2K13: St. Louis Cardinals

[NakedRicci]

My closers are Boggs, Grilli and Axeford... I cannot tell you how excited I am for the 9th inning this year... :-/

[ThatRogue]

6 ER in 0.1 IP for Boggs today. He'll be lucky to get his ERA below 4 this season. Of course, I have him on my AFA team. For now.

Of course this happened in a non-save situation. And the manager made a pitcher that was struggling with control give up two intentional walks. And the Cardinals infielders forgot how to handle ground balls. I had the unfortunate displeasure of watching the eighth and ninth innings of that game. I had Garcia and Boggs in my rotation. And I have a renewed loathing for the Cards (born during the pennant race of 1985 and re-established during the 2006 NLCS).

[Judge Jude]

Guy in my league "stole" Marmol for 10 and Boggs for 1 Saturday in my NL-only...

[joncarlos]

Matt Adams with 2 HR in 2 days. He is hitting right around .600 for the year.

And he's on my bench, because he's not a starter.

There's really no way for him to force his way into 400 ABs without an injury, is there?

[james33]

There's really no way for him (Matt Adams) to force his way into 400 ABs without an injury, is there?

No; they aren't going to bench Holliday, Beltran, or Craig. And they don't think Beltran can handle CF regularly, so I don't see a Jay benching giving you a good domino effect for Adams' PT.

But the good news is that Matt Carpenter started again today at 2B, despite groundballer Westbrook pitching. This means less competition for 1B starts, with Carpenter taking a bigger role at 2B. And how often are Holliday, Beltran, and Craig each going to be healthy? Figure Matt Carpenter still starts in AL parks too.

But yeah, heading into weeks with a healthy Holliday, Beltran, and Craig, I can't see starting Adams.

[james33]

We're about halfway through the year, so thought an update was in order.

Lineup-wise, the Cardinals have been quite healthy, with no big surprises anywhere in the lineup.

Rotation-wise, some injuries (Garcia out for the year; Westbrook was hurt earlier this year) and yet a lot of promise in the minor leagues. They are going to pile the innings onto Wainwright's arm, reworking the rotation a bit recently so that he can start Sunday before the A-S break.

Tyler Lyons or Carlos Martinez would be best guesses for next man up to join the rotation should an injury occur, with another shot for Wacha as another possibility. John Gast looks to be out for more time with the lat strain; he hasn't started throwing yet, so I'll guess September return.

Most recently, Descalso has been getting more pt lately at SS the expense of Kozma, who hasn't had a hit since June 25.

Cardinals could announce a roster move tomorrow. Strong possibility that Ty Wigginton will be DFA'd or even given the opportunity to go to the minors, rather than demoting Kozma, as (1) the Cardinals for awhile have been saying no decision on Wigginton until after the first half of the year and (2) they've demoted several bullpen veterans, so they aren't afraid to eat some salary.

So who comes up? Not Taveras, who hasn't returned yet from a high ankle sprain. Conceivably Kolten Wong as a backup 2B/pinch hitter/pinch runner, but he isn't the main name that Cards beatwriter Derrick Goold mentioned in a chat today....instead he metioned Brock Peterson and Ryan Jackson. Brock Peterson is a 29 year old AAA first baseman with 20 HR this year. But with Craig and Adams still around, he'd be just a pinch hitter, so don't get excited calculating major league equivalents of 20 AAA HRs. Plus he strikes out a lot. Middle infielder Ryan Jackson, who could ultimately compete for the shortstop job down the line, is a decent hitter but nothing to get too excited about.

It would seem that a trade for a starting shortstop would be in order, but everything I've read suggests that isn't likely and that a trade for pitching is much more likely. I'm just not sure that a good enough starter is available, so I'll guess they trade a fairly low-ranked prospect for an established bullpen arm.

[Gregg]

We're about halfway through the year, so thought an update was in order.

Lineup-wise, the Cardinals have been quite healthy, with no big surprises anywhere in the lineup.

Rotation-wise, some injuries (Garcia out for the year; Westbrook was hurt earlier this year) and yet a lot of promise in the minor leagues. They are going to pile the innings onto Wainwright's arm, reworking the rotation a bit recently so that he can start Sunday before the A-S break.

Tyler Lyons or Carlos Martinez would be best guesses for next man up to join the rotation should an injury occur, with another shot for Wacha as another possibility. John Gast looks to be out for more time with the lat strain; he hasn't started throwing yet, so I'll guess September return.

Most recently, Descalso has been getting more pt lately at SS the expense of Kozma, who hasn't had a hit since June 25.

Cardinals could announce a roster move tomorrow. Strong possibility that Ty Wigginton will be DFA'd or even given the opportunity to go to the minors, rather than demoting Kozma, as (1) the Cardinals for awhile have been saying no decision on Wigginton until after the first half of the year and (2) they've demoted several bullpen veterans, so they aren't afraid to eat some salary.

So who comes up? Not Taveras, who hasn't returned yet from a high ankle sprain. Conceivably Kolten Wong as a backup 2B/pinch hitter/pinch runner, but he isn't the main name that Cards beatwriter Derrick Goold mentioned in a chat today....instead he metioned Brock Peterson and Ryan Jackson. Brock Peterson is a 29 year old AAA first baseman with 20 HR this year. But with Craig and Adams still around, he'd be just a pinch hitter, so don't get excited calculating major league equivalents of 20 AAA HRs. Plus he strikes out a lot. Middle infielder Ryan Jackson, who could ultimately compete for the shortstop job down the line, is a decent hitter but nothing to get too excited about.

It would seem that a trade for a starting shortstop would be in order, but everything I've read suggests that isn't likely and that a trade for pitching is much more likely. I'm just not sure that a good enough starter is available, so I'll guess they trade a fairly low-ranked prospect for an established bullpen arm.

I heard Garza is available. But would the Cubs do that?

[james33]

I heard Garza is available. But would the Cubs do that?

Cardinals are reluctant to trade a prospect to a team in the division.

[cavebird]

Cardinals are reluctant to trade a prospect to a team in the division.

That probably wouldn't make that much of a difference anyway. The real absolute key for the Cards right now is to make sure nobody steals whatever kool aid they are serving that makes the team, with more than half the season done, hit .337 with RISP and .242 with nobody on base. Those numbers are just silly.

[james33]

The real absolute key for the Cards right now is to make sure nobody steals whatever kool aid they are serving that makes the team, with more than half the season done, hit .337 with RISP and .242 with nobody on base. Those numbers are just silly.

Excellent point. But I'm not sure I'd agree with the implication that the Cards are simply lucky. Their team OPS, .749, ranks second in the National League, behind only Colorado's .757. And Baseball Prospectus' various expected winning percentage calculations are all higher than the Cardinals' actual winning percentage http://www.baseballprospectus.com/standings/

[james33]

Looks even more like Wigginton will be losing his major league job. http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseb...5294f7652.html

[cavebird]

Excellent point. But I'm not sure I'd agree with the implication that the Cards are simply lucky. Their team OPS, .749, ranks second in the National League, behind only Colorado's .757. And Baseball Prospectus' various expected winning percentage calculations are all higher than the Cardinals' actual winning percentage http://www.baseballprospectus.com/standings/

I think it is a combination of good and bad luck. Good luck in scoring as many runs as they have (not that they would be bad in runs scored by any means without the RISP luck, just that they would not have scored that many runs), and bad luck in not winning as much as expected given the runs scored and runs allowed.

[james33]

And they go with catcher Rob Johnson to replace Wigginton. Not likely to get much playing time, but Molina has had a nagging knee injury. But I wouldn't be surprised to see someone else up to replace Johnson after the All-Star break.

[nullnor]

is there something about the cardinals ballpark that favors pitchers? they have talented pitching but i remember troy glaus said it has hard to see the ball in the ballpark?

that said is there something fishy going on with the pirates? their hitters hit better on the road and their pitchers and their opponents pitchers pitch better in PIT. are they doing something to the baseball?

[Don Quixote]

is there something about the cardinals ballpark that favors pitchers? they have talented pitching but i remember troy glaus said it has hard to see the ball in the ballpark?

that said is there something fishy going on with the pirates? their hitters hit better on the road and their pitchers and their opponents pitchers pitch better in PIT. are they doing something to the baseball?

Look at the configuration of PNC Park. It's not Petco or Oakland, but it's not that far off. You need a howitzer to hit one out to LC.

BTW, the Pirates' magic number is down to 26. 56 down, 26 more wins to end The Streak.