The Bullet Round: St. Louis Cardinals

There is a lot going on in Cardinal Nation today, so it is best to pick apart at these various topics with a full fledged stream of consciousness. Fresh bullets on the Birds. Writing time: 45 minutes. And we are off as the Cards begin play tonight.

• The Right Field Debate is a popular debate. Allen Craig is 33-147 since the beginning of June and that includes a .152 batting average in July yet people insist they trust in Mike Matheny staying with him. Oscar Taveras was meant to play every day when he was called up for the second time earlier this month yet has only started 2 of the past 7 games. Is Craig giving the team true value starting so often? My hunch is that he is still hurt in some way and could be best suited by hitting the DL for 15 days. His swing is plain wrong. He can’t hit for power to left field, center field, right field and when he does get a hold of one, it’s caught at the warning track. It would be foolish to forget about Craig because of his torrid run producing ability for the past 2 years but it’s also illogical to keep trotting him out there with the hopes that his mechanically flawed swing, approach and mindset will improve. Average pitchers are getting fastballs by him and its not pretty. He isn’t pulling the ball or banging it to right field. Taveras hasn’t lighted up the baseball in his brief starting stints but he isn’t being given any favors by being sat on the bench. His bat shows more signs of life than Craig’s. Look at his extended battle in a 9th inning pinch hit appearance last night. He fought off all kinds of pitches and laced a bullet to right center. He is hitting higher than Craig for the month and has more multi-hit games than Craig. At best, there should be a platoon. Oscar should be starting 3-4 times a week at the very least. It serves him zero purpose to line him up on the bench to fight Mark Ellis for pinch hitting duties late in games. Taveras needs at bats. Look at what Gregory Polanco is doing with all that playing time in Pittsburgh. Polanco did have a hotter start than Taveras but that shouldn’t diminish the idea of Oscar improving. He is young and needs to earn the at bats, but if the guy in front of him is showing zero signs of breaking out, a move has to be made. Tonight, Oscar starts. I feel like I just ran three laps and have no water in sight.
• That was a big bullet so let me end it this way. The Cards are winning without Craig contributing. It wouldn’t hurt to let Oscar play more because he could offer something new with extended playing time. His bat has been more lively this month than Craig’s.
• Shelby Miller moving back into the rotation could be seen in a variety of ways. Carlos Martinez wasn’t supplying innings and could benefit the team more in the bullpen. The Cards were risking demoralizing Miller’s value with the move to the pen. He saw only one appearance but with the young kid struggling to improve, the Cards went back to Miller to boost his confidence as the trade deadline nears. It would be too easy to dismiss Miller’s trade value playing a part here as well. The Cards aren’t getting mileage out of Miller in the bullpen so the move back to the rotation seemed fit. Miller got an extended break from the action and has this chance to prove his worth before a trade occurs. The Cards don’t have another option outside of a trade so they are looking back to a guy who finished as the runner up in the rookie of the year voting just one year ago. Can Miller recapture his efficiency?
• Bold Statement. Unless the name is Stanton, I do not trade Taveras at the deadline. I don’t do it for David Price. Let the kid run and settle in as a Cardinal. He just got here. Why move him so fast unless a more powerful and young bat comes in return? Mozeliak would be going against his own practice to deal Taveras and Martinez for short term help. I don’t see it happening and don’t support it.
• The return of Kevin Siegrist is crucial to the Cards bullpen. In addition to innings, Siegrist adds to the power supply down there.  Another power arm, especially from the left side, loads up the relievers with more firepower for a rotation failing to give consistent quality starts. With Adam Wainwright‘s dud last night, Siegrist comes back at a good time. My question now is…how much longer does the team hold onto Randy Choate with Siegrist back, Sam Freeman improving and Nick Greenwood making a great impression?
• Greenwood was sent out for Siegrist but I expect to see the lefty back soon. Carlos Martinez can credit Greenwood with supplying cushion to a ton of his starts. He was versatile and reliable in many spots. He also came out of nowhere like Seth Maness did in 2013.
• Speaking of Seth, the kid is starting to turn it on and came into a game on Sunday coaxed an inning ending double play on one pitch like the good old days. He is a Matheny branded reliever. He can work on back to back days and pitch two innings. Maness’ improvement is a good sign.
• It’s good to think of Lance Lynn as a stopper these days and coming into tonight’s game, Lynn’s numbers are improving each week.  He has come a long way from being thought of as a beneficiary from the mainstream baseball republic. He isn’t hitting that wall in July. His critics will say wait until August. Those are the same bandwagon riders who told us in June to wait until July to see his downfall. It’s not happening. In his 8 starts, Lynn is 5-2 and has reached 8 innings twice. He has only been lit up once(by the Dodgers in Blister Gate) and his ERA has dropped since June 1st from 3.48 to 3.14 before tonight’s action. Lynn is becoming more economical and gaining the trust of Matheny, throwing over 100 pitches in his last three starts(all wins). It’a small sample size but through three starts in July, Lynn’s ERA is 1.86. 2014 is showing us a different pitcher. One that is pleasing the baseball card mafia and the Sabermetrics crowd all in one performance.
• I don’t want to think John Mozeliak and Mike Matheny are feuding over Taveras’ playing time but it’s natural for a general manager and manager to clash on a top prospect. Remember Colby Rasmus in 2011? While I don’t think Taveras gets traded, the similarities are there.  Mo sees a bright young talent who needs to play, and Matheny sees a veteran in Craig who he trusts to improve and get the job done. It would be different if Craig were showing signs of breaking out. The guy hasn’t had a multi-hit game in a month and looks lost and behind at the plate. There is a belief in my system that he is hurt and playing tough because he fears Oscar may swipe his spot in the process. What I keep hearing is giving the team the best chance to win. Since Allen Craig is only hitting .146 this month and Taveras is hitting .250(41 AB’s for Craig and 44 for Taveras), why not see the rookie can do with a handful of starts while Craig can rest up and get his swing and head straight. He may not be hurt for sure, but Craig is hurting the team every time he hits the field. Something isn’t right so go with Taveras for a stretch and see where it takes you. He couldn’t do any worse than Craig.

Thanks for reading this rambling seminar of practiced sports journalism. For more, follow on Twitter at @buffa82.