End of April Observations...

Post by **Radbird** » May 1 07, 9:51 am

longhornbaseball wrote:They have to do something if they want to contend this year. The "saviour" is currently batting .077. If Yadi keeps up his hitting and OBP through the trading deadline, Anderson might be viewed as tradeable. If he keeps up his hitting he'll be considered one of the best catching prospects in the game by that time.

LOL - I didn't even have to click on your "saviour" link to know who you were referring to.

GatewaySnayke · Post by **GatewaySnayke** » May 1 07, 9:51 am

greenback44 wrote:
RC21 wrote:
Hungary Jack wrote:This could make the trade deadline very interesting.
Which raises a strange question I've had boiling in me since yesterday.... In 2002, after DK passed, Walt made a huge push to upgrade the club, acquiring first Chuck Finley and then Scott Rolen. Do you suppose it'll happen again?
I doubt it. Reading between the lines, it sounds like "Moneyball" and the Mulder debacle have changed how the Cards plan on running the team, and that new plan requires heavy reliance on the farm. Or maybe it's the fact that something like 27 of the 30 teams have a shot at the playoffs, so nobody with any talent is a seller.

It's actually all of those reasons in my opinion. There's no more crying about "the Yankees and Red Sox are gobbling up all the talent!" I believe the Royals are the only team without an honest-to-god shot at the playoffs. And by the deadline, I think it's going to come down to only about three teams not being in it.

longhorn wrote:What I meant by that is if Yadi's hitting .260 he's not going anywhere for a while. If he keeps hitting .210 Anderson may be a real possibility in 1-2 years.

This raises a conundrum on my part as a fan. On one hand, I want Molina to do well because it means that the Cardinals are getting offensive help. But on the other hand, I don't see him having much of a future hitting the ball, and if Anderson develops into a good-hitting catcher, I would rather see him.

Popeye_Card · Post by **Popeye_Card** » May 1 07, 9:53 am

greenback44 wrote:
RC21 wrote:
Hungary Jack wrote:This could make the trade deadline very interesting.
Which raises a strange question I've had boiling in me since yesterday.... In 2002, after DK passed, Walt made a huge push to upgrade the club, acquiring first Chuck Finley and then Scott Rolen. Do you suppose it'll happen again?
I doubt it. Reading between the lines, it sounds like "Moneyball" and the Mulder debacle have changed how the Cards plan on running the team, and that new plan requires heavy reliance on the farm. Or maybe it's the fact that something like 27 of the 30 teams have a shot at the playoffs, so nobody with any talent is a seller.

Ding, ding, ding.

There is a lot of parity in baseball right now, for better or worse. If you take a look at most teams, you'll see a team with a couple of strong points, and a couple of flaws, and you would not be surprised if they finished +/- 10 games of .500. Only a couple of teams look to be easily north of 90 wins. Only a couple look like they'll really stink.

That leads to a lot of teams thinking they are "one player away" from becoming a true contender. Lots of buyers, very few sellers. It also led to that crazy free agent market we just witnessed.

Fans wanted parity in baseball, where most teams have a chance when they start the season. They have it. Now lets see if fans truly enjoy it, or if they'll moan when 83-88 win teams continue to make the playoffs, and possibly win titles.

--P--

GatewaySnayke · Post by **GatewaySnayke** » May 1 07, 10:02 am

Nah, I've been informed by Bud Selig that baseball is in a state of financial duress and that teams just don't have the resources to contend.

Frankly, I think the parity is double-edged. It's nice to see teams like Pittsburgh and Milwaukee being competitive. But it can also lead to some bad baseball.

greenback44 · Post by **greenback44** » May 1 07, 10:28 am

GatewaySnayke wrote:Nah, I've been informed by Bud Selig that baseball is in a state of financial duress and that teams just don't have the resources to contend.

Nah, he only says that when the CBA is about to expire.

I'm doing my level-best not to think too much about Molina-Anderson. There's still plenty of time to let that one play itself out.

Not that I'm wishing injury on Molina or Bennett, but it'd be interesting to see who the Cardinals would call up if one of them went to the DL. Molina was already at AAA in 2004 and became the primary catcher when Matheny got hurt, then stuck around when Matheny returned. Of course Cody McKay probably shouldn't have been on the roster in the first place.

Phyrkrakr · Post by **Phyrkrakr** » May 1 07, 10:29 am

This sort of thing seems to be cyclical, where teams get really good for a while, then fall off the map. See: KC in the 80s, Reds in the 70s, Pirates in the late 80s/early 90s, Cleveland in the 90s, etc.

It's just right now, there's a lot of teams making the switch from competitive to atrocious and others going in the opposite direction. Look at the Brewers, who lost over 100 games in 2002. They've improved dramatically, while teams like St. Louis and Houston, who were very good in that time frame, are on their way down. The Yankees, who dominated from 1996 to 2006, winning their division every year, are in last place in the East. The Pirates, who were doormats for a long time, have gotten a hot start.

Obviously, it's early to be drawing these sorts of conclusions, but it could just be that the crappy teams are improving while the good teams are in decline, and this season, like last, will be a sort of "evening out" period where nobody is too far above or below the center line.

cardfaninfla · Post by **cardfaninfla** » May 1 07, 11:10 am

longhornbaseball wrote:They have to do something if they want to contend this year. The "saviour" is currently batting .077. If Yadi keeps up his hitting and OBP through the trading deadline, Anderson might be viewed as tradeable. If he keeps up his hitting he'll be considered one of the best catching prospects in the game by that time.

Is it really that hard to imagine Encarnacion giving the Cardinals more than what they are currently getting out of right field? I realize the "savior" talk is your way of bashing Encarnacion yet again, but let's face it, if Eckstien, Pujols, Edmonds and Kennedy all continue to hit under .250 getting Vlad Guerrero to play right field isn't going to win the division.

BW23 · Post by **BW23** » May 1 07, 11:22 am

I'd rather deal Molina than Anderson. I wouldn't be completely disappointed if the team was a seller at the deadlne rather than a buyer.

Having won a world championship would help to ease that possibility.

doe_boy · Post by **doe_boy** » May 1 07, 11:35 am

cardfaninfla wrote:if Eckstien, Pujols, Edmonds and Kennedy all continue to hit under .250 getting Vlad Guerrero to play right field isn't going to win the division.

QFT

JL21 · Post by **JL21** » May 1 07, 11:38 am

cardfaninfla wrote:Is it really that hard to imagine Encarnacion giving the Cardinals more than what they are currently getting out of right field? I realize the "savior" talk is your way of bashing Encarnacion yet again, but let's face it, if Eckstien, Pujols, Edmonds and Kennedy all continue to hit under .250 getting Vlad Guerrero to play right field isn't going to win the division.

Well.... right now, RF has given a line of: .225/ .266/ .315 (.581 OPS).

I'm not the biggest Encarnacion fan in the world, but even in the worst year of his career, he had a .700 OPS. That's a solid bump.

But you are correct- they aren't going anywhere until the core guys get going.