NLDS Roster Reaction

The rosters are out so let’s take a look before the ink dries. I will break down a few things I would have done differently. There’s no need to list the roster when it’s on the Cardinals website.  Once you have digested that, come on back and I will make a few suggestions and  lay down a couple thoughts.

*Nick Greenwood should be there over Michael Wacha. Unless nostalgia counts for innings pitched or strikeouts, Greenwood can offer the Cards more in a relief role right now. Forget about Wacha’s 2013 postseason exploits. They matter little right now. It’s about 2014. Right now. Greenwood is a better reliever. The Cards said Wacha wouldn’t relieve, yet here we are.

*A.J. Pierzynski should be there over Tony Cruz. It’s simple. This spot doesn’t matter all that much but I’ll object anyway. Yadi Molina will more than likely catch 100 percent of the innings in these 5 games. However, in case of an emergency, I would rather have Pierzynski. He replaced Cruz in the regular season and offers more behind the plate and at the plate in a pinch hit role.

*I would have liked to see Xavier Scruggs get a spot for the sole idea that he is a righthanded power bat. He can compliment Matt Adams and offer something a bit more than a strikeout against a lefty. He didn’t get a ton of at bats but sometimes, rookies can strike lightning in a postseason. I would have put him in there for Daniel Descalso, but we all know Matheny wrote him in there first.

*Kolten Wong deserves to start every game because he offers the most as a complete player, but if someone replaces him it must be Kozma and not Descalso. Again, this is a hopeful claim that will be disregarded.

*Mark Ellis isn’t here and I thank the man that brought him here for the move. John Mozeliak. That’s 5.25 million well spent and forgotten.

Secret weapon in the bullpen. Marco Gonzales. Randy Choate and Sam Freeman are good, but if Marco can come in and offer valuable innings and a wicked changeup to Adrian Gonzalez in the later innings, the tide could swing in the Cards direction.

Meaningless Declaration. Matt Adams should not hit cleanup in this series. It doesn’t matter who pitches. The big man didn’t do much cleaning up in the last two months of the season. He slugged under .400 and barely went deep. Put him down in the 6th or 7th spot.

Wise prediction. Series is going five games. It comes down to two players on the Cardinals. Adam Wainwright and Trevor Rosenthal. Mike Matheny’s in game management is so questionable and the offensive production is so inconsistent but this much is known. Waino is starting Games 1 & 5 with Rosenthal closing. If those two guys do their job, the Cards could win this in 5.

Is that my pick? Sure. Just make sure it is in pencil and not pen or stone.