TWiB 9/18 - 9/24

[jwest27 0]

Well, Rolen has certainly been slumping lately, so it's not a stretch to say Duncan and Spezio have done more than him.

 

Motherfucking Luke Scott. The Cardinals have lost like 12 consecutive 1-run road games. What the heck.

[vivalaultra 0]

To what, jwest, do you attribute the Cardinal's lack of...everything? Is it TLR? Bad pitching? A lack of swagger? Especially on the road. If the Cards make the postseason this year, they'll have like...one of the top 3 worst road records of any postseason team.

[Guest Felonies!]

I think the team needs some sort of shakeup. The team just kinda seems stagnant, and the pitching hasn't been as good as previous years. Edmonds and La Russa are sniping at each other: La Russa says Edmonds wouldn't be hurt if he didn't act like such a drama queen when fielding routine flies, and Edmonds is probably just being a dick back to him. I'm sure all these needs will be suitably addressed by La Russa and Jocketty during the offseason, whilst Jim Hendry half-asses a run for Messrs. C-Lee and Zito and eats danishes with Lou Piniella.

[jwest27 0]

It doesn't help that Jeff Suppan is our second best pitcher. Or that Jason Marquis has given up like 34 home runs this season. Or that Jeff Weaver is a member of the St. Louis Cardinals. Basically, our pitching is ass. Besides Carpenter. And Wainwright.

[vivalaultra 0]

It doesn't help that Jeff Suppan is our second best pitcher. Or that Jason Marquis has given up like 34 home runs this season. Or that Jeff Weaver is a member of the St. Louis Cardinals. Basically, our pitching is ass. Besides Carpenter. And Wainwright.

 

 

So, what do ya think the rotation's gonna look like for next year? Isn't Carpenter the only one signed? What's Mulder's status? Is he gonna be ready to go in ST? Is Wainwright gonna be in the rotation or is he gonna be the closer? Will any of the holy trinity of Marquis, Sosa, and Weaver be in Cardinal Red next year? With the way the Cards are playing now and the questions for next season, I wouldn't be surprised to see them finish like...third in the division.

[Guest Smues]

Zambrano won his 16th game of the season Saturday. He struck out seven, bringing his season total to 201 strikeouts (one shy of his career high set last season).

Fantasy Source Spin: If you like wins, strikeouts, a good ERA and a fine WHIP, Zambrano is your man. And if you don't like all that stuff, may we interest you in Joel Pineiro?

[UseTheSledgehammerUh 0]

I've got a shot of the cheapest vodka I could find waiting, because in about 15 minutes I can say...

 

"THE PHILLIES* CONTROL THE WILDCARD"

 

 

 

* most wins in the NL since the All-Star Break. Bring it, Mets.

[jwest27 0]

It doesn't help that Jeff Suppan is our second best pitcher. Or that Jason Marquis has given up like 34 home runs this season. Or that Jeff Weaver is a member of the St. Louis Cardinals. Basically, our pitching is ass. Besides Carpenter. And Wainwright.

 

 

So, what do ya think the rotation's gonna look like for next year? Isn't Carpenter the only one signed? What's Mulder's status? Is he gonna be ready to go in ST? Is Wainwright gonna be in the rotation or is he gonna be the closer? Will any of the holy trinity of Marquis, Sosa, and Weaver be in Cardinal Red next year? With the way the Cards are playing now and the questions for next season, I wouldn't be surprised to see them finish like...third in the division.

I'm pretty sure Wainwright is going to be in the rotation. As for the rest, I'm not really sure. I think they are going to resign Suppan, I don't know if they want to resign Marquis for obvious reasons, and Mulder is most likely gone considering he has said he wants to "test the market". Of course, that was before his injury, so who knows.

[devo 0]

I've got a shot of the cheapest vodka I could find waiting, because in about 15 minutes I can say...

 

"THE PHILLIES* CONTROL THE WILDCARD"

 

 

 

* most wins in the NL since the All-Star Break. Bring it, Mets.

 

Well, that'd have to wait until the second round, since the Mets wouldn't be allowed to face the Wild Card winner in the first round should they come out of the east.

[Guest Felonies!]

Mulder is from, like, Des Plaines or Naperville, I think. Watch the Cubs sign him, only to get hurt in the first week.

 

Edmonds is good as gone, right? What if he's on a team with Piazza? The "maybe he should convert to pitcher so Mike can be his catcher" jokes would be overwhelming.

[UseTheSledgehammerUh 0]

Yeah, I'm aware that the Mets can't play the Phillies.

[The Man in Blak 0]

The Cardinals have holes everywhere and they're more than capable of letting the Astros take the Central crown, even this late in the season. There's barely even a team to take the field outside of Pujols, Rolen and (every fifth day) Carpenter. The bullpen, in particular, has been an abomination this year and that's before walking into Houston and blowing three straight games in the ninth.

 

If Chris Duncan and Scott Spiezio don't play over their heads all year long in valuable reservist roles, the Cardinals are probably six games below .500 right now. Here's the VORP hitters' rankings of the Cardinals this year:

 

79.6 - Albert Pujols

37.4 - Scott Rolen

24.9 - Chris Duncan

21.6 - Jim Edmonds

11.7 - Scott Spiezio

9.6 - Juan Encarnacion

9.3 - John Rodriguez

8.8 - Hector Luna

8.1 - David Eckstein

7.8 - Mark Mulder

5.0 - Aaron Miles

-3.0 - Ronnie Belliard

-17.6 - Yadier Molina

 

I don't even have the heart to post the pitching numbers.

 

Easily the most infuriating Cardinals team to watch over the last ten years, and that's including the 2003 Hit Parade of Esteban Yan, Jeff Fassero, and Pedro Borbon Jr.

[jwest27 0]

Edmonds remaining a Cardinal is not looking too good. It makes me sad. I'll miss that overdramatic closet homosexual.

[The Man in Blak 0]

And it should go without saying that the team is in absolute dire straits next year, as the free agent market looks to take a nasty upturn in salaries, thanks to compensation picks going bye-bye and teams finally getting their grubby hands on substantial revenue sharing dollars. Ted Lilly probably stands a chance at getting a Loaiza-esque 3/24 deal this year, and the Cardinals have way too many holes to fill and not enough cash to drop $8 million per slot.

[vivalaultra 0]

Maybe Skip Schumaker can fill the void. His name is certainly gayer than Jim Edmonds.

[Guest Felonies!]

How can the Cardinals not have cash to spend? They've gotta be one of the most profitable baseball clubs in the majors, unless New Busch really set them back.

[The Man in Blak 0]

It's not that they don't have cash to spend - it's that there's not a lot of faith in the ownership to actually spend it. The Cardinals haven't landed a big-name free agent in years - virtually every big name has come through trade and a long-term extension (with a "hometown discount", as the ownership leverages "the best fans in baseball" to keep folks around.)

 

The other part of it, though, is that they have an absurd amount of holes to fill...so, even with more cash from the New Busch, they're in a jam. They're likely looking at a starting pitcher, a centerfielder, and a ton of help in the bullpen. And that's assuming that they'll go in with Duncan as the starting left fielder next year (won't happen) and that they'll resist the temptation to bring in another veteran starting pitcher to push Reyes and/or Wainwright (they won't).

[Guest Felonies!]

La Russa basically has a Jerry Sloan deal, where the only way he's leaving is retirement on his own terms, right? (Funny, because neither of them won titles to warrant such deals.)

[The Man in Blak 0]

I think so, even though the community around St. Louis is really weird about him. There's a very loud sect of fans here that openly despises him, for his mistreatment of Ozzie Smith and constant tinkering (batting the pitcher eighth, for example).

 

The thing is, I'm not sure LaRussa is going to hang around much longer. He still lives out in California and the Giants job will probably open up after next year, assuming Alou sticks around with Bonds next year. The Cardinals are headed towards what could be an ugly period in 2008 and LaRussa is not known for his rebuilding skills (just look at his last few years in Oakland.)

[Guest Felonies!]

Like I said in AIM and will repeat for discussion's sake, everyone on the Giants is like 45 years old--or at least it seems that way--so they're bound for a Marlinesque rebuilding, except they probably won't have the trading pieces, farm system, and dumb luck to fall ass-backwards into 70+ wins against all odds.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

This is what makes the Cubs' struggles that much more frustrating. They field a decent team this season and they're probably taking the Central. It's going to be more of the same in '07, which is why they really need to bite the bullet and either grab a bat or starting arm. Murton's really come around in the second half and if I'm not mistaken, some of his power numbers (like OPS) are actually better than Carlos Lee's in the second half. I'm not sure I like the idea of the Cubs going out and investing for five years of either Soriano or Lee when they could have a very good left fielder at a low price already on their roster.

 

But this is what happens when your SS, 2B and CF have the power of the average little leaguer. Speaking of second base, Ryan Theriot's really been impressive since he started getting the lion's share of starts at the position. Writing him off in favor of the younger, but unproven Cedeno for next year may be a dumb idea, even for them.

[MrRant 0]

Zambrano won his 16th game of the season Saturday. He struck out seven, bringing his season total to 201 strikeouts (one shy of his career high set last season).

Fantasy Source Spin: If you like wins, strikeouts, a good ERA and a fine WHIP, Zambrano is your man. And if you don't like all that stuff, may we interest you in Joel Pineiro?

 

Ouch.

[Guest Felonies!]

This is what makes the Cubs' struggles that much more frustrating. They field a decent team this season and they're probably taking the Central. It's going to be more of the same in '07, which is why they really need to bite the bullet and either grab a bat or starting arm. Murton's really come around in the second half and if I'm not mistaken, some of his power numbers (like OPS) are actually better than Carlos Lee's in the second half. I'm not sure I like the idea of the Cubs going out and investing for five years of either Soriano or Lee when they could have a very good left fielder at a low price already on their roster.

 

But this is what happens when your SS, 2B and CF have the power of the average little leaguer. Speaking of second base, Ryan Theriot's really been impressive since he started getting the lion's share of starts at the position. Writing him off in favor of the younger, but unproven Cedeno for next year may be a dumb idea, even for them.

I'd still like unload Jacque "LaTroy Hawkins Part 2" Jones and upgrade in right. I really just don't see him ever doing really well here. Chicago hates this guy: he's not worth $5MM/yr, he throws like a pansy, and you can't even root for him to do well because even if all he does is go 1-for-4 on the day with a bloop single, he'll talk shit about the fans and how he gets treated unfairly. Just fucking leave before it gets even uglier for you, for your own good.

 

Oh and yeah, let's rid ourselves of Ronny Cedeno. Any bullshit about how he was the shortstop of the future was obviously just spin from the Trib to cover Hendry's asses about blowing the Furcal signing (which if you want to get REALLY weird about it, was the one non-move that destroyed us). Theriot would be a better choice at second, though I wonder what Mark Loretta could give us.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

We don't need another expensive vet on the wrong side of 35.

 

Jacque Jones could be decent if they'd just platoon the damn guy. I'm not sure what's so hard to understand, but the guy's been terrible against lefties his whole career and no one's ever thought to just platoon him. I know it'd be tough to admit that you sunk $15 million and three years into a guy who can't play every day, but it's better than letting Jacque hit against lefties.

 

I'm not sure why Restovich wasn't called up this September. I don't expect the guy to be a star, but it's crazy he never sniffed the majors this entire time the Cubs were complaining about a lack of power and signing all the available second basemen. Who knows; he could've platooned with Jones.

 

As far the Cedeno thing goes, they might as well hang on to him and just plug him in at short, since Izturis is like Nomar without any of the power. I'd imagine he'd see a ton of playing time at short being the backup for Izturis. But no way at this point he should be the favorite for the starting second baseman spot next spring. Theriot isn't amazing, but I don't think it's a coincidence the Cubs have scored more runs since he started regularly hitting number two.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Adam Dunn just got jobbed on called third strike. Got tossed right away after he realized it was a called third strike and not ball four.

[The Man in Blak 0]

Like I said in AIM and will repeat for discussion's sake, everyone on the Giants is like 45 years old--or at least it seems that way--so they're bound for a Marlinesque rebuilding, except they probably won't have the trading pieces, farm system, and dumb luck to fall ass-backwards into 70+ wins against all odds.

 

Yeah, point taken. I was focused primarily on the "hometown job" aspect of it, as well as the fact that Sabean has a strong tendency to fill the roster with veteran signings anyway. Whether he'll still be applying that strategy without Bonds on the roster - or if he'll even still be the Giants GM - is up in the air, of course.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Aaron Harang's thrown nine pitches out of the zone through six innings. Nine.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Eleven through seven. Were it not for the Ramirez homer and Pierre leadoff single, he'd have a no-hitter going. I guess this much can be expected with guys like Bynum, Buck Coats, Henry Blanco and Ronny Cedeno in there.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Fourteen through eight, but Buck Coats of all people homers to give them the lead.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

Jeez, just make Howry the closer and be done with it.