One would think…..
…For all the hype about Jordan Hicks fastball…..one would think…that his strikeout/inning ratio would be very good….not so much…the “good” ones average more than 1 strikeout per inning… Hicks has 60 strikeouts in 68 innings..under 1.00/inning ..meanwhile Wade Davis (Colorado closer) K/inn ratio is over 1.000…66 strikeouts in 57 innings..there are many other pitchers over 1.00 in K/inn ratio but Davis is another closer-like Hicks….the best in the MLB is Chris Sales 146 inn/219 strikeouts….#2 is Gerrit Cole 176 inn/243 strikeouts…#3 is Max Scherzer 193 inn/260 strikeouts
…When one considers that the Cards paid Aledmys Diaz $5m to sign as a 25 year old…drove him around the Jupiter field on a cart like he was Caesar returning from a winning battle…one would think…that he’s a keeper for the long run….not so much…traded after 2 years for some guy named J.B.Woodman (hitting .246 in Palm Beach)…myself…as you all know by now…I question the ages of
ALL the Latin American players….heck…about the age discrepancy….I’d play the game too…I’ll say I’m 19 instead of 21 to impress the scouts…I don’t believe….could be wrong …that the birth certificates don’t have the same reliability as in the USA…be that as it may…are Diaz & DeJong really that different? Check it out
G AB Hits HR RBI runs avg OPS errors
De Jong 93 352 81 16 51 58 .230 .732 10
Diaz 110 365 93 17 45 53 .255 .738 7
Is there something that I don’t know about Diaz? Why give him away for a class A Player?
….one would think that the Cards will be attempting to “go in a different direction” at 3B for next year… I just don’t see Goryko being the permanent answer…this coming winter, the 3B free agent list.. for the most part….is like a list of Senior Citizens in the MLB… Adrian Beltre (40), Asdrubal Cabrera (33), Josh Donaldson (33), Logan Forsythe (32), David Freese (36),Marwin Gonzalez (30), Chase Headley (35), Jung-ho Kang (32) ,Jed Lowrie (35), Manny Machado (26),Mike Moustakas (30), Eduardo Nuñez (32), Jose Reyes (36),Andrew Romine (33), Pablo Sandoval (32), Luis Valbuena (33)….so….does DeJong go to 3B and make room for one of the “hot shot” SS in the Cards farm system?
…one would think that Mizzou should be 3-0 with Purdue (0-2) upcoming on the schedule…the Boilermakers 20-19 loss to E. Michigan last weekend was a stunner
….after Jose Martinez has assembled a strong batting year…one would think that it is an ideal time to “move” him to the AL to fill another need…Martinez’s value will probably never be this high again
…one would think that the best college football team should seek to play against the toughest non-conference teams throughout the entire season.. to convince voters ..and other teams ..that they ARE the best….well….Alabama’s schedule isn’t even listed in the TOP 20 toughest schedules…the Crimson Tide DOES have their SEC schedules (including Mizzou)… their 1st opponent Louisville has been generally a good team…so OK there…but scheduling Arkansas State and the Citadel….so what if they go 12-0…they REALLY went 10-0 against quality teams…that’s assuming that ALL the SEC teams are good….and we know that not ALL of them are good….so ….that the teams who schedule tough non-conference opponents get ignored because of the 12-0 mark staring the NCAA rating voters in the face. According to the Athlon Sports & Life page…the toughest NCAA schedules are: 1) Florida State 2) Nebraska 3) Notre Dame 4) Pittsburgh 5) Auburn 6) Arizona St 7) Michigan 8) UCLA 9) NC State 10) Texas A&M—Auburn is the only SEC team on the list.
….One would think when you hear of “ACC excellence” that the discussion is about Mens Basketball for its many skilled teams…but…how about Mens soccer? Although the season is young…most have played just 3 or 4 games…. Wake Forest is ranked #1 ,#2 is Duke, #5 N. Carolina, #7 Louisville, #8 NC State, #10 Virginia, #12 Notre Dame—not bad ….7 of the top 12 Mens soccer teams in the country are in the ACC!! I don’t think that even Mens basketball reaches those heights
…One would think …the best NCAA non-conference football game this weekend was Clemson playing Texas A&M..Clemson won a nailbiter 28-26
…One would think that more pitchers would try to improve their batting…..Bob Gibson indicated in a recent interview that he was a good hitting pitcher due to the fact that he worked during his off-days with Harry Walker in the batting cage…why don’t other starting pitchers do the same…well…I know Harry Walker is passed but ANY batting coach … why are they automatic outs when… probably… many of them were the best hitters on their amateur teams?
….One would think the the Cubs installation of a huge scoreboard to block viewing from across the block was an original idea….not by a long shot… Shibe Park– the home of the Philadelphia Athletics/Phillies which opened in 1909 and closed in 1970 was the first of the modern era, as it was the first built entirely of concrete and steel. Its most noticeable feature is its 34-foot high right field wall. This was done to prevent building owners who were located across the street from erecting bleachers and allowing fans to watch the game, much like Wrigley Field today. In case you’re wondering…the field was named for Benjamin Shibe, one of the original owners of the team, along with Connie Mack. Mack eventually gained full control of the team but kept Shibe’s name on the stadium until 1953 when he changed the name of the stadium to….guess…. Connie Mack Stadium.
…….Like all MLB teams, the Cards have made many transactions this year…and over the years… occasionally….the Cards hit a gold mine with acquisitions like Lou Brock, Ozzie Smith, Jim Edmonds, Orlando Cepada, Scott Rolen, Willie McGee…. etc…. sometime they send away or don’t resign players who perform at high levels…Steve Carlton, Keith Hernandez, Ken Boyer, Red Schoendienst, Justin Heyward, ..sometimes they acquire players who don’t produce at all…Ron Gant, Greg Holland, Bobby Bonilla,Tino Martinez (a clubhouse cancer on top of it), Kip Wells, Ty Wigginton, Mark Ellis, Mike Leake, Brad Penny and the most recent, Brett Cecil. In the current MLB land…money is now usually a large part of the consideration…more & more….the weaker teams sell off the better players who are approaching free agency for “prospects”….code word for cheap, young players to the contending teams….teams who are healthy in the pocketbook, sign higher priced free agents in the off-season and then snatch these seasoned vets for the final 6 weeks of the season. With no agenda….since you’ll hit the jackpot sometimes, sometimes you come up short, and sometimes it’s apples & oranges for the guys who were traded…not really much difference ….here’s a list of some of the former Cards around the MLB currently….make your own judgments….most are performing as one might expect…a couple surprises….who surprises you?
Batters in no particular order….
Stephen Piscotty .265 average, .800 OPS, 22 HR, 71 RBI, 526 plate appearances
Tommy Pham 30 games, .307 (20 of 65) 3-2B, 2-3B, 2-HR
John Jay .246 avg, 66 games, 2HR, 19 rbi, OPS .660
Daniel Descalso 121 games, 582 plate app, 348 AB, .250 avg, 12 HR, 52 RBI, .821 OPS
Aledmys Diaz 110 games, 288 plate app, 365 AB, 17 HR, 45 rbi, .255-avg,
Justin Heyward .275 avg, 7 HR, 52 rbi, 111 hits-404 AB, 114 games, .740 OPS
Albert Pujols (currently on DL) .245avg, 19 HR, 64 RBI, 117 games, 114 hits/465 ab, .700 OPS
Randall Grichuk 105 games, .244 avg, 19 HR, 49 RBI, .775 OPS
Mark Reynolds 71 games, .268 avg, 168 AB, 45 hits, 13 HR, 38 rbi, .874 OPS
Pitchers in no particular order
Steve Cishek 68g, 4win-3saves, 1.99 era, 0.96 whip 72 K’s, 23 walks,3 saves, 21 holds, 68 games,63 inn, 38 hits,
Seunghwan Oh…better known in this blog as…swingwhen OH…6 wins, 3 saves, 19 holds, 2.83 era, 1.02 whip, 63 inn
Adam Ottovino….66 games, 69 inn, 6 wins, 6 saves, 29 holds, 100 strikeouts, 1.96,era, 0.96 whip
Joe Kelly…. 64 games, 60 inn, 60 strikeouts, 4 wins, 2 saves, 20 holds, era-3.75, whip 1.37
Mike Leake 9-9, 4.11 ERA, 171 inn, 189 hits (ouch), whip 1.298
Pat Neshek….23 games, 2 wins , 4 saves, 4 holds,12-k’s, era-1.40, whip 1.09 (injured much of year)
Sandy Alcantara… (primary pitcher in Ozuna trade)…2 games, 2 wins, 12 inn, 6 hits, era-0.75, whip 1.08….too small sample size to reach conclusions but VERY STRONG beginning
Zach Duke….62 g, 45.1 inn, 5 wins-4 losses, 15 holds, 45 inn, 53 hits, 4.37 era, 1.61 whip (9th MLB team!
Marco Gonzalez….25g, w-l—12-9, 145.2 inn, 159 hits, 128 strikeouts, 4.32 era, 1.28 whip
I think that the one that really “got away” was Adam Ottovino…he pitched 5 games for the Cards in 2010 and was plucked off the waiver wire by Colorado prior to 2011 season…free!!!… since then…7 years—352 games, 17-17, 3.52 era, 3.35 era, 382 innings, 440 strikeouts!, 320 hits….prior to this year, his highest salary was $2.1m…this year its $7.0m, he’s pitched over 50+ innings in 5 of his 7 years….he could have been a stabilizer in the pen for many of these past 7 years….
…BEST HS FOOTBALL GAME OF THE WEEK: Doing it “ol school”, the Fox Warriors had zero yards passing in their victory of Summit. It was a great game as Summit grabbed a 13-0 1st quarter lead on 2 TD passes from Tanner Narato to Brad Hamilton. Fox scored a TD in the 1st & 2nd quarters on short runs by Cole Elwood and Gavin McGinness and converted both PAT’s so the Warriors led it 14-13. Summit retook the lead in the 3rd and led 19-14 until McGinness scored on a 1 run and on the 2 point conversion with just 1:43 remaining in the game. For the season, Fox now has 76 yards passing for the 2018 season… No doubt the inclement weather may have been a factor on Friday night but….it doesn’t appear that they pass much as they go back to “ol School football”
…Jumping off to a quick 5-0 start, the St Charles Pirates softball team is looking to continue their hot streak from last season. The Pirates won 10 of their last 11 games last year! St Charles is being led at the plate by Jr. Rhyen Mills. Mills is batting an incredible .786 11 hits in 14 AB. She has 8 extra base hits of her total of 11 hits. Three other Pirates are batting over .500…Kylie Swinney @ .588, Payton Mauldin .556 and Ryley Schaub .533. They appear to be the favorites of the Gateway North Conf
One would think that it’s time to “call it a day” 