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Live Chats
Cardinals chat with Joe Strauss
Submit your questions and comments about the Cardinals NOW; talk to Post-Dispatch baseball writer Joe Strauss starting at 1 p.m.
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Rather than arrive fashionably late, The Tsunami rolls ashore early this week. Bonus chat!!! Figure the ChatHeads must be ready to surf with Puma down, the bullpen experiencing a recent rough ride and Waino again bueno. Feel free to bring it. Of course, sincere homage paid to the host is always appreciated (and well-deserved). We may even make allowances for boogy boarders this week. Who says JSL!!! isn't for everyone? -
The Cards have insurance on Berkman and others signed to hefty deals. I don't know whether Berkman's knee is exempted from coverage since he required a previous ACL replacement. Also, a team is typically not indemnified for a player's deal until a certain number of days after he lands on the DL. Berkman is still due about $9M this season.
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As of an hour ago, the club did not intend on making a roster move with Carpenter. He will be re-examined upon reaching the stadium this afternoon. I have no word of the Cardinals having a contingency on site. Since the team is in Tuscon, it's doubtful they have an extra body on campus tonight. Regardless, my last information is that the club believes it can avoid DL'ing Carpenter.
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All pitchers (and hitters) make periodic adjustments. Certainly greater familiarity with Lynn will eventually force him to counter. I think the innings load will eventually become a legit issue for Lynn, but not yet. He got pinged around in LA by a very hot team. I would expect something better tonight against a lineup carrying less momentum.
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If you mean do I expect him to finish with an ERA above 2.41, well, yeah. Do I think that means he's heading for the tank? No. Westbrook threw a very good game Saturday in LA but was sabotaged by defensive hijinks and a pairing with Clayton Kershaw. Because he's not a strikeout pitcher, Westbrook will always receive more scrutiny when things happen around him. He's allowing a hit per inning, getting ground balls and has struck out 34 against 13 walks. I don't see cause for concern at present.
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You're asking this 2 days after Greene offered 3 hits, including a game-winning HR? I do agree more time could be found in CF for Schu'. For now, second base appears the ultimate "hot bat" position. Skip has made 6 stars since May 1, which does seem a little light given the team's injuries. He has hit safely in 10 of the last 11 games in which he has taken at least 3 AB's.
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I don't see it right now. The Pirates are interesting given their pitching but are on par offensively with the Padres. The Astros are overachieving. The Brewers just aren't very good due to injuries and should be sellers at the July 31 trade deadline. It's a match race unless the Cardinals stop sabotaging themselves in close games.
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I'm glad to see Albert getting back on track and it pains me to see so many Cardinals fans and scribes revel in ripping him. I was reading one national pundit and he kept asking, "Was this worth it?" My question is how much pressure did he feel from the players' union and his agent to take the max deal? Even if he wanted to give a hometown discount, was there a realistic opportunity for him to do so or behind the scenes was that really not an option?
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The dynamic has been discussed at length. Albert didn't hear what he wanted from the club following last season. He was already irritated about the team's January bid and his relationship with the front office, specifically Mo', deteriortated. The Cardinals thought their five-year, $135 million offer a good faith bid. Team Pujols took it as a slap in the face. Whatever happened after that wasn't going to salvage the situation. When Arte Moreno swooped in, AP's representation found the AAV it sought and Pujols received his "respect." I wonder if either part would like a do-over?
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Great to see Wainwright pitch so well last night. I saw him in SFO, and he was pretty unhappy when he walked off the mound (if my team committed 3 errors I would have been pissed as well, but then there were the 8 BB and WP.) I heard, but did not see, Westbrook's anger when he hit the dugout after yet more defensive lapses. Question: in your view, did those tantrums play a role in snapping the team out of it's funk? I know there is a fine line between using anger as motivation and being Carlos Zambrano...thanks.
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Waino' was chafed in SF by several factors: a tight strike zone, some defensive hijinks and being lifted from a tie game with runners on base. He ultimately took the loss with Victor Marte on the mound. Waino' walked four that day, I believe. He was not sharp but deserved better support. (He also failed to help himself at the plate.) A Saturday side session helped him rediscover his proper arm slot and solved a "tell" while working from the stretch. His pace and command Tuesday suggested a much more confident pitcher. Westbrook was also betrayed by his defense. He didn't pull a Big Z by taking apart a Gatorade cooler but he did have no use for congratulations after leaving Saturday's seventh inning. The defense was very much an issue on the road trip. The team scored enough to win at least three games. Defense and bullpen experienced slippage.
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Lilliquist espouses a lot of what Big Dunc' believes. LIlliquist and Matheny have seemed willing to offer their hurlers a little more rope than TLR and Duncan did. Of course, having only one LH reliever does create some matchup issues. Lilliquist is a straight shooter. He's working with a relatively young bullpen that has recently been overexposed. He has done nice work with Lynn. Having Dyar Miller in the bullpen is an asset given the number of organizational products in the pen.
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Joe, I love listening to the ball game. I do not think there has been a game this year in which Mike and John have not complained about the umpires. It gets old and it begins to have a real negative feel to it. These guys are normally positive and so much fun to listen to. Can you please use your influence to ask these guys to lay off the umps and their lousy strike zones?
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I admit that umpire-baiting is a pet peeve of mine as well. I often consider it a crutch for a pitching staff's (or hitter's) lackluster performance. That said, the announcers are in bounds to convey a pitcher or manager's dissatisfaction with what's going on behind the plate. There have been some rather fuzzy zones in recent weeks. My take is that the inconsistencies typically cut both ways. A pitcher with command can usually adjust to that day's strike zone. If that zone changes from inning to inning, let 'em have it.
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When your largest-market team (Cubs) tanks, it's difficult for a mid-size division to overcome it. I've noted before, the NL Central is best when the Cubs are a factor. That said, the Central did send two teams to the postseason last year, including a 90-win wild card that won the World Series. Interleague play typically badly exposes the division.
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Last Friday's game was a classic example of how not to use a bullpen. Going into the bottom of the 9th in a tie game (i.e, a situation in which it was absolutely essential not to give up a run), the Cardinals didn't use their best reliever (Motte, who was presumably available, having been idle the day before), but instead used one of their least effective ones (Salas, who promptly gave up a run and lost the game).
The apparent rationale ("it wasn’t a save situation") effectively means "our baseball strategy ought to be dictated by a convoluted and obsolete statistic that Jerome Holtzman concocted 50 years ago, rather than making the common-sense decision to put the best available pitcher on the mound when the game is on the line." This is such an obviously stupid way to manage a ballgame! Lots of sportswriters and fans can see this. My question is, why can't anyone who's actually running a big-league ballclub see it? -
It's become part of the game's convention to use a closer only in a save situation, especially on the road. Salas clearly struggled with the strike zone during the performance. Motte had thrown 17 and 25 pitches on consecutive days two days prior to the game in question. Indications were he needed another day. (He didn't pitch for four days before suffering Monday's blown save and ultimately receiving the decision.) I get the complaint. However, there are often subtle reasons, such as wear, why a pitcher may not be exposed to an out-of-role situation.
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Cat is Rightsholder Radio. Tim is Dignity Free Radio. Doug is Non Sequitur Radio. Together, it's often entertaining (so I'm told). My role is to provide Integrity Radio. Most of the time we're having fun with it. I do, however, believe Doug Vaughn somehow related to Allen Craig. My contract stipulates I'm not to be involved in the foot fetish, pee-pee talk element that makes the show a genre unto itself.
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Count me as one believing sincere homage is due your way .... really appreciate these chats and your insight. I'm surprised no one has asked who's next in line for a call-up should a position player go down. Dan and Rick were not sure themselves during last night's telecast. If for whatever reason Carpenter did go on the DL, who do you think would replace him?
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I would make no hard judgment based on what happens against the Padres. They're relegation league on offense. Should Craig return and be productive, the club is equipped to withstand Puma's loss statistically. His positive influence in the clubhouse can't be overstated, however. The room is different without him. Berkman has the capacity to say something extremely relevant in a comical, sometimes self-effacing way. He'll be missed for however long he is absent.
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The Cardinals went 1-5 in extra inning games last year in which they lost a lead in the ninth. They are 0-1 in such situations this year. Can we all agree that defensive substitutions are idiotic? Often the Cards head to extras with Holly and Freese sitting on the bench. -
I'm not a fan of lifting Holliday from the lineup at any time. Freese is an improved defender this year but at times appears to wear physically. We don't disagree, though "idiotic" may be a bit harsh. Also, Daniel Descalso is considered a Gold Glove-level defender. I can see how a manager would be willing to double-switch Descalso into the game if Freese's spot in the order offers an avenue for the pitcher.
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Most teams' philosophy is to bust the Cardinals in. Freese and Craig obviously like the ball away. Holliday likes to extend. Very few hitters appreciate getting jammed. Even against Albert the book was to try to tie him up inside. Look how the '09 Dodgers shut this team down. Greene has been much more productive against lefts than rights. His ability to turn around a triple-digit fastball Monday should also be enlightening.
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Oh great and wise one... if you'll allow a humble boogie boarder to paddle into some college football chop for a second... what are your thoughts on the recent Big 12-SEC bowl alliance? Seems a salty move for a conference that was seemingly dead in the water this time last year.
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On the earlier question on why Matheny didn't use Motte in the last of the 9th inning of a tie game to "insure" that they could play another inning and perhaps win it, first off, there is no guarantee that he would not have given up a run. But even if he were a "guarantee", if you used Motte in that situation, then Salas (or somoene) would need to pitch in the next inning...and the next and the next if it went that far. So unless someone could guarantee that the Cardinals would score in the next inning, they would be right back to where they were at the time. And, as you pointed out, there may have been reasons why Motte might not be available.
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This may seem pre-mature and totally out of left field, but IF Berkman is done whether by being forced to be done or simply does not want to put in the work to return to an elite level...would the club consider bringing him on as a coach, scout, or "special assistant to the GM"? I know you don't have a crystal ball, but there seems to be a trend towards keeping players on as coaches, and I think Berk would be one of the best. Of course he might want to help the Astros or no one, I just think he could be a tremendous asset to the club after his playing days
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Regardless of whether Puma is done or not, he enjoys the luxury of being financially set for life. He's an extremely shrewd guy who has interests in many things beyond baseball. I would doubt Berkman would appear in uniform beyond a guest instructor role. He loves Houston. I would think the Astros would be missing a huge opportunity if they didn't approach him about some sort of front office role. In that town, Berkman would be the ultimate ambassador. That said, he also has loved his time in St. Louis. The game needs to keep him involved. I just question whether he wants it to be in uniform when he's done playing.
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