***Official 2015 STL Cardinals Thread III.***

[BigRedChief]

2011 World Series Championship
2012 NLCS. One win from another WS appearance.
2013 World Series. Two wins from another World Series Championship
2014 NLCS. Three wins from another WS appearance
2015 Central Division title. Won 100 games. Lost in the NLDS.

• Made the postseason 11 times in the last 15 seasons.
• Only 1 losing season since 2000.
• Reached the World Series 4 times since 2004 and won as many championships (two) the past eight seasons as it did from 1965 to 2005.
• Made the NLCS 9 times including the last 4 years 2011-2014
• Three million attendance? Take it to the bank.
• 65 post season wins since 2004. 22+ wins more than any other team.

[kcpasco]

Cash to sign Heyward I assume?

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

Pretty solid addition for the Cards. Get a super utility guy and can give the team options through out the year. Should keep Peralta rested more. Give Carpenter a blow and Wong a shot in the ass.

And with 3 guys that could now take Adams job (Moss, Piscotty and Carpenter if Gyorko plays 3b), it creates yet another threat for Adams job.

If that fat shit won't actually dedicate himself to the game at this point, it's never going to happen.

Spurring a little competition on the right side of the infield can only be a good thing. Wong convinced himself he was a HR hitter last season and it dicked his swing up. Hopefully his struggles and the specter of becoming a bench player will get him to stop swinging from his heels.

[jd1020]

Originally Posted by kcpasco

Cash to sign Heyward I assume?

They just took on salary. This doesnt free up money for Heyward.

[jd1020]

Originally Posted by raybec 4

With Jay gone, it makes me think they're pretty confident about signing Heyward, OTOH they could just feel really good about kid Randall

I'm not sure how they could feel good about signing anyone at this point. They've missed out on 3 pitchers they were rumored to be going after. Price, Lackey, and Samardzija. It was said that Price was basically packing his bags for St. Louis when his plane took a detour in the final hour.

[ChiefsCountry]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

I don't think that's a question that you have to answer. I think it's ultimately a question that gets answered for you.

If you have a chance to add an impact corner OFer then Piscotty's long-term home is at 1b. If you can't find that guy but Moss and/or Adams somehow find traction, then Piscotty's long-term home is in LF.

Ideally you'd find a true masher to play 1b and Piscotty's bat profiles as an excellent 2, 3 or 5 hitter in a corner OF. But 1b is a pretty barren market right now (oddly enough). Unless Chris Davis becomes a Cardinal, you have to figure the path of least resistance is Piscotty at 1b for the foreseeable future.

The reason I say that is how do you get his bat in the lineup if you go out and get a first basemen (which is 1b IMO after Heyward) and if you resign Heyward or get a Gordon etc.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

The reason I say that is how do you get his bat in the lineup if you go out and get a first basemen (which is 1b IMO after Heyward) and if you resign Heyward or get a Gordon etc.

You put Heyward in CF. If you don't re-sign Heyward, presumably you go after Davis and then Piscotty ends up in RF.

Like I said, Piscotty fills a gap. You don't move pieces around him, you use him to fill in around the pieces.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by jd1020

They just took on salary. This doesnt free up money for Heyward.

You're really bad at this.

They got at least $7.5 million in the deal and pared another $7 million off the payroll for Jay. They assumed $4 million in immediate salary obligations for Gyorko. So in the short term, they're cash ahead $10 million.

And in the long-term, the cable deal that kicks in in 2017 will cover the rest. This just keeps them from having to detonate the budget before the cable deal covers any remaining increases in payroll.

If you're looking to get a guy off the FA market, backloading your deal is going to hurt you. If you can take the $7 million in cash you just got plus the $3 million in freed up payroll and plow it directly into 2016 salary for Heyward, then yes, you've improved your offer substantially.

I feel like you're being deliberately obtuse at this point.

[jd1020]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

You're really bad at this.

They got at least $7.5 million in the deal and pared another $7 million off the payroll for Jay. They assumed $4 million in immediate salary obligations for Gyorko. So in the short term, they're cash ahead $10 million.

And in the long-term, the cable deal that kicks in in 2017 will cover the rest. This just keeps them from having to detonate the budget before the cable deal covers any remaining increases in payroll.

If you're looking to get a guy off the FA market, backloading your deal is going to hurt you. If you can take the $7 million in cash you just got plus the $3 million in freed up payroll and plow it directly into 2016 salary for Heyward, then yes, you've improved your offer substantially.

I feel like you're being deliberately obtuse at this point.

Jay is off the books completely after next season. The Cardinals took on $20 million in salary.

Do you honestly believe the Cardinals need $10 million in payroll just this year to make a $180 million contract fit?

[ChiefsCountry]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

You put Heyward in CF. If you don't re-sign Heyward, presumably you go after Davis and then Piscotty ends up in RF.

Like I said, Piscotty fills a gap. You don't move pieces around him, you use him to fill in around the pieces.

That makes sense as well.

If you are moving Heyward to center, it would be smarter to go after Upton IMO or Fowler for a cheaper option.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by jd1020

Jay is off the books completely after next season. The Cardinals took on $20 million in salary.

Do you honestly believe the Cardinals need $10 million in payroll just this year to make a $180 million contract fit?

I don't know the Cardinals budget structure any better than you do.

But I know $10 million isn't going to be ignored for any team. The Cardinals revenues will increase by at least $20 million annually starting in 2018 and DeWitt has never been someone that's willing to just take it in the shorts. If there are moves that can be made to allow the Cardinals to remain profitable in '16 and '17 before that cable money kicks in then yes, it absolutely helps with what the Cardinals are willing/able to do.

[Pasta Little Brioni]

You let heyward walk that's the only smart option..

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Friggen love this move.

A) It gets Jon Jay gone.

B) Gyorko is 2 seasons removed from being seen as the next Utley. Now his ceiling should be lowered quite a bit due to his horrific sophomore slump but he did experience a slight bounceback last year. If you get him out of that hitter's graveyard, he could easily go back to being a 20 HR hitter w/ the ability to play 3b/2b well. If they were really looking at Zobrist, Gyorko can give them what Zobrist would have with greater upside, less $$ and trades some OBP for some power (which we need more than the OBP anyway).

Just an outstanding move, IMO. If you get a feeler on Wong, you can put him on the block as well now or even move Carpenter over to 1b if the current crop can't get it done.

This creates a lot of roster flexibility and builds some upside back into the roster.

Love this move. Mo gets something that could be for a pain in my fan ass.

Jay has been a pain in my fan ass for a long time. Now we have 4 players gone from the bible study group, JAY, Kozma, Choate and Cruz. That is mighty coincidental.

[seclark]

i don't understand this "bible study group" stuff, brc.
sec

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

Love this move. Mo gets something that could be for a pain in my fan ass.

Jay has been a pain in my fan ass for a long time. Now we have 4 players gone from the bible study group, JAY, Kozma, Choate and Cruz. That is mighty coincidental.

One of Mozeliak's first 'power' moves was to trade Duncan out from under LaRussa because he was tired of Duncan playing over Ludwick. Since then, he has not been shy about applying the bite collar to his managers. Boggs, Craig, Scrabble, Trevor Miller and I'm sure a few others I'm forgetting.

He'll give Matheny some rope, but if he's staying stubborn, he'll cut his legs out.

This time it wasn't even a bite collar, it was a straight up teeth extraction. It makes me feel a little more comfortable in my hopes that, when the time is right, he'll put the old boy down...

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by seclark

i don't understand this "bible study group" stuff, brc.
sec

There is a group of Matheny favorites that frequent the team bible study. Matheny's favorites are pretty obvious and it's not at all a coincedence that many of those favorites take part in Matheny's team bible studies during spring training.

The guy's a little league coach trying to manage a big league ballclub.