*** Official St Louis Cardinals to the 2006 World Series Thread *** - Page 53

challenger84 · #**521** 07-17-2006, 08:25 PM

Weaver r00lz

RunDownHouse · #**522** 07-17-2006, 08:44 PM

5th inning, one out, Diaz at bat:

wtf is So doing? Did he not see the ball, or what? How does he not immediately realize its going to bounce off the corner of the stands and end up 20 feet in front of where he's heading?

Clarkmeister · #**523** 07-17-2006, 10:33 PM

The Yankees don't seem to want ARod. I wouldn't mind seeing him in a cards uniform and sliding Eck to 2nd.

TruFloridaGator · #**524** 07-17-2006, 10:42 PM

Go Braves! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Jim Kuhn · #**525** 07-17-2006, 11:53 PM

Encarnacion is producing at about the pace the Cardinals expected when they signed him. He is on pace for 80 runs scored, 21 home runs, 85 RBI's and a .275 batting average.

He has played much better lately. He had a horrid start and has looked lost at times on defense. I also don't think he has hit all that well in the clutch. He has been an 'ok signing'. The Cards knew he was not Bobby Abreu when they signed him.

Thank you,

Jim Kuhn
Catfish4u
[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

crockpot · #**526** 07-18-2006, 01:10 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Seriously, did this guy do any sort of research before writing this article. Especially his comments regarding John Rodriguez. Apparently Edmonds and his .800 OPS makes him one of only three decent hitters in the lineup and Rodriguez's .814 OPS is "so bad".

[/ QUOTE ]

john rodriguez is a career minor leaguer who basically plays only against righties, often in late innings of blowout games where the other team is using its worst pitchers. under these ideal conditions, his MLB career has been driven primarily by a .300 batting average, and it's extremely unlikely he can continue to bat that high with his strikeouts and lack of power. with a more realistic .270 average (his projection for this year was .265), his OPS is now .750, and he is no longer an offensive contributor.

jim edmonds is coming off one of the greatest peaks by a center fielder in MLB history, and his numbers early this season were depressed by injuries. since he returned to playing (nearly) every day, his OPS is over .900.

rodriguez plays in an outfield corner, where the standards for offense are significantly higher.

one of these guys is likely to be a major offensive asset the rest of the way, and the other is not.

crockpot · #**527** 07-18-2006, 01:21 AM

i don't know what was up with the strange comments about the cardinals' SS situation, but it should be pointed out that keith law knows more about baseball than anyone in this thread. before joining espn he wrote for baseball prospectus and worked as the blue jays' consultant of baseball operations. the article does bring up some legitimate concerns for the team, and he, like most analysts, doesn't think that edmonds, rodriguez and encarnacion will continue to produce at the same offensive level the rest of the way.

PTjvs · #**528** 07-18-2006, 01:49 AM

Encarnacion's numbers this year are not out of line with his career averages, I can't really see why he shouldn't finish out the season on pretty much the same pace. The Card's offensive is obviously pretty shallow, but if I were a Cards fan, my overwhelming concern would be starting pitching.

jvs

djj6835 · #**529** 07-18-2006, 04:14 AM

[ QUOTE ]
john rodriguez is a career minor leaguer who basically plays only against righties, often in late innings of blowout games where the other team is using its worst pitchers

[/ QUOTE ]

This is simply not true. Earlier in the season he was playing nearly every day. Lately Taguchi and Duncan have been getting the playing time. The numbers he was putting up playing every day are better than the numbers he is currently putting up while playing sporadically. I'm not saying he's better than Edmonds, but to say he is a bad player is completely ridiculous.

[ QUOTE ]
with a more realistic .270 average (his projection for this year was .265), his OPS is now .750, and he is no longer an offensive contributor.

[/ QUOTE ]

What does this have to do with anything. I don't really care what he was projected to do, what he is actually doing is much more imporatant.

[ QUOTE ]
one of these guys is likely to be a major offensive asset the rest of the way, and the other is not

[/ QUOTE ]

This is true, but it has nothing to do with Rodriguez and everything to do with LaRussa.

MyTurn2Raise · #**530** 07-18-2006, 05:14 AM

[ QUOTE ]
i don't know what was up with the strange comments about the cardinals' SS situation, but it should be pointed out that keith law knows more about baseball than anyone in this thread. before joining espn he wrote for baseball prospectus and worked as the blue jays' consultant of baseball operations. the article does bring up some legitimate concerns for the team, and he, like most analysts, doesn't think that edmonds, rodriguez and encarnacion will continue to produce at the same offensive level the rest of the way.

[/ QUOTE ]

yeah...I am familiar with Keith Law, which made some of the comments even more baffling. It just seemed like there were some weird snippits in the blurb that facts don't back up.