***Official 2014 STL Cardinals thread part II***

[BigRedChief]

Original thread was getting to large for the board

2011 WS Championship
2012 one win from another WS
2013 two wins from another WS title
2014 Central Division title and NLCS series win (so far)

This is a franchise that has made the postseason 10 times in the last 14 seasons.

Only 1 losing season since 2000.

Reached the World Series 4 times since 2004 and won as many championships (two) the past eight seasons as it did from 1965 to 2005.

Our new Manager has more post season experience than any other manager in baseball, except the Giants manager.

Made the NLCS 8 times

Three million attendance? Take it to the bank.

60 post season wins since 2004. 20+ wins more than any other team.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by O.city

I like Scruggs off the bench in the playoffs. Would like to see Oscar get more AB's but with Jay and Bourjos playing well, it's tough.

Right now, until something changes negatively, you ride Bourjas and Jay. When your winning like this, change nothing. The baseball karma gods will bite your ass.

[Marco Polo]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

Right now, until something changes negatively, you ride Bourjas and Jay. When your winning like this, change nothing. The baseball karma gods will bite your ass.

Exactly. If one of them cool down, then think about Oscar. He had his chance and hasn't done the most of it. Now it's just riding the hot hand for the rest of the year.

[Swanman]

Originally Posted by Marco Polo

Exactly. If one of them cool down, then think about Oscar. He had his chance and hasn't done the most of it. Now it's just riding the hot hand for the rest of the year.

At this point, if one of them falters, I would go with Grichuk. Offers possibly more hitting at this point and defense is 500% better than Oscar's.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by Swanman

At this point, if one of them falters, I would go with Grichuk. Offers possibly more hitting at this point and defense is 500% better than Oscar's.

I agree. OT is our future and will hit .300. He can get it together over the winter and spring training. From here on out, its about playing who is hot. Thats how Kozma got all that playing time in 2012 before he petered out.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

There is no way I would start Grichuk over Taveras. He is a walking K machine with a swing that long, and Scruggs has a slider speed bat. He couldn't even catch up to 93 last night.

[O.city]

Oscar needs AB's, especially in big situations like this playoff run. Hopefully, he has a ton more in the future for this franchise, so he needs to learn on the job.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

There is no way I would start Grichuk over Taveras. He is a walking K machine with a swing that long, and Scruggs has a slider speed bat. He couldn't even catch up to 93 last night.

I don't disagree with this. I was just advocating going with the hot bat.

In the off season we need to trade Jay. His value will never be higher. Corner outfielders can replace him in 2015-16 . Have to give something to get something.

[Swanman]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

There is no way I would start Grichuk over Taveras. He is a walking K machine with a swing that long, and Scruggs has a slider speed bat. He couldn't even catch up to 93 last night.

Grichuk is fairly locked in and hitting laser beams at this point. Ride him until he comes back to earth, and then OT can get more AB's.

[O.city]

I wouldn't trade Jay. I'd keep him and Bourjos together as a CF pair.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by O.city

I wouldn't trade Jay. I'd keep him and Bourjos together as a CF pair.

We need to go get a solid bat that can hit home runs this off season. Those don't come cheap. Jay is expendable and valuable to some other teams way more than his value here. Again, give to get.

[BigRedChief]

Makes me sad to read this..........At least we will always have torty and 2011.


Allen Craig is hitting .111 for the Red Sox and “couldn’t have looked more overmatched”

When the Red Sox acquired Allen Craig from the Cardinals in the John Lackey trade they were hoping a change of scenery would help him rediscover his pre-2014 form, but instead his season-long struggles have become even more extreme.

Craig struck out in all four his plate appearances yesterday and is now hitting .111 with 15 strikeouts in 10 games for the Red Sox.

Before this season–or, perhaps more accurately, before injuring his foot late last season–Craig hit .306 with an .850 OPS through 372 career games, but now Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com writes that Craig “couldn’t have looked more overmatched” and was “flailing at breaking balls way out of the strike zone.”

He’s under contract for $5.5 million in 2015, $9 million in 2016, $11 million in 2017, and $13 million or a $1 million buyout in 2018.

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/20...e-overmatched/

[O.city]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

We need to go get a solid bat that can hit home runs this off season. Those don't come cheap. Jay is expendable and valuable to some other teams way more than his value here. Again, give to get.

We need our corner OF's to hit more homeruns (Holliday and OT). I agree that we need to hit more HR's but I think they need to come from other spots as those two in CF make a really good pair.

I'm not sure their splits so I can't speak to it being a good platoon situation or not.

However, I think Mabry is probably gone after this year, so I think a new approach would improve power numbers.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

If his foot gets fixed, he'll be a productive player again. The question is if it's fixable. St. Louis docs ****ed it up once already.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by Swanman

Grichuk is fairly locked in and hitting laser beams at this point. Ride him until he comes back to earth, and then OT can get more AB's.

He had one night where he had three singles, which is the only game of his MLB career where he's had more than one hit.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by O.city

We need our corner OF's to hit more homeruns (Holliday and OT). I agree that we need to hit more HR's but I think they need to come from other spots as those two in CF make a really good pair.

I'm not sure their splits so I can't speak to it being a good platoon situation or not.

However, I think Mabry is probably gone after this year, so I think a new approach would improve power numbers.

I don't like the plan of our guys will get the homers popping next year.

What position? 1B is an obvious position we could upgrade on the homers. 3B also but that means you have to lose Wong and move Carp. Don't like that at all.