Originally Posted by Marcellus:
Imagine saying this 2 years ago, Mo would have sent someone to your house to kill you in your sleep. Of course they would probably be incompetent and kill the neighbor instead but anyway... .
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
There's no cavalry coming, fellas.
The system is about as mediocre as the big league roster. They'll fast-track Wetherholt but even he is someone that makes a good team better; he doesn't make a mediocre team good.
The only thing that could make this team relevant would be a series of hail mary's.
1) Jordan Walker un-****s himself and becomes a genuine middle of the order bat.
2) Nolan Arenado wakes the **** up and starts playing hard again.
3) Tink Hence, Quinn Matthews, Tekoah Roby and/or Conner Hjerpe develop (essentially overnight) into viable top half of the rotation starters. You need 2 of those guys to be post-season capable starting pitchers.
4) I won't even talk about the laughable possibility of Juan Soto being a Cardinal. Or even Corbin Burnes. But maybe Pete Alonso (who's probably not a good fit for the park). Maybe Max Fried as a solid #2 starter? Maybe Bellinger as a starting CFer? A flyer on Walker Buehler that works out?
If literally every one of those things happen, this team can win 90+ games and maybe be ornery in the post-season.
I wouldn't be surprise if not a single one of them comes to fruition.
Of those 4 hail marys, the only that I have some optimism with is 3. I have no confidence that they'll be able to fix Walker and I believe Arenado is on a serious decline. Ownership sure as shit isn't spending a damn to fill an existing hole if there's already money allocated towards that position.
There's reasons to like Hence's and Matthews' development arcs. I don't think Roby will turn into anything and Hjerpe might turn into a low end starter or a reliever.
Originally Posted by Marcellus:
Imagine saying this 2 years ago, Mo would have sent someone to your house to kill you in your sleep. Of course they would probably be incompetent and killed the neighbor instead but anyway... .
Yeah, they traded Bader because of the jam... [Reply]
Giving up Carlson for a reliever who is a FA in 2025 is fucking dumb as shit, but, his underlying metrics make it seem he hasn't as bad he's performed this year. His FIP is 2 runs lower than his ERA and his BABIP is insanely high. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Rams Fan:
Giving up Carlson for a reliever who is a FA in 2025 is fucking dumb as shit, but, his underlying metrics make it seem he hasn't as bad he's performed this year. His FIP is 2 runs lower than his ERA and his BABIP is insanely high.
Credit to the Cardinals for getting rid of a guy who doesn't serve any purpose to the team and somehow getting worse.
Shawn Armstrong is one of the worst relievers in the game.
And Carlson will be at least a 3 WAR player for TB next season. Bank it. [Reply]
You're not going to find an uglier Statcast page than that. Pitchers that side of 30 don't magically regain velocity. Given their volatility, if you need to trade for middle relief, it's a great indicator that you suck at your job. [Reply]