I’m happy where the Cardinals are

[Quincy Varnish]

Pirates rotation is as good as anybody’s in the Central. How we fare in the Central will have a lot to do with how long it takes us to gel as a team. Can Walker step up? Will Burleson follow up with more improvement. Will Scott II become the impact player we need in the outfield. A lot of this has greater ramifications a year or two down the road.

The Pirates rotation? They have Skenes and then nobody.

Jared Jones and Mitch Keller are solid starters. Plus Bubba Chandler not far away.

Jones is hurt (elbow, getting 2nd opinion).

Keller is fine, Heaney is whatever. Bailey Falter and Carmen Mldozinksi (I think that's who they're trying to stretch out) are 'meh'.

Yeah, Chandler looks good... but they held Skenes back, I'm expecting the same sort of handling of Chandler.

In fairness he was only comparing them to the NL Central. If Jones were healthy, not sure I’d disagree. Cubs have more depth, but I’m taking Skenes/Jones over Steele/Imanaga every time.

[45s]

Listening to Brad today I've got us winning 110 games.

In how many years?

Too easy?

[An Old Friend]

Pirates rotation is as good as anybody’s in the Central. How we fare in the Central will have a lot to do with how long it takes us to gel as a team. Can Walker step up? Will Burleson follow up with more improvement. Will Scott II become the impact player we need in the outfield. A lot of this has greater ramifications a year or two down the road.

The Pirates rotation? They have Skenes and then nobody.

Jared Jones and Mitch Keller are solid starters. Plus Bubba Chandler not far away.

Jones is hurt (elbow, getting 2nd opinion).

Keller is fine, Heaney is whatever. Bailey Falter and Carmen Mldozinksi (I think that's who they're trying to stretch out) are 'meh'.

Yeah, Chandler looks good... but they held Skenes back, I'm expecting the same sort of handling of Chandler.

In fairness he was only comparing them to the NL Central. If Jones were healthy, not sure I’d disagree. Cubs have more depth, but I’m taking Skenes/Jones over Steele/Imanaga every time.

Yeah... and thinking about it, every team in the Central basically has massive question marks. I could see Skenes winning 18+ and the Pirates only winning 70. I feel like the Reds rotation has the possibility to sneak up on people.

If pressed, I'd probably rank them...
1. Reds
2. Cardinals (*if Sonny Gray is healthy*)
3. Cubs
4. Pirates (*only because of Skenes*)
5. Brewers

And this is more how I expect that they'll perform... I think. I'm probably dumb.

[Quincy Varnish]

Pirates rotation is as good as anybody’s in the Central. How we fare in the Central will have a lot to do with how long it takes us to gel as a team. Can Walker step up? Will Burleson follow up with more improvement. Will Scott II become the impact player we need in the outfield. A lot of this has greater ramifications a year or two down the road.

The Pirates rotation? They have Skenes and then nobody.

Jared Jones and Mitch Keller are solid starters. Plus Bubba Chandler not far away.

Jones is hurt (elbow, getting 2nd opinion).

Keller is fine, Heaney is whatever. Bailey Falter and Carmen Mldozinksi (I think that's who they're trying to stretch out) are 'meh'.

Yeah, Chandler looks good... but they held Skenes back, I'm expecting the same sort of handling of Chandler.

In fairness he was only comparing them to the NL Central. If Jones were healthy, not sure I’d disagree. Cubs have more depth, but I’m taking Skenes/Jones over Steele/Imanaga every time.

Yeah... and thinking about it, every team in the Central basically has massive question marks. I could see Skenes winning 18+ and the Pirates only winning 70. I feel like the Reds rotation has the possibility to sneak up on people.

If pressed, I'd probably rank them...
1. Reds
2. Cardinals (*if Sonny Gray is healthy*)
3. Cubs
4. Pirates (*only because of Skenes*)
5. Brewers

And this is more how I expect that they'll perform... I think. I'm probably dumb.

The Reds need Lodolo healthy to be ranked that high. When has that happened?

[An Old Friend]

Pirates rotation is as good as anybody’s in the Central. How we fare in the Central will have a lot to do with how long it takes us to gel as a team. Can Walker step up? Will Burleson follow up with more improvement. Will Scott II become the impact player we need in the outfield. A lot of this has greater ramifications a year or two down the road.

The Pirates rotation? They have Skenes and then nobody.

Jared Jones and Mitch Keller are solid starters. Plus Bubba Chandler not far away.

Jones is hurt (elbow, getting 2nd opinion).

Keller is fine, Heaney is whatever. Bailey Falter and Carmen Mldozinksi (I think that's who they're trying to stretch out) are 'meh'.

Yeah, Chandler looks good... but they held Skenes back, I'm expecting the same sort of handling of Chandler.

In fairness he was only comparing them to the NL Central. If Jones were healthy, not sure I’d disagree. Cubs have more depth, but I’m taking Skenes/Jones over Steele/Imanaga every time.

Yeah... and thinking about it, every team in the Central basically has massive question marks. I could see Skenes winning 18+ and the Pirates only winning 70. I feel like the Reds rotation has the possibility to sneak up on people.

If pressed, I'd probably rank them...
1. Reds
2. Cardinals (*if Sonny Gray is healthy*)
3. Cubs
4. Pirates (*only because of Skenes*)
5. Brewers

And this is more how I expect that they'll perform... I think. I'm probably dumb.

The Reds need Lodolo healthy to be ranked that high. When has that happened?

I plead the 5th.

[hugeCardfan]

well that is something to look forward to

and hope some new players rise up and we have some new stars besides Winn in the making. that would be great

but I feel like we will be challenging the Pirates for last place in the division this year. I think both the Cubs and Reds are going to surpass us. the Reds now have Francona matched with all that young talent. I will be shocked if the Cards finish above them. Still think Brewers are the fav though

I think the Brewer organization is currently the best in the Central. They do a bang up job developing pitching. Will be interesting to see how they react to the loss of Adames and their closer.

Pirates rotation is as good as anybody’s in the Central. How we fare in the Central will have a lot to do with how long it takes us to gel as a team. Can Walker step up? Will Burleson follow up with more improvement. Will Scott II become the impact player we need in the outfield. A lot of this has greater ramifications a year or two down the road.

The Pirates rotation? They have Skenes and then nobody.

Mitch Keller is a solid MOR who has averaged 188 innings the last 2 years. Into August last year his ERA was 3.2. Oviedo is solid though I don’t know when he gets off IL. Jared Jones decent 4/5. It’s true they aren’t deep, but Skenes adds a lot of credibility.

[An Old Friend]

well that is something to look forward to

and hope some new players rise up and we have some new stars besides Winn in the making. that would be great

but I feel like we will be challenging the Pirates for last place in the division this year. I think both the Cubs and Reds are going to surpass us. the Reds now have Francona matched with all that young talent. I will be shocked if the Cards finish above them. Still think Brewers are the fav though

I think the Brewer organization is currently the best in the Central. They do a bang up job developing pitching. Will be interesting to see how they react to the loss of Adames and their closer.

Pirates rotation is as good as anybody’s in the Central. How we fare in the Central will have a lot to do with how long it takes us to gel as a team. Can Walker step up? Will Burleson follow up with more improvement. Will Scott II become the impact player we need in the outfield. A lot of this has greater ramifications a year or two down the road.

The Pirates rotation? They have Skenes and then nobody.

Mitch Keller is a solid MOR who has averaged 188 innings the last 2 years. Into August last year his ERA was 3.2. Oviedo is solid though I don’t know when he gets off IL. Jared Jones decent 4/5. It’s true they aren’t deep, but Skenes adds a lot of credibility.

Mikolas averaged 187 innings the last two years.

Jones is hurt.
Oviedo is on no throw status.

[hugeCardfan]

well that is something to look forward to

and hope some new players rise up and we have some new stars besides Winn in the making. that would be great

but I feel like we will be challenging the Pirates for last place in the division this year. I think both the Cubs and Reds are going to surpass us. the Reds now have Francona matched with all that young talent. I will be shocked if the Cards finish above them. Still think Brewers are the fav though

I think the Brewer organization is currently the best in the Central. They do a bang up job developing pitching. Will be interesting to see how they react to the loss of Adames and their closer.

Pirates rotation is as good as anybody’s in the Central. How we fare in the Central will have a lot to do with how long it takes us to gel as a team. Can Walker step up? Will Burleson follow up with more improvement. Will Scott II become the impact player we need in the outfield. A lot of this has greater ramifications a year or two down the road.

The Pirates rotation? They have Skenes and then nobody.

Mitch Keller is a solid MOR who has averaged 188 innings the last 2 years. Into August last year his ERA was 3.2. Oviedo is solid though I don’t know when he gets off IL. Jared Jones decent 4/5. It’s true they aren’t deep, but Skenes adds a lot of credibility.

Mikolas averaged 187 innings the last two years.

Jones is hurt.
Oviedo is on no throw status.

Then you have to like where we are by comparison. All healthy arms (knock on wood), mulling a 6 man rotation, with Mathews, Hence, Hjerpe , Liberatore, and Roby in various stages of stand by. We don’t have a Skenes but few teams do. Moreover, I like the pen.

[hugeCardfan]

Did I mention, I'm happy where the Cardinals are?

[hugeCardfan]

These guys may be a whole lot better than the boo birds think.

[hugeCardfan]

We enter the season with question marks but not without hope. I’m comfortable with the rotation and having Mathews, Hence and Roby knocking on the door. I like the talent in the pen and believe Maton was a good add. I fully endorse the decision to keep Helsley to close and play to win. Throughout ST we have tended to walk fewer hitters than our opponents and that speaks well for our pitching as well as our hitters’ patience.

Sure the position players need to play better than last year but I have no reason to think they won’t. The look we are getting of Gorman, Scott II and Herrera is encouraging. I don’t worry about Winn or Noot. Willson will be solid at first. Looking for more from Burleson and Donovan and a spark from Walker. I think Koperniak is ready to step up and make the outfield solid at 4 levels.

Can’t wait to see how fast Davis and JJ move thru the minors. Can’t wait to see who we pick at #5 in the draft. Get a little momentum going in ‘25 and maybe Chaim comes thru in next winter’s FA market.

Listen to the naysayers if you want, this could be an encouraging year.

New too. Perfect situation for failure to force owner to spend. 60-70 wins and -2m fans will show he needs a $180-$200m payroll team with superstars to get back to the winning tradition. Nothing else will work. Has to be a disaster.

Plenty of room for Eeyores. Much rides on health and player development. I’m not against counting on a little luck, even some Cardinal pixie dust, but I don’t believe 90-100 losses for a second. Won’t happen.

Have you seen the youth? Going young with the 23rd ranked farm last year is a recipe for disaster. Teams go young when they have the Orioles type talent in the farm. You must see something no one else does.

Still denigrating the young players? Seems there is more than just a little hope for Herrera, Walker, Scott II, Gorman, Pages, Baker, etc...on top of Winn, Donovan and Nootbar.

[hugeCardfan]

We enter the season with question marks but not without hope. I’m comfortable with the rotation and having Mathews, Hence and Roby knocking on the door. I like the talent in the pen and believe Maton was a good add. I fully endorse the decision to keep Helsley to close and play to win. Throughout ST we have tended to walk fewer hitters than our opponents and that speaks well for our pitching as well as our hitters’ patience.

Sure the position players need to play better than last year but I have no reason to think they won’t. The look we are getting of Gorman, Scott II and Herrera is encouraging. I don’t worry about Winn or Noot. Willson will be solid at first. Looking for more from Burleson and Donovan and a spark from Walker. I think Koperniak is ready to step up and make the outfield solid at 4 levels.

Can’t wait to see how fast Davis and JJ move thru the minors. Can’t wait to see who we pick at #5 in the draft. Get a little momentum going in ‘25 and maybe Chaim comes thru in next winter’s FA market.

Listen to the naysayers if you want, this could be an encouraging year.

OK.
I hope you are right.
I, too, feel the pitching is pretty solid.
Unlike you, I think the offense will be an unmitigated disaster.
And I will be very happy (and admit it) if I am wrong.
Very happy.

How about now? Yeah, it's early, but, do you still believe it will be an unmitigated disaster offensively?

[hugeCardfan]

So what is the name of the poster who has 4 idiots included in the name? Add a couple of others (including yourself) to those that think this team is worthy of any significant win total. This team will not win 75 games. I don't know if people are high or excessively drunk therefore I'm guessing there are a few on here who are carrying MO's aliases. Have you watched this team in the last 2 years and this year's ST? This team will be fortunate to finish 4th or 5th place in the central.

Still believe this? I'll take the over on 75 wins. Want to make a personal bet?

[hugeCardfan]

I'm disappointed because, whether by choice or by circumstance, they still seem to be on this "middle road" between really competing (which the roster is really in no shape to this year anyway) and being committed to doing a thorough rebuild. Only this year they've edged somewhat closer to the rebuilding side of the "middle road." They are in 70 to 85 win purgatory with no clear path to get out of it other than waiting for Arenado's, Gray's, Contreras', etc. contracts to expire.

3 weeks later and 6 games down the road. Do you still feel that the roster is in no shape to compete? What is the urgency to jettison Arenado's, Gray's and Contreras' contract?

As we wait for McGreevy, Mathews, Roby, Hence, Hjerpe etc to matriculate, what is wrong with Gray, Helsley and Fedde holding down the fort? Why not compete this year?

[1_12_1968]

These guys may be a whole lot better than the boo birds think.

Paying for past performance after 30 is a fools errand. This may not be our year, but our younger core seems like a step in the right direction.

[FloridaFan]

Those of us who are honest with ourselves admit we haven't been great at predicting the cards success through the years. Sometimes we have high expectations, and we are disappointed. Other times we rise from nowhere to become great. Time will tell if this group of young players becomes the core of a good-to-great team. While we find out, I appreciate the optimism from hugeCardfan.