Surely no one from Missouri will tweet something incredibly stupid this year: The 2016 St. Louis Cardinals

over/under on how long Molina's season lasts until his thumb explodes? i'm going with with just before the all-star break. i suspect we're going to become more familiar with brayan peña than we ever thought possible.

If they were smart, they would actually start Pena at least a couple times a week, especially early in the season. He's a pretty good player. Molina has a lot of miles on his body catching that many games. I'd think dropping him down to a 100-120 starts would help him out at this point. With 1b most likely being a committee position, if Molina could or would want to play there, it could be a place to get him spot starts without having to catch.

A few years ago the Reds used a tandum of Roberto Hernandez and Ryan Hanigan splitting the time and it seemed to really help both of them at the plate and kept them fresh.

Ramon Hernandez...mistyped

yeah, i'm with you earlnash, and pena's a big improvement over tony cruz. i definitely don't mind seeing him more often, but i worry about yadi going doing with an injury. every year is pretty much the same with matheny and lineup management: he claims that he's going to work the players to give them more time off, and then by mid-May he's basically just playing everyone every single day of the week. last year involved matt carpenter going down with exhaustion by early May, peralta and wong visibly wearing down after playing in nearly every game, three relievers in the top 30 of IP in the NL, holliday being rushed back from an injury only to be injured again, and molina being rushed back from an injury only to be injured again.

here's a post from early May last year which accurately predicts how terrible Matheny would be at this for the rest of the season: http://www.vivaelbirdos.com/st-louis-cardinals-sabermetrics-analysis/2015/5/12/8590527/matt-carpenters-break-should-be-a-wake-up-call

it's just a little too easy to imagine molina (whose thumb is still recovering) being rushed out again, then ending his season by may. the idea of him occasionally playing at 1B has been tossed around before, but it probably only works with 2011-2013 molina. his bat wouldn't play too well at 1B these days, and most of his value is coming from his defense and gamecalling, etc.

bernie miklasz sees the writing on the wall

http://www.101sports.com/2016/03/01/yadier-molina-will-play-yadier-molina-decides-play/

The #Cardinals say they have a major announcement coming at 11:45 a.m. ET.

https://twitter.com/markasaxon/status/705061484603248644

Shit.

Wong extension. Heart attack averted.

phew. i thought it was going to be news about them losing their first 10 draft picks or something

not sure how excited i am about the extension, tbh. i like wong, and i think he'll get better, but he's been kind of awful against lefthanded pitching. not a huge deal, esp if matheny can figure out how platoons work with gyorko. i guess it's better to wait until the financial terms are revealed before judging it too harshly

the Cardfan contingent here remains hilariously pessimistic in all circumstances!

maybe when i get home i'll photoshop a cardinals hat onto Schopenhauer

Update: Chris Cotiillo is reporting that the deal is for 5 years and $25.5 million guaranteed with a $12.5 option for the sixth year. That is a pretty good deal for the Cardinals, buying out potentially two free agent seasons while guaranteeing just under $26 million.

http://www.vivaelbirdos.com/2016/3/2/11146528/cardinals-sign-kolten-wong-to-contract-extension

it sure sounds heavy because he hasn't shown that much. otoh these deals usually make Mo look v smart years later.

'hasn't shown that much' is still 2 war for each of his first two full seasons. last year he was right behind neil walker, who just got $10.6m for his final year of arbitration (and is five years older)

maybe he doesn't get any better, but that's a pretty decent price to lock up even a league-average player for his peak years (and avoid paying for the post-peak years)

some of the impression is probably the angst over wanting a leadoff man not named Carpenter. and Wong got caught between Peralta tanking the 1/2 half and 1st base being a black hole. also i generally lose track of salary ranges and say dumb things -_-

1. Crap Treatment; 3B

2. Tony T. Chestpepsi; RF

3. Hot, Tidy Llama; LF

4. Planetary John; SS

5. Madam Tats; 1B

6. Rad, Racing Hulk; CF

7. Ready ... Aim ... Lion!; C

8. El Gown Knot; 2B

9. A Withdrawn Magi; SP

Planetary John out for 2-3 months, so someone will have to come up with one for garcia or gyorko (or diaz?)

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cc38e8bWoAAiD6a.jpg

Oops, meant to post that in the Spring Training thread.

kidtxter: woah
kidtxter: something jus happend
kidtxter: everybody got scared or someting
kidtxter: god i hate my dad

A real hero for all of us who hate to stand up and walk around, and yet still want to make a difference

Dazedly Aims

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-cardinals-already-have-an-in-house-shortstop

i don't care that it's a pitcher talking about another member of his rotation:

https://twitter.com/vivaelbirdos/status/705783203689324545

:D

BP podcast Cards preview today featured Dayn Perry describing Matheny's dugout 'optics' as "What do I do now?"

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=28627

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/ruben-tejada-inevitable-cardinal/

sorry to dwell on this, but

why is yadi playing in games right now? he's been catching spring training games, and at least for the first few games, he was either lifted for a pinch hitter when it was his time to bat, or didn't swing the bat, which makes it obvious that his thumb isn't fully healed. since then, he's taken a few swings (he's 0 for 3 with three strikeouts and a sacrifice bunt). but why not just let him heal, roll with brayan pena for a couple months, and slowly bring yadi in sometime in June? it seems like they're actively trying to make his worst case scenario - a season ending aggravation of the thumb injury - come to pass

i'm guessing because he actively wanted to catch games

but, related: spring training is way too long and boring and getting worse all the time

Yadi is basically the manager, he does what he wants these days.

I don't think you understand veteran leadership. It would have been very disrespectful to stop Holliday and Yadi from re-injuring themselves last year.

St. Louis Cardinals ✔ ‎@Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals have signed INF Ruben Tejada to a one-year free agent contract. Will wear uniform No. 19.

https://cdn3.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ODkds5xv4_y-8MjmG1gIYaDsmwU=/0x150:2430x1770/709x473/filters:format(webp)/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/49152743/usa-today-9203181.0.jpg

i try not to pay attention to spring training but they've looked absolutely awful out there recently. only won 1 of last 12 games, and 5 errors today

looks like walden is out again. i was kind of hoping we'd get him for at least a month or two this year. on the plus side, it opens up a spot for matt bowman.

opening day lineup, 2016:

Carpenter 3B
Pham LF
Holliday 1B
Grichuk CF
Piscotty RF
Molina C
Wong 2B
Gyorko SS
Wainwright P

awesome challenge Mike

Does this game COUNT??? I had no idea...

Tommy Pham to the DL, but Aledmys Diaz gets a promotion.

man, so disappointing about Pham.

2 games in and every question mark is being answered with a negative. ;_;

i was only able to catch the first 2 innings but i read the recap and it sounds like they got matheny'd.

btw, why is wacha the #2 starter?

Matheny was terrible again. I mean there's a reason a team with one of the best records in the last 4 years has one of the worst in extra-innings. He still does this crap of removing the 3rd spot in the order for a relief pitcher. He brings in Adams to face a pitcher who kills lefties because........?

Wacha is an issue. Matheny's terrible line up construction is an issue. And aside from maybe Piscotty, none of the hitters look like a force or catalyst. They look very much like the team that was fading out in September.

One positive: Oh.

Jenifer Langosch ‏@LangoschMLB
Marco Gonzales began feeling elbow discomfort 2-3 weeks ago. He's already seen #STLCards doctor; second opinion to come from Dr. ElAttrache.

yikes, could be another lost season for him. :-/ that leaves cooney and/or lyons as a replacement SP when someone goes down. plus reyes as a potential late-season option if he continues making good progress. oh, and after he serves his suspension that's more severe than what aroldis fucking chapman received

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cfd4c-OUMAA-CEq.jpg

(source)

wow

that's just

i mean

jfc

for the second time in 5 games, matheny is benching grichuk. hazelbaker hit a HR so now he deserves starts instead of grichuk.

gotta go with the hot hand

TJ for marco gonzales

offlirtion

Hazelbaker?

Jaime dealin

1 hit, 13 Ks, 1 BB, game score 97

two 97s in today's matinees

Cardinals just got matheny'd

'started a center fielder who can't throw'??

well, not that bad. there needs to be an entirely different category for matheny mistakes of that magnitude. in this case he brought out wainwright for the 6th inning despite him already blowing a 4-run lead and being very obviously out of gas. why? the game was tied so he needed to get the all important W in order to rebuild his confidence

that's a move a number of managers would make, i guess, but the matheny bonus is not having anyone throwing in the bullpen and then having the game slip out of hand before anyone could get warm

the optics of booing heyward tonight sure will be great..........

cardinals now batting .276/.362/.511 as a team and are scoring a run per game more than everyone else

getting to play the barves, brewers, and reds for most of those games probably helped quite a bit, along with hazelbaker and aledmys diaz' deals with the devil

i'm sure some people will boo heyward tonight, but i doubt it'll be more than a one game thing.

anytime one of your longtime, legendary players leaves for a rival it's a tough break

Lackey is pitching tonight too

yeah, but heyward was only with the team for a year, and it wasn't even his choice - he was traded. he left for more money and, in all likelihood, a better team over the next 3-5 years. it's a tough break but when people get all pissed at him it's highlights the things about sports that i hate

"local man angry at player leaving team he didn't want to be on in the first place"

exactly! i mean, what's with heyward - he gets a brief taste of the #1 city in the world and he doesn't want to stay for the next 7-9 years???

Seung Hwan Oh's three closest comps for his slider are Scherzer, Tanaka, and Cueto.

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/seung-hwan-oh-has-been-completely-unhittable/

Sussman, BP: Sometimes you can't predict baseball, but when a 30-year-old former backup catcher for the Twins and Pirates starts the season 6-for-6 for the Cardinals, sometimes it's like fish in a barrel.

via Bernie: With Jhonny Peralta (age 33) on the DL ... the Cardinals actually have a younger roster (average age) than the Cubs right now.
http://www.101sports.com/2016/04/18/cards-cubs-real-rivarly-enough-lazy-narratives/

he walked and threw someone out, too! that'll most likely be the highlight of his career. feels like hazelbaker's earned a place in the 4th OF competition with Pham, at least, but Diaz is the one I'm excited about. Peralta's obviously the starter once he gets back, but if Diaz keeps playing well it could open up an opportunity to trade Peralta at some point and at least get a return on him while he still has value. Oooor, if Wong never lives up to his potential (feel like they sent the extension his way a little too soon, even though it's likely to be a decent value), they could even think about moving carpenter back to 2B and sliding Diaz over to 3B. it's all small sample sizes of course, but i buy the future of diaz more than hazelbaker.

those guys will all have to sit now -- ruben tejada has been activated

fully expect Leake to get mashed tonight. like our chances with Martinez and Garcia a lot more.

yeah, same. not looking forward to 5 years of mediocrity from leake

it would help if he was funny or did something unique or had a weird delivery or something, but to be v v boring on top of mediocre is just too much to handle

my impression is he's a "who gives a shit, its just baseball" guy. which is fine if he could roll a .500 win pct and 4.50 era, eat innings and get sent to long relief in the playoffs. In his defense, he's supposed to be a ground ball pitcher and the cardinals fielding is very bad.

So it all went about as expected ●︿●

yeah, when i was advocating Diaz just upthread, i kind of forgot that he doesn't know how to play SS. yikes. the infield D would be bad enough with Diaz/Gyorko pretending to be shortstops and Holliday/Piscotty handling 1B a significant amount of time, but Wong has seemingly lost the ability to field routine grounders. nothing against Carp but when he's your standout defender in the IF, you know you have problems

if wong keeps this up he's gonna endure the entire wrath of al hrabosky. i have the game on mute but i can only imagine the sublimity of his concern

there was no evidence of a racial slur is the best cards news of the week. go team!

grich

i appreciate pitchers whose batting stances involve a leg kick

he used to be a SS back in the day

bobby? 2B

aledmys diaz, 5 for 5!

if he can only learn how to be a better SS, :D :D

wonder what it will take to get him out of the 8 hole

although it always seemed apparent hazelbaker's success is (was) a fluke, for some reason i have like full-on aledyms fever right now

viva el birdos ‏@vivaelbirdos 1 minute ago
Aledmys Diaz wRC+ of 267 leads MLB (Manny Machado 2nd)
Aledmys Diaz SLG of .875 leads MLB (Bryce Harper 2nd)
BA and OBP 1st, too
min 50 PA

omg aledmys diaz

wong has to be really nervous right now

anyway his BABIP of .500 will proooooobably regress but for now O_O

@Cardinals
.@EliasSports says Aledmys Diaz is the first MLB player to debut in the modern era to have a batting average of .500 through 50+ career ABs.

Wong's ISO is still 0.00.

Among hitters with enough PA's to qualify, there's only one other player at 0, and that's Chase Headley.

Aledmys Diaz O_O

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ChI7d34WIAEcLB5.jpg

i keep waiting for the floor to drop out from under him, but enjoying it while it lasts. obviously the BABIP won't stay like this forever but he's making legitimate hard contact in nearly ever PA, so it's not totally flukey either

http://i64.tinypic.com/4zw2uw.jpg lol xposts

http://i.imgur.com/4TcPWft.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/4TcPWft.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/4TcPWft.jpg

looks like he has a mustache coming out of his nostrils in that pic

<3 aledmys

that's a Hornsby-like start, i'm sure enough to get him elected as an All-Star by TBFIB.

Fangraphs examines Diaz and other hot debuts of the decade

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/pitchers-cant-seem-to-get-the-aledmys-diaz-out/

this prooooobably won't last, but at this point, 4 of the top 10 in avg. flyball distance are cardinals, including moss at #2, piscotty at #4, holliday at #7 and hazelbaker at #10. (heyward is last, at #233, which means he is a bad baseball player)

http://www.baseballheatmaps.com/graph/distanceleader.php

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/15434472/st-louis-cardinals-looking-allegations-pitcher-carlos-martinez

.500 with +39 DIFF

This is a funny starting lineup.

Yadi's playing 1B (i'd rather just see him get a rare night off, especially with adams, moss, piscotty, and holliday all capable of playing 1B)

never put piscotty at first

interesting stat on the broadcast just now

they've scored 7+ runs 13 times, most in MLB
they've scored 1 run or less 9 times, second most in MLB

and that lines up with the experience of watching them so far this year. either blowouts against bad teams or incredibly frustrating near shutouts.

http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/51231442/v660805583/?game_pk=447291

it began with such promise

fyi pete kozma is hitting .172/.274/.237 for the yankees' triple-a club

his best ISO in several years

*drudgesiren* Matheny pulls head out of 2014 stat sheet *drudgesiren*

Jenifer Langosch ‏@LangoschMLB 3m3 minutes ago

#STLCards, who have gotten an awful .186/.270/.333 slash line from their cleanup hitters, try Piscotty in the spot tonight. Diaz to bat 2nd.

but...Piscotty isn't a big first basemen?

?!!??!

although on second thought, maybe matheny can use Piscotty at 1B tonight. then all will be right in the world

looks like Peralta is expected to get rehab work in at both SS and 3B. hoping they go for something like:

Diaz: SS
Peralta: 3B
Carpenter: 1B
Keep one of Moss or Adams, and trade the other.

maybe peralta should get some work at 2B as well

btw reyes is making his first start for memphis on sunday; maybe waino heard the footsteps last night

Marp at 1B today. Matheny reads ILX!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-kxwJES7yA

featuring the world's most unbearable play-by-play announcer

omg you're not joking. holy shit, that guy

that was satisfying

they're really into dumping the gatorade on each other this year aren't they

cardinals acquire Jose Martinez from KC for cash considerations. Jose Martinez is the son of Carlos Martinez, which sounds absolutely amazing but it's the former MLB outfielder Carlos Martinez, not el gallo. he won the AAA batting title last year and had a wRC+ of 177, but he's 27 and has never played in the big leagues.

unrelated, and not blaming his recent 0 fer 17 entirely on this, but hey matheny why don't you give aledmys diaz a game off every once in a while. he's played pretty much every game since he came up

gotta run those kids into the ground

he'll give him two days off, relegate him to pinch-hitting for a few days, then put him back in the 8-hole. diaz is not allowed to hit anywhere except for 8th or 2nd.

adams is hitting .316/.374/.561

why do u hate him

I don't big city, I would just like to get some return on him while he's hitting .316/.374/.561

Or hell, same deal with Brandon Moss.

http://www.vivaelbirdos.com/st-louis-cardinals-news-analysis-mlb/2016/6/1/11828806/stephen-piscotty-plays-guitar-dislikes-advanced-metrics-wants-to-save

Stephen Piscotty is smart. We have heard all about his Stanford background since he first graced a baseball field wearing the Birds on the Bat. We know he does not like chess, but what other things interest this smart guy? Mark Saxon of ESPN has the answers and one of them is not advanced metrics:

"It bothers me for some reason. I just don't like it and I don't really understand any of it. I just think it takes away so much of what it means to be a well-rounded ball player. I just think of these Little League kids and everybody's talking about these complicated statistics and it's really just about going and playing and competing."

"I get that you play 162 games and the computer can help you out and I think baseball will find a balance for that, but I think it's definitely shifting in a way that is overblown."

Stephen Piscotty is not smart.

wong optioned!

wow, that's the right move but i'm very surprised! at least wong will get some playing time there. i expected that the situation would be resolved by some sort of mid-season trade, or worse, by letting matheny handle it via his famed lineup construction skills

he's killing the ball in memphis, of course. and played center field last night!

thread activity level correlates with enjoyment of season

the time of the year I cry that we need to SELL SELL SELL and then the team proves me wrong.

yeah this recent surge has lifted the pirates' playoff chances to a whopping 14%, ie just enough that they'll hang on to people they should sell

I would be whining more on this thread but I've been traveling.

I haven't seen Jaime pitch for a while, but it wouldn't surprise me if we soon find out he's been pitching hurt for the last month+. I don't think it's time to sell yet, but the answer might depend on how long marp is out.

https://cdn1.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/kEZYXOyPhHXlQW28qhLlhk5YJHw=/1600x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/6799601/ns2.0.png

for those complaining about cardinals devil magic for the last several years, 2016 is the payback

http://cdn.fangraphs.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/ops-differential.png

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-cardinals-have-had-historically-horrible-timing/

i'll be seeing them twice next week, Monday at Mets (rootin' agin em) and Friday in Miami (rootin' for em)!

maybe Thurs too as Jose F is pitching and it could be Ichiro 3000 Night.

Grrrrr, wish I could go that Monday game but everything is haywire for me right now. I'm in Chicago right now. sabotaging the baseball operations of the Cubs trying to find a new apartment, and as soon as I get back sometime next week it'll be a frenzy of packing and a thousand errands

well, gbye. :( I'm back in NY evening of Aug 1 if you haven't moved yet!

there's a chance i could make the monday game (check yr facebook)!

also, aledmys diaz had the #1 wRC+ in baseball during March/April (217) AND the #2 wRC+ in baseball during the last 30 days (213)

booooooooooo

yaaaaaaaaay

good night

Mark Saxon ESPN Staff Writer
How hot is Jedd Gyorko (Yes, you read that right)? Not only has he homered in six of his last nine games, his seven homers since July 18 are the most in the majors and they have come over just 32 at-bats. "I don't think people realize how good a player he is," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said.

jaime going for a maddux, headed into 9th inning with zero runs, 11 strikeouts, one walk, 3 hits, 89 pitches

(and only 2 hits given up by the barve's de la cruz)

looks like oh's getting the call for the 9th, nm

reyes up

weaver too

Holliday broken thumb

lance lynn had TJ on november 10; he is making a rehab appearance in palm beach tonight

not sure i've ever heard of such a thing

whoa
that's the first i'm hearing of it, too. that's insane

then again, that's what you can expect when you follow the cardinal way

trying to follow the unwritten rule of blowing out your not completely healed arm

I expect that matheny will put him in the bullpen, let him sit 3 weeks without pitching, and then deploy him in extra innings during a must-win playoff game

just as The Lord told him to

obviously his agent isn't scott boras

he hits free agency after next season; this seems . . . imprudent

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cqd2ks6VYAEshW-.jpg

lmao

i didnt know the infield D was this bad

grichuk is a really streaky hitter

https://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/CMJ5YrnskFLWeAkl_SD108f1SOw=/1600x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/7038863/mms1.png

not a good fit for mathenaging: http://www.vivaelbirdos.com/2016/9/3/12780556/cardinals-small-sample-mike-matheny-randal-grichuk

The Cardinals’ best 40-game stretch this season was from early June to late July when they went 23-17.

whoops, forgot the other part:

Conversely, they haven’t had a completely forgettable stretch either. The Cardinals’ worst record over 40 games this season is 20-20 (mid April to late May), which is quite good. In the National League, the only other team to not have a losing record over their worst 40 games of baseball is the Nationals (also 20-20).

i think the odds on a Cards-Mets WC game are purty good right now

gross

then Mets knock out Cubs again, obv

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r274/bridgetosomewhere/Matheny%20Outcomes_zpskymmqrkd.gif

gulf coast league champions: cardinals
appalachian league champions: johnson city cardinals
ny-penn league champions: state college cardinals spikes

doesn't mean much in the long run, but it's cooler than not winning

wacha back from DL and straight to the bullpen. jaime might be joining him as well

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2016/09/cardinals-activate-michael-wacha-for-pen-duty-weighing-rotation-change.html

best case for Mets is they split their 4-gamer with Giants while Mets beat up Twins

^^^^^

fairy tales CAN come troo

i can't sleep. so here is tsunami riding a wave

http://i.imgur.com/fB3cNfI.gif

A+

https://vine.co/v/5vetJvZdaKv

oof.

this problem could have been avoided by playing kolten wong at a position he's actually good at (2B), moving carpenter to 3B, and benching a player who has been worth 0.9 fWAR this year (peralta)

Wong trying to fix his divots after that play was pretty funny.

Diaz returns from a day grieving with the Fernandez family, hits a grand slam

http://www.todaysknuckleball.com/nl/st-louis-cardinals/column-poor-game-tactics-make-mathenys-retention-mistake/

OK I haven't even read this yet but:

"This is part one of a three-part series delving into three different elements of Mike Matheny’s management — in-game tactics, player usage and rest, and prospect development — and why the Cardinals retaining him for 2017 is a mistake." [emphasis mine]

oooh votto just got clocked in the chin with a one-hopper from the left fielder as he was sliding into second, stretching a single into a double. has a nice laceration and not too happy about being forced to leave the game

another example of the cardinals not playing the game the right way imo

controversy

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/17673770

I think we can all agree that the next batter definitely would have driven in the winning run anyway, so no big deal.

surprised to see that joe west was not part of the umpire crew

No option year for Holliday. He was a great part of the team, but it was the right decision.

totally willing to give you this game fwiw

and possibly this one

what stands between the cardinals and dominion? ryan vogelsong

Chad Kuhl is listed as the Pittsburgh starter for tomorrow.

oh never mind that was today! sorry.

frustrating year for sure. the demise of Wacha being the worst part imo. Diaz/Reyes the best.

but still being in the race on the last day in what seemed like a bridge year going into is decent.

other things learned: giving a flexible lineup to a challenged manager is not a great plan. less platoons/throw 5 mediocre players at one position in 2017, please.

yadi and waino up for the gold glove again

http://i.imgur.com/ZwP02Nx.gif

yadi doesn't deserve it. :( his pitchframing still looks good and i'm sure his gamecalling is great, but his arm is gone. his caught stealing was 21% this year, i think? way down from previous years, and it seemed like as the year went on more and more teams starting realizing they could basically steal at will on him.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cvo3Er5VUAE7leL.jpg:small

sorry, had to

ok lol at that one, i admit