Kevin Youkilis is an admitted Reds fan. Can we just plug him in at third next year?Originally Posted by MikeThierry
Kevin Youkilis is an admitted Reds fan. Can we just plug him in at third next year?
who's got a perfect idea...
you, that's who.
(now to convince the red sox and youk)
I believe there is a bunch of truth in this statement.
Since when is gettting 3.5M fans once in the franchise's existence become a place "that gets 3.5 million fans a year"?
How dare you question great, all-powerful and ever-knowing St. Louis, the Oz, Mecca, Vatican and holy grail of baseball all rolled into one?
*
This part I can agree with. The rest sounds like a college alumnus talking about old State U.
"Rounding 3rd and heading for home, good night everybody"
I thought this was funny. From Hal McCoy:
http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs...cxtype=feedbotEarly in the game, when the Reds were pounding Stauffer for five home runs, a rainbow appeared over the right field stands and the Reds were filling the pot with baseballs.
“I never seen a rainbow here before,” said Baker. “Last time I saw one of those was in Hawaii.”
They nearly ran out of the fireworks they torch after each home run and somebody said, “There was so much smoke that Chris Carpenter was complaining about it in St. Louis.”
That's awesome, but considering we're behind the Cards, I'm not sure we have any room to talk right now.
now that is HOF material
Interesting read from ESPN.com:
The aging St. Louis Cardinals
Heading into the season, the St. Louis Cardinals armed themselves to the teeth with veterans. With Albert Pujols under team control for one more season, and Tony La Russa essentially working year-to-year, this was the time to push their chips to the middle of the table. But as the trade deadline neared, the Cardinals' playoff chances were tenuous at best, so they doubled down for even more veterans, and did so in part by trading their youngest premium position player -- Colby Rasmus. Unfortunately, the Cards' new acquisitions have failed to stem the tide, and as their playoff hopes fade, it's fair to wonder if the window of opportunity has closed for the suddenly old Cardinals.
In breaking down FanGraphs' WAR of each team in the game by age group, we find that at the start of play on Friday, the Cardinals were one of five teams in baseball in which players aged 30 or higher were contributing close to half of their team's WAR or more. The Cardinals were at 56 percent; the other four are the Texas Rangers (49 percent), Chicago Cubs (54 percent), New York Yankees (67 percent) and Philadelphia Phillies (76 percent). While the Cubs are in a league of their own, the Yankees, Rangers and Phillies all stand a very good chance of reaching the postseason.
In Rasmus, the Cardinals had the guy to balance the aging scales. Last season, at the precocious age of 23, Rasmus compiled a .366 wOBA that ranked third among center fielders, trailing only Josh Hamilton and Carlos Gonzalez. But as center field was not the primary position for either Hamilton or Gonzalez, there was a case to be made for Rasmus as the best offensive center fielder in the game entering the season. Rasmus, however, hasn't been the same player this year, and the pitching-thin Cards decided they needed pitching more than they did their young center fielder.
In the deal, the Cards did receive two players under 30 -- 27-year-old Edwin Jackson and 25-year-old Marc Rzepczynski. But whereas Rasmus still has another three years to go before he reaches free agency, Jackson is a free agent at season's end. The Cards will have Rzepczynski for quite some time, but they have already marginalized him in favor of another uber-veteran -- 41-year old Arthur Rhodes, who the club signed off the scrap heap Friday. It's a head-scratching move, as Rzepczynski's FIP this season is a career-best 3.22, while Rhodes' is a putrid 5.97, the fourth-worst mark among relievers with at least 20 innings pitched.
Despite all the jockeying, St. Louis continues to slip. At the time of the Rasmus trade, the Cards had a 45.1 percent chance to reach the playoffs, according to Cool Standings. After Friday's win over the Rockies, that percentage had dropped to 29.9 percent -- sixth in the National League. Again though, the situation may be bleaker than it appears, as the Cards have not been able to solve the Milwaukee Brewers, their only remaining competition in the National League Central. For the season, St. Louis is 4-8 against the Brewers, but since the start of June, it's even worse: The Cards are just 2-7 and have been outscored by 22 runs against the Brew Crew. The two teams will play six more times between now and Sept. 7, and there is a chance that their final matchup doubles as the Cardinals' last day of contention.
The future isn't completely barren in St. Louis, of course. On the prospect front, Keith Law listed three Cardinals pitchers among his midseason top 50 prospects. But pitching prospects are a notoriously fickle bunch, and if the Cards pick up Chris Carpenter's option, they'll already have five starters under contract for next season -- four of whom will be 30 or older. Among players already in the majors, Rasmus' replacement, Jon Jay, has been above average offensively and is just 26. And when 27-year-old Allen Craig and 28-year-old David Freese have been in the lineup, they have produced as well. However, those guys are seen more as complementary players rather than building blocks.
When the Cardinals signed 35-year-old Lance Berkman, 33-year-old Jake Westbrook, 40-year-old Miguel Batista and 33-year-old Nick Punto before the season, the message was clear: We're going for it. But now the Cardinals are a team filled with players on the wrong side of 30 -- in Friday's game, six of the team's nine starters were 31 or older -- and the Rasmus trade, as well as recent acquisitions like Rhodes and shortstop Rafael Furcal, give them no path to getting younger and maintaining their current level of production at the same time.
And that's without getting into what they will do if they lose Pujols in free agency.
So not only is this year's window closing rapidly for the Cardinals, what's worse is that without Rasmus, there isn't anyone on the left side of 30 to help keep it wedged open.
The Cards are getting older & I suspect they will lose Pujols after this season. That will leave them with Holliday & a bunch of non stars/role players. To win a division your star could really use a wingman. Sure they could go out & sign someone, they probably will. But losing Albert will hurt a lot, even if they get Wainright back. Holliday, Wainright, Garcia & nobody else who looks like a star.
The Brewers will lose Fielder & they have traded a whole lot of their farm system in recent years. They have Braun, Greinke & Marcum but lots of holes. Can they fill them for 2012? Not so sure.
so IMO despite all the non moves over the last year or so the Reds are actually ok for 2012. if they placed in the NL East or AL East we wouldn't have much of a chance. but the NL Central is going to be weak again next year. what the Reds have to do is 'get er done' this offseason. decide who to keep & who goes. fix the holes. no more sitting on their hands.
notice how when the Reds win I use 'we' & when they stink I use 'the Reds'. the Reds can win the division next year but they have a lot of work to do in the offseason. when they do i can get excited about the team again & start using 'we' instead of 'the Reds'
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They won't lose Pujols. St. Louis has a very important factor working in their favor: The Yankees and Red Sox are already committed long-term to big-money first basemen. If there were an opening with one of those two teams, all bets would be off. But right now? Where he's going to go? The Cubs? Yeah right. I suppose a West Coast team could make a play for him (the Angels or Giants ... not the Dodgers since they are broke) but I doubt they will offer him more than St. Louis does. I think the Cardinals will be willing/able to at least match whatever another team offers since the Yankees and Red Sox won't be a part of the bidding.
Pujols will cost plenty.
Count me among those who think the cost will not be worth it.
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