A couple links to peruse this Friday morning, including a comparison between the top home grown Cardinals and the top acquired Cardinals, a Cardinals Mock Draft, a review of the Cards' drafts in previous years, a look at next off-season for the Cardinals, and, since it's Stanley Cup Finals time, a tribute to some really hilarious hockey calls.
Sully Baseball Compares the Cardinals
I really like this comparison between our homegrown players and the acquired ones. Good teams are composed of both, and the Cardinals have developed some great players in their system over the years.
MVN 2009 Mock Draft
The Cardinals select LHP Rex Brothers with the 19th pick, a fast-tossing lefty who might be a likely candidate for the bullpen someday. I like the lefty selection, as our depth in the minors is pretty weak on them right now.
FanGraphs Draft Reviews
2007 looks to be one of our deeper drafts, with guys like Jess Todd, David Kopp, and Daniel Descalso being selected past the first round. The strongest first-round pick in recent years, without a doubt, is Brett Wallace. He'll see some playing time in September.
MLB Trade Rumors discusses our free agents for next year
Ryan Franklin's option, it's safe to say, will be picked up. Rick Ankiel, Todd Wellemeyer, and Joel Pineiro will all make for interesting decisions come next year. Khalil Greene and Troy Glaus are likely gone at the end of the year.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
Cain Ain't Headed Nowhere
So, that previous rumor lying exactly one post below? Not true. The rumor about the Cards needing offense? Absolutely true.
MLB Trade Rumors has squashed their own reported trade rumor concerning Matt Cain of the San Francisco Giants. I'm not sold on the notion that Cain would be completely off the trading block, but they'd need to get some serious talent in return.
I'm still a big fan of Mark DeRosa, for both his utility and offensive value.
MLB Trade Rumors has squashed their own reported trade rumor concerning Matt Cain of the San Francisco Giants. I'm not sold on the notion that Cain would be completely off the trading block, but they'd need to get some serious talent in return.
I'm still a big fan of Mark DeRosa, for both his utility and offensive value.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Matt Cain Could Be Available
The Giants may be shopping righthanded starter Matt Cain for the right price.
I'm always careful to take trade rumors with a grain of salt, but MLB Trade Rumors has come out with a doozy that is worth a post. Matt Cain, who is no stranger to trade rumors in June and July, is supposedly on the block, making for potentially one of the biggest acquisitions of the season for a team in the pennant race.
Cain, 24, has a career 3.63 ERA and 3.93 FIP, an ERA-like stat that is a more objective look at how well the pitcher pitched regardless of defense, but he also has a low groundball ratio - 35.7% - and a pretty high walk ratio - 3.79 BBs per nine innings. This season, Matt has been a mixed bag of positive and negative stats: his ERA is really good (2.40), his FIP is ok (4.33), his K/9 is lower than normal (6.15), and his K/BB ratio is sub-par (1.64 strikeouts per walk). Another red flag is a decline in velocity this season - his fastball normally approaches 93 mph on the speed gun, but it's only been at 91.6 mph in '09.
Do these numbers forecast a breakdown of any sort from his recent success? Not really, but they do put his basic stats, like ERA and W-L, in some perspective. David Golebiewski of Fangraphs thinks Cain's due for some regression, so it would make sense that the Giants are considering trading him while his perceived value is probably above his true value right now.
That's enough numbers bandied about right and left; I'm not going to claim to be a stat guru with my SPSS spreadsheet by my side. The main points to be gathered are: a.) Matt Cain is a good pitcher; b.) Matt Cain would be an improvement over 3/5ths of our starting rotation; c.) Matt Cain is cheap ($2.65 million in '09, $4.25 million in '10, and an option in '11); and d.) Matt Cain wouldn't come here for cheap.
Point d.) is the most important factor in this equation, and a reason the Cards will probably not be in any bidding unless there's a big setback in the rotation, which, unfortunately, is a very real possibility. For now, the greatest trade options for our current club would be on the left side of the infield. I'm looking at you, Cleveland Indians.
I'm always careful to take trade rumors with a grain of salt, but MLB Trade Rumors has come out with a doozy that is worth a post. Matt Cain, who is no stranger to trade rumors in June and July, is supposedly on the block, making for potentially one of the biggest acquisitions of the season for a team in the pennant race.
Cain, 24, has a career 3.63 ERA and 3.93 FIP, an ERA-like stat that is a more objective look at how well the pitcher pitched regardless of defense, but he also has a low groundball ratio - 35.7% - and a pretty high walk ratio - 3.79 BBs per nine innings. This season, Matt has been a mixed bag of positive and negative stats: his ERA is really good (2.40), his FIP is ok (4.33), his K/9 is lower than normal (6.15), and his K/BB ratio is sub-par (1.64 strikeouts per walk). Another red flag is a decline in velocity this season - his fastball normally approaches 93 mph on the speed gun, but it's only been at 91.6 mph in '09.
Do these numbers forecast a breakdown of any sort from his recent success? Not really, but they do put his basic stats, like ERA and W-L, in some perspective. David Golebiewski of Fangraphs thinks Cain's due for some regression, so it would make sense that the Giants are considering trading him while his perceived value is probably above his true value right now.
That's enough numbers bandied about right and left; I'm not going to claim to be a stat guru with my SPSS spreadsheet by my side. The main points to be gathered are: a.) Matt Cain is a good pitcher; b.) Matt Cain would be an improvement over 3/5ths of our starting rotation; c.) Matt Cain is cheap ($2.65 million in '09, $4.25 million in '10, and an option in '11); and d.) Matt Cain wouldn't come here for cheap.
Point d.) is the most important factor in this equation, and a reason the Cards will probably not be in any bidding unless there's a big setback in the rotation, which, unfortunately, is a very real possibility. For now, the greatest trade options for our current club would be on the left side of the infield. I'm looking at you, Cleveland Indians.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Franklin Wins Battle of the Beards
Ryan Franklin's red beard is becoming a worldwide sensation.
If you're going to grow a manly beard such as Ryan Franklin's, you better be able to man-up in tough situations, and that's exactly what happened last night. A double to Milton Bradley, a walk to Geovany Soto, and a single to Micah Hoffpauir put the game in a one-run balance with the tenaciously-frustrating Ryan Freel pinch-running at third.
Ryan Franklin hadn't faced a worthy opponent to his leprechaun-esque beard thus far this season, but that was before Reed Johnson, and the animal growing on his face, entered the batter's box. If you look at the pitch-by-pitch on Gameday, it'll tell you that Ryan threw fastball after fastball to Johnson. In reality, they looked more like sliders: away, away, down and away, away, etc. Yadier Molina wanted something different - after all, Frank has about 8 different pitches in his repertoire - and finally they were both able to settle on the one that would put Reed away. The splitter.
It's about time that someone asks the question, how long will Franklin be able to sustain this kind of pitching over the course of a season? His K/9 (7.79) is the highest of his career and he has a teeny-tiny, microscopic .191 BABIP, undoubtedly a factor of his success and a potential outlier in the scope of what Ryan's BABIP will be for the entire season. It is for this reason that I look for Ryan to regress a little bit in the coming months, but he's doing the right things so far: strike guys out, keep the ball on the ground, and avoid the free passes. As long as those three things are happening, the legend of Man-Beard will live on.
That's it. Ryan Franklin is officially Man-Beard. I can't think of a more suiting name.
If you're going to grow a manly beard such as Ryan Franklin's, you better be able to man-up in tough situations, and that's exactly what happened last night. A double to Milton Bradley, a walk to Geovany Soto, and a single to Micah Hoffpauir put the game in a one-run balance with the tenaciously-frustrating Ryan Freel pinch-running at third.
Ryan Franklin hadn't faced a worthy opponent to his leprechaun-esque beard thus far this season, but that was before Reed Johnson, and the animal growing on his face, entered the batter's box. If you look at the pitch-by-pitch on Gameday, it'll tell you that Ryan threw fastball after fastball to Johnson. In reality, they looked more like sliders: away, away, down and away, away, etc. Yadier Molina wanted something different - after all, Frank has about 8 different pitches in his repertoire - and finally they were both able to settle on the one that would put Reed away. The splitter.
It's about time that someone asks the question, how long will Franklin be able to sustain this kind of pitching over the course of a season? His K/9 (7.79) is the highest of his career and he has a teeny-tiny, microscopic .191 BABIP, undoubtedly a factor of his success and a potential outlier in the scope of what Ryan's BABIP will be for the entire season. It is for this reason that I look for Ryan to regress a little bit in the coming months, but he's doing the right things so far: strike guys out, keep the ball on the ground, and avoid the free passes. As long as those three things are happening, the legend of Man-Beard will live on.
That's it. Ryan Franklin is officially Man-Beard. I can't think of a more suiting name.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Gametime: Chris Carpenter on the Mound
Competing with American Idol and NHL playoff hockey is Chris Carpenter's return to the mound. Will Adam or Kris win? I don't care, I just hope our Chris can stay off the DL for a while.
This just in: Carp has actually been spotted on the mound. This is for real. Giddyup.
This just in: Carp has actually been spotted on the mound. This is for real. Giddyup.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Khalil Greene Could Use a Hug
It's probably time to update this blog. It's probably past time that Khalil Greene see a psychologist.
I'll admit, I've been slacking on my duties as a respected sports analyst blogging his opinions from a laptop. Since my last post, the Cardinals season has looked both unbelievably optimistic and depressingly realistic, all in about a two-week time frame. Since beginning the season on a 16-7 run through the month of April, the Cardinals are 5-10 in the month of May and 21-17 overall. On top of that, Khalil Greene is on the verge of emotional breakdown, or at least that's what the local writers are implying.
This season, up until now, has been a pseudo-microcosm of Greene's career in the major leagues. Never too promising of a young player, Greene started off slow but was the talk of the town by his second year, posting a .795 OPS and 15 home runs. Now, he has been steadily slowing down to the lowpoint of his playing career - a string of Mendoza-line-flirting averages and lagging production putting him in the place he is now. Granted, the Cards season hasn't gone that much down the tube, but we are staring the Cubs and a firm spot in third place directly in the face.
Khalil Greene's issues worry me, not just as a concerned individual, but also because of the fact that they are entirely self-inflicted. Khalil, you are playing baseball, living the dream of nearly every child worldwide and making a truckload of money for it. I'm a perfectionist, and I like to always have my best work out there, so I understand how frustrating it can be to not have things go your way. But there's a need to put things in perspective sometimes, and I have a feeling that's not what's going on right now. Play baseball and have fun. The amount of children playing baseball without shoes or gloves far outweighs the amount of times you have struck out, but any one of those kids would do anything to be in your shoes, literally. Appreciate the spot you are in now and just play baseball. Stop making it into something bigger than what it really is.
The good thing about the analogy between this season and Khalil's career is that there's still plenty of time for both to turn around. In reality, a team's standing doesn't truly begin to matter until June, and the Cards are due to get some key players back soon, including Carpenter. For Greene, the talent is still there and so is the opportunity. For both, it all comes down to execution.
I'll admit, I've been slacking on my duties as a respected sports analyst blogging his opinions from a laptop. Since my last post, the Cardinals season has looked both unbelievably optimistic and depressingly realistic, all in about a two-week time frame. Since beginning the season on a 16-7 run through the month of April, the Cardinals are 5-10 in the month of May and 21-17 overall. On top of that, Khalil Greene is on the verge of emotional breakdown, or at least that's what the local writers are implying.
This season, up until now, has been a pseudo-microcosm of Greene's career in the major leagues. Never too promising of a young player, Greene started off slow but was the talk of the town by his second year, posting a .795 OPS and 15 home runs. Now, he has been steadily slowing down to the lowpoint of his playing career - a string of Mendoza-line-flirting averages and lagging production putting him in the place he is now. Granted, the Cards season hasn't gone that much down the tube, but we are staring the Cubs and a firm spot in third place directly in the face.
Khalil Greene's issues worry me, not just as a concerned individual, but also because of the fact that they are entirely self-inflicted. Khalil, you are playing baseball, living the dream of nearly every child worldwide and making a truckload of money for it. I'm a perfectionist, and I like to always have my best work out there, so I understand how frustrating it can be to not have things go your way. But there's a need to put things in perspective sometimes, and I have a feeling that's not what's going on right now. Play baseball and have fun. The amount of children playing baseball without shoes or gloves far outweighs the amount of times you have struck out, but any one of those kids would do anything to be in your shoes, literally. Appreciate the spot you are in now and just play baseball. Stop making it into something bigger than what it really is.
The good thing about the analogy between this season and Khalil's career is that there's still plenty of time for both to turn around. In reality, a team's standing doesn't truly begin to matter until June, and the Cards are due to get some key players back soon, including Carpenter. For Greene, the talent is still there and so is the opportunity. For both, it all comes down to execution.
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