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Same principle as in the book “The Boys in the Boat.”

Hope Donnie is back in there tonight.

Cranny wrote: ↑10 Aug 2025 08:10 am Same principle as in the book “The Boys in the Boat.”

Put Donovan in a boat of better rowers will make him better as well as the team. Put Donovan in the boat as the best rower, no gold.

Cranny wrote: ↑10 Aug 2025 07:57 am Donovan’s the kind of player who makes everyone around him better.

Too bad we couldn’t have acquired a GM who did the same thing for the Front Office. Instead,……….we had Moe.

Mort Gage wrote: ↑09 Aug 2025 21:17 pm I like Donovan, he's a gamer. But like Edman he's the seventh or eighth best player on a contender. A forward thinking team would have traded him at the deadline when he was in high demand.

Can anyone name just one player that Mozeliak sold high on?

Just one?

No I didn’t think so.

Mort Gage wrote: ↑09 Aug 2025 21:17 pm I like Donovan, he's a gamer. But like Edman he's the seventh or eighth best player on a contender. A forward thinking team would have traded him at the deadline when he was in high demand.

Maybe our new GM will do smart things like that. Let's hope so. I can't really remember the last time Mo did a smart thing. And no, Cranny, trading for Goldy and Arenado wasn't smart. Both those deals fell in his lap.

Can't wait until that smug, snobbish arrogant (donkey)(pit) is gone...

Donnie is a "glue" player. A great team has a bonafide all star hitter in the middle of the lineup surrounded by at least a couple of other really good players. The rest of the roster are the "glue" players that hold it together. If your glue players are good and you have a couple of great players in the middle, then you have a really good team (IF you also have pitching). If your glue player is your only all star.......

A guy like Saggese will hopefully develop into a good glue player. He will never be that great piece in the middle. Fine. We need those guys. The problem is we have no pitching, and not one truly great player in the middle of the lineup. That guy could be a corner OFer if we can find him... Well, actually we need at least two of those sorts. WC is the next level down. Those guys are needed too, but we currently have no one who is the thunder in the middle of the lineup. They got lucky that Albert turned into that player for a decade. It is time to find or get another. Well, actually two. Not easy. We shall see. Maybe JJ becomes one, maybe not. IH shows signs of being a great hitter, but then slumps. Again, we shall see. Hopefully we can develop one or two great bats because ownership is not buying one via free agency.

Some players lead by example both on and off the field. And their off season routine sets them up to produce even over and above their natural talents because of their efforts and dedication. Donovan fits that role. Others see it and their efforts to emulate it means he makes others around him better. When they took that type of person out of the boat in the book “Boys in the Boat”, and replaced him with a stronger rower, the performance of whole boat went down.

sikeston bulldog2 wrote: ↑10 Aug 2025 07:59 am

Cranny wrote: ↑10 Aug 2025 07:57 am Donovan’s the kind of player who makes everyone around him better.

Or

A good team around him makes him better.

Both of these statements are accurate. I find it amusing that many on this forum are of the opinion that Donovan would have brought the Cardinals a very solid starting pitcher in a trade, even though they claim he is slow, has a rag arm, not a very good fielder at any position, and has little power. Why would the rest of GM's in MLB want him so badly if all of this was true?

He is a player who has overachieved due to his intense determination, fundamentally sound performance, and consistent, maximum effort. He would fit in nicely with the young men currently playing for the Milwaukee Brewers, who already have a great number of players who share a lot of his attributes.

IMO if the Cardinals trade him because they think they have his replacement on the horizon, they will not get adequate compensation. I do think Bloom would probably obtain a better return this winter than Mo would have at the deadline, but I believe a trade of Brendan Donovan would likely come back to haunt the St. Louis Cardinals.

Cranny wrote: ↑10 Aug 2025 07:57 am Donovan’s the kind of player who makes everyone around him better.

No, he really isn't on offense. He does not pose that big of a threat in the lineup to make everyone around him better. Those kinds of hitters are foundational players. And he isn't one.

I often compare him to Ben Zobrist of yesteryear. And he may not even be that good.

And if Donovan supposedly makes everyone around him better, why are so many players underperforming? Guys like Gorman, Walker, Scott, Arenado and Pages.

icon wrote: ↑10 Aug 2025 09:38 am

Cranny wrote: ↑10 Aug 2025 07:57 am Donovan’s the kind of player who makes everyone around him better.

No, he really isn't on offense. He does not pose that big of a threat in the lineup to make everyone around him better. Those kinds of hitters are foundational players. And he isn't one.

I often compare him to Ben Zobrist of yesteryear. And he may not even be that good.

AND Ben Zobrist was one of the major reasons the KC Royals and cubs won World Championships in 2015 and 2016.

12xu wrote: ↑10 Aug 2025 09:41 am

icon wrote: ↑10 Aug 2025 09:38 am

Cranny wrote: ↑10 Aug 2025 07:57 am Donovan’s the kind of player who makes everyone around him better.

No, he really isn't on offense. He does not pose that big of a threat in the lineup to make everyone around him better. Those kinds of hitters are foundational players. And he isn't one.

I often compare him to Ben Zobrist of yesteryear. And he may not even be that good.

AND Ben Zobrist was one of the major reasons the KC Royals and cubs won World Championships in 2015 and 2016.

Exactly. The glue players. You need them because your entire lineup is not super stars. If your glue players are really good at their roles AND you have a couple of great players in the middle... you have a good team. We have no one in the middle....

bccardsfan wrote: ↑10 Aug 2025 09:46 am

12xu wrote: ↑10 Aug 2025 09:41 am

icon wrote: ↑10 Aug 2025 09:38 am

Cranny wrote: ↑10 Aug 2025 07:57 am Donovan’s the kind of player who makes everyone around him better.

No, he really isn't on offense. He does not pose that big of a threat in the lineup to make everyone around him better. Those kinds of hitters are foundational players. And he isn't one.

I often compare him to Ben Zobrist of yesteryear. And he may not even be that good.

AND Ben Zobrist was one of the major reasons the KC Royals and cubs won World Championships in 2015 and 2016.

Exactly. The glue players. You need them because your entire lineup is not super stars. If your glue players are really good at their roles AND you have a couple of great players in the middle... you have a good team. We have no one in the middle....

What players of the 2015 KC Royals would you consider to be "super stars" at that time?

12xu wrote: ↑10 Aug 2025 09:41 am

icon wrote: ↑10 Aug 2025 09:38 am

Cranny wrote: ↑10 Aug 2025 07:57 am Donovan’s the kind of player who makes everyone around him better.

No, he really isn't on offense. He does not pose that big of a threat in the lineup to make everyone around him better. Those kinds of hitters are foundational players. And he isn't one.

I often compare him to Ben Zobrist of yesteryear. And he may not even be that good.

AND Ben Zobrist was one of the major reasons the KC Royals and cubs won World Championships in 2015 and 2016.

Actually, I just looked up Ben Zobrist. He had some years that Donovan could only dream of. So he's not on that level.

Admittedly, he's a good player, but when he's your best player, that's a problem.

Cranny wrote: ↑10 Aug 2025 09:36 am Some players lead by example both on and off the field. And their off season routine sets them up to produce even over and above their natural talents because of their efforts and dedication. Donovan fits that role. Others see it and their efforts to emulate it means he makes others around him better. When they took that type of person out of the boat in the book “Boys in the Boat”, and replaced him with a stronger rower, the performance of whole boat went down.