Ascanio: Where's the Stretch?

fullykräusened 04/25/2024 - 04:57 pm (view)

The great thing about going to live sports events is you don't know if you're going to see something historic. Today I went to the Cub game, after putting the liner back in my coat and fishing my Cubs knit hat out of the closet. I needed all that- my seats are in the upper deck, left, so the east wind was in my face. Both teams failed to capitalize on good situations, but both starters did a good job to accomplish this. So, we go to the bottom of the sixth inning. The Cubs tie it up, and then Pete Crow-Armstrong comes up. We all know he would still be in AAA if not for injuries, and future Hall-of-Famer Justin Verlander absolutely carved up the young fellow up in his first two plate appearances. So this time he hits a fly ball. The wind was blowing in and had suppressed several strong fly balls- including a rocket off Altuve's bat that Canario hauled in (does anybody else remind me of Jorge Soler?) , but the ball kept carrying and carrying. 107mph, legit angle and carry. The crowd went nuts, the dugout went nuts. Maybe, just maybe, I saw the first homer from a long-term Cub.

TarzanJoeWallis 04/25/2024 - 04:46 pm (view)

Which was my original premise. They won the trades but lost their souls. They no longer employ the Cardinal way which had been so successful for so long.

crunch 04/25/2024 - 04:55 pm (view)

STL traded away a lot of minor league talent that went on to do nothing in the arenado + goldschmidt trades.  neither guy blocked any of their minor league talent in the pipeline, too.  that's ideal places to add talent.

TarzanJoeWallis 04/25/2024 - 04:48 pm (view)

Natural cycle of baseball. Pitching makes adjustments in approach to counter a hot young rookie. Now it’s time for Busch and his coaches to counter those adjustments. Busch is very good and will figure it out, I think sooner than later.

TarzanJoeWallis 04/25/2024 - 04:44 pm (view)

In 2020, the pandemic year and the year before they acquired Arenado, the Cardinals finished second and were a playoff team. Of the 12 batters with 100 plate appearances, 8 of them were home grown. Every member of the starting rotation (if you include Wainwright) and all but one of the significant relievers were home grown. While there have been a relative handful of very good trades interspersed which have been mentioned, player development had been their predominant pattern for decades - ever since I became an aware fan in the ‘70’s

The Arenado deal was not a deal made out of dire need or desperation. It was a splashy, headline making deal for a perennial playoff team intended to be the one piece that brought the Cardinals from a very good team to a World Series contender. They have continued to wheel and deal and have been in a slide ever since. I stand by my supposition that that deal marked a notable turning point within the organization. They broke what had been a very successful formula for a very long time.
 

crunch 04/25/2024 - 04:33 pm (view)

busch is having a really intense k-filled mini slump.  he deserves better after coming back to wrigley after that hot road trip.

crunch 04/25/2024 - 04:32 pm (view)

i know alzolay isn't having a great time right now, but i trust hector "ball 4" neris even less than alzolay based on what i've seen coming out of their arms.

azbobbop 04/25/2024 - 04:04 pm (view)

Neris reminds me of Don “Full Pack” Stanhouse.

Eric S 04/25/2024 - 04:43 pm (view)

Happ, Busch, Dansby and Madrigal have a combined 25 runners left on base through 7 innings, with Busch accounting for 9 of those.  Seems like a lot. 

crunch 04/25/2024 - 04:16 pm (view)

PCA finally gets a hit!  2r HR!!!