 8 spot a threat and won’t cost anything that’s here as is. So keep the Shelby’s, Martinez’s and Adams in house and add at the cost of nothing more than money that’s been vacated any way.

-Matt Whitener

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The Cardinals are certainly leaving no stone unturned in their search for a shortstop. The Cardinals have checked in on Profar and Andrus with the Rangers, Tulowitzki with the Rockies and Lowrie of the A’s, among others.Personally, I would like to see them get Andrus or Profar, as Texas has already said one of their 3 infielders (along with Kinsler) is available. Given the choice, I would prefer Profar.

While Andrus is proven, he has the extra baggae of the large contract. Profar would be under team control for at least the next 5 years and at a much cheaper rate than Andrus.

Profar gives the Cardinals more payroll flexibility, especially when all these young hurlers start reaching arbitration in a few years.

While he is not as proven as Andrus (or the others), he has tremendous upside and, in my opinion, is worth the risk.

-Mark Sherrard(Cardinals Fan in Cubs Land)

_________________________________________

I like the Andrus option myself all things being equal. Could you imagine Andrus and Carpenter at the top of a lineup, followed up by Holliday, Craig, Molina, Taveras (?). I am always a sucker for the longball, but have to keep in mind that power is down across the league and very few shortstops hit a lot of HR.The Cardinals are obviously wanting an offensive upgrade (since they have a great defender with Kozma) while not sacrificing too much defensively. Specifically to the question I want Mo to target a high OBP speed guy with good defense. This team is not going to hit .330 with RISP next season no matter how much we want to believe that.Create more runs by stealing bases. If the new MO of this team is power arms, good situational hitting, and fundamental defensive play, I would like to see them get a shortstop who could defend the position well for years to come while providing decent pop and speeding up the game a little bit.

Chris Mallonee

birdsonthebat82.com

_________________________________________

There it is. The perspective of many Cardinal writers in and outside the city of St. Louis. If you are still alert, awake and willing, here is my take. Short and blunt.

While the idea of Tulowitzki is dreamy and sweet, I really see the Cards going another way. Colorado will ask for too much and force Mo to straighten his bow tie and go elsewhere, which is fine. In order to part with their superstar player, the Rockies will want at least 4 of our diamonds and Mozeliak won’t give them up. I don’t blame him. Call him whatever you want and repeat his favorite line(At the end of the day) all day long but respect the man for being smart, practical and sharp in player related discussions. He won’t part with too many of his toys for a 30 year injury prone guy with 134 million due to his bank account. You have to stare at the mustang before you move onto the economically friendly sedan.

My choice would be Elvis Andrus. He has years on his contract but is younger than Tulo and will bring a different element to the Cards lineup. SPEED! He stole over 40 bases in 2013 and gets on base, drives in a fair share of runs and can hit the triples. His defense is solid and he will fit brilliantly into the #2 hole in the lineup. When he played us in the 2011 World Series, he showed true skill and an ability to change a game. Pair him up with a young Kolten Wong up the middle and inside the same lineup and you have two players who could easily steal 35+ bases a season for a long time. It would be a complete transformation for this ballclub. Going from the slugging days of La Russa to the base stealing days of the future. He my choice.

I understand the arguments for Profar, Owings and Schoop. They are young controllable and cheap. They don’t have a real baseball card yet but they have mountains of potential. Profar is the most enticing but may cost you a lot because he is the #1 rated prospect in baseball(right ahead of Oscar Taveras). Owings may be cheaper.

Jed Lowrie also makes a lot of sense and may cost a few players but won’t cost you too pretty a penny at the moment. He was big time producer for Billy Beane’s Athletics in 2013.

I absolutely don’t want Stephen Drew and Jhonny Peralta. The time is now to strike and get a long term solution at shortstop. Don’t waste it by signing one of those hacks. Trust me on that.

Andrus is my logical first choice, Lowrie seems a decent second, but the younger guys aren’t that bad of an option either. If I want to hop on a cloud, I will take Tulo. Somehow, I just don’t see that happening.

Thanks for reading and head to http://www.unitedcardinalbloggers.com for more Cards commentary and information.

-Dan Buffa

@buffa82 on Twitter

The Idea of Tulowitzki

November 11, 2013April 13, 2017 · Leave a comment ·

Before you look at the logical aspects of trading for Troy Tulowitzki, just hold the idea in your head for a minute. The power hitting superstar shortstop raking his cleats over the shortstop dirt at Busch Stadium in April, 2014. Don’t lie to me and tell me you don’t feel the tingling sensation in your bones as we speak. It’s a compulsive aroma lurking in the mind when you put the Cards and Tulo together. He would instantly make a position left vacant and bland for the past 6 years look very formidable. The lineup would become unstoppable and the loss of Carlos Beltran’s bat wouldn’t be an issue at all. There are few times in a franchise’s history that a lot of things fall into place for you to acquire a player like Tulo(that will be what I call him because I don’t feel like spelling his name 45 times inside one article).

Let’s look at the situation. It’s impossible to break into it too far because it’s only a scheduled chat between two general managers at this point. Jeff Passan is a legit baseball reporter and his columm at Yahoo isn’t all smoke and mirrors. This report is legit and real but just a scheduled conversation without heavy armor involved. Troy Renick, writer for a Denver newspaper, tweeted in September after the Cards completed a series there that talks would occur in the offseason. This was destined to happen. The Rockies have Troy and the Cards have lots of pitching. Here, I will discuss the idea of it happening and tell you in the end if I like it or not.

Risks Involved in Acquiring Troy Tulowitzki-

*Who would the Cards have to give up to even consider landing Tulo? Before you get into the years left on his contract and his health, look at the players the Rockies would want. They are losing Todd Helton and without Troy would have a powerless team so you can imagine Matt Adams could be involved. Allen Craig and Oscar Taveras would be asked about but I can’t imagine Mozeliak dealing those commodities. The Rockies need pitching the most. You rebuild with pitching and form a championship winning team around that mold. Shelby Miller, Carlos Martinez, and Lance Lynn would be talked about. Colorado would want established talent, a few prospects and maybe even a couple position players. They would ask for the gravy and the meat in this deal. Mo knows this and will be prepared for it. The Cards have a smart GM in Mozeliak and a man who won’t easily hand over his beloved fruit. The exchange in this deal would have a heavy impact on the Cards side and that is undeniable.

*Tulo’s health. In his seven year career, Troy has played 140 games or more only 3 times. He came up in 2006, played 25 games and hit .240. In 2007, he played his most games(155) and broke out offensively. He banged in 99 runs, hit 24 home runs, stroked 177 hits and scored 104 runs. In 2008, Tulo had the injury blues spike quick. He only played 101 games. In 2009, he played 151 games and put up fantastic offensive numbers and also supplied gold glove caliber defense at shortstop. In 2010, he played 122 games but his production was remarkable. Missing 40 games, Tulo still collected 27 HR, 95 RBI, 148 hits, 89 runs scored, and had a .381 on base percentage. After another highly productive year and 143 games in 2011, Troy only played 47 games in 2012. His injuries are upper and lower body. He has had problems with his knees, shoulders and hamstring. In 2013, he played 126 games and missed the rest due to a broken rib yet put up decent numbers again. Tulo’s ability to produce when he is on the field is alluring but his injury history is the biggest threat in this proposal.

*His contract is a burden. He has 7 years and 134 million guaranteed left and any team acquiring him would assume most or all of it. Guaranteed cash is the sharpest nail in the money side and Tulo is set up for the rest of his career. His contract bumps up to 20 million in 2015 and stays that way until 2020, when it dips to 14 with a 15 million dollar option for 2021. Basically, the Cardinals will be paying this man a healthy chunk of cash to play shortstop but remember, acquiring a high profile player comes with a cost. They would have a great player under control for 7 seasons. That is a reward and hazard at the same time.

Now that we have talked about the rougher edges of the deal, let’s look at the huge dreamy positive.

*Tulo changes your lineup instantly. He brings pop and an ability to get on base to an already potent roster of hitters and softens the loss of Beltran. Matt Adams wouldn’t be asked to be a full time producer just yet and be given another year to grow into the role. Matt Holliday would welcome a close friend into the mix for run producing in Cardinal Nation. His effect on the lineup would be legitimate and I could see him hitting 2nd, 3rd or 5th in the lineup. The biggest hole in the Cardinals lineup in 2013 was the shortstop position. That would be flipped immediately if Troy comes to St. Louis. He is a game changing player with big impact possibilities. For the first time in nearly 10 years, the Cardinals would have an All Star tentpole at shortstop. An impact position would become one of the biggest strengths on the team. As noted earlier, Tulo is a plus defender and would work well with a groundball pitching staff. The biggest weakness on the team would become a huge strength. That can’t be said enough. The sweet is as equal as the bitter in this proposal. Instead of riding Pete Kozma and Daniel Descalso for 162 games, the Cardinals could start Tulo at least 135 of those games. In a game full of risk and unpredictability, I will take that average over 7 seasons. Think about it. I have done plenty of it.

Sure, there are other possibilities. Please don’t take this article as me pining every single cell in my brain towards a deal for Tulo. I am basically breaking it down for you and myself as we roll along here. The Cardinals have a ton of young pitching and several teams need it. The Cleveland Indians have Asdrubal Cabrera, who carries pop in his bat, holes in his glove and costs a third of Tulo’s salary with a lot less liability in years. The Texas Rangers need pitching badly, and have established shortstop Elvis Andrus and the much talked about phenom Jurickson Profar. Stephen Drew and Jhonny Peralta are free agents that make up for their lack of an electrifying resume with their low liability. Mozeliak has plenty of ways to go here but will start with the exploration of Tulowitzki. According to Jim Bowden at ESPN, Mo is looking to trade a young pitcher for a young shortstop under control.

The easiest starting mark is Shelby Miller and a few others for Tulo. Something tells me the dirt will be a lot thicker if these conversations escalate. Mozeliak will have to part with a vital member of his wolfpack. Miller is top of the rotation ace material and could develop into a Max Scherzer type down the road. He isn’t a player you want to throw to the table. However, the emergence of Michael Wacha and the pipeline of pitching in the Cards farm system makes you at least push Shelby onto the border for consideration. You can’t gain huge without losing big in the major leagues. At least not in 2013. The search for a shortstop is the topic of the winter for the St. Louis Cardinals and I have a feeling there will be plenty of tweeting, article writing, and hot topic flare tossing before spring training commences.

Keep this in mind. Losing players you love for Tulo is hard but the biggest parts of this deal come down to medical histories and the endurance of the human body. Executives and scouts have said moving Tulo to third base down the line may help his longevity but that is no guarantee. Mo will have to ask himself if he wants to roll the dice on a player who has never played 156 games and has played only 101 or less twice. Tulo could change your lineup but also force you to rearrange your training room and force you to inquire scientists about upcoming medical discoveries. Is the juice worth the squeeze or does Tulo scare our business expect GM away from the table? Will Mo break his usual protective mold or open up the department store door for other GM’s to come in and shop with his eye on the prize? What is for Christmas for Cardinals fans? So many questions and elements at play here could lead to a 2,000 word article. I won’t do that today.

I end with this. The Cards have plenty of pitching depth. They will only continue to score good draft picks as the future rolls into frame, beginning with the Carlos Beltran departure compensation pick. The scouting executives under Mo are making smart moves so don’t expect his pitching surplus to weaken any time soon. The Cards have loads of pitching waiting for the bullpen and rotation. What they don’t have is a long term answer at the shortstop position. They have Ryan Jackson and Greg Garcia down on the farm and neither show more promise than Pete Kozma. They need an impact shortstop. Right now. So when names like Shelby Miller and Carlos Martinez pop up in talks, remember this team is grooming starters and relievers these days like Columbia grows delicious coffee beans. One way to look at is asking yourself does the cost of losing Miller stay equal or emerge greater than the risk of acquiring Tulo? Another way is asking yourself when will this kind of possibility come along again. The Cards have financial flexibility to make this deal. They can handle the risk because they draft a lot better than the Cubs. They can do this because this team has shown an ability to deal with sudden injury better than any other M.L.B. team.

Yes, if the details line up right, I am all for the Cards acquiring Troy Tulowitzki. I don’t talk crazy and don’t consume medication for it, but my words are my own. Consider them and respond. A writer can ask for nothing more.

Thanks for reading and have a great day,

Dan L. Buffa

@buffa82 on Twitter

Photo Credit-Sports Illustrated

Doors close on The Cardinals in 2013

October 31, 2013April 12, 2017 · 1 Comment ·

The only thing worse than losing is dying. It may sound overly dramatic but ask any sports fan and they will tell you the same thing. Loving a team isn’t easy when they don’t perform up to our standards. When they get knocked out, we need an ice pack on our jaw as well. It hurts watching your team swing through its final pitch and see the other team celebrate. There’s a particular chill to the experience.

After the fourth inning tonight, when the Cards went down 6-0, I had to get off twitter and turn my phone off. A necessary motion because at that point, I was simply tired of complaining. For a guy who writes as many as 3-4 blogs a week and over a thousand tweets and goes on a radio show barking about it, I was literally tired of discussing their latest downfall. So I sat and watched. Every pitch and out. The Cards made waves in a few innings and collected more hits than the Red Sox yet fell 6-1. The series was lost in 6 games.

It stings because we were up 2-1 on Saturday and seemed to be taking control with an excellent Lance Lynn start and a 1-0 lead in Game 4. Then, a Red Sox rally occured, Lynn left, Seth Maness entered and Johnny Gomes hit a 3 run home run that still resonates at Busch. That, to me, was the tipping point of the series. Kolten Wong gets picked off first base to end Game 4, our bats get shut down by Jon Lester in Game 5 and silenced by the Red Sox for a single run again in Game 6. Fenway Park erupts for its first World Series clincher at home since Babe Ruth was pitching and playing outfield in 1918. Good for them. I mean that. It’s hard to not like the Boston Red Sox at least a little. They are classy and play the game right. A similar bunch to the Cards. They made mistakes in the past just like the Cards have with performance enhancing drugs. They were rocked by a terrorist event in the spring. Tonight, they celebrate and while it hurts to see my team lose, I can stand on two feet and remember we were beat by the best. The Cards and Red Sox were the best teams in the majors and played a gritty World Series full of firsts and weird moments followed by huge hits and big game pitching. The Red Sox were simply the better team.

I will meet anyone halfway about Mike Matheny’s roster compilation. He put two pitchers on the World Series roster that barely worked in the previous two series’ in Edward Mujica and Shelby Miller. He gave up two respect spots to those guys and cost the team depth on the bench and the bullpen. That will be the biggest question facing Matheny and he will probably eat half that bullet. Good for him, but shame on him as well. He thought with his heart and not his head there. Did it cost the team? While it can’t be measured, I will say it did. Secondly, Matheny hurt his team by playing slumping players. Jon Jay and David Freese each didn’t record an RBI in the first 5 games and looked overmatched at the plate. Yet, Matheny started Freese all six games and Jay 5 of the games. Shane Robinson, the better arm, bat and center fielder than Jay, didn’t even get an at bat in Game 6 with runners on and the game somewhat in reach. Matheny stuck with Jay and Freese and it cost him. Kolten Wong did get picked off to end Game 4 but he also gives the team an element of speed that is lacking. With Shane and Wong in for Game 6, I won’t say the outcome is different but the game may have been less ugly. Freese won’t be back. Jay will only be a part timer next year. Matheny’s roster management was overall crap. He knows it. You don’t include a rookie of the year candidate and a man with 37 saves on a roster and not use them. If they aren’t going to work, why include them? For the division series, I saw the idea. For the pennant, I thought it was enough. For the World Series, I thought it was absurd. This is Mike Matheny’s youth as a manager showing up. He has things to learn before 2014.

Biggest difference in the World Series was Jon Lester outpitching and beating Adam Wainwright twice in Game’s 1 and 5. The two aces clashed and Boston’s came out on top. Lester, green goo or not, was magnificent. Waino was average or a little better. The second biggest difference was the big hits factor. After breaking records hitting .330 with runners in scoring position, the Cards hit .259 with RISP in the World Series. They LACKED the big hit. All series and especially in Games 1, 5 and 6 where they put guys on base. Matt Holliday had the only home runs. Carlos Beltran, Allen Craig and Yadi Molina hit well. No dent was made. The Cards streaky offense hit a pale white stretch at the worst time. It happens…and it sucks. A lot. The Cards 6-7-8 spots didn’t drive in a run. The Red Sox got 4 RBI from Shane Victorino and a solo home run from Stephen Drew(6-7 hitters) in Game 6. They got a game winning double from 8th place hitter David Ross in Game 5.

Sure, the Cards got raked by Series MVP David Big Papi Ortiz for the first 5 games, but they walked him 4 times in Game 6 and his teammates made us pay. That was the third difference. The Red Sox supporting players in the lineup didn’t hit well overall for the series but got BIG HITS. Victorino finished the series 2-14. Drew had one hit. Gomes had 1 hit, the 3 run homer. Ross had 3 hits. These guys made their hits count. The Cards did not. End of story.

Lance Lynn didn’t get to finish things in Game 4 but came into Game 6 and pitched like garbage. He relieved Michael Wacha and gave up 2 RBI singles and a walk. That’s it. His season ends appropriately.

The kid, Wacha, created magic four times in the postseason but threw his fastball tonight 48 of 68 pitches and got burned. Instead of relying on his best pitch, the changeup, Wacha went high octane and got blasted. The kid just didn’t have any more magic left in that golden right arm. The future is bright for him.

The future is bright for the whole Cards team. Lots of young arms. Payroll getting slashed. Opportunities abound. Real quick.

Jake Westbrook, Rafael Furcal, and Chris Carpenter are gone. Carlos Beltran is probably gone depending on what he wants. David Freese should be gone. Jon Jay could leave but will probably be brought back. Jaime Garcia returns. Tyler Lyons and John Gast are two impressive young lefties. Jason Motte returns in May barring a setback. Trevor Rosenthal is your closer and in my mind Carlos Martinez may be your 8th inning guy until Motte comes back. The needs are shortstop and centerfield. Watching the Red Sox celebrate, you wonder if two of their free agents, Stephen Drew and Jacoby Ellsbury, have a chance of wearing Cardinal Red in 2014. Drew is highly more probable than Ellsbury but the need is there. Oscar Taveras will be here next year. Wong will be contending for a spot. In my gut, I believe Wong can hit at least. 260 if given enough at bats. At worst, he is your Kozma next season. A light hitting defensive specialist with speed. Shane Robinson SHOULD take Jay’s spot. Adams takes over first. Craig could move into right field but that’s dependent on the future of Mr. Beltran. It’s unfortunate the team couldn’t win a World Series for Beltran, but he got there and sometimes that can fill the gap. He may be back next year. 2014 should involve another battle with the Pirates and maybe the Reds. The Cards will be contending for a long time just based off their unbelievable young stock of young pitching.

Remember this as you deal with anger managements the next few days. This team was slammed with injuries to their starting crew. The Cards got hit as hard as any team in the major leagues. Motte, Carpenter, and Furcal for a whole season. Garcia and Westbrook for part of a season. Craig for the last month. We dealt with and we kept on going. The Cards got to the World Series and lost in 6 games. This is not 2004. Not even close. Our Redbirds will be back.

Hang your head. That’s fine. Just don’t forget the amazing ride this team took us on for close to 7 months.

Thanks for staying and goodnight,

Dan L. Buffa

@buffa82 on Twitter

The Cards’ Last Stand

October 30, 2013April 12, 2017 · 1 Comment ·

Here we are, Cardinals fans. Nearing the end of another amazing, intriguing, emotionally draining and all together viciously entertaining season of baseball. For me, no other sport stirs up my emotions and drives me insane quite like the game of baseball. Maybe it is the way they play it. Maybe it is just the experience I have watching it and the memories that bleed into the present day. Casual fans and non followers look at me in disbelief at how screwed up I can get watching baseball. My dad, wife, and a few of my friends have the ability(and YES it is an ability) to simply watch, turn it off and move on. I carry every loss around like a bad habit and break down every win. It’s what I do. It doesn’t matter if I find a job in sports journalism or driving a forklift in a warehouse(I can tell you which one is more likely), I will always come here and dish my take. Whether you agree or not, all I ask for is that you appreciate and respect it. I know only one way. Blunt and unfiltered.

Here’s where my mind is on the eve of Game 6 of the 2013 World Series-

Pitching to David Ortiz is futile. A man with a .742 batting average and who is known for delivering crushing blows to opposing teams doesn’t deserve a strike to be thrown his way, so my memo to Cardinal pitching is, outside…outside…outside. Throw it to the backstop or roll it up to Yadi Molina. Don’t let Ortiz help send you home unless you are flying home to a parade and a trophy awaits you.
Offense, light it up please. The time is now to create one of those 2 out running scoring barrages. The best offense in the NL needs to show up once in this World Series. Don’t let Boston have all the fun. We have scored 13 runs in 5 games in this series, and one came on an obstruction call that will paint Boston Red Sox third baseman Will Middlebrooks in odd baseball history for years to come. Simply put, our bats haven’t produced more than 5 runs and have been held to 1 run twice. That’s just not acceptable. Let me say this. The Cards approach is bizarre. Against a powerful hard throwing guy we will be patient. Against a soft tossing hurting pitcher, we will be over aggressive and help him out. When it comes to hitting, approach is everything. Tonight, John Lackey is going to be firing that 94 mph fastball towards the strike zone. He isn’t crafty like Jon Lester. He dishes it up there and hopes you are stupid or ill-equipped to handle it. Tonight, be aggressive. Stop staring at called third strikes. It’s bad for your resume. Go for it. Show up. Destroy this Red Sox team in front of their own fans and put the pressure back on them in Game 7. Their pitching is good but not this good, guys, so go after them.
Giving Michael Wacha a lead is important. The kid can loosen up and fire more fastballs if he knows the bats have his back. We have asked this kid to be Rambo this postseason. Go into enemy territory and rescue the team from expected death. Wacha has been amazing and will be World Series MVP if we pull this off. He has been absolute NAILS for the entire postseason and he deserves a 4-0 lead for his month long efforts. The Red Sox got one big hit from Ortiz in Game 2 off Wacha and that is it in 6 innings. My feeling is an unconventional one in that Wacha will adjust more to their lineup than they will to him.
David Freese, do something with you life. The pride of IMOS and St. Louis past glory needs to deliver a hit tonight. For the love of baby jesus, take the ball to right field. Be your old self. Be the guy from 2011 or 2012. Those guys were good hitters. This 2013 nonsense needs to stop. Freese could be playing his final game for the Cards. Get over it, ladies. He is arbitration eligible and will probably want too much to come back. True or not, make tonight count Freese. You have done little in this postseason worth remembering. If you become lethal, this lineup looks pure doom for Boston’s pitching.
Here is something I can’t get out of my head. Mike Matheny didn’t help himself by allowing his loyalty to burn him in this series. I love the guy and most of his moves are good but his roster moves this postseason are amateurish. You are facing a powerful team with a very good left-handed basher and you don’t load up your pen with lefties. Here is my problem. Ortiz has gotten to Randy Choate’s slow toss pitching and burned Kevin Siegrist’s high octane heat. This is where Sam Freeman comes into play. He has decent heat on his fastball and has a sweeping slider/cutter that moves away from lefties. He could have been the ideal matchup for Ortiz but no, instead, we have Shelby Miller and Edward Mujica riding the bench and soaking up roster spots. This is where loyalty needs to be broken for logistics. He is hurting his bench as well, with a good pinch hitter in Tony Cruz being off limits due to his catching insurance behind Yadi. A smart move would have been adding Rob Johnson to the roster so Cruz can be used in a pinch hitting role. Instead, we have limited options in our bullpen and bench. Thanks Matheny for being loyal but you failed here. The inclusion of Shelby Miller and Edward Mujica on the roster takes away two valuable fresh players from this team. Instead of strengthening his roster with worthy players, Mike Matheny got sentimental.
Shane Robinson needs to start tonight. He hits RH pitchers very well and at this moment, is the best option for CF. He plays better defense and is hitting just as well as Jon Jay. I could root for the speed demon redemption seeking Kolten Wong to start at second, but I won’t get greedy. Start Sugar Shane.
What has went wrong this series? A few things. The little things that pushed our locomotive forward all season are starting to show signs of wear and tear. Once unbreakable relievers Seth Maness and Kevin Siegrist are capable of getting rocked suddenly. David Freese is incapable of getting a big hit. Pete Kozma and Daniel Descalso can’t buy hits. Lester has been better than Wainwright this series. Our RISP has dropped dramatically. Utility players like Johnny Gomes and David Ross have beaten Cards pitching at bad times. The flipping point to me is still Lance Lynn being pulled for Seth Maness to face Gomes in Game 4. Since then, it has been a fight.

We can only hope the delay in the trip to Boston last night had more to do with bat retrieval than mechanical failure. This team has barely hit. We haven’t put on display a barrage of hits yet in this series. Defense and pitching wins games, but tonight the Cards bats need to provide a little magic in order to support their rookie pitcher and save the series.

Will the Cardinals offense show up or will we fall short of greatness?

If we fall, ladies and gents it has been fun. Every season it seems I make new friends and build great conversations through my doses, activity on twitter and facebook. Sports can be the greatest connective tissue in life. Thanks for mixing it up and reading.

Go Cards!

-Dan L. Buffa

@buffa82 on Twitter

PHOTO CREDIT-THE GUARDIAN

Mistake Filled Game 4 Evens The Series

October 28, 2013April 12, 2017 · 1 Comment ·

Prepare yourselves. I am about to defend Kolten Wong. The rookie second baseman made a crucial mistake in the bottom of the 9th inning, getting picked off first base with Carlos Beltran standing at home plate representing the tying run. It’s easy to jump on Wong after this loss but the man entered the game in the ninth inning. There are other people to blame for this Game 4 collapse and I am going to lay it out for you. Let’s go.

*Believe me, Kolten Wong’s mistake was brutal. He should have kept a leg on first base because his run represented basically nothing, unlike last night when he pinch hit, singled, stole second and was stranded. Tonight, he had the energetic kick of a young base hound and was caught. A rookie mistake. Wong will be back and deserves another shot. In my opinion, he should start Game 5 at second base because he is mad, hungry and deserves to right the ship. Mike Matheny has a way of going back to struggling young players and I hope he does here. Wong isn’t the reason we lost this game. He is merely one of them. The kid messed up. Big deal? Yes! Throw it on him only? No! Get it right in your head. Kolten Wong deserves another shot. Hopefully his teammates pick up his shoulders tonight off the floor and remind him baseball is great because everything can be turned around on the next huge play.

*Somehow, some way, we let a sore shouldered Clay Buchholtz’s sore shouldered ailed body pitch 4 innings and only allow 1 run. We had a chance to jump on his soft tosses and missed out. Bad approach, bad swings and little execution. Do baseball readers read scouting reports?

*We can let David Freese start again. Why not? Imos boy is 1-12 in the World Series with 40,000 guys left on base. His defense at third isn’t gold glove material so he needs to sit. His bat can change a game with one swing and that means put him in a bench role.

Let him come off the bench late, when it’s Freeze Hour. He doesn’t deserve 4 at bats a game right now. He looks flat, solved and dead at the plate. He wasted opportunities tonight but gets a pass because he was great in the postseason 2 years ago.

Freese has topped out and after a magical 2011 postseason and solid 2012 season, looks like damaged goods about to be released in the offseason.

*Mike Matheny shouldn’t have taken out Lance Lynn in the 6th inning. Johnny Gomes was 0-2 against Lynn and looked horrible. Why put in Seth Maness, your contact pitcher who is brought in for double plays, when you just need one out and your starter is fresh? Lynn was visibly mad, not whining, and I back him here. He was at 89 pitches, had life on his fastball, had 2 outs, and had only allowed 3 hits.

What made Matheny pull him? Mike Matheny is afraid to let Lynn lose a game. Why? In September, John Mozelaik wanted Lance Lynn out of the rotation. He told Matheny this and Mike backed his young starter and Lynn paid off his debt and did well. However, Matheny is so scared to let Lynn give up the big bomb.

Mozelaik has more say in the management of this team than some believe I think. He wanted Lynn gone, Matheny backed him and walks in fear daily. Just my feeling but maybe a reason behind the early pull of Lynn tonight. Lance Lynn had the stuff to finish the 6th inning.

*Daniel Descalso can have a bad day at the plate. No hits. Bad strikeouts. His big hits make us forget he is about as good of a hitter overall as Pete Kozma. He is a magic man in that department. Descalso popped up ball four in a crucial 7th inning spot where we had a chance to score more than 1 run. He left too many runners on base, decides to swing the bat before the pitch comes and doesn’t need to start another game this series.

*Seth Maness has come down off the mountain in October. He has allowed 6 of 10 inherited runners to score, which is the meat and potatoes stat for relievers. He should only come in when a double play is needed and only then when the bigger guns are tied.

*Allow me to point out that two pitchers on the roster aren’t pitching meaningful innings. They aren’t pitching at all. Edward Mujica and Shelby Miller. I understand loyalty to players and letting them know that their services rendered means something but you have to cut that off in the World Series. Why isn’t Sam Freeman or Tyler Lyons on the roster as arms who can get people out? Why not disable Miller or Mujica and activate Lyons or Freeman? It’s probably not possible but it was worth the line. I just don’t understand it. How many managers waste a playoff roster spot twice? Barely any. Talking to you Mr. Matheny. Give me an answer in that gruff Eastwood voice.

*Find a way to start Allen Craig. He is so money at the plate and it’s hard watch him get one chance per game. Before Wong’s mistake, Craig put the Cards in line to tie the game. I don’t care if he can’t run. Let him launch bombs and limp around the bases for all I care. He has the winter to heal properly. If he can field grounders let him go. Play Matt Carpenter closer to first or something. Make up for lost ground. Get Craig in there. Off the best closer in the American League, Craig has cranked two hits. One to left and one to right. He will be deadly against Jon Lester tomorrow. Find a way. Matt Adams is slowing down at the plate and will serve as a solid pinch hitter off the bench in the 8th or 9th. Find Craig some Icy Hot, a Tony Robbins video and a live chicken. Get him out there.

Look, it wasn’t going to be easy. If you want easy, apply for jobs on http://www.careerbuilder.com. Winning the World Series takes guts, glory, comebacks and true clutch moments. This is center stage. The Cubs, Mariners, and Padres dream about this stage. The Cardinals are here for the 4th time in 9 years and are in a dogfight with a team that plays baseball in a similar fashion to them. Hard and to the end. In Game 4, we got up early, and seemed to be in control until Gomes hit a ball out of the park. We didn’t quit and lost in a tragic fashion. Every game in this series has been dramatic and intense. Expect the next 3(if needed) to be just as emotional and crazy. That’s baseball in October. Tense encounters. Which team’s will breaks first? We made two horrible errors and lost our way in Game 1. We benefited off their mistakes and came back in Game 2. We won a contested battle on a technicality in Game 3. Game 4, a few bad decisions and performances cut us short. What happens in Game 5? This is what I want.

Don’t let David Ortiz beat you. Let Adam Wainwright throw 130 pitches if needed. Check Jon Lester’s glove for Clay Buchholtz’s green hair gel. Don’t start David Freese. Don’t start Daniel Descalso. Start Kolten Wong. And find Shelby Miller. As long as the Cards play sound defense, get a few clutch hits and don’t self destruct I think Waino will bring this Game 5 home.

That’s all. Thanks for staying.

-D. Buffa

@buffa82 on Twitter

IMAGE CREDIT-Fansided.com

The Cardinal Way Appears At Fenway

October 25, 2013April 12, 2017 · Leave a comment ·

I believe in the Cardinal Way. While the Boston Strong moniker is wearing thin on me, this brand name sticks because it connects to the way the St. Louis Cardinals play baseball. At their best, the Cards grind out at bats, make the plays, get timely hits and present young guns on the mound to make the other team squirm or look like old haggard sluggers. On more than one occasion, Boston right fielder Shane Victorino stared out into space after striking out against Michael Wacha and Carlos Martinez. Dustin Pedroia went to a knee reaching for a Martinez delivery. Johnny Gomes looked as useless as a plant in the winter time at the plate against Trevor Rosenthal. Throughout their two years under Mike Matheny and the final portion of the Tony La Russa managerial streak, the Cards have been a team that strings the little hits together, doesn’t quit until the end and makes every effort count. We are either universally loved or hated for never putting these attributes to rest. As I said in the NLCS, the Cards play like they all grew up together and became a team and weren’t merely assembled to win. Here is what happened Thursday night for the Cards to win 4-2 and pull the World Series even at 2 games.

*Michael Wacha pitched very well without his best stuff. The Red Sox stuck to their sickening trend and made the young hurler work for his outs, but Wacha didn’t break. Sure, David Ortiz hit a changeup above the green monster for a brief Boston lead, but that was all the Sox could score off the kid. Wacha shut down another offense for 6 solid innings. He is 4-0 this postseason. I have a feeling he will adjust more to the Red Sox than they will to him for the next game.

*Carlos Beltran, fresh off a shot of painkillers to his bruised ribs, collected 2 key hits and knocked in a huge insurance run in the 7th inning where the Cards netted their lead taking charge to reclaim the game. Beltran is a smooth easy going presence that could make walking across a tight rope look easy. He has saved this team many times this postseason with different methods. Deemed a slowing down player in September, Beltran slammed a 3 run bomb to open the playoffs at home against Pittsburgh. He put on a one man show in the first game against the Dodgers, throwing out the winning run at home plate before knocking in the eventual game winner. He saved a potentially back breaking embarrassing grand slam in Game 1 against the Red Sox on Wednesday night. Under the shadows of playoff glory, Beltran is working his October magic. I am glad it’s on our end and not like in 2004-2005 when he helped make our life a living hell while playing for Houston. He is a Cardinal now and it will be hard to let him go after this season.

*Matt Holliday is quietly putting together a big postseason. He isn’t collecting a ton of hits but he has made them count. He hit a solo HR in game 1 and tripled and scored the first run last night. In the first series’, he seemed to collect that HUGE HR and get the hits when needed. It would be amazing if this long ridiculed left fielder won the World Series MVP. That would shut all the haters up. For all the errors on the infield and NLCS hijinks in the outfield, Holliday has played a solid outfield for the Cards. He handled the green monster in Games 1 and 2. He doesn’t make many flashy plays but he makes the routine ones and has a better arm than either of his center fielders. Holliday is a secret weapon.

*The Young Arms reveal themselves to the Red Sox hitters. Carlos Martinez, after being used here and there for most of the season, has broken out during the past month. Once again, Matheny was keeping a hot sports car in the garage as long as he could until he had to use it. Down the stretch run to the division title and through the playoffs, Baby Carlos is proving to be the late inning setup man to Rosenthal with his eye popping fastball and wicked breaking pitch and nearly folked Victorino up last night. He threw a crucial 2 inning last night to form the bridge to Rosenthal’s shutdown 9th inning and is starting to lose the baby tags. He is a mult-tool threat for the future that could contribute in the bullpen and rotation. One of many. Nice to see Rosenthal climb the rubber at Fenway and blow 11 fastballs past the Red Sox and silent their postseason momentum and that stuffed crowd of raucous beantown fanatics. If we win this series, it will be on the heels of our great young pitching.

*Our defense stayed strong. In a ballpark known for sending opposing players into fits, the Cards made the plays last night. The highlight of the night was Pete Kozma redeeming himself with a misdirection grounder field and throw in the 7th inning that reminded people why he started so many games this summer for the Redbirds. Kozma is a plus defender with a great arm and helped the defense hold the fort yesterday.

Instead of being down 2-0 and looking fatally wounded, the Cards come home with a 1-1 series and 3 games at Busch. Sure, Allen Craig will probably be on the bench, but then again Boston will lose either David Ortiz or Mike Napoli. Each team will lose an offensive bullet so its even. The series will be defined by how little mistakes are made and how great the relief pitching can be. So far, it’s tied and looks like a 7 game series. At the moment, the momentum belongs to the Cards.

Thanks for staying,

D.L.B.

@buffa82 on Twitter

Fenway Torture in for The Cards

October 24, 2013April 13, 2017 · Leave a comment ·

Ladies and gentlemen, the St. Louis Cardinals are in the danger zone in the 2013 World Series. On Wednesday night, the Redbirds were coldly introduced to the horrors of playoff baseball in a park famous for making visiting teams show their ugliest color. Right from the outset of Game 1, bad things were in store. Bad defense, subpar pitching and a lack of the big hit kept the Cards from breaking out on top early. The rest was sad to see. Just in case you had the pleasure of not watching last night’s game, allow me to tell you what happened and why we lost Game 1.

Adam Wainwright Doesn’t Bring His A Game

It happens more often than people give his stat line credit for. Lately, Adam Wainwright had found a way to escape his worst inning, the 1st frame, without much damage. Last night, things weren’t going well for our ace pitcher. His curve ball didn’t have the bite it usually had. The cutter was out of the strike zone. His mistakes came on his fastball up in the zone and on bad changeups. Waino wasn’t bad last night but he was far from sharp and got beat up. Out of all the hits given up, Mike Napoli’s three run double was the hardest hit. Others were seeing eye singles through the holes or bloop hits. If madness had a name, The Cardinals found it and don’t forget, the rough pitching of Waino was the start. He could have exited the game without throwing 95 pitches but since Shelby Miller is missing yet on the roster, the Cards would have further exposed their bullpen if Waino hadn’t made it out of 5 innings. Waino’s runs allowed weren’t all earned, but if you asked him, he will take responsibility for all of them. He couldn’t get a patient Red Sox lineup to bite on any of his pitches so he had to come to them and the results weren’t pretty.

Bad Defense Blues Strike

In my blog yesterday, I picked the Cards in 7 but I pointed out that the one thing that could hold them back or make them fail is their bad defense. In nearly every category, the Cards ranked near the bottom in defense in 2013. The Red Sox play solid defense and don’t make too many errors. The Cards are capable of shooting themselves in the foot. Last night, it happened early. Pete Kozma is a pretty good defensive shortstop and may be our best choice at shortstop but he had a horrible night. He didn’t get a hit but he allowed a few runs to be possible with his defense. With a runner on base, David Ortiz hit a ground ball to a shifted infield and Matt Carpenter fielded the ball. Kozma, forgetting where he was, moved to his left first and then had to back up to the second base bag. Kozma received a weak toss from Carpenter and dropped it. The second base umpire ruled the runner out but after a discussion with the fellow umpires, the ruling was reversed. Two on and only 1 out. Eventually, the bases got jammed and cleared by Napoli’s shot into left center. In the regular season, you can make errors and survive a game. Here, in this game, in Boston in the World Series, an error can break a ball game in half and futility can define your game for the night. The Cards couldn’t overcome bad luck, bad plays and bad pitching last night and lost miserably. In the 3rd inning, a pop up dropped between Waino and Yadi Molina. Two runs scored that inning. Another grounder went off Kozma’s glove. A few more singles and walks led to runs. Ortiz missed a grand slam but eventually took Carlos Beltran out of the game when the postseason hero pulled back the fly ball for a mere sacrifice fly. The Cards committed 3 errors and have committed 6 errors in 12 games this postseason which leads all teams. Defensively, they are a liability and in Game 1, the Red Sox used that to get ahead in the series.

Beltran Goes Down and Out

Our star rightfielder, playing in his first World Series game in his storied career, made the wonderful catch over the wall on Ortiz but damaged his ribs on the right field wall. One of the crazy features in Fenway is the right field wall that comes up to a normal sized player’s rib cage. It isn’t like the outfield walls around the major leagues where you basically bounce off it and make a throw. Fenway’s right field wall may as well have thorns sticking out of because when Beltran made that catch he bruised his ribs, left the game, and may be affected by it the rest of the series. Remember what happened to Hanley Rameriz in Game 1 of the NLCS? The Cards got a dose of that feeling last night with Beltran going down. With Allen Craig unable to play the field as of right now, losing Beltran would be detrimental to the chances of a title.

Fenway Park Familiarity

The Cards don’t have it and looked like a team lost in space last night in Boston. Both teams deal with the conditions there, but the Red Sox are used to it because it’s their home. The Cards looked out of sorts and homesick last night. The green monster in left field. The way it is set up, you think the left fielder is standing right behind the shortstop. A base hit to left doesn’t score a runner from second. A ball off the wall is probably a single and not a double. Right center is a potentially hazardous situation. The place seats less than 40,000 people and when stuffed to the gills, it resembles a very crowded church. People are everywhere and the smaller the environment, the more noise can be made. The Cards aren’t used to that and have played in some hostile places(San Francisco) but not like this. This isn’t Chavez Ravine in LA where a lot of seats are empty. Fenway Park is a cathedral of baseball heaven in its own right and for visitors it can be hell. Busch Stadium is a great place to be and works in the Cardinals advantage, but it doesn’t have the quirky confines like Fenway does. If you aren’t ready for it, Fenway can swallow you whole.

The Offense Fails to Produce The Hit

Two chances. Two double plays. The Cards had chances to get back in the game but David Freese and Yadi Molina hit into double plays. Chances erased. We had 7 hits, as many as Boston, but could only produce a single run, which was a Matt Holliday bomb in the 9th inning of a 8-0 game. Forget the pitching and defense for a minute. The Cards have to find a way to score. In the last 3 games of the Dodgers series, they were starting to break out. There isn’t a living and breathing defensive handicap like Yasiel Puig in right field anymore. The Cards have the offensive firepower, with or without Beltran, to score at Fenway. On Wednesday night, they put runners on base but couldn’t score.

Let’s talk about the hairy elephant in the room…..

The Gooey Substance on Lester’s Hand

Maybe it’s nothing. Maybe it’s something. Either way, I would like to know what was on Jon Lester’s glove throughout the game. A Cardinals minor leaguer spotted it and you can see it in pictures. I don’t care who put it up first, social media or a private source. I want to know what it was and if it gave Lester an advantage. Excuse me for looking out for the sanctity of the game here but if there was cheating going on, something needs to be done. In the cold weather, two things are effected. Your feet and hands. Pitchers have a hard time getting a grip on the ball. The substance looked like vaseline. If Lester was using it, I am not sure if he was, then that is a huge advantage. Throwing a good curveball is all about the grip on the baseball. If Lester cheated, hopefully the MLB investigates. If there is a shed of doubt about his innocence, go after it. What was it? What is the name of it? What does it do? Why were you using it? Tell me now.

Looking ahead to Game 2 With Wacha Taking The Mound

The good thing is rookie sensation Michael Wacha goes in Game 2 tonight. The same guy who was pitching to college players last year takes the mound in rowdy Fenway Park tonight with the hope of sending the Cards back to Busch on Saturday with an even series. Going back down 2-0 would be like escaping quick sand. Wacha shut down the Pirates and Dodgers. Now he goes into the toughest place to pitch and will try to create magic again. The bats need to make an appearance. Score early. Get Wacha some runs. Create an aura of confidence because right now, it’s non-existent. The Cards have to take the series back tonight and along with the necessary needs, good defense will be required or you can call this series over. It’s that simple.

Thanks for taking the time,

Dan L. Buffa

@buffa82 on Twitter