When the St. Louis Cardinals hired Mike Matheny in November 2011 to replace the legendary Tony LaRussa, the widespread perception was that, in contrast to his predecessor, Mike Matheny was young enough that he would be willing to adapt to new-school, analytically-driven managerial styles. Less than a month after his hiring, David Laurila referred to…
John Mozeliak called into question Dexter Fowler's work ethic in public. In doing so, Mozeliak ignored a glaring role he has had in this year's struggles.
One of my favorite twenty-first century St. Louis Cardinals teams was the 2003 team. This may seem a bit odd. There is no objective reason for me to hold a candle for the 2003 Cardinals--they were a pretty good team, finishing 85-77, and they were buoyed by typically excellent seasons from Jim Edmonds, Edgar Renteria,…
After a bye week, this is Part 3 of a series about an alternate timeline in which the St. Louis Cardinals decide to function solely to succeed in 2018, abandoning all interest in long-term player development and instead hoping to win this one title. You can read Part 1, about the first day of trades,…
That Greg Holland, who was signed on Opening Day to a one-year, $14 million contract which also cost the St. Louis Cardinals a second-round draft pick, has improved from his start to the season is about as predictable of a baseball event as one can find. Through May 25, after which Greg Holland found himself…
The primary metrics by which coaches and managers in professional sports are measured are wins and losses. Wins and losses exist for players, particularly for baseball starting pitchers, but there are more descriptive statistics which are in the mainstream (earned-run average, to use the most famous example). For coaches, one's record is what we have,…
Everyone knows how it goes: An everyday outfielder gets hurt or otherwise fails to perform. The Cardinals then plug someone into that gap, and everyone realizes that the backup is good. Then the fans beat their fists on the table, demanding that this off-the-bench outfielder produced by Cardinals Devil Magic should be out there every…
This is Part 2 of a series about an alternate timeline in which the St. Louis Cardinals decide to function solely to succeed in 2018, abandoning all interest in long-term player development and instead hoping to win this one title. You can read Part 1, about the first day of trades, which included the acquisitions…
Those who support and those who dislike the designated hitter rule tend to be engaged in two completely different discussions.
Entering this week's series against the San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Jose Martinez was easily the team's best hitter throughout the 2018 season. While he did have a mediocre month or so in the middle of it, Martinez had an OPS+ of 147. For those unfamiliar with the stat OPS+, it is…
St. Louis Bullpen 