Are strikeouts really a problem?
https://www.stltoday.com/sports/col...e_edaff8bd-894e-5917-b281-60261102350a.html#1
https://www.stltoday.com/sports/col...e_edaff8bd-894e-5917-b281-60261102350a.html#1
3R will like this.
- Thread starter oldroundballer
- Start date
Basically what a few on here have been saying for a few years now. The metrics tell the true story. Can't ignore them, and those who do are really behind the times of the game.
But here's my problem personally, I side with Ducky a bit. All of the "nerds", as he puts it, really are ruining the game for me. It's not necessarily the nerds who are ruining it (because I really dig the metrics and numbers), but the way the metrics force teams to play. More Ks, more BBs, shifts, more HRs...they all play into a longer and more boring (personal opinion, I know) game. I'd say about the only thing you can do is change the rules a bit. Limit shifts somehow. Automate the K zone. Raise the mound. Basically making it harder to hit HRs and giving an edge back to pitchers. I would imagine a domino effect of creating ways to get baserunners would return. Sort of force the strategies and fundamentals that make baseball fun to watch for a lot of us.
I have been watching a lot of playoff games and the thing that stands out after watching the Cardinals all year is these teams have infielders with great range and incredible arms. We have Carp or Martinez on first--ugghh. Gyorko or Carp on third-uggy ugg ugg. And dont get me started on Ozuna's cannon in left.
No playoff team has as pathetic a 3-4-5 as STL. These teams almost all made deals for veterans down the stretch to help them win. Just like the good ole days in STL
No playoff team has as pathetic a 3-4-5 as STL. These teams almost all made deals for veterans down the stretch to help them win. Just like the good ole days in STL
Boy, that's no joke. Jesus H. Angel sure was on the struggle bus last night. Good lord.
I would feel sorry for him......
If he wasn't trying to sue the league for being racist towards him for not getting to work many post season games. I think he just made the leagues case for them
The way to beat the shift, and not strikeout so much, is to hit the ball the other way one in a while, much easier to do than hit it outta the park. When the Cardinals got on a roll they played something more akin to Whitey ball than RH derby.
You're not wrong. In Aug they cut down on Ks, put the ball in play, executed hit and runs, and went 22-6. Then Sept rolled around and they went back to old habits fizzled out.
As much as I don't like Ks, the Birds were actually 11th in the NL in Ks. Most other teams were worse. What might be more telling is in all the speed stats the Cards were at or near the bottom. 13th in 2Bs. Last in 3Bs. In fact they only had 9 triples all year. The next fewest was 24. Holy cow. They were next to last in SBs.
What do all the numbers mean? Heck I don't know. The offense might have been good enough if the defense didn't lead the league in errors or the bullpen didn't blow so many games. But the Brewers and Dodgers were 3rd and 4th in errors and both had more blown saves and they're still playing so who knows. Other than those speed stats the Cards aren't that much different than the playoff teams. That would seem to say they don't necessarily need an overhaul they just need to play a little better in all phases and they're probably back in the playoffs.
I'm like Eagles. I don't really care for the current style of play. But I don't see it changing much in the immediate future.
It means STL is one of the least athletic teams in baseball. Plain and simple.
They just need to play better? No. They need better athletes, better hitters, better fielders.
5th in runs scored in the NL.
10th in ER allowed in the NL.
12th in bullpen ER allowed in the NL.
3rd in starters runs allowed in the NL.
2nd in starters ER allowed in the NL.
They scored enough runs. The bullpen killed this team.
They have the resources to go out and get A Simmons to play SS and then sign Harper. This fixes the defense and offense. Use what you have left to fix bullpen.
Everyday lineup would be
Carp 1b
Wong 2b
Ozuna LF
Harper RF
DeJong3b
Molina c
Simmons SS
Bader CF
Starters
Martinez
Mikolas
Wacha
Flaherty
Gomber
Bullpen
Hicks
Reyes
Hudson
Grant
Brebbia
Leone
great lefty through trade
Shreve
Hudson and Reyes would be ready for when Wacha and Martinez go down with injury
Traded players
Kelly. Fowler, Poncedeleon, Weaver, Gyroko, J. Martinez, Wisdom, O'Neill
Bench
Munoz, A, Garcia and F, Pena whoever is left.
Everyday lineup would be
Carp 1b
Wong 2b
Ozuna LF
Harper RF
DeJong3b
Molina c
Simmons SS
Bader CF
Starters
Martinez
Mikolas
Wacha
Flaherty
Gomber
Bullpen
Hicks
Reyes
Hudson
Grant
Brebbia
Leone
great lefty through trade
Shreve
Hudson and Reyes would be ready for when Wacha and Martinez go down with injury
Traded players
Kelly. Fowler, Poncedeleon, Weaver, Gyroko, J. Martinez, Wisdom, O'Neill
Bench
Munoz, A, Garcia and F, Pena whoever is left.
Would truthfully make Ozuna more available than O'Neill or JMart. I'm not sure selling the farm is worth Simmons either.
I am by no means a Bryce Harper fan. But ... if across his chest ... I could possibly be persuaded to like him a little bit.
JMart is a DH and the national league has no DH. The Cards can deal from strength when it comes to trades. How many years can Kelly be touted and then sit when they bring him up to the big club and keep his value? Kelly, J. Mart and a top notch pitcher should be a starting point.
And errors. What they did well in August they did NOT do well in September, thus the ERA is pretty good.
August is a small sample size, just as September is. Starter ERA and runs allowed was very good. Bullpen, along with the worst in the NL. Defense wasn't the problem. It wasn't good, but not the problem. I know they're awful in the errors dept, but when you look at overall metrics they're typically around the top 1/3 of the NL. The one glaring weakness of this team was the bullpen. I honestly feel like if Mo would've called up and dedicated to the youth (Gomber/Hudson/Poncedeleon, et al) earlier, and Norris could've remained healthy all would have been good.
For context, the Birds bullpen FIP and xFIP (essentially ERA/pitching performance factoring out defense) were both in the bottom 1/3 of the league.
Serious question. Were the massive struggles of almost every one of our young pitchers in September due to innings or due to them being seen multiple times by teams in the league?
Weaver was pretty studly in 2017 when he pitched the second half of the season in STL. After everyone saw him, not at all in 2018.
Weaver was pretty studly in 2017 when he pitched the second half of the season in STL. After everyone saw him, not at all in 2018.
I
I have no idea what the stuff means, I do know what errors are and I do know they were a killer for this team. They add baserunners, they add to pitch counts and they cause pitchers to throw more stressful pitches.
Strange those errors didn't have the same effect on the starting pitchers, huh? I don't disagree with what you're saying about adding to pitch counts and stress...but they weren't the root cause. The root cause was the bullpen was horrid. And that stuff that you don't understand is the performance of the pitcher while factoring out defense (errors and a couple other defensive metrics and some park adjusted stuff). Long story, short...starters were in the top of the NL, bullpen was or at the bottom. So the errors had no more effect on the starters than the bullpen. And the bullpen was awful. A good bullpen, or even league average, and this team is probably still playing...Keep in mind, I'm not saying the defense couldn't be better. But getting a Simmons to play SS doesn't fix the problem. And you'd have to give up a ton to get him. Signing Harper makes more sense to me, but that's a pipe dream I'd guess. But if you can get him, then you can deal some pieces (JMart/Wisdom/O'Neill/Dejong). I'm not sold on Dejong at all, so if moving him and some other pieces to get a Simmons would work, go for it. But if you don't address the pen issues, the same thing will happen next year.
Weaver was location. It was maddening to watch him pitch. He couldn't locate a thing. When he locates, his stuff is good enough to get anyone in the league out...Hudson was location too. They both get two strikes and then try to nibble. Nuts. Flaherty fell into this some as well. But he generally held it together and was good all the way through. I think Gomber just wore down, which I suppose could've been Weaver and Hudson issues too. I think all will be good pitchers. Maybe none great, but certainly all will be good. I'd really like to see them all in STL next year in one role or another.
