How about trading some pitching for high end drafted players from other teams ? Sign Josh D for a year or two until one of the young guys come up. In lieu of tanking we need high upside players that we cant draft because " we dont tank ".
The Cardinals have done some of that already, dealing for some high-upside guys earlier in their development to stockpile longer-term prospects while eliminating some nearer-term clutter. And the stopgap third base move has merit too. Mozeliak would nod approvingly at this post.
I think the Cards should keep their powder dry on a big bat and wait for Arenado next year. This does not have to be a 1 year plan.
Fair enough. If ever there was a guy to go "all in" on it's Arenado, if Colorado can't keep him. In a year the Cardinals will have clarity on Fowler, Bader, O'Neill and Adolis Garcia and the team will know if can and should buck up to keep Ozuna out of the market. This team will also know more, for better or worse, about the young pitching too. So there is merit to this take.
Harper is what the Cardinals needs. The B level free agent grabs haven't worked. Pay up for a superstar or sit out free agency.
I agree about the B Level free agent grabs not working, but, again, I am not on the Harper bandwagon. It keeps circling the P-D offices and I keep waving.
I think Brantley/Donaldson would be similar to the Berkman/Beltran signings. Short-term deals for well known vets with a good amount left to give. I prefer that over strapping on a Harper contract for 10 years.
That is a no-brainer for both sides. Good for Clayton, staying put, and good for the Dodgers for taking care of a cornerstone player who battles his guts out.
I agree with Kevin in DC. Not sure I want to put all my eggs in one basket with Harper. How many championships have the Angles won with Pujols? The correct answer if your playing along from home is zero. I just think we could spend $300m a little more wisely.
could the cardinals get creative with Donaldson on a Waino type incentive laden contract? something like 5M guaranteed with 1m for 50 games played then 300k for every additional 10 games. Then 400k for every 5 homers. and 200k for every 10 rbis. so if he bets on himself and plays 140 games and hits 30 hr with 90 rbi would get him over 15m per yr. in a prove it contract.
Donaldson will never agree to such a deal unless he has no choice. Wainwright took such a deal because he wanted to keep pitching and he wanted to finish his career here. Donaldson should have a lot more leverage than that in the market.
at this point who is the backup CF to bader? Could oniell steal the starting spot with a good spring training and a offensively poor spring by Bader?
O'Neill can play some center field, so he's hit. His ability to play there is key. Yes, he could get some ABs there should he hit for more consistent contact and should Bader scuffle.
Hi Jeff, How about a challenge, automatic review on non offisides penalty in last minute, or SOMETHING to prevent a game ending on a stupid call like Saturday?
As bad as that call was on Mizzou, I don't see pass interference ever falling into replay review. What's next, coaches demanding replay reviews of missed holding calls the other way? I wouldn't take replay much further than it already is.
I’d you had a choice, who would you want as Mizzou’s next football coach if Odom were to go? Also, do you think Bob Stoops would be interested because this program NEEDS a big name coach IMO.
I would pick an emerging head coach at a lower level, as Purdue did to get Jeff Brohm. Hiring another assistant coach without extensive head coaching experience isn't appealing. There is so much much building to do. This is not like walking into Georgia or Tennessee with big revenues and the machinery in place. I have not looked into what such a list looks like. I'd love to see Odom make it work because he bleeds black and gold and he as committed to this as much as any person could ever be to anything.
Who is big on Fowler at this point? Great guy, but that season was awful and somehow it was Mike Matheny's fault.
Why would anyone wanna play in Philly with the way those fans are. They better be ready to throw some money around
Yeah, that town is a bit tough. Ask Mike Schmidt about that. But money talks and that market does offer big-time amenities.
VEB suggested a bad contract swap with the Mariners. Fowler for K. Seager, LH 3rd baseman. Interested?
That has come up before. But, again, why would Seattle want that? The market is flooded with outfielders, but third basemen, even guys coming off injuries or bad seasons, are in shorter supply.
Probably not on Day 1 of the season, but it could happen in time. If Tyler hits well and Fowler goes away one way or another, then he could emerge this season. Now, if Mozeliak finds a way to get rid of Fowler and even some of his contract this winter -- which would be remarkable -- then perhaps the team could add a guy who could block O'Neill.
At what point are you allowed to divulge if certain personalities were difficult people to deal with? Ex: Nobody would say in '98, but I heard that McGwire was a jerk. Also, Marshall Faulk could be moody.
Hey, Albert Pujols was no picnic either -- although he could also do amazing things, such as stopping by to roll a few balls at a CYC girls soccer team bowling party as a nod to one of the dads he knew. I believe it's evident in coverage which guys are media-friendly and which guys are not. Probably the most difficult subject these days is Vladimir Tarasenko, but he's been far more chatty this season after spending all summer in the STL. He is more comfortable with his English and his role with the franchise.
Life goes on. Unless the team collapses totally and misses the mark by 15 or 20 games, I would not expect a massive shake-up. Bill DeWitt Jr. values continuity. He doesn't enjoy losing, but will draw his own conclusions about the team and respond rationally.
Gordo - who are the top FA's in the 2019 class (next year)? Any reason the Cardinals would be more conservative this year (not sign Harper) to save for a big FA signing next year?
Obviously Arenado is the star of the potential '19 class, but I don't the Cardinals holding back this time for any reason other than they always shop with some care. They have been willing to overpay guys. Sometimes guys took the money, sometimes they took less to go elsewhere, sometimes targets got more money elsewhere. I don't see this operation ever getting less careful about its shopping.
Realistically, we're looking at an offseason of Donaldson at 3b for a short term contract, Gyorko backing him up, some bullpen help, and maybe a retread SP? As you said, that Fowler contract is going to prevent the Cards from making any push in the OF. Will those moves be enough to get the Cardinals back to the post season? They don't move the needle for me, though I'm only a casual fan.
I noted earlier my gamplan for improvement this season. Add the one bat, as you mention, but seriously upgrade the bullpen and maintain the starting pitching stockpile that other organizations marvel at. A lot went wrong for this team and it barely missed the playoffs, so it's not like fans are looking at the San Diego Padres here.
As noted in other comments concerning Week 14, if Eagles-Rams gets flexed to SNF, what I suspect happens is Ravens-Steelers becomes FOX’s main game at 4:25 PM with Cowboys-Giants becoming FOX’s main game at 1:00 PM. You might see Seahawks-Jaguars also moved to 4:25 PM so FOX has an NFC game in that slot.
In the case of Week 12, Saints-Rams makes a lot of sense because it’s “old school” (Drew Brees and Sean Payton) against “new school” (Jared Goff and Sean McVey).
Week 15 looks like Rams-Seahawks if it’s for the NFC West. The Eagles road trip to Seattle and LA may very well determine who wins the NFC West, but if the Rams lead the Seahawks by one game going into that matchup, the winner likely wins the West (Seahawks won the first meeting in LA).
Keep in mind for Week 17, Panthers-Falcons likely can’t be flexed to SNF due to Mercedes-Benz Stadium officials needing to get the facility ready for the Peach Bowl at 12:30 PM ET on New Year’s Day. I seriously doubt they want to be spending all of New Year’s Eve night getting the stadium ready between games in a very quick turnaround.
For Week 17, I now have the same 6 games as Morgan does and that’s because there are now 6 games that have matchups with teams that are currently at .500 or better.
My #1 remains Jack(5-3) @ Tenn(5-3), as I really expect this to be for the division title on December 31st.
My #2 is Dallas(5-3) @ Philly(8-1), as this game could be the ONE that determines if the Cowboys make the playoffs.
My #3 is Carolina(6-3) @ Atlanta(4-4), as I kinda expect the Falcons to climb back into Wild Card contention and this could also be the ONE that determines the final playoff spot. Time will tell.
My #’s 4 to 6 are Buffalo(5-3) @ Miami(4-4), Arizona(4-4) @ Seattle(5-3), & Green Bay(4-4) @ Detroit(4-4). My reasons for these being equal is that I truly feel that the Dolphins, Cardinals, & my beloved Pack are all on the decline and will all be eliminated from the playoff chase before Week 17.
Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing did his own SNF Flex Predictions recently. He predicted the Saints/Rams to be on SNF on Nov. 26 to bump Packers/Steelers but the Steelers/Ravens on Dec. 10 to stay. Walt commented about the idea of moving Giants/Cowboys to 1pm ET/noon CT to make sure FOX can broadcast both games and NBC can still show the Steelers (the Ravens are still 4-4 and only 1 game out of a playoff spot).
Ravens are 4-5, not 4-4. They could very well be 4-7 by the time the Week 11 decision has to be made.
I still think the NFL will want Eagles-Rams on NBC and NBC will want that game for the same reason as Saints-Rams: So both Sundays, NBC can do “meet and greets” with the stars of NBC’s prime time lineup and have them “be seen at the game.” FOX would in both cases pick up the Steelers where they would be the main singleheader game in Week 12 (Packers) and Week 14 (Ravens). Given how rare FOX gets the Steelers, I think they would go for that.
Meant to say Week 14 would be the main 4:25 PM ET Game with the Cowboys/Giants the main 1:00 PM ET game.
Sorry that I am commenting late on this, but do you mean that you think Week 15, Cowboys-Raiders will be flexed out in favor of Rams-Seahawks since it could be for the division title? It will be interesting to see if NBC gives up a Cowboys game if either team continues to underachieve.
With regards to week 12, if the Packers lose tomorrow, I can definitely see Saints-Rams being flexed in for Packers-Steelers. While it would be a long flight from Washington to Los Angeles from Thanksgiving night, I don’t think that the long flight would be such a logistical issue. Since CBS and NBC have started broadcasting Thursday Night games, I can remember instances in which they announcers had to fly a long distance in between covering a Thursday Night game to a Sunday game in the past few years.
My comments were written before Richard Sherman’s injury happened in the Thursday nighter this week. I did say if Rams-Seahawks was virtually for the NFC West, then I suspect it would replace Cowboys-Raiders if the Cowboys and/or Raiders faltered and were no longer in playoff contention when the decision had to be made.
A lot can change between today and December 17 but you have Sherman’s injury and now if Ezekiel Elliott’s suspension and the Cowboys looked horrible without him, who knows which game between Dallas-Oakland and Rams-Seattle will be the better game come December 17? There is a chance they appeal before the 17th and Elliott gets back on the field for the Raiders game and then for sure the Cowboys game stays on NBC. If people will watch the Cowboys no matter who is playing, it won’t matter whether Zeke plays or not. Watch the ratings for the next few Cowboys games w/o Ezekiel. If there’s a drop, you might see Rams/Seattle flexed in. If there isn’t (or they go up!), Dallas/Raiders is going nowhere.