Even among those who ostensibly support the Major League Baseball Players Association in the current owner-instituted Major League Baseball lockout, it can be difficult to facilitate real, honest-to-God empathy. I get it--while the union is not incorrect in stating that the majority of its membership are not extraordinarily wealthy multi-millionaires, the league's current minimum salary…
The pending Nolan Arenado conundrum
Nolan Arenado filled a major hole for the 2021 Cardinals, but a pair of third base prospects may give the team an abundance going forward
The Steven Matz signing is a good signing as long as it isn’t the only signing
Since debuting with the New York Mets in 2015 as a lesser-but-not-insignificant prospect in the young pitching core that guided the Mets to their first World Series in *checks, assumes it must be many many decades based on how Mets fans discuss their futility* fifteen years, Steven Matz has been an aggressively average pitcher. Both…
How good is Dakota Hudson, and why will that define the Cardinals’ off-season?
In 2019, the season in which he threw 70% of his Major League Baseball innings to this point in his career, St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Dakota Hudson accomplished something that had not been seen in Major League Baseball since 2003 and which no pitcher came particularly close to accomplishing in the two subsequent MLB…
If the NL adopts the designated hitter, how should the Cardinals fill the position?
Occasionally lost the hubbub about the pending free agency signing period is that we are looking down the barrel of some contentious labor negotiations. And an oft-cited potential ramification is the institution of the designated hitter in the National League. To be frank, I don't really get it. This isn't because I have a strong…
An alternative to my Just Sign Max Scherzer plan
Yesterday, I wrote a long post about all of the top ticket free agents available this off-season. I noted that Carlos Correa and Corey Seager are great players and will be a wonderful fit for somebody, but that since the St. Louis Cardinals do not have a pronounced weakness at shortstop, with both Paul DeJong…
Which free agent should St. Louis Cardinals fans covet the most?
The time will come, likely quite soon, for keeping our expectations in check. It may soon be time for St. Louis Cardinals fans to talk themselves into how Actually If You Think About It Anthony DeSclafani Is A Game-Changer, but for now, let's fantasize. It's probably a bit unfair to the Cardinals to dismiss immediately…
Oliver Marmol, like most good managerial hires, is a conventional and boring one
Demographically, there is a fair amount about Oliver Marmol, who it was first reported by The Athletic's Katie Woo and then confirmed by every baseball reporter under the Sun will be announced this morning as the sixty-fifth manager in the history of the St. Louis Cardinals, that is striking. Marmol, upon taking reigns of the…
If Mike Shildt was a baseball problem, an internal option isn’t the solution
Let me start off by saying that I think the decision by the St. Louis Cardinals to relieve manager Mike Shildt of his duties was a very stupid one. Shildt was not a perfect manager--he lacked what I would consider an optimally quick hook when it came to pulling starting pitchers--but he was undeniably successful--his…
If I were the St. Louis Cardinals, I simply would have scored more runs yesterday
0 for 12 with runners in scoring position. Zero extra-base hits. Three totals players who got any hits. The St. Louis Cardinals lost last night and concluded an extremely up-and-down season on a sour note and they have nobody to blame but their offense. Over their final twenty meaningful games in the regular season--until they…
St. Louis Bullpen 