****Official 2014 STL Cardinals thread ****

[BigRedChief]

2011 WS Championship
2012 one win from another WS
2013 two wins from another WS title
2014?

• This is a franchise that has made the postseason 10 times in the last 14 seasons.
• Reached three World Series in the last decade, and won as many championships (two) the past eight seasons as it did from 1965 to 2005.
• Our new Manager has more post season experience than any other manager in baseball, except the Giants manager.
• Three million attendance? Take it to the bank.
• 60 post season wins since 2004. 20+ wins more than any other team.
• Only one of the last 14 seasons has been a losing one.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

I'm just going to come out and say it now: Carlos Martinez is Eduardo Sanchez. That's all he's ever going to be.

You are talking crazy. He has fantastic stuff. He's a starter. He's not right in the head and his mechanics are off. Send him down to Memphis and stretch out as a starter.

[kcpasco]

I think Wong got switched out for D because of that ground ball in the top of the 8th. Wong must have kicked his dog or something.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

You are talking crazy. He has fantastic stuff. He's a starter. He's not right in the head and his mechanics are off. Send him down to Memphis and stretch out as a starter.

Sanchez had nice stuff too, but someone with fantastic stuff shouldn't have a K/9 rate of less than eight as a ****ing reliever. Wade Goddamned Davis is striking out twice as many batters per inning as Martinez.

**** him. Two-bit ratshit failed starters make careers as relievers (like Mariano Rivera) and this ****er can't get people out in that spot.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by O.city

He's gonna end up mind ****ing Wong into oblivion too

Would have been good to have him at the plate with the tying run at 3B? Wong is hitting .381 since coming back. Let's take him out of the lineup.

[kcpasco]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

Would have been good to have him at the plate with the tying run at 3B? Wong is hitting .381 since coming back. Let's take him out of the lineup.

Well Wong has to be perfect or his but goes on the bench or sent back down.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

That play by Wong was absolutely ****ing idiotic, but given that Matheny had already used Ellis, Wong would need to commit seppuku on the field to justify getting pulled.

IF this team makes the playoffs it is going to need an offense so ****ing white hot that every game is a big lead. Otherwise, Matheny will find a way to **** it up.

Of course, good luck hitting for power when your hitting coach doesn't want your players to lift weights.

[BigRedChief]

Matheny and Mo met for a 1/2 hour in his office after the game behind closed doors. Today they called up Grichuk and sent down Robinson. Was Mo asserting himself? Coincidence? whatever......

There is no way they are calling him up to ride the pine. He had better get the vast majority of starts in center. His first 0-4 and he rides the pine the next day.......Mo needs to have another meeting. Grichuk is our best chance to get a regular CF.

[ShowtimeSBMVP]

Cardinals To Promote Oscar*Taveras http://t.co/paOm9UaNd2

— MLB Trade Rumors (@mlbtraderumors) May 31, 2014

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

Matheny and Mo met for a 1/2 hour in his office after the game behind closed doors. Today they called up Grichuk and sent down Robinson. Was Mo asserting himself? Coincidence? whatever......

There is no way they are calling him up to ride the pine. He had better get the vast majority of starts in center. His first 0-4 and he rides the pine the next day.......Mo needs to have another meeting. Grichuk is our best chance to get a regular CF.

Grichuk was called up because they needed someone to play right while Adams is on the shelf.

Ultimately, it won't really matter, because this team cannot get out of its own way.

Peralta is hitting .100 with RISP and just grounded into another double play. A lazy fly ball to left scores the run easily, but they can't even do that right.

The Cardinals have no power, in part due to Mabry's approach, they have a bad bullpen, they have lackluster defense, and deficient speed. They have good starting pitching, but they are decidedly below average in every other part of the team. Factor in the worst manager in baseball, who has cost the team between 4-6 wins this year already, and this is a team going nowhere.

Mozeliak needs to fire the entire coaching staff. Lilliquist does nothing to help out his pitchers (it's all Yadi), Mabry thinks that lifting weights somehow hurts hitters (and why was it that all those guys on 'roids were jacking bombs, John?), Matheny is a tactical buffoon and Aldrete can't seem to get through to him, or is just as stupid.

They're paying Ty Wigginton $2.5 million to sit at home. Next year they can surely afford to do that for Matheny.

Just read the above tweet. My guess is that Adams is going to the DL. Hopefully this means that Jay is getting traded, Descalso cut, and Martinez and Maness sent to Memphis with Cooney and Aardsma coming up.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Tonight is a good example of why you can't piss away games like Thursday's.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

Grichuk was called up because they needed someone to play right while Adams is on the shelf.

I'm sure thats what the meeting was about. I just heard about the meeting on the STL radio from Gould or Burwell. Whichever one hosts that radio show.

Matheny only has 2 years under his belt. Would he take offense or be bad form for someone to talk to him about his bullpen usage? Would it do any good? He knows Martinez is having trouble with left handers but puts him in with two lefty's coming up to bat. Putting Choate a classic LOOGY into face right handers? And then doesn't use a pitcher who hasn't let a run score in 20 innings on the bench. This seems like basic material for a manger to master.

[BigRedChief]

Twitter is all a flutter about Taveras being pulled from a game tonight. He's on his way to St. Louis. Doesn't that blow his Super two status?

Oscar Taveras is set to join the St. Louis Cardinals, per reports http://t.co/3wR7vgMsRy

— CardinalsFarm (@CardinalsFarm) May 31, 2014

[BigRedChief]

From the STL today article:



The Cardinals said that Adams would be an "in-game" decision on his availability to pinch hit because of the calf injury. He was supposed to see doctors during the game.


Before tonight's game, the Cardinals promoted outfielder Randal Grichuk and said that he would serve as the prospect who would see additional playing time with next week's games in the American League ballparks. Asked specifically about the possibility of Grichuk and Taveras being in the majors at the same time, Cardinals officials dismissed the notion.


"That's not a conversation we've had at this point," Matheny said.
Before the first pitch of Friday's game, Mozeliak said that Taveras' promotion could wait.


About two hours, as it turns out.


“They all have their own theories as to why he’ll be here or he’s not here,” Mozeliak said at the time. “The end game is you’ve got to be able to play him. If Matt Adams can play and Allen Craig is doing what’s doing, where are you going to put him? We’ve had players bang on the door before. They survived. It’s OK. He’s playing baseball, and that’s the best thing for him.”

Taveras has hit .325 with seven home runs and 40 RBIs in Memphis. He is considered one of the top prospects in all of the minors, and the Cardinals have billed him as the best hitting prospect the organization has produced since Albert Pujols.

[kcxiv]

Nothing for Taverez hitting a HR in his first ML at bat?

[VAChief]

Originally Posted by Fruit Ninja

Nothing for Taverez hitting a HR in his first ML at bat?

It was his second at bat, but it was nice to see him get off to a good start in his first game. Struck out once, but you can tell he has awesome plate coverage. If he stays back on the off speed stuff he is going to rake.