Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak did not sugarcoat the challenges facing his team in his latest appearance on the podcast of Dan McLaughlin of FOX Sports Midwest (audio link). The club must find a way to begin winning more consistently, said Mozeliak, though it remains unclear just what can be done to spur such a change.
The sense of frustration surrounding the Cards, who are sitting just above .500 on the year, seemingly extends from the fanbase to the front office. Mozeliak acknowledges that this club “hasn’t been the easiest team to sort of think through, in terms of how to get better, or what to do, or what changes need to be made.”
Mozeliak identified “outfield inconsistencies” and bullpen struggles as the two key concerns. Spurring the needed change won’t be easy. Mozeliak says the club needs to be open-minded and creative in all regards.
Bolstering the relief unit can be accomplished via trade, perhaps. Internal options for deepening the pitching staff are relatively sparse, Mozeliak suggested. He bemoaned the loss of Alex Reyes while noting that Dakota Hudson’s success at Triple-A does not necessarily portend an immediate impact in the majors.
Addressing the outfield concerns is a trickier business. Mozeliak wouldn’t rule out moving Jose Martinez to the outfield, saying that the slugger — who is as unpolished in the field as he has been excellent at the plate — is “putting a lot of stress on everyone” with his play at first base. But that seems like a somewhat dubious option when outfield defense is one of the areas of concern. Presumably, the club will look first at ways to get its existing options to play at the necessary levels.
Mozeliak addressed veteran Dexter Fowler, in particular. The top St. Louis baseball executive offered some rather surprisingly pointed words on the respected and highly-paid Fowler:
“I’ve also heard a lot of people come up to me and question his effort and his energy level. Those are things that I can’t defend. What I can defend is trying to create opportunities for him, but not if it’s at the expense of someone that’s out there hustling and playing hard.”
To an extent, Mozeliak seemingly tried to soften the meaning of his statement in ensuing comments to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He and Fowler have spoken since, says Mozeliak, who hinted that he was not trying to single out Fowler. “I would not make too much of this and really what I was trying to say is: I hear what our fan base is saying,” Mozeliak said.
Ultimately, mid-season trades can only do so much to boost the performance. And the Cards brass will need to take its cues from the existing roster. With less than a month’s worth of games left to go before the trade deadline, Mozeliak says that “everybody just needs to take a hard look in the mirror and decide what they want that next chapter to look like.”
Time to sell. Fire Matheny and Mabry and start blowing it up.
As LaRussa”s fingerprints have faded so has Matheny’s success.
You have hit the nail on the head!!
You need to 1st #FIREMOZELIAk … And his little clone GM.
I say fire Mo but I have no problem with the GM as he is just another puppet for Mo
You are absolutely correct about Girsch. If you will recall, Michael Girsch had a deal in place for Machado in January. Mozeliak nixed it.
If you’ll add Mozeliak to the other 2 M’s, I’ll go along with you. He has assembled 5 years of down trending teams. If he is left in command, Mozeliak will assemble the 6th straight down trending Cardinal team for 2019.
Funny how Mozeliak doles out these horrendous contracts but it’s only other baseball execs that get these derisive “genius” labels put on them for their signings. the Cards are a joke
You are right. If you undid every move he has made we would be in great shape. The team has ZERO 1st man in the entire system.
Mozeliak tap dancing around his comments about Fowler. Sorry pal, you said what you said. You’re an arrogant A$$. Always have been. Always will. Glorified accountant who has eroded this team with the hiring of Matheny and some really bad moves these last 3-5 years.
Never seen a fanbase hate a manager more.
Lol Mike Matheny. How is he bad?
Good luck, Cardinals’ fan.
I’m asking because I don’t watch the Cardinals play, and I’m genuinely curious. Thanks for your time.
Cards have a Respectable franchise and fans. Respect.
His bullpen usage is always questionable, and he sits younger players when they get hot, and doesnt sit others when they are struggling. Hes always changing the lineup even when its working. Just weird moves. I agree with the other poster, fire Matheny and mabry, bring up stubby clapp. Trade the veterans who are soon to be free agents and let our good youngsters play. Go cards
If you watched the way he managed the Cardinals, believe me, you’d understand.
Read the threads Bruh
he manges by “the good ol boys club” if your not in it gl playing and the fact that he seems to stall any type of devolpement in young players
The handling of the bullpen and the subsequent injuries that are more than likely the result of overuse is the first problem with Matheny. The defense which used to be a strong point is now the worst in baseball with nearly everyone with the exception of Molina being out of position. Play the hot players and sit the ones that are struggling. Matheny and his success are not the result of his decisions, dont forget he inherited a team that won WS the year before. With or without Pujols in the first years were gonna be winning seasons. Give Oquendo the position and watch him use his baseball intelligence which is second to none. Trade veterans for prospects and move on, this team is stale.
21-22 in the post season. Hasn’t made the playoffs in 2 years, going on 3. Brought Wacha in for the 9th inning of an elimination game in the 2014 NLCS, even though he hadn’t pitched in 20 days, continued to pitch to Ortiz in the 2013 WS, continues to butcher a bullpen, and if he’s not careful, Hicks arm may fall off by August. NOT TO MENTION, all his coaches with the exception of Mabry, have taken the fall for him.
well said…
People are finally coming to see that Mozelaik moves are the trouble. The manager has to work with a terrible roster. Cecil, Fowler, Ozuna, Hayward, Leake, Lackey and giving away Adams and Diaz. Fire MOZELIAK NOW. The Redbirds should be sellers this trade deadline with a new GM.
A new GM? First, he isn’t the GM. Second, 90% of the teams in the league will have called him within 15 minutes of the announcement if that were to happen. Do you know why? Because he is one of the most successful executives in baseball. As for your cited players, Ozuna is working, Heyward worked, Lackey worked, and Getting anything for Diaz was a blessing. Fowler and Cecil both quit after getting paid. Leave was an overreach and didn’t work. Adams had a hot month after leaving, nothing more.
I agree with Vedder80. I noticed you conveniently left Allen Craig off of that list. No has made more good moves than bad and he hasn’t handcuffed this franchise for years to come.
but his moves have been questionable last few years imo should of let mo walk and kept lunhow
The Cardinals would never take the path that led to Luhnow’s success with multiple 100 loss seasons in order to obtain the draft picks to build his core.
go back and see how the Astros were built. The 1st round draft picks were less than 20% of how he built the team.
Sometimes a tear down is the best option. It takes guts and courage to do that, but the Cards think that will not allow them to draw 3M fans. But on the flip side, aren’t these the best fans in baseball? Aren’t they loyal? Can’t they survive 3-5 years of missing the playoffs to try to rebuild? Or would they rather watch 3-5 years of 85 wins and STILL MISS THE PLAYOFFS? In the end, it all comes out the same, but doing it Dewitt’s way means he makes money, and that’s all that matters to them. Most people like the easy way. Some people believe in working a new plan to be successful when the old plan got stale . The ironic thing is, no matter what they do, they will ALWAYS make money, but they haven’t figured that out.
That’s like saying Epstein and Luhnow aren’t GMs either. Please stop. Girsch might be titled as GM, but he ain’t making any major decisions without Mozeliak approval.
They aren’t GMs. They may be making the decisions, but they aren’t the GMs. It is really easy to look up.
Adams has 30 HR and 85 RBI since being given away (less than a year) And the great Wong has 8 HR. and 50 RBI.
lol that’s like comparing apples to water buffalo. You’re comparing a power hitter who generally bats in a spot with higher rbi potential to a contact hitter that hits at the bottom of the lineup.
Well Adams has played in 152 games since he was given away (not all starting) he has 33 HR 101 RIB and batted .275. You probably like the 200 million spent on Fowler, Cecil and Leake better. Big City is back in lineup tonight 3 for 3 so far. Fire Mozeliak or trade him.
If you think Lackey was a bad acquisition then I worry about your knowledge.
Ditto…..Mozeliak is the problem!! But, I think you mean Leake instead of Lackey. Might add a few more like Masterson, etc.
It’s sad to say but this season is a wash. They need to sell players that aren’t working out like Fowler plus any other guys who have only 1 year left and get as much value as possible. Not a total rebuild but get some new and younger talent in there. Also, play the younger guys more like Bader and O’Neil.
Unfortunately, Fowler has a full NTC in his contract, so he would have to approve any trade. Of course…….benching him frequently might twist his arm a bit…..but he’s still getting paid a lot of money, even on the bench. He may not care.
There’s more than just “performance trouble” in St Louis. There’s a Team Unity problem, and no FA in his right mind would sign there right now.
They don’t need a rebuild, because they have a ton of talent in the wings. They just need to take the time to let it develop.
There’s no simple solution……Fans need to STOP clamoring for Mo to “Go Get Machado”……like they are “just one bat” away from a Ring……ROFL.
I find it easy to cut the Cards some slack since they’ve been consistent winners for so long without the benefit of tanking like the Cubs and Astros did
Who cares? That’s a fool talking. Fact of the matter is the Cards are no longer even in the top two of their division and it likely to last much longer than Cards fans will tolerate. Enjoy the glory days though.
missing the playoffs is missing the playoffs. I don’t care if they win 60 games or 85. Call it whatever you want. I just know the last 2 teams to so called, “tank”, have won the WS.
The Cubs and Astros don’t have the benefit of multiple picks before the 2nd round, every year. The fallacy of the St. Louis Cardinals being a small market team is one of the biggest jokes in professional sports. They have more radio affiliates than any other team in baseball, which speaks to the size of their fan base. They are in the top 1/3 in revenue every year, and yet they still get supplemental picks for “competitive balance” It’s easier to rebuild on the fly if you get 2 of the top 40 amateur prospects every year, and can spend just as much as most other teams.
Lol you’re right, the cubs never got competitive balance picks for free like the cardinals do every year. It’s a joke. Look at their attendance numbers and you tell me they are a small market team. It’s bogus.
Bottom line is the Cardinals have cultivated a large and supportive fan base in a bottom 10 MLB metro area thanks to being a successful and winning franchise. Look at the other “small markets” metro areas (via census) and how they correlate with Championships and Baseball revenue. The cardinals are on the positive side of the mean thanks to fans that are passionate because of a history of winning.
It also helps there aren’t a ton of attractions in the largest Metro area in Missouri.
Also consider how often people scoff at the thought of free agents wanting to come to St. Louis the city, it’s not a destination city. With that in mind don’t competitive balance picks have justification? Yea, professional baseball players that make large amounts of money would rather be in a larger metro area because there is more to do, there are more attractions, more options, & more money to be made. The Cardinals maximize every opportunity the League agreed upon in the CBA to be the best organization they can be. Just because they have a successful model doesn’t mean they don’t deserve to be in the reasonable parameters agreed upon.
Gosh, Mozeliak, way to throw Fowler under the bus just as the guy is going on paternity leave to be there for the birth of his child. How about practicing restraint of tongue, especially in public?
And Mo, aren’t you the man who signed Dexter to that excessive “Hey, Redbird Nation, Dexter’s the last piece we need” contract…?
p.s. How’s the return on that $25 million extension you gave to “Joltin’ Kolten Wong”?
How typical of so-called leaders to try to deflect the pressure they’re feeling by turning the heat on others. Mo, look in the mirror.
Lol that wasn’t a bad contract with Wong…his defense alone pays for it
Worth $25 mill/5 years to be a late-inning defensive replacement on the rare occasion that the Cards are ahead?
Thanks for the laugh !!
And I see you ignored the main point, Mo signing “Savior” Fowler.
Cards fans sure are passionate!
Completely gutless and classless thing to do on Mozeliak’s part. “Some people.” Yeah, ok, my man. Go to hell.
You know what is missing, Albert Pujols. The Cardinals havent had STAR since he left. In order to get the type of players that will make this club a contender again, the front office will have to go pay an Arenado, Machado, or Harper a tremendous sum of money. Many players today do not want the pressure or cant live up to the pressure of being the face of a franchise. As for Mozeliak he is guilty of over valuing his assets and then deeming them to valuable to use.
The year after Pujols left we had 2 stars. Beltran and Holiday. Though aging, still stars.
But I agree mostly with that you are saying. My issue is he is so married to in house talent he signs them to extensions and expects them to emerge into stars rather than getting pieces. We got lucky with Pujols. We traded for Rolen, Rentería and those guys are why we won titles. Real trades.
I’m sick of is inability to value talent.
So in the eyes of most, Molina is a future Hall of Famer, but he’s NOT a Star? Wainwright was only 32 when Matheny took over. Yes he developed some injuries, but he was a star. Matheny has had Carpenter for his prime years. They’ve had above average to very good starting pitching the last 5 years. This team has had ample talent to win a division or at least a wild card, but the problem has been Matheny for the most part, but mostly the Cubs and now the Brewers have passed them by. Not to mention, they lost Luhnow, who was basically the backbone of the Cardinals while he was here. He’s shown how to sign free agents, make trades, and who to claim off waivers in his time in Houston.
If Molina continues to hit like he is hitting, he will be a Hall of Famer!
Aging and declining on defense for the past three years, and getting $20 mill/year on past reputation.
Molina won’t get a sniff of the needed HOF votes.
Playing in St Louis is like playing in Detroit though. They’re really going to have to overpay in order to attract the top talent and that’s not the Cardinal way. The smartest thing they did was letting Pujols go. The only really crappy contract that they have to live with right now is Fowler.
They have good starting pitching. They have good depth for position players that has not played to its full potential this year. The big bullpen pickups have not worked out. It does seem like they need a trade to shake up the team.
The next three weeks are very important for them to turn it around. I think we will see where they are headed by the end of the big five game series with the Cubs at Wrigley Field after the All Star break.
That is actually a good assessment of the Cardinals…and by a cubs fan…the cardinals are not in that bad of a spot…we have great young pitching talent…they have money to spend (if they spend it) and the bullpen is actually taking shape and might be one of the better bullpens by the end of the year…Holland is finally pitching well so you have him, Hicks and Norris…not a bad 1,2,3…we need a lefty though…I read above that one bar isn’t going to fix things..I disagree…Machado would fix a lot..is there something going on in the locker room? Who knows…also people are forgetting that we have been without Dejong since early May…he’ll be back next week I believe…the bullpen is shaping up and we still have great pitching…it’s not all doom and gloom like most of these supposed cardinals fans are posting
Great pitching? Great should only be used when the guy is a Potential Hall of Famer.
Do you see any of those pitchers as Hall of Famer?
Well they have one of the better team ERAs and that was with Martinez hurt for the better part of the season…Jack Flaherty has proved he is going to be good…Miles Mikolas should be an all-star…Wacha was doing great before he got hurt…Reyes is down for another year but still got to consider him as a great young arm…you have Dakota Hudson tearing up triple A….lol how many rotations in baseball have a HOF in them? Get a clue
People like yourself who have never worked in the business should stop being hyperbolic and come down to reality. Stop using the word Great to describe players. You are the one who does not have a clue. Be a fan not a fanatic!
Verlander, Scherzer, & a few others have been great. The cardinals may have about 3 good pitchers.
Wacha’s days of being consistently good are practically over. When a pitcher keeps getting hurt the arm starts to deteriorate. His first year he was outstanding and then they started chancing his delivery for no reason at all. They should have left him alone.
You didn’t answer my question…How many rotations have HOF in it? It’s people like you lol give me a break
I’ve been hearing for 3 years how Martinez is an “ACE”, but I have yet to see him even get a Cy Young vote.
Daved this guy got upset because he disagrees with how I use the word “great”. Ok the cardinals have good pitching talent, can I say good or is that to much…doesn’t matter the point is the cardinals won’t have to spend money on pitching for a good while…so they should easily invest it into making the team better offensively and defensively.
They didn’t “let Pujols go.” They were outbid. Same with Price and Heyward. Can you imagine if all 3 of those guys were here? This team would be a disaster. Do we not blame Mozeliak for those offers just because some other team was dumb enough to offer more? Those were not sub par offers to them. Every one of them was over $180M. Heyward is still a good player, but he’s not worth $180M. Then Mozeliak just lets the best pitcher, and a hometown guy, just waltz through Free Agency without even making an offer to him? That’s a joke. This team makes the playoffs in 2016 and 2017 if Scherzer is here.
Well, they wouldn’t have all three of them. Maybe one or two. If they had Heyward now, they wouldn’t have Fowler. If they got Price, they wouldn’t have signed Leake. Both players are better than what they ended up with.
They did have Allen Craig to fall back on when Pujols left and he was good for a couple of years.
St. Louis was never going to match what the market would pay Albert.
Super Facts
We tried to lure Stanton. Rumor was that the Cardinals had the best offer to the Marlins for him.
As beloved as Pujols was, I believe the front office breathed a collective sigh of relief when he signed with the Angels.
matt carpenter is one player that needs to be traded, along with jose martinez.
Cards need to get back to speed and defense to support that young pitching.
As a Cubs fan, I see all the complaints and here’s my take:
– Matheny is terrible. I do agree there. I’ve thought he was pretty bad for a long time.
– As far as tearing into Mozeliak, what were your thoughts when you first signed Fowler? Were you upset? As a Cubs fan, I can tell you – we still haven’t replaced him. He was amazing at the top of the lineup. Now, he may not be that player anymore, but I bet hardly any of you were complaining at the time of the signing – and you had no reason to.
– Where is Mozeliak’s credit for Mikolas? He’s been a top pitcher so far this year. Na. Let’s just focus on the negatives.
– I’ll tell you where Mozeliak has messed up: he has consistently tried to patch things, but he never goes out and makes the big move. Matt Holliday was the Cards last big-time bat and he struggled to stay on the field. When I look at the Cardinals lineup, there’s no big-time thump. The corner infield and outfield positions were made for power bats, and the Cardinals consistently put mediocre players in those positions. Mozeliak has done the same thing with the bullpen – it’s a bunch of patch work – they never go out and get “the guy,” and when was the last time they made a significant trade that brought back a big piece back in return?
I truly think the Cardinals biggest problem is that they are so damn afraid of messing up and trading the wrong guy away, that they end up holding onto potential, and fail to acquire talent. If every team held onto all their prospects in hopes that they develop, they’d have a lot of disappointments. Look at the Astros – they traded some young bucks for Verlander and Cole. Is it a risk? Sure. Look at the Cubs – they traded their young guys for Chapman, Wade Davis.
No presently good team NEEDS prospects, they need to fill holes, and the Cardinals are always afraid to trade their prospects for their actual NEEDS, which is why they are finding themselves in this spot. Go out and get what you NEED, and stop relying on development. Let the rebuilding teams rely on the development.
why limit power hitters to corner spots?
I’m not saying limit them to corner spots, I’m saying it’s easy to fill those position with power hitters. Look around the league, you’ll see most teams have 2-4 of those spots filled with power bats. The Cardinals lack power bats all around the field, and the supply in the league is high, but the Cardinals for whatever reason, are not showing much demand.
I’d agree with a lot of this except that development has to be a priority, but you also need to balance that with trades to fill the needs as you stated. The Cards seem to do a decent job drafting players in the lower half of the rounds instead of tanking and getting the top player for a few years in a row so I like their scouting and development. Ozuna can’t fix this team by himself, he’s a solid hitter that had the protection of Stanton last year. He could use another consistent bat with him in the lineup, but the overall defense needs repaired first. Fix the run prevention aspect of the team and then fish for some run production on offense.
Send J Mart, Weaver, Schrock, Gant, and a lower level pitching prospect to the Rays for Archer, Hechavarria, and maybe someone like McCarthy to work out out 1st and the OF occasionally. DeJong slides over to 3rd when he comes back.
Send Gyorko, Arozarena, and E. Sosa to Atlanta for some of their young left handed starters like Wentz and/or Muller.
Send Cecil, Kelly, and Ponce De Leon to Seattle for Colome.
Lastly, Fowler and O’Neill to the Rox for Ian Desmond as he has more versatility to go with his large contract.
Get some pre-printed lineup cards with an infield of Carp, Wong, Hechavarria, and DeJong and let some other team take over the torch of having the most errors.
Why would Seattle, a better team, weaken their bullpen for the Cardinals trash?
Because they could use a long term catcher like Kelly and long reliever / starter like Ponce De Leon, who could take over in the rotation for LeBlanc today. Also, they have JD as a GM, and he isn’t afraid of any trade. I’m assuming you stopped reading at Cecil.
Kelly has become the Eternal Prospect who Does NOT Deliver.
#55 prospect out of 100 at the beginning of the season who has a total of 107 ABs in 263 innings caught in STL? I can see how you would come to that conclusion given that sample size. He has 1 error in 263 MLB innings and threw out 5 of the 15 base stolen base attempts. Defensively he’s good, but sitting behind Yadi on the depth chart would make it hard to get into a groove offensively when you never get a chance to play consistently I would think.
Well said
I’d say that’s a pretty fair assessment of the cardinals situation which is why they’ve been in the middle of the pack for the past 2-3 years.
I do agree that at the time STL signed Fowler I felt it was a big blow to the Cubs, and they STILL haven’t acquired a true leadoff hitter. It’s maddening to see practically every player in the lineup being cycled through that spot over the past year and a half. Schwarber was predictably not gonna work out there, but Bryant’s far more valuable to the team 2-4.
Sadly for both teams the bottom line is there were no winners in the Fowler and Heyward signings, and those contracts were driven by excessive efforts on both sides at one upmanship. Granted, Heyward is finally beginning to produce at the plate near a level CHC originally expected, but imo Fowler has been coasting since he inked the STL deal.
I will be completely honest, and this is not hindsight. I told people when they signed Fowler this would be the worst signing ever. I saw his defensive liabilities. He did ok in Chicago because they could play him deep in a small park. Offensively, he had a boatload of talent around him in Chicago. Centerfielders in their 30’s do NOT perform well, for the most part. But the thing that really made me think this would not be a good fit for Fowler was, Matheny. Fowler has that personality that doesn’t fly with Matheny. He seems to present a “I’m just a cool cat” persona, which doesn’t mean he’s not trying, it just means he beats to a different drum. Lackey didn’t have the personality to fit either. Neither did Leake. Word is getting out to the other players that this Matheny Bible thumping and “manifesto” way is intolerable, unless you are the type to buy into it?
Yep, definitely no party room for the Cards after a win.
That’s not true at all.
What’s not true? I know former players who have told me all about playing for Matheny. It’s just something fans don’t want to know or hear about. Have you read the “Matheny Manifesto?” That’s all I have to say about what I know and what is true.
Being a life long Cardinal fan I appreciate your on target insight of the Cardinals situation. well said in all respects..
Compare and contrast the Cardinals when Jeff Luhnow and Tony LaRussa were part of Cardinals Leadership and how they have done since those guys left.
Mainly since Walt Jocketty was forced out.
2 World Series titles to ZERO.
Not true. Mo won in 2011
Take a chance and trade for Byron Buxton, perhaps a change of scenery would do him some good. Trade for Moose to man third base, move Carpenter back to second, acquire a run producing 1B( should have signed Hosmer). An outfield of Buxton-Pham-Ozuna would give them great defense and a lot more speed.
Curious how no one here mentioned the fact that the Cards play in arguably the most competitive division in baseball. This is a good team and if they played in almost any other division their record would be a lot better. Considering that other than the reds there is not an easy out in that division I can understand having a record like the Cardinals current one.
The Reds went 15-11 in June. Including a sweep of the Cubs. They’ve been anything but an easy out for a month.
The Cards were lucky to play the Reds early, before they started to figure things out. And are 9-1 against them. Take those games away, and the Reds have a better record than the Cardinals.
The division only became competitive, on a consistent basis, when Chicago hired Theo and the Brewers hired Stearns.
If you put the Cardinals in any division aside from the AL Central this year they would have a similar if not worse record. The AL West is loaded with the Mariners, Astros, Angels (though they have fallen off recently), and upstart and always better than expected As. The AL East features two of the best in baseball in the Red Sox and Yankees and the Rays pitching has them right about the same record as STL, In the NL East they would be battling the Braves, Nats, and Phillies for position, while in the NL West they’d once again be contending with the Dodgers, DBacks, Giants, and Pdres who all sport records very similar to that of the AL Central leaders. Fact is the Cardinals have a losing record vs the NL East, a losing record vs the NL West and are .500 vs the AL so far this year. That is not a sign of a strong division considering their own division is the only one they have a winning record against.
You could have just posted a link to the standings
As a lifelong Cub fan, I’ve had nothing but respect for the Cardinal organization for many years. I see a number of comments on here about them not trading away enough assets for “stars”. I think their homegrown philosophy has been the bedrock of their history of winning. They have, at times, added pieces that have been important to them, depending upon the holes that their farm couldn’t fill, but for the most part, they’ve stuck to their guns and been patient. I just think that they’re going through a growth period and that, combined with the major improvements by the Cubs and Brewers, have made the transition more painful for their fanbase. But really, they’re over .500 and I can tell ya, as an old Cub fan, it could be soooo much worse… btw… I miss Jack Buck.
we have to get better defensively and cut down on our strikeouts. Those things cant be blamed on Mo. We have a very weak defense on the infield. Martinez is a DH. Carpenter does us more harm then good. Though Wongs gloves been good his hitting is horrible and I dont think it’s going to get better. These three men needs to be traded. get a strong corner infielder in return.
There’s more here than meets the eye. Before Fowler went to Chicago there were rumblings about his dedication and work ethic. Maybe he loved Chicago, maybe he was playing for a contract. Who knows. There are also rumors that he doesn’t like St. Louis and only accepted after it was clear Chicago wasn’t coming to call. All of that combined with obvious lack of hustle and frustration in the field paint a certain picture of Fowler, fair or not.
A lot of this has to fall on Matheny and Mo as well. An early commenter mentioned the lack of stars and Mo’s unwillingness to go outside the organization. Max Scherzer was practically waiting for any deal from St. Louis. What would this team look like with him? Maybe other big names like Stanton change their mind. But the Cardinals need stars. And they need a slight rebuild.
Carlos Martinez is their “ace” but he isn’t an Ace. Go get Synderggard or deGrom and build around them in the staff. Get good relievers and put your money in two big bats and go big. People don’t expect Kansas City or the Twins to go big because they can’t. The Cardinals can and it’s about time they did.
I am here to defend Fowler…he was good last year and I think still has some in the tank…he is on paternity leave now for the birth of his second baby…so he is dealing with being away from his pregnant wife and now his new born baby…sometimes baseball isn’t life
There was absolutely no issues w Dexter while in Chicago. If Mo would like to shake up the team, I’m sure the Cubs would love to chat … as long as Mo’s willing to eat at least 50% of that massive contract. Cubs haven’t been the same w/out “You go, We go” Dex and Dex hasn’t been the same w/out the Cubs. So let’s make everyone happy.
Dexter was great with the Cubs. Key word being “was”. They have no room for him anymore.
Can a player have an off year? Fowler is one year removed from a 360 OBP. Defensively, he moved positions and hasn’t been played regularly as a starter because of a loaded outfield. Cardinal fans just need to relax a bit and let him get right.
Cub fans, who want him back, should not offer up hypothetical deals that make zero sense. You have your own “special” ex cardinal massive contract that literally is more than double the contract of Fowler’s.
I know it’s no consolation, but the team that can best relate to what STL is going through has to be the Rockies. From a positional standpoint they have a solid lineup on paper, but (like Fowler) Desmond has really put a drag on production. The rotation has a lot of potential, but it’s Colorado so the results will be uneven no matter who is pitching. COL went out boldly and spent a small fortune on the bullpen, and those players have arguably underproduced.
Acquiring Machado may tip the balance for the Cardinals, it’s anybody’s guess what he’ll cost. Fans have to remember that BAL is owned by an irrational mad man who makes Jeffrey Loria look like an intellectual. I still don’t see Angelos agreeing to any package for Machado much to the detriment of his own organization, so I wouldn’t get my hopes up. Moustakas may not be a savior, but you won’t have to gut your farm system and pull your hair out in the process.
Moustakas would cost very LITTLE. He would be a 2-3 month rental. Nobody gives up a lot for guys in that position. At least not with Moustakas talent. He’s no “world beater.”
The April version of Moose was a world beater, but baby it ain’t April any more. Even though STL could get him for a few fringe prospects, I don’t think he’s enough of a difference maker to justify the acquisition. At least Mozeliak can be grateful Cards fans aren’t clamoring for Donaldson any more. I don’t think the Jays could even give him away at this point.
Machado won’t be in St. Louis. Too costly for a rental for a team that may not make it. If any trades happen go for Mets pitching and spend big this offseason.
One thing that is important to remember when suggesting trades: this isn’t fantasy baseball.. some fan-created trade offers – sure, they make sense, but there is so much more involved than you or I will ever know and probably even understand. The chances a team makes more than 2-3 substantial trades in a season is very rare, and if your team needs more than 2-3 trades to be competitive, you’re probably better off going the rebuilding route, and even then you’re probably not making more than 2-3 deals. You’re especially not going to deal multiple pieces of your MLB roster if you’re a contender, that’s a good way to really mess up the clubhouse vibe.
Realistically, every relevant team right now could probably use a big bat or big time starter, and most could probably use an impact reliever. Most teams will end up settling for depth pieces instead of the big names. You MIGHT see 3-4 “big” names moved at the deadline, and even that would make for an exciting deadline.
Bullpen is starting to take shape. Dejong is coming back this week. Trade deadline is coming up. Trade Jose Martinez and Dakota Hudson for Britton and machado. 2.5 games back on the wild card will go away. Don’t worry cards fans are Cardinals are always underrated when it comes to being a wildcard team. Cards went to WS in 04 and 11 from WC. Trolls are going to troll but this is my honest opinion.
“trolls are going to troll.” The dumbest and laziest comment ever made, and it continues to be made by many. What does that even mean? I’ll tell you what it means. It means, “if any fan dare question the direction of the team they follow and don’t get in line with the majority of fans, then they are considered a ‘troll.’ It’s basically the most arrogant way for a fan to say, do what I do, say what I say, believe what I believe, and we will just fine.”
i’m the only troll
Daved you are overreacting I was referring to to people like you as trolls because all you want to do is argue about off topic stuff that has nothing to do with baseball
This is why I never really comment on this site because people like you.. grow up
nothing about baseball? WTF you think we’re talking about here? Soccer?
All you want to talk about is trolls that has nothing to do with any sport
The Cardinals ownership is running the organization like a business. They are more worried about what is going on outside of the stadium ( Ballpark Village ) than what is going on inside the stadium. They draw over 3 million a year yet their payroll is under 100 million. When people stop buying tickets maybe they will stop building outside the stadium and focus on building a team.
Their payroll is not under $100M, but I understand your point. Their problem with payroll is they give too much money to “middling” free agents like Fowler. Leake, Cecil. The other problem they have is too many of their players are “the same guy.” They have a bunch of 1 or 2 tool players. They aren’t athletic, they for the most part can’t run the bases or steal bases with any success, they can’t defend on the corners, and they rely too much on the HR. And most of them AREN’T HR HITTERS!!!!!
They are 3rd in the NL in HR’s.
….and they are 11th in the NL in RUNS scored because all they do is try to hit HRs. And they are 9th in BA, LAST in doubles, LAST in triples, and 11th in OPS.
What’s your point? Hate on the cardinals because you are a bandwagon cub fan just like all fans?
It’s okay to hate on opposing teams but you don’t quit and it’s annoying
I got news for you, C1234. I’m a Cards fan. Sorry I don’t like the direction this team has headed in the last 3 years. I’ll go bury myself in the sand now. Enjoy your playground of lollipops and gumdrops. Say hello to the President, Ricky Horton, for me. Bye.
Ricky Horton is a cardinals announcer I know who he is. If you are a cardinals fan I wouldn’t call you a true fan.
If you are a cardinals fan why are you calling them “they”? If you are a cardinals fan you say “we”
Speaking of Cardinals announcers, does it seem to anyone else that Brad Thompson never stops talking?
Yeah he’s annoying I don’t like when he’s announcing also he’s in a cardinals kids tv show… yeah he’s also a bit weird
Fire Mabry for God’s sake! He is garbage!
The cardinals arent so bad off. Matheny’s nothing special, fire him if you want, but it won’t make this a playoff team.
The bigger problem is a fanbase that loses their mind over a .500ish season. 2018 was always going to be a year of developing prospects and burning off bloated contracts. Some young guys are having an off year, it happens and is part of their development. Weaver, for example, will adapt and will be bettet for it in future seasons.
2018 Cardinals don’t look so different from the 2014 Yankees and 2015 Red Sox.
I can’t believe how many people have forgotten about Oscar Tavares. The Cardinals went all in on him to be their next star that they were going to build around, and his death left a gaping hole that they still haven’t found a way to fill. The Heyward and Fowler acquisitions have both been in response to that tragedy, neither would have been in St. Louis if he was still alive. The teams entire long-term outlook was centered on Tavares and all of a sudden he’s gone. That’s not an easy thing to come back from when it’s that much of an impact player and St. Louis still hasn’t fully recovered from that loss. The Cardinals would be looking MUCH better right now with that piece in place and the extra rss they would have saved by not having to make those immediate moves to cover for that ordeal.
Mozeliak needs to take that look in the Mirror and yell..”YOU’RE FIRED!”