NLCentral is starting to look winnable

[Monsieur De Treville]

The Cubs got hit with a huge injury to an outstanding starting pitcher who is out for the season. The Cards hitting has been fairly consistent. The defense has been good. And the Cardinals starting pitching is looking formidable. They don't need blown saves like the one in Boston.

Starting to? It's looked winnable all offseason, spring training, and still is now.

Evidently. in the off season, Mo wasn't too sure the current Cardinals were a serious threat to win the division. ex, all his reset talk.

The reset was always about payroll. If you ever took a minute to pay attention, you might understand that.

Their aim has been to compete while resetting their payroll to a lower number.

So you don't think the "reset" speculation had anything to do with giving young guns like Gorman and Saggese more playing time? Get fricken' real.

There is no speculation regarding the reset. And I don't know why you'd make the rest of your statement as I never suggested anything akin to that.

John Mozeliak:

The word 'reset' can be interpreted a lot of different ways. Our business model has changed. There's less revenue on the TV side, we have less revenue on the ticket-sale side right now. We're trying to make adjustments as best we can. The one lever to pull is payroll when you're dealing with that.

How is that in any way "speculative"? And prior to opening day, we had this from John Denton:

Mozeliak is encouraged that the Cardinals can defy the relatively low expectations of the club and push for the playoffs despite him having the quietest offseason of his tenure. St. Louis signed just one player -- middle reliever Phil Maton late in training camp -- while trying to reset the roster and clean up the franchise’s financial commitments.

I realize that all of this requires that you pay closer to attention to what is said, written, spoken, and shared... and listening to anyone proves to be a real challenge for you.

But don't patronize me because you're not paying attention. That isn't my fault.

He's an idiot. He'll just keep moving the goalposts and keep arguing with you. And when presented with facts, data, and direct quotes...he will just ignore and try again.

[morley1]

has winning a (bleep) division become the end all, be all? still WAY too early for judgements, but i remember seemingly a lifetime ago when the club TRIED to be the best team in baseball (that ended when tony left, and moe wanted to show he was the smartest guy in the room when he couldnt win that challenge if he was by himself in said room) and winning the division was an accomplishment on the path to being the best and not the goal. has there been any indication in first 3 weeks that this team is capable of running the table in october and defeating any of the roughly seven other better national league teams in the water downed playoffs?

[Futuregm2]

has winning a (bleep) division become the end all, be all? still WAY too early for judgements, but i remember seemingly a lifetime ago when the club TRIED to be the best team in baseball (that ended when tony left, and moe wanted to show he was the smartest guy in the room when he couldnt win that challenge if he was by himself in said room) and winning the division was an accomplishment on the path to being the best and not the goal. has there been any indication in first 3 weeks that this team is capable of running the table in october and defeating any of the roughly seven other better national league teams in the water downed playoffs?

Well in the last 7 games they beat Paul Skenes, Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, and Framber Valdez. Maybe you missed those?

[hugeCardfan]

has winning a (bleep) division become the end all, be all? still WAY too early for judgements, but i remember seemingly a lifetime ago when the club TRIED to be the best team in baseball (that ended when tony left, and moe wanted to show he was the smartest guy in the room when he couldnt win that challenge if he was by himself in said room) and winning the division was an accomplishment on the path to being the best and not the goal. has there been any indication in first 3 weeks that this team is capable of running the table in october and defeating any of the roughly seven other better national league teams in the water downed playoffs?

Well in the last 7 games they beat Paul Skenes, Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, and Framber Valdez. Maybe you missed those?

He did didn’t he.

[Baseball Savant]

The Cubs are the best team and should win division. They have a 85-90 win team

The rest of division is flawed - Reds, Cards, Brewers and Pirates are 70-80 win teams.

[Shady]

The Cubs got hit with a huge injury to an outstanding starting pitcher who is out for the season. The Cards hitting has been fairly consistent. The defense has been good. And the Cardinals starting pitching is looking formidable. They don't need blown saves like the one in Boston.

Starting to? It's looked winnable all offseason, spring training, and still is now.

Evidently. in the off season, Mo wasn't too sure the current Cardinals were a serious threat to win the division. ex, all his reset talk.

The reset was always about payroll. If you ever took a minute to pay attention, you might understand that.

Their aim has been to compete while resetting their payroll to a lower number.

So you don't think the "reset" speculation had anything to do with giving young guns like Gorman and Saggese more playing time? Get fricken' real.

There is no speculation regarding the reset. And I don't know why you'd make the rest of your statement as I never suggested anything akin to that.

John Mozeliak:

The word 'reset' can be interpreted a lot of different ways. Our business model has changed. There's less revenue on the TV side, we have less revenue on the ticket-sale side right now. We're trying to make adjustments as best we can. The one lever to pull is payroll when you're dealing with that.

How is that in any way "speculative"? And prior to opening day, we had this from John Denton:

Mozeliak is encouraged that the Cardinals can defy the relatively low expectations of the club and push for the playoffs despite him having the quietest offseason of his tenure. St. Louis signed just one player -- middle reliever Phil Maton late in training camp -- while trying to reset the roster and clean up the franchise’s financial commitments.

I realize that all of this requires that you pay closer to attention to what is said, written, spoken, and shared... and listening to anyone proves to be a real challenge for you.

But don't patronize me because you're not paying attention. That isn't my fault.

He's an idiot. He'll just keep moving the goalposts and keep arguing with you. And when presented with facts, data, and direct quotes...he will just ignore and try again.

Frenchman, you talk out of both sides of your mouth. You ramble on about wanting Burleson gone. Then you say you hope he does good. Make up your mind.

[Monsieur De Treville]

The Cubs got hit with a huge injury to an outstanding starting pitcher who is out for the season. The Cards hitting has been fairly consistent. The defense has been good. And the Cardinals starting pitching is looking formidable. They don't need blown saves like the one in Boston.

Starting to? It's looked winnable all offseason, spring training, and still is now.

Evidently. in the off season, Mo wasn't too sure the current Cardinals were a serious threat to win the division. ex, all his reset talk.

The reset was always about payroll. If you ever took a minute to pay attention, you might understand that.

Their aim has been to compete while resetting their payroll to a lower number.

So you don't think the "reset" speculation had anything to do with giving young guns like Gorman and Saggese more playing time? Get fricken' real.

There is no speculation regarding the reset. And I don't know why you'd make the rest of your statement as I never suggested anything akin to that.

John Mozeliak:

The word 'reset' can be interpreted a lot of different ways. Our business model has changed. There's less revenue on the TV side, we have less revenue on the ticket-sale side right now. We're trying to make adjustments as best we can. The one lever to pull is payroll when you're dealing with that.

How is that in any way "speculative"? And prior to opening day, we had this from John Denton:

Mozeliak is encouraged that the Cardinals can defy the relatively low expectations of the club and push for the playoffs despite him having the quietest offseason of his tenure. St. Louis signed just one player -- middle reliever Phil Maton late in training camp -- while trying to reset the roster and clean up the franchise’s financial commitments.

I realize that all of this requires that you pay closer to attention to what is said, written, spoken, and shared... and listening to anyone proves to be a real challenge for you.

But don't patronize me because you're not paying attention. That isn't my fault.

He's an idiot. He'll just keep moving the goalposts and keep arguing with you. And when presented with facts, data, and direct quotes...he will just ignore and try again.

Frenchman, you talk out of both sides of your mouth. You ramble on about wanting Burleson gone. Then you say you hope he does good. How disingenuous.

Huh?

Let me explain and I'll use small words for your benefit.

1. I'm a Cardinal fan. I want the team to win. I want the players to succeed in order to facilitate winning.

2. Burleson is useless. Easily replaceable. Can't run. No power. Replacement level player. I'd like an upgrade in order to help the team win more games.

3. Kinda like Mikolas. I want him to do well, but I'll be happy when he's gone.

Comprendre?

[sikeston bulldog2]

By the time we finish with the Reds, will be enough games to establish an initial baseline.

[hugeCardfan]

The Cubs are the best team and should win division. They have a 85-90 win team

The rest of division is flawed - Reds, Cards, Brewers and Pirates are 70-80 win teams.

That was true before Steele was hurt. Perhaps more exposure for the bullpen drags them down.

Will be interesting to see how flawed the Cards are as the season progresses.

[VegasVinny]

Losing Steele for the year brought the Cubs back to the rest of pack. But if they can beat the Padres today, they will have gone 3-3 against that brutal LAD/SD road corridor.

Aside from a three-game series with Oakland/Vegas/Sacramento/Athletics, they're in the midst of easily the toughest stretch of schedule with a 12-8 record to boot. Milwaukee always seems to find their way toward the top. Cincy is okay. Cards are playing better than expected. Pittsburgh remains out to lunch.

If the Cubs can swing a trade for a decent starting pitcher, I think it'd push them over the edge.

[hugeCardfan]

Losing Steele for the year brought the Cubs back to the rest of pack. But if they can beat the Padres today, they will have gone 3-3 against that brutal LAD/SD road corridor.

Aside from a three-game series with Oakland/Vegas/Sacramento/Athletics, they're in the midst of easily the toughest stretch of schedule with a 12-8 record to boot. Milwaukee always seems to find their way toward the top. Cincy is okay. Cards are playing better than expected. Pittsburgh remains out to lunch.

If the Cubs can swing a trade for a decent starting pitcher, I think it'd push them over the edge.

Push them over the edge or raise them to the top?

They aren't going to replace Steele, but they could return stability to the rotation. Maybe they can talk Lynn out of retirement.

[Ozziesfan41]

Losing Steele for the year brought the Cubs back to the rest of pack. But if they can beat the Padres today, they will have gone 3-3 against that brutal LAD/SD road corridor.

Aside from a three-game series with Oakland/Vegas/Sacramento/Athletics, they're in the midst of easily the toughest stretch of schedule with a 12-8 record to boot. Milwaukee always seems to find their way toward the top. Cincy is okay. Cards are playing better than expected. Pittsburgh remains out to lunch.

If the Cubs can swing a trade for a decent starting pitcher, I think it'd push them over the edge.

It will probably be decided at the deadline and Mo usually takes those off

[hugeCardfan]

Losing Steele for the year brought the Cubs back to the rest of pack. But if they can beat the Padres today, they will have gone 3-3 against that brutal LAD/SD road corridor.

Aside from a three-game series with Oakland/Vegas/Sacramento/Athletics, they're in the midst of easily the toughest stretch of schedule with a 12-8 record to boot. Milwaukee always seems to find their way toward the top. Cincy is okay. Cards are playing better than expected. Pittsburgh remains out to lunch.

If the Cubs can swing a trade for a decent starting pitcher, I think it'd push them over the edge.

It will probably be decided at the deadline and Mo usually takes those off

I'll bet Mo or Chaim will be busy at the deadline if we're still in it. We might need pen augmentation.

[VegasVinny]

Losing Steele for the year brought the Cubs back to the rest of pack. But if they can beat the Padres today, they will have gone 3-3 against that brutal LAD/SD road corridor.

Aside from a three-game series with Oakland/Vegas/Sacramento/Athletics, they're in the midst of easily the toughest stretch of schedule with a 12-8 record to boot. Milwaukee always seems to find their way toward the top. Cincy is okay. Cards are playing better than expected. Pittsburgh remains out to lunch.

If the Cubs can swing a trade for a decent starting pitcher, I think it'd push them over the edge.

Push them over the edge or raise them to the top?

They aren't going to replace Steele, but they could return stability to the rotation. Maybe they can talk Lynn out of retirement.

It's not the craziest idea. Not Lynn per se, but if I were a Cubs fan, I'd be wanting my FO to reach out to Baltimore about Kyle Gibson. The Cubs could certainly take on his contract as they really just need a quality start guy/innings eater - even if that pitcher is added in June. You're right in that they're not going to replace Steele's expected production, but if they can add an arm that'll preserve their bullpen, their offense appears capable of making up the difference.

[Futuregm2]

Losing Steele for the year brought the Cubs back to the rest of pack. But if they can beat the Padres today, they will have gone 3-3 against that brutal LAD/SD road corridor.

Aside from a three-game series with Oakland/Vegas/Sacramento/Athletics, they're in the midst of easily the toughest stretch of schedule with a 12-8 record to boot. Milwaukee always seems to find their way toward the top. Cincy is okay. Cards are playing better than expected. Pittsburgh remains out to lunch.

If the Cubs can swing a trade for a decent starting pitcher, I think it'd push them over the edge.

Push them over the edge or raise them to the top?

They aren't going to replace Steele, but they could return stability to the rotation. Maybe they can talk Lynn out of retirement.

It's not the craziest idea. Not Lynn per se, but if I were a Cubs fan, I'd be wanting my FO to reach out to Baltimore about Kyle Gibson. The Cubs could certainly take on his contract as they really just need a quality start guy/innings eater - even if that pitcher is added in June. You're right in that they're not going to replace Steele's expected production, but if they can add an arm that'll preserve their bullpen, their offense appears capable of making up the difference.

As a Cardinals fan I will gleefully hope that the Cubs trade for Gibson. His career ERA in the 2nd half is 5.03 with a 1.45 WHIP.

[VegasVinny]

Losing Steele for the year brought the Cubs back to the rest of pack. But if they can beat the Padres today, they will have gone 3-3 against that brutal LAD/SD road corridor.

Aside from a three-game series with Oakland/Vegas/Sacramento/Athletics, they're in the midst of easily the toughest stretch of schedule with a 12-8 record to boot. Milwaukee always seems to find their way toward the top. Cincy is okay. Cards are playing better than expected. Pittsburgh remains out to lunch.

If the Cubs can swing a trade for a decent starting pitcher, I think it'd push them over the edge.

It will probably be decided at the deadline and Mo usually takes those off

My expectation is that the Cardinals will acquire nothing of real value to this year's parent club. A reliever with a 0.2 WAR is my ceiling of hope.

If the deadline goes by and Helsley and Fedde are on the team, and they aren't extended in the offseason, those series of events will represent willful negligence on the part of the front office.