No Power. Do Cards play small ball.

[JuanAgosto]

No, the Cardinals will deploy more lame and boring Oli Ball. That doofus thinks it works.

What's "Oli ball" and what style does the talent lend itself to play?

Oli ball is a name a fellow poster coined for the nonsense we have witnessed the last 3 years. If you've watched, you know the philosophy. There isn't one.

Again, what is the despised style and does the talent lend itself to a style or the type of play you'd believe they should play.

I knew you'd half (donkey) your answer

Good for you

And I knew you would struggle to understand. I explained what oli ball is. Obviously, any strategy would be an improvement. Maybe running, hit and run, etc. Something other than station to station. That satisfy you, precious?

No you didn't. You said nonsense. Thats just tripe. Explain what he didn't or did do that caused you such distress


A chef is only as good as their ingredients, that's why I asked about the talent available.

You do realize when he had a talented roster, they won the division with 93 wins?

Of course you didn't

Of course I remember Pujols, Goldschmidt, and Arenado leading the team to 93 wins. And I remember Lil oli crapping his pants in the first playoff game.

As for the current team, oli ball hasn't worked. I explained that concept in my last reply. If you still dont get it, go back and read it slower.

Oli caused Goldy and Nado to not perform? Where did he (bleep) his pants?

Define Oli ball.

I know you can't because you didnt

Do Cards have the talent to hit and run? Hell, only Argo can steal bases, and he can't even get on base.

Again, station to station? Do they have the hitters? Talent?

Of course they don't, but you bldje that on Olo. Weird...

If I put you in a kitchen with a pile of corn embedded feces, you're going to give me a highly regarded meal?

Maybe put the bottle down before you get on here. Your post made little sense and even had non words. Absolute gibberish.

I did explain oli ball. Not my problem if you are too slow to understand it. You've only had the last 3 seasons to watch it. Seriously, catch up.

Maybe the quality of hitting is due to poor coaching? Probably a reason why Bloom is restructuring the system? Gee, guess you are slow on understanding that too.

Oli pooped his britches by leaving an ineffective reliever in to (bleep) game one away. Maybe you didn't watch? Was there a good Matlock rerun on that day?

As for your last ridiculous statement, yes I could. You eat [shirt] sandwiches every time you post.

[rockondlouie]

If VSII can get to a .320+ OB%, then he and JJW could let you play some small ball (forget M. Winn who's been an awful base stealer since he reached MLB (career 22 SB's vs 11 CS) Noot's not much better (career 28 SB's vs 11 CS).

I. Hererra has been very success (career 13 SB's vs 2 CS) but not sure we want him running much given his injury history.

J. Walker (18 SB's vs 7 CS) isn't a candidate either, and then you have the Clydesdales.

The real problem with this idea BDog lies w/the Manager.

Oli is one of the least creative Managers we've ever seen here so its debatable if he'd even employ a "small ball" strategy.

He should let VSII run wild, he doesn't......same w/JJW when he gets up here.

He also needs to employ more Hit & Runs, squeeze plays, ect...............he doesn't.

Until Oli's gone I don't think we'll see much "small ball" BDog.

What we really need is more POWER HITTERS (Re: HOME RUNS)!

Hopefully we have some along the way (Re: Baez and R.R.) to join Hererra.

JMO

Good write. My point is- this year, this year only, given as a “lost “ year, why not take the rebuild to its roots, and relearn the game for future success.

I know this is primarily a managers game plan. Running.

Question. Is there a difference between a strike out, or a throw them out. Both are outs, but….

Agree 100%..............for this year only.

But Oli won't do it, he's shown it's not in his DNA to be creative when it comes to the offense.

I hear ya. He won’t do it.

That will lead to, with no power, many early get behinds, many not able to come from behind, stunt our young pitchers growth based on fewer innings, losing attitude and of course, many early lost games.

Heres the other thing- then when if we rebuild, by not reestablishing the basics, we have a group of hitters, but no basics.

PITCHING will be the key to 2026, I think it's exponentially better than the 2025 rotation.

And fingers crossed C. Bloom can find us a better Manager after 2026, they'll never win anything until they hire a great Manager.

It’s Not exponentially better. We’ve lost Gray, Helsley, Maton probably JoJo. We have no 103 mph flamethrower.

We’ve also lost Fedde and Mikolas, but the plus guys we’ve lost hurt a lot more than the minus guys help.

It could be marginally more effective or we could revert to the mean and see lots of injuries as we have in recent years that Weren’t 2025 when no SP got hurt.

But not exponential anything. Do we even have anyone you are predicting to be an all star?

The SR is EXPONENTIALLY better when you remove Three of the WORST starters in MLB from your rotation.

Did you actually mentioning Mikolas & Fedde as being a "loss".

You seem to want to mention the players who've left while ignoring the one's added (D. May, Dobbins and Fitts).

You're also overlooking M. Svanson (1.94 ERA), R. O'Brien (2.06) and K. Leahy (3.07 ERA) in the pen'.

[Cardinals1964]

If VSII can get to a .320+ OB%, then he and JJW could let you play some small ball (forget M. Winn who's been an awful base stealer since he reached MLB (career 22 SB's vs 11 CS) Noot's not much better (career 28 SB's vs 11 CS).

I. Hererra has been very success (career 13 SB's vs 2 CS) but not sure we want him running much given his injury history.

J. Walker (18 SB's vs 7 CS) isn't a candidate either, and then you have the Clydesdales.

The real problem with this idea BDog lies w/the Manager.

Oli is one of the least creative Managers we've ever seen here so its debatable if he'd even employ a "small ball" strategy.

He should let VSII run wild, he doesn't......same w/JJW when he gets up here.

He also needs to employ more Hit & Runs, squeeze plays, ect...............he doesn't.

Until Oli's gone I don't think we'll see much "small ball" BDog.

What we really need is more POWER HITTERS (Re: HOME RUNS)!

Hopefully we have some along the way (Re: Baez and R.R.) to join Hererra.

JMO

Yeah, you can't play small ball with a manager who seemingly plays for the 3-run HR on a team with little power. He's not the brightest bulb. And has his team playing passively, not aggressively.

Yea, he should have used the squeeze play with Arenado more.
Get Gorman, Burlesen and Contreras to swipe more bases.
Pozo and Pagés Double steal second and home.
lol. I’m not being serious. To play small ball you have to have small ball players. The scrape out one or two runs when you lose by five is not enough.

[Cardinals1964]

Some of us remember in the 70s when Heidi Cruz and Jerry Morales were the power hitters. It was brutal!
Remember when Silent George Hendrick was the power bat? Astro turf and speed merchants saved the day!

This 2026 roster has little to no power. The roster is prime for the Cards to get a power stick to build around.

I remember. And what was Whitey Ball? A bunch of speedsters beating the ball into a rubber mat that bounce high enough they could beat it out the first. Then steal, then score.
I don’t think they’re gonna put Astroturf back down.

[BrockFloodMaris]

Good morning.

A thread takes note of our lack of power.1982 ish low. Ok. There will be nothing that we can do about that. We have who we have.

On the other hand, strategy must be our best ally. Being this is a rebuild season, new ideas seem paramount.

Do we relearn and employ more small ball concepts, not so much to win games, although the goal, but to rebuild the entire ideology. Build a perfect beast. Bottom up.

Summary- no power. Runs will be of a premium. Why not master the other arts of the game, enroute to acquiring the necessary parts in the next couple years.

Seems like a Target of Opportunity to me.

Great question, Dog! As others have suggested, Oli and his staff do not appear to have an aggressive running game in their bag of tricks.

We’ve seen Matt Arnold in Milwaukee and Eric Neander in Tampa put together faster than average rosters and aggressive running managers.

We have yet to see the qualities Bloom wants to add to this offense. He obviously wants to eschew pitch to contact pitching in favor of high K power pitchers. Will he add power bats or faster high OBP guys. Can Oli adapt to the roster he’s handed?

[renostl]

Good morning.

A thread takes note of our lack of power.1982 ish low. Ok. There will be nothing that we can do about that. We have who we have.

On the other hand, strategy must be our best ally. Being this is a rebuild season, new ideas seem paramount.

Do we relearn and employ more small ball concepts, not so much to win games, although the goal, but to rebuild the entire ideology. Build a perfect beast. Bottom up.

Summary- no power. Runs will be of a premium. Why not master the other arts of the game, enroute to acquiring the necessary parts in the next couple years.

Seems like a Target of Opportunity to me.

Great question, Dog! As others have suggested, Oli and his staff do not appear to have an aggressive running game in their bag of tricks.

We’ve seen Matt Arnold in Milwaukee and Eric Neander in Tampa put together faster than average rosters and aggressive running managers.

We have yet to see the qualities Bloom wants to add to this offense. He obviously wants to eschew pitch to contact pitching in favor of high K power pitchers. Will he add power bats or faster high OBP guys. Can Oli adapt to the roster he’s handed?

His trades and signings in Boston included

Abreu, Story, Devers, Schwarber, Yoshida, Wong, Anthony,

maybe there is a trend or tendency there

[Carp4Cy]

If VSII can get to a .320+ OB%, then he and JJW could let you play some small ball (forget M. Winn who's been an awful base stealer since he reached MLB (career 22 SB's vs 11 CS) Noot's not much better (career 28 SB's vs 11 CS).

I. Hererra has been very success (career 13 SB's vs 2 CS) but not sure we want him running much given his injury history.

J. Walker (18 SB's vs 7 CS) isn't a candidate either, and then you have the Clydesdales.

The real problem with this idea BDog lies w/the Manager.

Oli is one of the least creative Managers we've ever seen here so its debatable if he'd even employ a "small ball" strategy.

He should let VSII run wild, he doesn't......same w/JJW when he gets up here.

He also needs to employ more Hit & Runs, squeeze plays, ect...............he doesn't.

Until Oli's gone I don't think we'll see much "small ball" BDog.

What we really need is more POWER HITTERS (Re: HOME RUNS)!

Hopefully we have some along the way (Re: Baez and R.R.) to join Hererra.

JMO

Good write. My point is- this year, this year only, given as a “lost “ year, why not take the rebuild to its roots, and relearn the game for future success.

I know this is primarily a managers game plan. Running.

Question. Is there a difference between a strike out, or a throw them out. Both are outs, but….

Agree 100%..............for this year only.

But Oli won't do it, he's shown it's not in his DNA to be creative when it comes to the offense.

I hear ya. He won’t do it.

That will lead to, with no power, many early get behinds, many not able to come from behind, stunt our young pitchers growth based on fewer innings, losing attitude and of course, many early lost games.

Heres the other thing- then when if we rebuild, by not reestablishing the basics, we have a group of hitters, but no basics.

PITCHING will be the key to 2026, I think it's exponentially better than the 2025 rotation.

And fingers crossed C. Bloom can find us a better Manager after 2026, they'll never win anything until they hire a great Manager.

It’s Not exponentially better. We’ve lost Gray, Helsley, Maton probably JoJo. We have no 103 mph flamethrower.

We’ve also lost Fedde and Mikolas, but the plus guys we’ve lost hurt a lot more than the minus guys help.

It could be marginally more effective or we could revert to the mean and see lots of injuries as we have in recent years that Weren’t 2025 when no SP got hurt.

But not exponential anything. Do we even have anyone you are predicting to be an all star?

The SR is EXPONENTIALLY better when you remove Three of the WORST starters in MLB from your rotation.

Did you actually mentioning Mikolas & Fedde as being a "loss".

You seem to want to mention the players who've left while ignoring the one's added (D. May, Dobbins and Fitts).

You're also overlooking M. Svanson (1.94 ERA), R. O'Brien (2.06) and K. Leahy (3.07 ERA) in the pen'.

Loss means those not here anymore. The good ones we lost outweigh the bad ones we lost. By a lot. Gray was top 12 in multiple categories. We haven’t replaced that so no we aren’t exponentially better.

Mikolas might have been among the worst SPs but some of the new guys didn’t even qualify. MM posted a 4.84 ERA. Fitts was 5.00.

There’s no universe where May was better than Gray in the past performance.

Fedde was dumped in July so he’s already gone during 2025 yet it wasn’t enough.

So yeah maybe Libby gets incrementally better than last year - I hope so. But we aren’t “exponentially” better on paper until personnel prove they are. We just aren’t.

[renostl]

If VSII can get to a .320+ OB%, then he and JJW could let you play some small ball (forget M. Winn who's been an awful base stealer since he reached MLB (career 22 SB's vs 11 CS) Noot's not much better (career 28 SB's vs 11 CS).

I. Hererra has been very success (career 13 SB's vs 2 CS) but not sure we want him running much given his injury history.

J. Walker (18 SB's vs 7 CS) isn't a candidate either, and then you have the Clydesdales.

The real problem with this idea BDog lies w/the Manager.

Oli is one of the least creative Managers we've ever seen here so its debatable if he'd even employ a "small ball" strategy.

He should let VSII run wild, he doesn't......same w/JJW when he gets up here.

He also needs to employ more Hit & Runs, squeeze plays, ect...............he doesn't.

Until Oli's gone I don't think we'll see much "small ball" BDog.

What we really need is more POWER HITTERS (Re: HOME RUNS)!

Hopefully we have some along the way (Re: Baez and R.R.) to join Hererra.

JMO

Good write. My point is- this year, this year only, given as a “lost “ year, why not take the rebuild to its roots, and relearn the game for future success.

I know this is primarily a managers game plan. Running.

Question. Is there a difference between a strike out, or a throw them out. Both are outs, but….

Agree 100%..............for this year only.

But Oli won't do it, he's shown it's not in his DNA to be creative when it comes to the offense.

I hear ya. He won’t do it.

That will lead to, with no power, many early get behinds, many not able to come from behind, stunt our young pitchers growth based on fewer innings, losing attitude and of course, many early lost games.

Heres the other thing- then when if we rebuild, by not reestablishing the basics, we have a group of hitters, but no basics.

PITCHING will be the key to 2026, I think it's exponentially better than the 2025 rotation.

And fingers crossed C. Bloom can find us a better Manager after 2026, they'll never win anything until they hire a great Manager.

It’s Not exponentially better. We’ve lost Gray, Helsley, Maton probably JoJo. We have no 103 mph flamethrower.

We’ve also lost Fedde and Mikolas, but the plus guys we’ve lost hurt a lot more than the minus guys help.

It could be marginally more effective or we could revert to the mean and see lots of injuries as we have in recent years that Weren’t 2025 when no SP got hurt.

But not exponential anything. Do we even have anyone you are predicting to be an all star?

The SR is EXPONENTIALLY better when you remove Three of the WORST starters in MLB from your rotation.

Did you actually mentioning Mikolas & Fedde as being a "loss".

You seem to want to mention the players who've left while ignoring the one's added (D. May, Dobbins and Fitts).

You're also overlooking M. Svanson (1.94 ERA), R. O'Brien (2.06) and K. Leahy (3.07 ERA) in the pen'.

Loss means those not here anymore. The good ones we lost outweigh the bad ones we lost. By a lot. Gray was top 12 in multiple categories. We haven’t replaced that so no we aren’t exponentially better.

Mikolas might have been among the worst SPs but some of the new guys didn’t even qualify. MM posted a 4.84 ERA. Fitts was 5.00.

There’s no universe where May was better than Gray in the past performance.

Fedde was dumped in July so he’s already gone during 2025 yet it wasn’t enough.

So yeah maybe Libby gets incrementally better than last year - I hope so. But we aren’t “exponentially” better on paper until personnel prove they are. We just aren’t.

We all like a little certainty and there's not a lot of it on the roster.
I can't project May more than 12-15 games. The good in that is he was hired
as a temporary employee. If they pick up another SP that might be
for more commitment.

With Gray we see what he has done and speaking for myself, I project a similar
return. There's a flaw in that. His era+ was 96, his worse since his NYY time, WHIP above
career averages, H9, HR9 too. Projecting one player to not have success while the other to have
it has plenty of bias. Will either Fitts or Dobbins match or exceed Gray in 2026? I don't know but it'd
be far from a surprise as would bettering either MM or EF.

[rockondlouie]

If VSII can get to a .320+ OB%, then he and JJW could let you play some small ball (forget M. Winn who's been an awful base stealer since he reached MLB (career 22 SB's vs 11 CS) Noot's not much better (career 28 SB's vs 11 CS).

I. Hererra has been very success (career 13 SB's vs 2 CS) but not sure we want him running much given his injury history.

J. Walker (18 SB's vs 7 CS) isn't a candidate either, and then you have the Clydesdales.

The real problem with this idea BDog lies w/the Manager.

Oli is one of the least creative Managers we've ever seen here so its debatable if he'd even employ a "small ball" strategy.

He should let VSII run wild, he doesn't......same w/JJW when he gets up here.

He also needs to employ more Hit & Runs, squeeze plays, ect...............he doesn't.

Until Oli's gone I don't think we'll see much "small ball" BDog.

What we really need is more POWER HITTERS (Re: HOME RUNS)!

Hopefully we have some along the way (Re: Baez and R.R.) to join Hererra.

JMO

Good write. My point is- this year, this year only, given as a “lost “ year, why not take the rebuild to its roots, and relearn the game for future success.

I know this is primarily a managers game plan. Running.

Question. Is there a difference between a strike out, or a throw them out. Both are outs, but….

Agree 100%..............for this year only.

But Oli won't do it, he's shown it's not in his DNA to be creative when it comes to the offense.

I hear ya. He won’t do it.

That will lead to, with no power, many early get behinds, many not able to come from behind, stunt our young pitchers growth based on fewer innings, losing attitude and of course, many early lost games.

Heres the other thing- then when if we rebuild, by not reestablishing the basics, we have a group of hitters, but no basics.

PITCHING will be the key to 2026, I think it's exponentially better than the 2025 rotation.

And fingers crossed C. Bloom can find us a better Manager after 2026, they'll never win anything until they hire a great Manager.

It’s Not exponentially better. We’ve lost Gray, Helsley, Maton probably JoJo. We have no 103 mph flamethrower.

We’ve also lost Fedde and Mikolas, but the plus guys we’ve lost hurt a lot more than the minus guys help.

It could be marginally more effective or we could revert to the mean and see lots of injuries as we have in recent years that Weren’t 2025 when no SP got hurt.

But not exponential anything. Do we even have anyone you are predicting to be an all star?

The SR is EXPONENTIALLY better when you remove Three of the WORST starters in MLB from your rotation.

Did you actually mentioning Mikolas & Fedde as being a "loss".

You seem to want to mention the players who've left while ignoring the one's added (D. May, Dobbins and Fitts).

You're also overlooking M. Svanson (1.94 ERA), R. O'Brien (2.06) and K. Leahy (3.07 ERA) in the pen'.

Loss means those not here anymore. The good ones we lost outweigh the bad ones we lost. By a lot. Gray was top 12 in multiple categories. We haven’t replaced that so no we aren’t exponentially better.

Mikolas might have been among the worst SPs but some of the new guys didn’t even qualify. MM posted a 4.84 ERA. Fitts was 5.00.

There’s no universe where May was better than Gray in the past performance.

Fedde was dumped in July so he’s already gone during 2025 yet it wasn’t enough.

So yeah maybe Libby gets incrementally better than last year - I hope so. But we aren’t “exponentially” better on paper until personnel prove they are. We just aren’t.

Gray's another year older and had a 2025 4.28 ERA (what he's done pre 2025 is irrelevant given his age at 36 yrs old), could D. May match that? Possibly

WillyC will be missed as will Donny if/when he's dealt.

But could a full season of I. Hererra + JJW = their 2025 output? Likely would surpass it.

2026 SR is EXPONENTIALLY better than the 2025 SR that sported a 4.67 ERA (6th worst in MLB).

BTW

In his 10 GS Fitts had a 4.83 ERA, not a 5.00 ERA (he had 1 disastrous relief appearance that jacked his ERA)

[Goldfan]

If VSII can get to a .320+ OB%, then he and JJW could let you play some small ball (forget M. Winn who's been an awful base stealer since he reached MLB (career 22 SB's vs 11 CS) Noot's not much better (career 28 SB's vs 11 CS).

I. Hererra has been very success (career 13 SB's vs 2 CS) but not sure we want him running much given his injury history.

J. Walker (18 SB's vs 7 CS) isn't a candidate either, and then you have the Clydesdales.

The real problem with this idea BDog lies w/the Manager.

Oli is one of the least creative Managers we've ever seen here so its debatable if he'd even employ a "small ball" strategy.

He should let VSII run wild, he doesn't......same w/JJW when he gets up here.

He also needs to employ more Hit & Runs, squeeze plays, ect...............he doesn't.

Until Oli's gone I don't think we'll see much "small ball" BDog.

What we really need is more POWER HITTERS (Re: HOME RUNS)!

Hopefully we have some along the way (Re: Baez and R.R.) to join Hererra.

JMO

Good write. My point is- this year, this year only, given as a “lost “ year, why not take the rebuild to its roots, and relearn the game for future success.

I know this is primarily a managers game plan. Running.

Question. Is there a difference between a strike out, or a throw them out. Both are outs, but….

Agree 100%..............for this year only.

But Oli won't do it, he's shown it's not in his DNA to be creative when it comes to the offense.

I hear ya. He won’t do it.

That will lead to, with no power, many early get behinds, many not able to come from behind, stunt our young pitchers growth based on fewer innings, losing attitude and of course, many early lost games.

Heres the other thing- then when if we rebuild, by not reestablishing the basics, we have a group of hitters, but no basics.

PITCHING will be the key to 2026, I think it's exponentially better than the 2025 rotation.

And fingers crossed C. Bloom can find us a better Manager after 2026, they'll never win anything until they hire a great Manager.

It’s Not exponentially better. We’ve lost Gray, Helsley, Maton probably JoJo. We have no 103 mph flamethrower.

We’ve also lost Fedde and Mikolas, but the plus guys we’ve lost hurt a lot more than the minus guys help.

It could be marginally more effective or we could revert to the mean and see lots of injuries as we have in recent years that Weren’t 2025 when no SP got hurt.

But not exponential anything. Do we even have anyone you are predicting to be an all star?

The SR is EXPONENTIALLY better when you remove Three of the WORST starters in MLB from your rotation.

Did you actually mentioning Mikolas & Fedde as being a "loss".

You seem to want to mention the players who've left while ignoring the one's added (D. May, Dobbins and Fitts).

You're also overlooking M. Svanson (1.94 ERA), R. O'Brien (2.06) and K. Leahy (3.07 ERA) in the pen'.

Loss means those not here anymore. The good ones we lost outweigh the bad ones we lost. By a lot. Gray was top 12 in multiple categories. We haven’t replaced that so no we aren’t exponentially better.

Mikolas might have been among the worst SPs but some of the new guys didn’t even qualify. MM posted a 4.84 ERA. Fitts was 5.00.

There’s no universe where May was better than Gray in the past performance.

Fedde was dumped in July so he’s already gone during 2025 yet it wasn’t enough.

So yeah maybe Libby gets incrementally better than last year - I hope so. But we aren’t “exponentially” better on paper until personnel prove they are. We just aren’t.

Gray's another year older and had a 2025 4.28 ERA (what he's done pre 2025 is irrelevant given his age at 36 yrs old), could D. May match that? Possibly

WillyC will be missed as will Donny if/when he's dealt.

But could a full season of I. Hererra + JJW = their 2025 output? Likely would surpass it.

2026 SR is EXPONENTIALLY better than the 2025 SR that sported a 4.67 ERA (6th worst in MLB).

BTW

In his 10 GS Fitts had a 4.83 ERA, not a 5.00 ERA (he had 1 disastrous relief appearance that jacked his ERA)

Pallante
6-15, 5.31ERA, 1.445 WHIP
Libby
8-12, 4.21ERA, 1.305WHIP
McGreevy
8-4, 4.42ERA, 1.254WHIP
May
7-11, 4.96ERA, 1.421WHIP
Dobbins
4-1, 4.13ERA, 1.279WHIP
Fitts
2-4, 5.00ERA, 1.311WHIP
Rock outside of a hopefully nod to McGreevy and Dobbins…..what exactly are you seeing in this rotation that has you so excited. I’m with you, Miles and Fedde sucked but losing records with 5ERA’s and high WHIPs replaced them. In this age of PITCHING DOMINATION( speed, spin), hitters can’t touch the ball, hitters can’t hit over .250. How in the heck can’t the STL Cardinals find SP with lower ERA’s and WHIPS than the mess above???

[rockondlouie]

If VSII can get to a .320+ OB%, then he and JJW could let you play some small ball (forget M. Winn who's been an awful base stealer since he reached MLB (career 22 SB's vs 11 CS) Noot's not much better (career 28 SB's vs 11 CS).

I. Hererra has been very success (career 13 SB's vs 2 CS) but not sure we want him running much given his injury history.

J. Walker (18 SB's vs 7 CS) isn't a candidate either, and then you have the Clydesdales.

The real problem with this idea BDog lies w/the Manager.

Oli is one of the least creative Managers we've ever seen here so its debatable if he'd even employ a "small ball" strategy.

He should let VSII run wild, he doesn't......same w/JJW when he gets up here.

He also needs to employ more Hit & Runs, squeeze plays, ect...............he doesn't.

Until Oli's gone I don't think we'll see much "small ball" BDog.

What we really need is more POWER HITTERS (Re: HOME RUNS)!

Hopefully we have some along the way (Re: Baez and R.R.) to join Hererra.

JMO

Good write. My point is- this year, this year only, given as a “lost “ year, why not take the rebuild to its roots, and relearn the game for future success.

I know this is primarily a managers game plan. Running.

Question. Is there a difference between a strike out, or a throw them out. Both are outs, but….

Agree 100%..............for this year only.

But Oli won't do it, he's shown it's not in his DNA to be creative when it comes to the offense.

I hear ya. He won’t do it.

That will lead to, with no power, many early get behinds, many not able to come from behind, stunt our young pitchers growth based on fewer innings, losing attitude and of course, many early lost games.

Heres the other thing- then when if we rebuild, by not reestablishing the basics, we have a group of hitters, but no basics.

PITCHING will be the key to 2026, I think it's exponentially better than the 2025 rotation.

And fingers crossed C. Bloom can find us a better Manager after 2026, they'll never win anything until they hire a great Manager.

It’s Not exponentially better. We’ve lost Gray, Helsley, Maton probably JoJo. We have no 103 mph flamethrower.

We’ve also lost Fedde and Mikolas, but the plus guys we’ve lost hurt a lot more than the minus guys help.

It could be marginally more effective or we could revert to the mean and see lots of injuries as we have in recent years that Weren’t 2025 when no SP got hurt.

But not exponential anything. Do we even have anyone you are predicting to be an all star?

The SR is EXPONENTIALLY better when you remove Three of the WORST starters in MLB from your rotation.

Did you actually mentioning Mikolas & Fedde as being a "loss".

You seem to want to mention the players who've left while ignoring the one's added (D. May, Dobbins and Fitts).

You're also overlooking M. Svanson (1.94 ERA), R. O'Brien (2.06) and K. Leahy (3.07 ERA) in the pen'.

Loss means those not here anymore. The good ones we lost outweigh the bad ones we lost. By a lot. Gray was top 12 in multiple categories. We haven’t replaced that so no we aren’t exponentially better.

Mikolas might have been among the worst SPs but some of the new guys didn’t even qualify. MM posted a 4.84 ERA. Fitts was 5.00.

There’s no universe where May was better than Gray in the past performance.

Fedde was dumped in July so he’s already gone during 2025 yet it wasn’t enough.

So yeah maybe Libby gets incrementally better than last year - I hope so. But we aren’t “exponentially” better on paper until personnel prove they are. We just aren’t.

Gray's another year older and had a 2025 4.28 ERA (what he's done pre 2025 is irrelevant given his age at 36 yrs old), could D. May match that? Possibly

WillyC will be missed as will Donny if/when he's dealt.

But could a full season of I. Hererra + JJW = their 2025 output? Likely would surpass it.

2026 SR is EXPONENTIALLY better than the 2025 SR that sported a 4.67 ERA (6th worst in MLB).

BTW

In his 10 GS Fitts had a 4.83 ERA, not a 5.00 ERA (he had 1 disastrous relief appearance that jacked his ERA)

Pallante
6-15, 5.31ERA, 1.445 WHIP
Libby
8-12, 4.21ERA, 1.305WHIP
McGreevy
8-4, 4.42ERA, 1.254WHIP
May
7-11, 4.96ERA, 1.421WHIP
Dobbins
4-1, 4.13ERA, 1.279WHIP
Fitts
2-4, 5.00ERA, 1.311WHIP
Rock outside of a hopefully nod to McGreevy and Dobbins…..what exactly are you seeing in this rotation that has you so excited. I’m with you, Miles and Fedde sucked but losing records with 5ERA’s and high WHIPs replaced them. In this age of PITCHING DOMINATION( speed, spin), hitters can’t touch the ball, hitters can’t hit over .250. How in the heck can’t the STL Cardinals find SP with lower ERA’s and WHIPS than the mess above???

Wouldn't you agree GF that May, Dobbins and Fitts (if he's even in the OD rotation) have way more UPSIDE in 2026 than the three they're replacing (Mikolas, Fedde and Pallante)?

Let's be clear I'm NOT EXCITED about the 2026 SR!

That's a mis-characteristic of my position which is the 2026 SR is going to be exponentially better than the horrible 2025 SR that featured three of the bottom starters in MLB.

Wouldn't you agree there's nowhere to go but up?

And I agree w/you, hopefully that's exactly the type of pitchers Bloom has been searching for and perhaps found in Doyle and hopefully at least one of the pitchers he traded for!

[Goldfan]

If VSII can get to a .320+ OB%, then he and JJW could let you play some small ball (forget M. Winn who's been an awful base stealer since he reached MLB (career 22 SB's vs 11 CS) Noot's not much better (career 28 SB's vs 11 CS).

I. Hererra has been very success (career 13 SB's vs 2 CS) but not sure we want him running much given his injury history.

J. Walker (18 SB's vs 7 CS) isn't a candidate either, and then you have the Clydesdales.

The real problem with this idea BDog lies w/the Manager.

Oli is one of the least creative Managers we've ever seen here so its debatable if he'd even employ a "small ball" strategy.

He should let VSII run wild, he doesn't......same w/JJW when he gets up here.

He also needs to employ more Hit & Runs, squeeze plays, ect...............he doesn't.

Until Oli's gone I don't think we'll see much "small ball" BDog.

What we really need is more POWER HITTERS (Re: HOME RUNS)!

Hopefully we have some along the way (Re: Baez and R.R.) to join Hererra.

JMO

Good write. My point is- this year, this year only, given as a “lost “ year, why not take the rebuild to its roots, and relearn the game for future success.

I know this is primarily a managers game plan. Running.

Question. Is there a difference between a strike out, or a throw them out. Both are outs, but….

Agree 100%..............for this year only.

But Oli won't do it, he's shown it's not in his DNA to be creative when it comes to the offense.

I hear ya. He won’t do it.

That will lead to, with no power, many early get behinds, many not able to come from behind, stunt our young pitchers growth based on fewer innings, losing attitude and of course, many early lost games.

Heres the other thing- then when if we rebuild, by not reestablishing the basics, we have a group of hitters, but no basics.

PITCHING will be the key to 2026, I think it's exponentially better than the 2025 rotation.

And fingers crossed C. Bloom can find us a better Manager after 2026, they'll never win anything until they hire a great Manager.

It’s Not exponentially better. We’ve lost Gray, Helsley, Maton probably JoJo. We have no 103 mph flamethrower.

We’ve also lost Fedde and Mikolas, but the plus guys we’ve lost hurt a lot more than the minus guys help.

It could be marginally more effective or we could revert to the mean and see lots of injuries as we have in recent years that Weren’t 2025 when no SP got hurt.

But not exponential anything. Do we even have anyone you are predicting to be an all star?

The SR is EXPONENTIALLY better when you remove Three of the WORST starters in MLB from your rotation.

Did you actually mentioning Mikolas & Fedde as being a "loss".

You seem to want to mention the players who've left while ignoring the one's added (D. May, Dobbins and Fitts).

You're also overlooking M. Svanson (1.94 ERA), R. O'Brien (2.06) and K. Leahy (3.07 ERA) in the pen'.

Loss means those not here anymore. The good ones we lost outweigh the bad ones we lost. By a lot. Gray was top 12 in multiple categories. We haven’t replaced that so no we aren’t exponentially better.

Mikolas might have been among the worst SPs but some of the new guys didn’t even qualify. MM posted a 4.84 ERA. Fitts was 5.00.

There’s no universe where May was better than Gray in the past performance.

Fedde was dumped in July so he’s already gone during 2025 yet it wasn’t enough.

So yeah maybe Libby gets incrementally better than last year - I hope so. But we aren’t “exponentially” better on paper until personnel prove they are. We just aren’t.

Gray's another year older and had a 2025 4.28 ERA (what he's done pre 2025 is irrelevant given his age at 36 yrs old), could D. May match that? Possibly

WillyC will be missed as will Donny if/when he's dealt.

But could a full season of I. Hererra + JJW = their 2025 output? Likely would surpass it.

2026 SR is EXPONENTIALLY better than the 2025 SR that sported a 4.67 ERA (6th worst in MLB).

BTW

In his 10 GS Fitts had a 4.83 ERA, not a 5.00 ERA (he had 1 disastrous relief appearance that jacked his ERA)

Pallante
6-15, 5.31ERA, 1.445 WHIP
Libby
8-12, 4.21ERA, 1.305WHIP
McGreevy
8-4, 4.42ERA, 1.254WHIP
May
7-11, 4.96ERA, 1.421WHIP
Dobbins
4-1, 4.13ERA, 1.279WHIP
Fitts
2-4, 5.00ERA, 1.311WHIP
Rock outside of a hopefully nod to McGreevy and Dobbins…..what exactly are you seeing in this rotation that has you so excited. I’m with you, Miles and Fedde sucked but losing records with 5ERA’s and high WHIPs replaced them. In this age of PITCHING DOMINATION( speed, spin), hitters can’t touch the ball, hitters can’t hit over .250. How in the heck can’t the STL Cardinals find SP with lower ERA’s and WHIPS than the mess above???

Wouldn't you agree GF that May, Dobbins and Fitts (if he's even in the OD rotation) have way more UPSIDE in 2026 than the three they're replacing (Mikolas, Fedde and Pallante)?

Let's be clear I'm NOT EXCITED about the 2026 SR!

That's a mis-characteristic of my position which is the 2026 SR is going to be exponentially better than the horrible 2025 SR that featured three of the bottom starters in MLB.

Wouldn't you agree there's nowhere to go but up?

And I agree w/you, hopefully that's exactly the type of pitchers Bloom has been searching for and perhaps found in Doyle and hopefully at least one of the pitchers he traded for!

Perhaps Dusty can turn these losers into Williams, Suppan, Lohse, Weaver…..that’s the only hope

[Hoosier59]

I don’t have a ton of confidence in our starting rotation as currently arrayed.
Liberatore, has should flashes of turning a corner and being good, and then he regresses again. Hasn’t shown the ability to pitch a lot of innings. I think this season we will see what he really is.
McGreevy is another wild card. I love the kid’s demeanor and grit, but can he get the results? We shall see!
Pallante was good in ‘24, but bad in ‘25, which will he be in ‘26?
I still don’t like the May signing! We needed a starter with upside that could cover a lot of innings, he’s never done that. He has upside, but is always injured! With the budget DeWitt has set, Bloom giving 12.5 mil of that to May is like flushing it down a drain if he’s injured again! If he stays healthy, well, he might pitch beyond that contract, but if he does, Bloom will just trade him at the deadline. If he could have been signed for closer to 5 mil, then yeah, a good signing, but for 12.5 mil, that’s like 30 some mil in the Cardinals tiny budget.
Now, we hear they are interested in Griffen Canning, he’ll cost another 5, 6 mil, and he is injured a lot, and isn’t very good either! If Bloom would have put that 5, 6 mil with the 12.5 given to May, what better pitcher could have been signed for that 18 mil?
I’d prefer quality over quantity!
My sleeper is Quinn Matthews. I think he bounces back from his issues last year, and out does what McGreevy did last year.
Also a good chance that Mautz and/or Henderson get call ups and impress!
Fitts/Dobbins, if healthy, will probably pitch around 5 innings per start, so even if our bullpen doesnt regress any from last year, they’ll be worn out by the All-Star break!

[sikeston bulldog2]

I don’t have a ton of confidence in our starting rotation as currently arrayed.
Liberatore, has should flashes of turning a corner and being good, and then he regresses again. Hasn’t shown the ability to pitch a lot of innings. I think this season we will see what he really is.
McGreevy is another wild card. I love the kid’s demeanor and grit, but can he get the results? We shall see!
Pallante was good in ‘24, but bad in ‘25, which will he be in ‘26?
I still don’t like the May signing! We needed a starter with upside that could cover a lot of innings, he’s never done that. He has upside, but is always injured! With the budget DeWitt has set, Bloom giving 12.5 mil of that to May is like flushing it down a drain if he’s injured again! If he stays healthy, well, he might pitch beyond that contract, but if he does, Bloom will just trade him at the deadline. If he could have been signed for closer to 5 mil, then yeah, a good signing, but for 12.5 mil, that’s like 30 some mil in the Cardinals tiny budget.
Now, we hear they are interested in Griffen Canning, he’ll cost another 5, 6 mil, and he is injured a lot, and isn’t very good either! If Bloom would have put that 5, 6 mil with the 12.5 given to May, what better pitcher could have been signed for that 18 mil?
I’d prefer quality over quantity!
My sleeper is Quinn Matthews. I think he bounces back from his issues last year, and out does what McGreevy did last year.
Also a good chance that Mautz and/or Henderson get call ups and impress!
Fitts/Dobbins, if healthy, will probably pitch around 5 innings per start, so even if our bullpen doesnt regress any from last year, they’ll be worn out by the All-Star break!

I’d think what you say is common around the sport. Contracts, rotation, and wore out pen seem rather common in the sport. Except LA.

My eye is on the growth of the staff. That’s my area of focus.

[rockondlouie]

If VSII can get to a .320+ OB%, then he and JJW could let you play some small ball (forget M. Winn who's been an awful base stealer since he reached MLB (career 22 SB's vs 11 CS) Noot's not much better (career 28 SB's vs 11 CS).

I. Hererra has been very success (career 13 SB's vs 2 CS) but not sure we want him running much given his injury history.

J. Walker (18 SB's vs 7 CS) isn't a candidate either, and then you have the Clydesdales.

The real problem with this idea BDog lies w/the Manager.

Oli is one of the least creative Managers we've ever seen here so its debatable if he'd even employ a "small ball" strategy.

He should let VSII run wild, he doesn't......same w/JJW when he gets up here.

He also needs to employ more Hit & Runs, squeeze plays, ect...............he doesn't.

Until Oli's gone I don't think we'll see much "small ball" BDog.

What we really need is more POWER HITTERS (Re: HOME RUNS)!

Hopefully we have some along the way (Re: Baez and R.R.) to join Hererra.

JMO

Good write. My point is- this year, this year only, given as a “lost “ year, why not take the rebuild to its roots, and relearn the game for future success.

I know this is primarily a managers game plan. Running.

Question. Is there a difference between a strike out, or a throw them out. Both are outs, but….

Agree 100%..............for this year only.

But Oli won't do it, he's shown it's not in his DNA to be creative when it comes to the offense.

I hear ya. He won’t do it.

That will lead to, with no power, many early get behinds, many not able to come from behind, stunt our young pitchers growth based on fewer innings, losing attitude and of course, many early lost games.

Heres the other thing- then when if we rebuild, by not reestablishing the basics, we have a group of hitters, but no basics.

PITCHING will be the key to 2026, I think it's exponentially better than the 2025 rotation.

And fingers crossed C. Bloom can find us a better Manager after 2026, they'll never win anything until they hire a great Manager.

It’s Not exponentially better. We’ve lost Gray, Helsley, Maton probably JoJo. We have no 103 mph flamethrower.

We’ve also lost Fedde and Mikolas, but the plus guys we’ve lost hurt a lot more than the minus guys help.

It could be marginally more effective or we could revert to the mean and see lots of injuries as we have in recent years that Weren’t 2025 when no SP got hurt.

But not exponential anything. Do we even have anyone you are predicting to be an all star?

The SR is EXPONENTIALLY better when you remove Three of the WORST starters in MLB from your rotation.

Did you actually mentioning Mikolas & Fedde as being a "loss".

You seem to want to mention the players who've left while ignoring the one's added (D. May, Dobbins and Fitts).

You're also overlooking M. Svanson (1.94 ERA), R. O'Brien (2.06) and K. Leahy (3.07 ERA) in the pen'.

Loss means those not here anymore. The good ones we lost outweigh the bad ones we lost. By a lot. Gray was top 12 in multiple categories. We haven’t replaced that so no we aren’t exponentially better.

Mikolas might have been among the worst SPs but some of the new guys didn’t even qualify. MM posted a 4.84 ERA. Fitts was 5.00.

There’s no universe where May was better than Gray in the past performance.

Fedde was dumped in July so he’s already gone during 2025 yet it wasn’t enough.

So yeah maybe Libby gets incrementally better than last year - I hope so. But we aren’t “exponentially” better on paper until personnel prove they are. We just aren’t.

Gray's another year older and had a 2025 4.28 ERA (what he's done pre 2025 is irrelevant given his age at 36 yrs old), could D. May match that? Possibly

WillyC will be missed as will Donny if/when he's dealt.

But could a full season of I. Hererra + JJW = their 2025 output? Likely would surpass it.

2026 SR is EXPONENTIALLY better than the 2025 SR that sported a 4.67 ERA (6th worst in MLB).

BTW

In his 10 GS Fitts had a 4.83 ERA, not a 5.00 ERA (he had 1 disastrous relief appearance that jacked his ERA)

Pallante
6-15, 5.31ERA, 1.445 WHIP
Libby
8-12, 4.21ERA, 1.305WHIP
McGreevy
8-4, 4.42ERA, 1.254WHIP
May
7-11, 4.96ERA, 1.421WHIP
Dobbins
4-1, 4.13ERA, 1.279WHIP
Fitts
2-4, 5.00ERA, 1.311WHIP
Rock outside of a hopefully nod to McGreevy and Dobbins…..what exactly are you seeing in this rotation that has you so excited. I’m with you, Miles and Fedde sucked but losing records with 5ERA’s and high WHIPs replaced them. In this age of PITCHING DOMINATION( speed, spin), hitters can’t touch the ball, hitters can’t hit over .250. How in the heck can’t the STL Cardinals find SP with lower ERA’s and WHIPS than the mess above???

Wouldn't you agree GF that May, Dobbins and Fitts (if he's even in the OD rotation) have way more UPSIDE in 2026 than the three they're replacing (Mikolas, Fedde and Pallante)?

Let's be clear I'm NOT EXCITED about the 2026 SR!

That's a mis-characteristic of my position which is the 2026 SR is going to be exponentially better than the horrible 2025 SR that featured three of the bottom starters in MLB.

Wouldn't you agree there's nowhere to go but up?

And I agree w/you, hopefully that's exactly the type of pitchers Bloom has been searching for and perhaps found in Doyle and hopefully at least one of the pitchers he traded for!

Perhaps Dusty can turn these losers into Williams, Suppan, Lohse, Weaver…..that’s the only hope

Dusty

[sikeston bulldog2]

Good write. My point is- this year, this year only, given as a “lost “ year, why not take the rebuild to its roots, and relearn the game for future success.

I know this is primarily a managers game plan. Running.

Question. Is there a difference between a strike out, or a throw them out. Both are outs, but….

Agree 100%..............for this year only.

But Oli won't do it, he's shown it's not in his DNA to be creative when it comes to the offense.

I hear ya. He won’t do it.

That will lead to, with no power, many early get behinds, many not able to come from behind, stunt our young pitchers growth based on fewer innings, losing attitude and of course, many early lost games.

Heres the other thing- then when if we rebuild, by not reestablishing the basics, we have a group of hitters, but no basics.

PITCHING will be the key to 2026, I think it's exponentially better than the 2025 rotation.

And fingers crossed C. Bloom can find us a better Manager after 2026, they'll never win anything until they hire a great Manager.

It’s Not exponentially better. We’ve lost Gray, Helsley, Maton probably JoJo. We have no 103 mph flamethrower.

We’ve also lost Fedde and Mikolas, but the plus guys we’ve lost hurt a lot more than the minus guys help.

It could be marginally more effective or we could revert to the mean and see lots of injuries as we have in recent years that Weren’t 2025 when no SP got hurt.

But not exponential anything. Do we even have anyone you are predicting to be an all star?

The SR is EXPONENTIALLY better when you remove Three of the WORST starters in MLB from your rotation.

Did you actually mentioning Mikolas & Fedde as being a "loss".

You seem to want to mention the players who've left while ignoring the one's added (D. May, Dobbins and Fitts).

You're also overlooking M. Svanson (1.94 ERA), R. O'Brien (2.06) and K. Leahy (3.07 ERA) in the pen'.

Loss means those not here anymore. The good ones we lost outweigh the bad ones we lost. By a lot. Gray was top 12 in multiple categories. We haven’t replaced that so no we aren’t exponentially better.

Mikolas might have been among the worst SPs but some of the new guys didn’t even qualify. MM posted a 4.84 ERA. Fitts was 5.00.

There’s no universe where May was better than Gray in the past performance.

Fedde was dumped in July so he’s already gone during 2025 yet it wasn’t enough.

So yeah maybe Libby gets incrementally better than last year - I hope so. But we aren’t “exponentially” better on paper until personnel prove they are. We just aren’t.

Gray's another year older and had a 2025 4.28 ERA (what he's done pre 2025 is irrelevant given his age at 36 yrs old), could D. May match that? Possibly

WillyC will be missed as will Donny if/when he's dealt.

But could a full season of I. Hererra + JJW = their 2025 output? Likely would surpass it.

2026 SR is EXPONENTIALLY better than the 2025 SR that sported a 4.67 ERA (6th worst in MLB).

BTW

In his 10 GS Fitts had a 4.83 ERA, not a 5.00 ERA (he had 1 disastrous relief appearance that jacked his ERA)

Pallante
6-15, 5.31ERA, 1.445 WHIP
Libby
8-12, 4.21ERA, 1.305WHIP
McGreevy
8-4, 4.42ERA, 1.254WHIP
May
7-11, 4.96ERA, 1.421WHIP
Dobbins
4-1, 4.13ERA, 1.279WHIP
Fitts
2-4, 5.00ERA, 1.311WHIP
Rock outside of a hopefully nod to McGreevy and Dobbins…..what exactly are you seeing in this rotation that has you so excited. I’m with you, Miles and Fedde sucked but losing records with 5ERA’s and high WHIPs replaced them. In this age of PITCHING DOMINATION( speed, spin), hitters can’t touch the ball, hitters can’t hit over .250. How in the heck can’t the STL Cardinals find SP with lower ERA’s and WHIPS than the mess above???

Wouldn't you agree GF that May, Dobbins and Fitts (if he's even in the OD rotation) have way more UPSIDE in 2026 than the three they're replacing (Mikolas, Fedde and Pallante)?

Let's be clear I'm NOT EXCITED about the 2026 SR!

That's a mis-characteristic of my position which is the 2026 SR is going to be exponentially better than the horrible 2025 SR that featured three of the bottom starters in MLB.

Wouldn't you agree there's nowhere to go but up?

And I agree w/you, hopefully that's exactly the type of pitchers Bloom has been searching for and perhaps found in Doyle and hopefully at least one of the pitchers he traded for!

Perhaps Dusty can turn these losers into Williams, Suppan, Lohse, Weaver…..that’s the only hope

Dusty

Let’s revisit an underlying intent. In a losing, give away, rebuild year, why not relearn and master the whole game, to be a better prepared team layer when they reach competitive.