Let's Go Blues

We're about 2 weeks in now, so figure we could use a thread.

I didn't want to bitch in first post of thread, but Matheny's gotta go. I mean, I don't necessarily blame him for Cards being 3-8. We have a mediocre team and that's a really small sample size. Rough stretches happen and players have to be better.

I do blame him for being a bonehead though. This could be a long list, but for now:

1. Adams isn't a LF. I can kinda get on board with the idea as a ST experiment or even as a regular season behind the scenes project. In theory, he should be a big bat, and if he could OPS .850 or something, sure, find a way to get him in the lineup. But, this isn't ST, this isn't behind the scenes, and he's not OPSing .850. He's a defensive liability that has been roughly league average at the plate for 3 years now.

2. Carlos Martinez has thrown 105+ pitches twice in first 3 starts. I love Martinez and don't mind stretching him out. But, the 6th inning of a game in April vs an AL team isn't when you need an extra inning from your ace. He wasn't sharp, hence why he threw so many pitches to get through 5. Let the bullpen finish the game instead of letting Martinez allow 2 more runs while he's out of gas.

3. 9th inning today. Jose Martinez' spot comes up. I'm not a Jose Martinez believer yet. If he's hitting well in June, I'll reevaluate. But, he is hitting well right now. Adams is not. Further, our 3 first basemen are Carp (in game at DH-can't play field) Martinez, and Adams. What does Matheny do? PH for Martinez and PR for Adams when he gets a hit. We now don't have a 1B in the game or eligible to come off the bench all so we could have an ice cold Adams PH for a red hot Martinez. Brilliant!

I agree with you. Even with the Cards playing better since you posted this, I've been off the Matheny train for quite some time. Guy is just too tight and tries to force things into existence instead of rolling with the more logical choice (i.e. Adams in LF when Jose Martinez was raking).

Matt Adams: he's not our LF - but he may end up being Atlanta's LF.

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/1942 ... -cardinals

This weekend was brutal. It somewhat felt like playing with house money, because I think we should have been out of it long ago. But, still, can't get swept by the Cubs in September with the season on the line.

cardsfan04 wrote:This weekend was brutal. It somewhat felt like playing with house money, because I think we should have been out of it long ago. But, still, can't get swept by the Cubs in September with the season on the line.

agreed

what a cluster

All of a sudden we're back in it. .5 behind brewers, 1.5 behind rockies. I'm gonna feel silly saying this, but only 5 behind the Cubs with games against them still. I won't get high on their WS chances if they sneak in, but it feels ~doable.

cardsfan04 wrote:All of a sudden we're back in it. .5 behind brewers, 1.5 behind rockies. I'm gonna feel silly saying this, but only 5 behind the Cubs with games against them still. I won't get high on their WS chances if they sneak in, but it feels ~doable.

Well.....shoot. The opportunity was there, but, let's be honest - we all know the team, as it's constructed right now, doesn't have the ability to play at a consistently high level against teams ahead of us.

I'm looking forward to an active off season by the front office.