100% this. The Cardinals have had a bad habit of not always playing to player's strengths.Wattage wrote: ↑30 Mar 2025 19:30 pm
I actually think matz could do well in his current role of spit starter/long relief. Hes been good out of the bullpen for us and has shown flashes as a starter- i think hes just not durable enough to be a full time starter. As a swingman, i could see him doing fine. I only fear if he does well in bullpen and spot starts when we go with 6 for a couple weeks that it will convince them to promote him to full time starter.Ronnie Dobbs wrote: ↑30 Mar 2025 18:59 pm I know it's just three games, but the offense is playing up to the potential that I think most of us thought that they had last year. I think having Nootbaar and Donovan at the top of the lineup helps. Arenado has looked good. Nice to see Burleson and Gorman doing well. Herrera just continues to hit. Victor Scott is looking like this might be his break out year. Contreras has started slow, but he'll be fine. Winn hasn't looked good, but his defense is enough to keep him in the lineup.
The bullpen looks good as expected. If they and the offense keep it up, then I think that's enough for them competitive all year, provided the starting pitching doesn't tank. Maton could end up a really big piece for this team. Really nice late signing.
Speaking of which, the starting pitching has been good so far, but it's also the three guys we expected to pitch well. Would love to see some combination of Libertore, Mikolas, McGreevy, and Matz performing at a decent level to fill out those last two slots. And I hope the Cardinals are quick to give the hook to Mikolas and Matz if they can't get it done. I'd rather watch a young pitcher struggle than those two.
So far a very fun, encouraging opening series to start the year. Played great in all facets of the game. Love to see it.
* LIberatore has shown the most promise out of the BP, maybe respect his value as a lefty out of the BP.
* Matt Adams was never more than a platoon player. He raked when used against right-handed pitching, but struggled against left-handed pitching. MM liked to use him like more of a full-time player.
* Pallante had a relatively short outing today and they'd used a number of arms out of the BP in the first two games of the series. By Matz finishing the last 4 innings, he put Oli in the advantageous position of having most of the BP available for the next series starting tomorrow. This is HUGE.
* Their handling of Jordan Walker has been roundly criticized around the league.
* Alcantara literaly hid which pitch he was throwing at times.
I hope they have some sense and don't force Matz to be in the rotation if he is doing well in this role. McGreevy should get a shot if esp. if this is a 'see what we have season'. Matz is gone after this season, so utilize him in the way that he does best.