***Official 2020 STL Cardinals Thread***

[BigRedChief]

2020 Opening Day Lineup

Spoiler!

1. Kolten Wong (L) - 2B
2. Tommy Edman (S) - 3B
3. Paul Goldschmidt (R) - 1B
4. Paul DeJong (R) - SS
5. Matt Carpenter (L) - DH
6. Yadier Molina (R) - C
7. Dexter Fowler (S) - RF
8. Tyler O'Neill (R) - LF
9. Harrison Bader (R) - CF

RHP Jack Flaherty

For the new Cardinal fans that joined the Planet since last year.....
2019 Thread
https://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=320239
2018 Thread
https://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=312812
2012 Thread
https://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=254619
etc.
All the way back to 2006 WS
https://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=312812

[jd1020]

So how long is this season going to last?

Players dropping like flies.

[Miles]

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/...g-surgery.html

Cardinals right-hander Miles Mikolas will undergo surgery to repair his right flexor tendon and miss the remainder of the 2020 season, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak announced to reporters Tuesday (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Mark Saxon). He’s been placed on the injured list, and right-hander Jake Woodford has been recalled from the club’s alternate training site in a corresponding move. St. Louis also announced that Giovanny Gallegos has been activated from the injured list. Right-hander Daniel Ponce de Leon will start against the Twins tomorrow in place of Mikolas.

The loss of Mikolas is a notable blow to the St. Louis rotation. Since returning from a highly successful stint in Japan in 2018, the now-31-year-old Mikolas has given the Cards 384 2/3 innings of 3.44 ERA ball with averages of 6.8 strikeouts, 1.4 walks and 1.01 home runs per nine innings pitched. The right-hander finished sixth in 2018 National League Cy Young voting and has made 32 starts in each of his two seasons with the Cards.

That on its own would’ve been enough to make the two-year, $15.5MM deal that Mikolas signed with the Cardinals in the 2017-18 offseason a huge success. But the Cardinals clearly viewed the righty as a key long-term asset, as they locked him up on a four-year, $68MM extension prior to the 2019 season. The current season is the first year of that new pact, and a major arm surgery for Mikolas surely isn’t how either player or team hoped to kick things off. The hope is that he’ll be good to go for the 2021 season, Mozeliak added, though a more precise timeline will becomes clearer after the surgery.

[BigRedChief]

Whatever happened to the bubble approach like the NHL and NBA are using? I know the players didn't like it but why? They want to travel away from their wives for 1/2 the time but not all the time?

[Miles]

I heard earlier today that the players association said no to any bubble type approach.

[Jewish Rabbi]

Have you ever seen a lineup where 7-8-9 are the OF positions? We’ve gotta get better there quick.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by Jewish Rabbi

Have you ever seen a lineup where 7-8-9 are the OF positions? We’ve gotta get better there quick.

[Jewish Rabbi]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

Can’t they call him up after the Twins series? Somebody correct me if I’m wrong. Not sure we’ll see him quite that early anyway.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by Jewish Rabbi

Can’t they call him up after the Twins series? Somebody correct me if I’m wrong. Not sure we’ll see him quite that early anyway.

Yeah I think DJ said after Wednesday's game. But, unless your ready to give up on one of the starters, why bother? Just to set him on the bench. He's down there with Jose now. That dude can coach. Way better than riding the pine in STL. He comes up, he starts.

[Jewish Rabbi]

Glad to see Carlos is the same old spaz.

[Jewish Rabbi]

Martinez ****ing sucks.

[Marcellus]

Originally Posted by Miles

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/...g-surgery.html

Cardinals right-hander Miles Mikolas will undergo surgery to repair his right flexor tendon and miss the remainder of the 2020 season, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak announced to reporters Tuesday (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Mark Saxon). He’s been placed on the injured list, and right-hander Jake Woodford has been recalled from the club’s alternate training site in a corresponding move. St. Louis also announced that Giovanny Gallegos has been activated from the injured list. Right-hander Daniel Ponce de Leon will start against the Twins tomorrow in place of Mikolas.

The loss of Mikolas is a notable blow to the St. Louis rotation. Since returning from a highly successful stint in Japan in 2018, the now-31-year-old Mikolas has given the Cards 384 2/3 innings of 3.44 ERA ball with averages of 6.8 strikeouts, 1.4 walks and 1.01 home runs per nine innings pitched. The right-hander finished sixth in 2018 National League Cy Young voting and has made 32 starts in each of his two seasons with the Cards.

That on its own would’ve been enough to make the two-year, $15.5MM deal that Mikolas signed with the Cardinals in the 2017-18 offseason a huge success. But the Cardinals clearly viewed the righty as a key long-term asset, as they locked him up on a four-year, $68MM extension prior to the 2019 season. The current season is the first year of that new pact, and a major arm surgery for Mikolas surely isn’t how either player or team hoped to kick things off. The hope is that he’ll be good to go for the 2021 season, Mozeliak added, though a more precise timeline will becomes clearer after the surgery.

Mo is quite possibly the dumbest ****ing front office person in all of professional sports. There was zero reason to sign Miles to the extension just like the Carpenter extension.

[Marcellus]

Originally Posted by Jewish Rabbi

Have you ever seen a lineup where 7-8-9 are the OF positions? We’ve gotta get better there quick.

Its pathetic, they better call up Carlson as soon as they can. They let Ozuna walk and replaced him with nada.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Marcellus

Its pathetic, they better call up Carlson as soon as they can. They let Ozuna walk and replaced him with nada.

Eh.

O'Neill is capable of giving us anything Ozuna gave us, provided he stays healthy.

Ozuna just isn't the guy he was in that peak season in Miami. He's a fine power bat but he's not the professional hitter he appeared to be in 2017. Whether it was the shoulder or simple regression - Ozuna's...fine. He's a quality major league player. But he's not a difference maker and he's not someone that a deep system shouldn't be able to replace pretty easily.

[Marcellus]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Eh.

O'Neill is capable of giving us anything Ozuna gave us, provided he stays healthy.

Ozuna just isn't the guy he was in that peak season in Miami. He's a fine power bat but he's not the professional hitter he appeared to be in 2017. Whether it was the shoulder or simple regression - Ozuna's...fine. He's a quality major league player. But he's not a difference maker and he's not someone that a deep system shouldn't be able to replace pretty easily.

He is hitting .278 with 2 HR and 4 RBI with a 1.072 OPS so far to start the season. So yea, having 2 Tyler Oneal's and 1 less Fowler would be beneficial. Put Carlson at CF and production doesn't look too shabby.

Or 1 less Carpenter and Ozuna at DH.

Hell I dont know, anything but the shit we have seen the last 2 games.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Marcellus

He is hitting .278 with 2 HR and 4 RBI with a 1.072 OPS so far to start the season. So yea, having 2 Tyler Oneal's and 1 less Fowler would be beneficial. Put Carlson at CF and production doesn't look too shabby.

Or 1 less Carpenter and Ozuna at DH.

Hell I dont know, anything but the shit we have seen the last 2 games.

But you didn't 'replace Ozuna with nothing' as you have claimed. You replaced him with O'Neill. Who has also had a very good start to the season.

Your issue is that we didn't move on from Fowler but you're beating a dead horse there. This team ain't moving on from Fowler. They simply refuse to acknowledge the sunk costs.

But the Ozuna decision was made independently of the Fowler one. Would I rather have Ozuna than Fowler? Of course. I'd rather have YOU than Fowler. But Fowler didn't ultimately enter into the calculus on the Ozuna decision. He's there. He's getting his starts. Full stop.

So it came down to Ozuna vs. O'Neill and really you're probably talking about a wash there.

It's been amazing to me how we've heard for 15 years how the Cardinals always have "Too many outfielders...."

And yet their outfields always suck. Going all the way back to the Rasmus vs. Jay days, we just "don't have enough innings for all these outfielders in MLB and AAA...." and yet we always get below average production from the outfield writ large.

It constantly goes back to Moe's fascination with his Faberge eggs and his inability to separate real from imagined. The guy just cannot seem to identify who's a JAG and who isn't.