Breaking Down The Cards Via Twitter

I have some of my best conversations about the Cardinals on Twitter. A group of fans can gather there on one stream and crunch short analysis into 140 characters and mix it up with fellow writers, fans, and die hards. It’s good practice for crafting your point for an article or just coming to a resolution on what is going right or wrong with a team. The more dire the team plays, the more firewood is thrown on the Twitter fire. During the last stretch of play that has seen the Cards go 2-6 on this homestand, I have heard a variety of things. I am going to present a statement and then react to it. This practice may be frowned upon by a certain number of newspaper writers, but that just adds to the fun. They have deadlines and the internet mobsters do not. Here we go.

Let’s trade Lance Lynn because he threw Kolten Wong under the bus.

Uhhh…no. Lynn is a chilly media presence and doesn’t like the Q&A sessions. He looks forward to the media like we look forward to seeing the dentist. He’d rather work with a problematic wood chipper than answer the writer’s questions. Why? Well, they ask him detailed questions pertaining to his struggles and mix in some optimistic ideas. In other words, doing their job. Lynn balked at the notion of coming out of Sunday’s game after he hyper-extended his knee at first base. He also said if Wong makes the play at second base, only 1 run scores and not 4. Well, this will get a hard to like personality in more trouble with the twitter empire. Fans were calling for his head, forgetting that overall he has been a solid pitcher this season and is still a bargain at what he produces on the field. Yes, it would be nice if he made jokes about barbecue like Adam Wainwright or was goofy like Joe Kelly. Lynn is not those guys and never will be. He makes Mark McGwire look like a comedian when it comes to the media and will say some stupid things. This doesn’t mean trade him. He is far too valuable with Kelly nowhere near a return and the shaky health of Jaime Garcia hanging over the team every day. Check his stats. Lynn is worth keeping around.

I wonder what Mozeliak and Matheny originally saw in Peter Bourjos.

This is a good question. The isolated center fielder who was presumably traded here to bring shiny defense back to the outfield has never been able to plant his feet. Bourjos got a round of action to start the season, hit horribly, and was shelved for weeks. He came back, hit very well, ran into a slump and now gets spot duty. With Randal Grichuk up with the team and Jon Jay hitting .290, Bourjos’ time in the field will keep shrinking. This makes a fan wonder if Grichuk was the real catch in that deal. What goes on in John Mozeliak’s mind will never be fully known but if I could attach him and Mike Matheny to a lie detector test and ask them how many starts Bourjos gets in relation to Jay/Grichuk, I would. That’s the real deal. What do the Cards see in Bourjos? The guy is coming off wrist surgery, needed at bats to get comfortable and DOES NOT get them. I am not on either side of this conflict. It’s not comfortable on either side. Bourjos is a fine defender, but he can’t hit consistently enough to stay and Matheny likes Jay and Mo likes Grichuk. Things get really interesting after the upcoming 7 game AL road trip. The chances of Bourjos getting traded are about as high as Jay.

Let’s trade Jon Jay and get some relief.

Yes and no. I can see it happening if the coaching staff and Mo show a new value and liking of Bourjos but if they are content to platoon Jay and Grichuk, the prospect of Bourjos staying around drops quite a bit. It is hard to trade away a hitter like Jay swinging a .285 bat on a team struggling to hit. It will come down to what the return is on Jay and is that enough to send off a valuable 4th OF. The more I think about it, the more I think Jay will be a Cardinal until 2014 ends. This point of view is subject to change.

The Bullpen needs outside help via trade.

If the coaches do some shuffling, then no. Here’s how I see it. David Aardsma is doing very well down in Memphis and he has experience in this league, so bring him up. Send down Carlos Martinez so he can be stretched out as a starter for the second half. Aardsma gives you a late inning weapon and a fresh arm. Unleash Sam Freeman and send out Randy Choate. When Kevin Siegrist comes back, he can pair with Freeman and give you a lethal combo of lefties. Choate has struggled as the season has progressed and isn’t getting better. He has a contract but another team will be interested. Jason Motte will get better as he accumulates innings. Send Seth Maness down eventually and call up Tim Cooney or another Memphis hand. Starters in Memphis should first be relievers in the big leagues. It happened with Wainwright, Michael Wacha, Kelly, Lynn and Shelby Miller. That’s the Cardinal way, right? This team isn’t desperate for a bullpen arm if they do some shuffling and get smart. Stay in house if you can because the pitching isn’t the main problem of this team.

What is really wrong with this team?

Heavy road action early on? No. Competition? No. Injuries? Yes and no. A lack of identity on offense is a problem. What is this team’s real ID with the bat in their hand? A homerless sometimes speedy ground ball hitting bunch? The biggest problem is the lineup and their inability to score runs consistently. Look at the last 3 games. TWO RUNS! Since Oscar came, his infusion has produced 2 runs. That isn’t a fault on the kid but a look at the whole lineup. Matt Carpenter is heating up. Allen Craig is heating up. Matt Holliday isn’t slugging much but he is getting on base. Jhonny Peralta’s bat is missing for the most part. Yadi Molina’s batting average has plummeted from .335 to .305. Matt Adams is 5th in the NL with a .325 average but wasn’t hitting for much power before hitting the disabled list. You had a lineup that hit horribly for a month and is started to come alive in May while staying somewhat asleep. Like the team as a whole, the bats have underachieved. The RISP efficiency is all but gone. Men are left on base. Only Wong steals bases. The entire lineup hits a ton of groundballs, and that requires luck to turn into hits. Diagnosing the problem on the offense is like walking over a scattered crime scene where a plane crashed. It’s not easy to sum up. There are a lot of problems. Biggest one? Efficiency.

Move Matt Carpenter out of the leadoff spot.

NO! He is fine. Since May 20th, Carpenter has an on base percentage over .420. He is doing what leadoff hitters need to do and that is get on base and set the tables. There is no way to lock in stone that Wong can do what Carpenter can do over a long stretch of games. Carpenter was brilliant in the leadoff role in 2013 and hasn’t been as sharp this year. That makes people come up with wild theories. Moving Carpenter out of the leadoff spot isn’t the solution. He gets singles and doubles, walks a lot, works the count and gets on base. If the keyboard gangsters(hat tip to Corey Rudd) want to do something, hit Wong 9th and move the pitcher up. Leave Carpenter where he is.

Mike Matheny needs to be fired.

Sorry, but I am not joining this train just yet. Matheny is in his 3rd year as a major league manager and the blinders are on most fans wanting his head. He is still a young manager learning how to work a game and a season. Great team or not, Matheny managed this club to the NLCS in 2012 and to the World Series in 2013. That doesn’t get a guy fired. Taking over the Cubs for a season or two gets a manager fired. He does make a lot of double switches and loves “his guys” a little too much at times. He likes to bunt and answer questions with the same answer for a few nights in a row. He does portray the role of father more than coach sometimes and it gets him in trouble. However, the players love him and he does certain things right. He will run with Oscar for an entire week. He did give the keys to Wacha last year. He didn’t leave a fine hitting Matt Adams on the bench. Matheny is going to picked apart because he took a job with no experience and took over for Tony La Russa after a World Series win. It’s been an uphill climb for Matheny. I will cut him some slack. His team need to do a lot worse than the Cardinals have done in order to get his job taken away.

Best course of action from here???

Keep watching. As a whole, the Cards are simply underachieving. As Alfred once told Bruce Wayne, what the fans need to do is the same for the players and the coaches. ENDURE. Keep watching. Keep playing the twitter game. Keep interacting. A team’s struggles make for great conversation. There are over 100 games left.

I am not being a crazy BFIB practitioner or promoting optimism when I say just stay calm. I am merely being realistic and blunt at the same time. The Cards are playing ugly baseball. It will get better. This team is too strong and built to let this drag on and if it does, Mozeliak will make a move. He knows what is at stake. If this team is 2 games over .500 on July 18th, he will make a move.  Know that and book it. Until then, just watch the Cardinals and hope for some light at the end of tunnel. As you do that, keep the pain meds close.

Thanks for reading and have a great day.

Follow me @buffa82 on Twitter.