Carlson went 2/4 with a 2b and the walk-off base hit in extras today.

He’s going to be a very good player with them. There was no reason for him NOT to be here. I said it from the time he was in AA on this very board - the kid is a ballplayer.

And Shildt proved it. His development that year was fantastic.

Then we fired Shildt and Carlson (and really the entire organization) fell to shit immediately thereafter.

Fuck John Mozeliak and his pride. He caused all of this.
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Pitcher of the Weekend
Quinn Mathews, LHP, St. Louis Cardinals (Double-A Springfield): 7 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 11 K.

The incredible 2024 run for Mathews continued as he put up another dominant outing in the Texas League and raised his MiLB leading strikeout total to 168. Seen as a limited ceiling, advanced college arm when the year began, he’s now in the conversation as one of the elite arms in minor league baseball. Mathews’ most recent stretch has been the best of a stellar year, allowing just 2 earned runs in his past 24 innings of work.

https://www.baseballprospectus.com/p...ugust-18-2024/
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Walker back down to Memphis.

Wait - taking a streaky player who has never demonstrated a platoon split of any sort and calling him up to platoon didn't work?

What were the fucking odds?!?!?!?

Nobody with a brain in their heads thought that was a smart decision. Alas, the combined brainpower of the Cardinals front office couldn't power an Easy-Bake Oven.
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As soon as they trade Walker he'll turn into Barry Bonds.

This organization could probably find a way to turn Juan Soto into Jeff Francoeur.
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I genuinely believe there's MVP caliber skills in there for the organization that can unlock them.

It's not this one. And he's not an EASY fix. You can't just trade him anywhere and see him succeed.

But if they trade him to a team with a good staff, they'll get a shitload out of him. They won't, though.

Mozeliak simply can't. Not until he's burned through all his options and run his value into the core of the earth. You try to land that plane until it hits a mountain if you're John Mozeliak.

And if they fire Mozeliak and broom EVERYONE (and I mean down to fucking Rookie ball), they'll find someone that can get him turned around.

But it's not this organization as currently constructed. They simply have no idea what they're doing.
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By the same dumbshits that brought him in the first place.

Brandon Crawford has been released by the Cardinals pic.twitter.com/7WUgLpueD0

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 20, 2024

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LOL Gorman these morons can't do anything right
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Walker would be a ALMVP candidate in Tampa in 2 years
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From the moment he stepped on the field looking like a washed up slow-pitch player it was clear he had no business on a roster.

Remember when we signed Holland 5 years ago and the dude showed up at about 3 bills? You KNEW he’d fucking suck.

It makes me wonder if they ever lay eyes on these guys before throwing a contract their way.
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Wasn’t he hitting Right hand pitching at an acceptable level in the minors? Had issues with left handed pitching? So our subservient manager calls him
Up and sits him against LH pitching and bats against RH pitching. Am I right? I thought I heard that on a broadcast this weekend.
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So they brought up Walker only to give him all of 12 ABs while they waiting for Carpenter to return? Baffling as usual.
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Yeup.

Has, at best, neutral splits. In reality he has a slight reverse split.

And remember how I said that he'll struggle with outside stuff? Gee, I wonder if lefties can hit that outside corner easier than righties can.

Remember fellas, there are still pitchers in this league that CANNOT get a ball to the outer 1/3 without it coming through the hitting zone. They can throw one wide of the zone or they come inside, but to get it to the outer 1/3 of the zone, they have to give you a pitch that comes through the zone first.

These are RH pitchers that throw at 3/4 or lower and pitch from the 3b side of the rubber. There are PLENTY of them. You won't realize it until you start looking for it.

Those are guys that Walker should punish. Because he can sit on that pitch and if the pitcher throws him one that he can't hit, he knows he can spit on it and it'll be a ball. If it's one he can hit, he can turn on it because it's GOING to cross into the hitting zone on the way to the outside.

A lefty, however, can just stay out on the outer 1/3 and work him over.

Bringing Walker up for the short side of a platoon is almost certainly the dumbest thing this organization has ever done with him. And that's an INSANELY high bar to clear. Yet they managed.

I cannot get over what a poorly run ship this is. Every single thing they do is wrong.
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Gorman is quite possibly the least useful player in MLB.

He may not demonstrate that via WAR (even though its awful) because he picks on shitty pitchers that throw him cock-shots.

But when you need a big hit against a quality pitcher, he's not going to give you a competitive AB. Worse still, he's a complete butcher on the infield. As bad as you'll see at the position. He's Jeff Kent bad over there. Dan Uggla bad.

He fucks up tag plays fellas. And it's typically due to sheer laziness on his part. You could argue that it's because he's just too damn stiff to get down quickly and put the tag where he should (so invariably he tags high) but I won't even bother giving him that much credit.

I said a couple years back that we should trade him because he's not going to be a better pure hitter than Burleson and both guys are really DH only players. And Gorman had, at that time, a LOT more value than Burleson.

These are the kinds of moves that I know to make. And I'm just a dickhead on the internet.

And I'm 100% certain I would be better at Mozeliak's job than he is. It's just not as hard as he makes it. Oh he'll come out and complain that Goldschmidt underwhelmed but who the hell thought he wouldn't age? He had EXACTLY the kind of offensive profile that was going to age poorly. And the moment the wheels started to wobble coming off his Indian Summer MVP (a season where he collapsed in September, no less) they should've dealt him.

This team just gets every decision wrong. Big ones, little ones - ALL of them. Sheer dumb luck should have them at about a 40% hit rate and yet, here we are.

This organization needs an enema.
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I went to a batting cage that was regulation MLB size and speed. Circa mid 2000's when the fast ball was 95. It would thrown sliders, curves or fastball and an algorithm to run it. you didn't know what was coming, couldnt time the pitch. I had no chance. Made me appreciate MLB players that can lay off that outside pitch.
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Of course not.

I can barely turn around an 80 mph cage these days and that's when I know what's coming.

I wouldn't be able to foul off 90. And god help me if they were throwing 95 and breaking shit. No, you don't have a prayer in the world. Best you could do is swing at the middle and hope you accidentally barrel one.
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