MLB

Top 5 Sports Blunders

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Athletes can do amazing things.  They physically have the ability to defy logic while in play.  Their gifts are respected, honored and immortalized in history.  But even athletes make mistakes, JR Smith’s recent mistake in Game 1 of the NBA Finals may go down as one of the worst of all time.  It had me thinking what other brain farts on the field were worse.  So here is my top ten Sports Blunders of all time.

5. Ruben Rivera’s worst baserunning ever

Ruben Rivera never really lived up to his cousin Mariano’s family legacy.  A career .216 hitter with little impact in his professional career does have something historic on his resume. Rivera may have the worst baserunning moment in the history of Major League Baseball.  In 2003 while playing for the Giants Rivera was on base in the 9th with the game on the line, Marquis Grissom roped a shot to right field that was overrun by the fielder.  Rivera then proceeded to resort to third grade t-ball status.  It must be seen to be believed.

Rivera gets completely confused around second base, at first unsure about what is happening in the outfield, where the outfielder misplays a line drive.  Once Rivera realizes that the ball is still in play and no out has been recorded, he heads to third, but forgets to tag up at second.  He goes back to do that, and then heads to third, where it looks like he will be out by 10 feet.  However, the third baseman misplays the ball and it kicks away from him.  Eventually Rivera is tagged out and his career was tagged out shortly after.

4. 1982 NCAA Tournament Game:  Fred Brown passes it to the wrong team.

The 1982 NCAA Championships matched two iconic programs fighting it out as Michael Jordan’s North Carolina Tarheels taking on the Patrick Ewing’s Georgetown Hoyas.  This game had everything you could want, future NBA legends, Hall of Fame Coaches and back and forth action.   With 17 seconds left in the game and North Carolina leading 63-62, Georgetown Guard Fred Brown mistook Carolina’s James Worthy for a teammate and passed the ball right to his opponent. Worthy was fouled by Eric Smith with two seconds to go.  With no timeouts left the Hoyas were unable to get the ball down the court after two missed free throws.  In the heat of the moment even the best make mistakes but this one will live on in the memory of Hoya fans as an all time blunder.

3. Leon Lett fumble recovery… sort of.

Leon Lett was a 2-time pro bowl defensive lineman for the Dallas Cowboys during their early 90’s dominate run.  Lett was a dominant force at times for a strong Cowboys defense.  While his playing career had many highlights he is known more for his two massive mistakes. His famous Super Bowl fumble was pretty embarrassing but the Cowboys destroyed the Buffalo Bills so the embarrassing moment was overshadowed by victory

On Thanksgiving day in 1993,  during a rare snow and sleet storm in Dallas, the Cowboys, who came into the game with a 7–3 record, were leading the 8–2 Miami Dolphins by a score of 14–13 with 15 seconds remaining in the game.But instead of allowing the ball to die down and let the refs pick it up, Leon Lett comes rumbling, bumbling and stumbling on top of the ball, squirting it into the arms of shocked Dolphins. Re-kick. The Dolphins take advantage of the second chance and win.

2. Jim Joyce Noooo!

Mental mistakes don’t always just happen to athletes officials some times don’t make the best decisions. On June 2 2010 the Detroit Tigers were taking on the Cleveland Indians in a central division showdown.  The Tigers had Armando Gallarraga on the mound putting on an amazing performance retiring 26 straight Indian batters when Jason Donald stepped up to the plate.  Donald hit a weak ground ball to First Baseman Miguel Cabrera, Cabrera tossed to the covering Gallarraga to complete just the 21st ever Perfect Game in MLB history…..or so we thought.

Veteran umpire Jim Joyce called Donald safe at first thus ending the bid for perfection.  Upon review it showed that he baserunner was out by at least a step and a half.  Joyce, whom was voted as the top umpire in Major League Baseball the year before had just made one of the most epic wrong calls in the history of the game.

Gallarraga never was able to capture the same stuff he had that night, his career ending after a few subpar seasons.  Jim Joyce is still umpiring, but every time his name is brought up you can’t help but think of that call.

1.Chris Webber’s huge mistake

Chris Webber was arguably the best college basketball player in the country during his time at Michigan.  Webber, the #1 ranked recruit going into the 1991-1992 season brought size, speed and athleticism to the power forward position unlike anything the game had seen.  He could run point, post you up and hit jumper in your face while grabbing ten boards a game.  The cornerstone of the historic Fab Five teams college resume will always be tarnished but not because Michigan was forced to bring down the banners.  It will be tarnished for the biggest mental mistake in the history of college basketball.

On April 5th 1993 the Webber’s Michigan Wolverines were in the National Championship game against Dean’ Smith’s North Carolina Tarheels.  With seconds left in the game and the Wolverines down Webber had the ball and charged down court. Then it happened

“Webber brings it into the frontcourt … they have no timeouts remaining … Oh! He calls it, too many timeouts! That’s a technical foul! He called a timeout, and Michigan doesn’t have any!”

North Carolina shot the two technical free throws and sealed up another National Title.  Webber and his teammates had to just watched as for the second year in a row their dreams of a championship would go down the drain.  Webber to this day doesn’t want to talk about the miss timed timeout.  He went on to have a great NBA career, currently one of my favorite NBA Analyst to listen to.  But forever I will remember him as the guy that called the worst timeout in college basketball history

Six Man Rotation Pros and Cons

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The St. Louis Cardinals saw a small glimpse of the future this weekend.  Jack Flaherty took the mound and dazzled the Busch Stadium crowd with a masterful performance that has now forced the hands of Cardinals management to make a decision they had thought and possibly hoped they wouldn’t be forced to make in 2018.  Flaherty has solidified himself in the rotation similar to the way Luke Weaver did in 2017, he took the decision away from them with his performance.   The Cardinals now stare at a rotation that features Miles Mikolas, Michael Wacha, Luke Weaver, Jack Flaherty and at the moment Jon Gant.  Formidable as that is the impending return of Carlos Martinez is coming along with a prospect by the name of Alex Reyes…perhaps you have heard of him?  With Gant being the guy most likely to enjoy another bus trip back to Memphis that leaves the birds with an interesting decision.  Six starters, traditionally five spots.  What do they do?  This is a decision that is best handled the old fashion way pros and cons list!

Pros

Six man rotation can save innings for young starters

In a day of Tommy John surgeries being passed around like chicken pox in a kindergarten class room innings restrictions have become the new fun trend of the MLB.  Bulldogs like Nolan Ryan and Cris Carpenter are no longer seemed to exist in a time where players and agents look at the long term over the short.  The Cardinals will feature one of the youngest rotations in baseball with an average age of 25.  They will also feature a rotation that has had its fair share of injuries.  Martinez, Wacha and Reyes stand out as players that have dealt with injuries during their young careers.  While Flaherty, Weaver and Mikolas have all not been featured in rotations for the length of a Major League Baseball season. A six man rotation will allow the Cardinals to limit the innings for the starters will also keeping their starter regiment the same thus not having to worry about transitioning them from the bullpen.

Don’t have to leave an asset in he minors

There seems to be nothing worse for a fanbase then to watch a young talent sit in AAA.  The backlash for Jack Flaherty dominating in Memphis while Adam Wainwright was trying to “find” it at the major league level was frustrating for the fanbase.  Carson Kelly has been another example of a young player that seems to have nothing left to prove at the minor league level but has been blocked by a veteran.  Problem for him is that there is only one player allowed to play catcher per game and that one player for the Cardinals is a potential hall of famer still playing at a high level.  The Cardinals have major league ready starters that have to be played.  Reyes, Weaver and Flaherty cannot waste a year helping Memphis win a championship when they can help the big club bring home a World Series.

Cons

Less starts from your #1

Carlos Martinez, when healthy, is a Cy Young candidate.  He has also graduated to Adam Wainwrights role as a team leader.    Moving to a six man rotation would mean limiting his games started and potentially setting him up for less opportunities down the home stretch of the season.  Limiting your best pitcher is never a recipe for success.

It’s never been done.

The Los Angeles Angels talked about the potential of a six man rotation after signing Japanese sensation Shoehei Otani.  Ultimately deciding not to invest in what I am sure baseball purist see as an abomination to the game.  There is no statistical proof that a six man rotation will improve the likelihood pitcher injuries or improve overall performance.  We live in a baseball world that relies on stats and with no stats to support this strategy then it may as well not be an option.

 

Sabermetrician Russell Carleton wrote that six-man rotations offer few obvious benefits in terms of pitching performance: The extra day of rest doesn’t seem to increase pitcher strikeout rates or reduce walk rates. And, because the extra man entails splitting up the workload among a larger group of people, it tends to dilute the effect of truly great starting pitchers. Over a full season, a six-man rotation results in about 30-50 fewer innings per starter.

The Cardinals have a great problem coming their way when their starters are healthy.  They also have a mind in the dugout like Mike Maddux that can help Matheny transition into a new way of thinking.  Would it be easier to have one of these guys go to the bullpen?  The answer is yes, but would it make your team better to have a potential ace coming in for maybe an inning?  No! I don’t see the Cardinals going with a six man rotation based on the comments from John Mozeliak, but wouldn’t it be cool if for once the Cardinals were at the forefront of alternative baseball thinking.

3 Things Cardinals need while Pena starts

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When Yadier Molina went on the disabled list after his unfortunate incident with Kris Bryant and a 101 MPH fastball the time had come for the world to see what prize prospect Carson Kelly was going to bring to the table. For the Memphis Redbirds, the 23-year-old Kelly was slashing .234/.337/.364 with four doubles, two home runs, and 11 RBIs in 21 games. Kelly is the team’s top catching prospect and is rated third overall by MLB.com behind right-handed hurlers Alex Reyes and Jack Flaherty. Kelly’s familiarity with the young pitching staff was thought to be an easy transition. As the Cardinals enter June they have yet again seen another set back at the catching position. Kelly has been placed on the disabled list with a hamstring injury which has forced the Cardinals to rely on the next man up, Francisco Pena.

Son of former Major League All-Star Tony Pena, Francisco will now be called upon to take over the role as primary catcher until Molina is able to return.  Pena was signed from the Baltimore Orioles in the offseason to serve as backup, allowing Carson Kelly to continue to get consistent at bats in the minors. He will now be asked to keep the Cardinals afloat for the next three weeks (hopefully).  The Cardinals currently sit one game out of the NL Central.  Even with the injuries they should still be looking to contend if they can do these three things.

1.) Young arms must prove they are ready at the Major League Level

The Cardinals rank #4 in team pitching ERA despite the loss of veteran Adam Wainwright and ace Carlos Martinez. Miles Mikolas has been everything the Cardinals could have asked for from a preseason #4 starter leading the team in wins (5), innings (51.1) and first among starters in WHIP (1.05). Adam Wainwright has been moved to the 60-day DL which means that Jack Flaherty will finally be a member of the rotation without the worry of one bad inning means he is headed back to Memphis. Flaherty has shown that he has major league stuff after his first two stars. It will be up to the the youth to guide them through the first half of the season. The youngster will have to trust Pena.

2.) Defensive consistency behind the plate

Pena has been used primarily as defense-first organization depth for more than a decade, with the Mets, Royals and Orioles. He is not fleet of foot and has struggled to hit consistently over 11 Minor League seasons. But he brings a strong arm, good receiving skills and fundamentals in spades. The Cards tracked several of Pena’s throws to second this spring in the 1.80-second range, which is considered an elite pop time.

Replacing a multi time gold glover behind the plate is nearly impossible but Pena will give the Cardinals a serviceable replacement for the time being.

3.) Struggling bats will have to step up

Yadier Molina’s offensive output has been great during the 2018 season.  His 6 HR 17 RBI’s have helped pick up the slack of struggling mainstays in the lineup.  Matt Carpenter and Dexter Fowler have to pick up their production. They are the veterans of this team that have the track records.  Harrison Bader and Jose Martinez have been great for the Cardinals but it is time for the guys that were projected to be at the top of the order to play to their potential.  If they don’t Matheny cannot wait for them to come around.  Tyler O’Neal is ready to come up and make an impact.  If the Cardinals are relying on Francisco Pena to help the offense they are going to have a tough couple of weeks ahead of them.

The Cardinals made the right decision leaving prospect Andrew Knizner in the minors.  They must allow him to continue to develop his defensive skills.  If they did bring him up and it didn’t go well you can burn what could be a future asset to the club.  Going with Pena is the only option for the Cardinals, it is up to the rest of the team to get them through these weeks with out their leader.

Pham leading off makes sense

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The St. Louis Cardinals lineup debate has been centered around the struggles of Matt Carpenter and Dexter Fowler. Both players have spent time in the leadoff spot for the majority of their careers, because of this the casual fan has this predetermination that they have to be at the top of the lineup to be effective.  That isn’t what makes sense right now in the Cardinals lineup.  During the two game series with the Chicago White Sox, Mike Matheny decided to put Tommy Pham in the leadoff spot.  While the offense didn’t explode, it could be the move that ends up making the Cardinals better offensively the rest of the 2018 season.

When the St. Louis Cardinals signed Dexter Fowler in December, 2016, they were wanting a player with speed who could get on base at the top of the lineup.  This would allow the Cardinals to shift Matt Carpenter to a more RBI-producing role in the middle of lineup that they believed he was better suited for.  The Cardinals abandoned that approach early in 2017 more out of necessity than anything else.  Opening the 2018 campaign, Matheny decided that it was time to put Fowler back in that role in order to accommodate his new toy Marcell Ozuna in the number four spot in the order.  It did not hurt that the top four in the lineup would now feature switch hitter, right handed hitter, left handed hitter and right handed hitter 1-4 in the lineup.  The traditionalist that Mike Matheny is assumed this would cause problems for opposing managers late in games. Matheny’s plan made sense to start the season but with the struggles of Fowler much like 2017, Matheny has been forced to make a change to his lineup once again.

Matt Carpenter was not the leadoff batter for the Cardinals last season until June 7. Once June 7 hit, so did Carpenter. His xwOBA (Execpted Weighted On-base Average)was a solid .368 and his wOBA (Weighted On-Base Average) was 20 points higher at .388, indicating Carpenter’s results might have been a bit lucky. In 2018, Carpenter has seen his luck change a bit even though most advanced statistics have stayed the same and some have improved according to baseballsavant.com. It took Carpenter awhile to find his groove in 2017, I look for him to turn it around as the season goes on.  If he continues to barrel the ball at at 17% rate he will eventually find the holes in the defense.  So the question is why not put Carpenter in the lead off spot?

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The answer is no, with Matt Carpenter in the two hole Tommy Pham can feel free to take off whenever he sees an advantage.  Carpenter famously likes to take pitches,  at times seems to prefer to hit with a few strikes on him.  Carpenter’s patience can be a virtue.  The more he takes the better read Pham can get on a pitcher which will allow him to utilize his speed.   With Pham on the move, it can move the defense out of their lefty shift opening up more hitting lanes for Carpenter.  The argument for Carpenter continues to be that he only hits while in the leadoff spot.  His stats do prove the historically he is a better hitter in that spot. Is is just that he can’t hit anywhere else or is it that he has never been given a chance to prove himself anywhere else for long enough?

The movement of Tommy Pham into the lead off spot will allow the Cardinals to put their most productive hitter in a position to get more at bats.  Pham’s .330 BA, .447 OBP both lead the club.  Pham will also be able to move on the base paths more freely while hitting in the lead off spot.  Matheny has to find a way to spark the offense. Tommy Pham is the spark that can light the offensive fire.  He can bring immediate energy to the team similar to the way he lead off the first game of the White Sox series.  Mike has to continue to let this play out.  Carpenter will adjust and Fowler will benefit from the move.  Fowler will be able to let his swing loose and utilize his power from both sides of the plate.  A free swinging Fowler at this point in his career is his best option.  Tommy Pham leading off makes sense for him and for the team as a whole.

 

 

 

Cardinals/ White Sox Preview

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The Cardinals look to rebound from a frustrating weekend as they head to Chicago to take on the young White Sox. The Cardinals find themselves in a situation where they need to come out and create their own momentum heading into their first matchup with the Chicago Cubs at home.  They have the perfect team to help them forget about their trouble in Pittsburgh.

St. Louis will have the difficult task not looking ahead.  Talk in St. Louis will be about the anticipation of the second round of the Cards/Cubs showdown. The Cardinals have to stay focused on the task at hand, taking care of business against a team they should beat.  The Chicago White Sox enter this two game series with a record of 8-18.  Five of those eight victories were against the the lowly Kansas City Royals.  The Cardinals need to take advantage of a White Sox team that is currently having a season long tryout camp to find out who they will be building their organization around for the coming years.

The White Sox are currently in tank mode, cutting bait with essentially all veteran personal.  The salary cuts and trading of assets has paid off for the White Sox. MLB Pipeline and Baseball America each released their latest organizational rankings  anointing the White Sox as the top system among baseball’s 30 teams. The White Sox also received the No. 2 farm system ranking from Baseball America behind the Atlanta Braves. While the White Sox wait for super prospects Eloys Jimenez, Luis Robert and Dylan Case, they currently sport some of previous years top prospects on their roster.  Yoan Moncada, Nicky Delmonico, Yolmer Sanchez and Matt Davidson have been put into the starting lineup on a day to day basis in order to find out what the team has for the future.

The White Sox will send one of their last veterans to the mound, James Shields will take the hill in game one of the series.  Shields has been a punching bag for opposing lineups in all for most of the year up until his most recent start.  Shields will look to build on a solid outing on Wednesday against the Mariners. He worked six innings and allowed six hits and four runs, but he wound up taking a 4-3 loss.  The loss dropped Shields record to 1-3 with an ERA of 6.14.  Opposing Shields in game one of the series will be Micheal Wacha. Wacha conquered some lingering command issues in his last start vs. the Mets, when he struck out eight against one walk. He’s won four straight starts. The victory for Wacha brought his record to 4-1 3.62 ERA.

In game two of the series the White Sox will send one time Nationals prospect Lucas Giolito to the mound against Cardinal ace Carlos Martinez.  Giolito, the prize of the Adam Eaton deal last winter, has yet to establish himself as a major league starter holds a 1-3 record with a 7.71 ERA.  Giolito has limited opponents to a .240 batting average, but he leads the team with 21 walks. The 26-year-old Martinez got tagged on Opening Day but has been sensational since, yielding two earned runs over 33 1/3 innings while striking out 35. After walking 17 in his first five starts, Martinez didn’t give up a free pass in his last outing.

The White Sox enter this series with a team ERA of 5.08 which sits third in the American League and fourth overall.  The southersiders have had an issue holding down their home field advantage during the 2018 season holding a record of 2-10 at Guaranteed Rate Field.  The Cardinals need to walk in angry after suffering a sweep at the hands of division rival Pittsburgh over the weekend.  They will have a chance to feast on two pitchers that have continually struggled the first month of the season.  Having the advantage at pitcher in both games of the series should set them up to be successful.  Allowing for the DH to come into play should also help the Cardinals as double switch machine Mike Matheny’s questionable decisions should be taken out of his hands going into this series.

No team can ever be overlooked in the Major Leagues but heading into this matchup I would like to see the Cardinals come out and continue to dominate lesser competition.  I expect the Cardinals to win game one 7-4  and the second game 3-1 after a strong performance from Carlos Martinez.  The Cardinals need momentum heading into the Cubs series, they also need to have a rested bullpen.   If they can get a strong performance from Martinez in the second game of the series, accompanied by an extra day of rest the Cardinals could be set up for a great weekend against the Cubbies.

 

Cards vs. Mets: A defining series

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The New York Mets head into St. Louis Tuesday night for a three game series against the Cardinals.  Two teams sitting at the top of their respective divisions will meet for the second time in 2018. This matchup will determine where the Cardinals currently stand when it comes to the hierarchy of National League contenders.

Winners of 8 of their last 10 games, the Cardinals climbed up the MLB power rankings. Power has been the key to the movement, they have 30 home runs, tied for most in the National League and second most in the majors. Yadier Molina and Paul Dejong’s power surges along with Jose Martinez’s emergence as the 3-hole hitter that the birds on the bat have been looking for since the departure of Albert Pujols.

While the Cardinals sit at the top of the Central Division, most of their wins have come against the dumpster fire that is the Cincinnati Reds.  They head into the matchup with the New York Mets looking to win their first series against a team with a winning record. The Mets will enter this series with a chance to make another statement against a proverbial contender. New York entered the 2018 season with mid-level expectations sitting in a division with everyone’s favorite regular season team, the Washington Nationals.  The Met’s have come out firing the first month of the season starting the season 14- 6, also winning their opening weekend series against St. Louis.  New York’s addition of Adrian Gonzalez and Todd Frazier has brought consistency to the lineup as well as veteran presences.  Outfield Brandon Nimmo’s sudden emergence has also brought an unexpected spark to the lineup. The pitching staff has stayed healthy early on, the signing of veteran lefty Jason Vargas has also given them depth to handle the breakdown of the Dark Knight Matt Harvey.

The Cardinals may have caught a small break with Met’s pushing back Zack Wheeler to start this series after a rainout cause him to miss his start against Atlanta. The righty will seek his first career win against the Cardinals, as he’s 0-2 with a 4.76 ERA in two starts. The rainout means the Cardinals will not see one of the two phenom’s the Met’s rotation sports as Jacob Degrom has been moved out of this series.  After Wheeler, the Mets will send out  lefty Steven Matz, who took the loss in his first start of the season against Cardinals giving up three runs over four innings on April 1st in New York.  They will conclude the series against Noah Syndergaard who has 39 K’s in 27 1/3 innings, but his inefficiency has left him “disappointed and frustrated with how I’ve been throwing.” He is 1-2 with a 3.79 ERA in his career vs. St. Louis.

Rotational stability is up in the air at the moment for the Cardinals as Adam Wainwright was sent to the 10-day DL for the second time in 2018.  Luke Weaver will take the mound in game one of the series. Weaver suffered his 1st loss last time out, when he allowed 6 runs in 4 innings to the Cubs. He earned his 1st win of the season against the Mets earlier this month. After Weaver, the Cardinals have left it uncertain for the final two games of the series. Micheal Wacha and Carlos Martinez would make sense, as they both would be on normal rest. Matheny though, has already shown that he is willing to tweak the rotation. With an inner division series in Pittsburgh coming up after the weekend, he could look to give Martinez an extra day off to pitch the opener in Pittsburgh.

The Cardinals will head into this series with a chance to make an early season statement to the rest of the league.  They will have a chance to show the league that they are a legit contender.  It will be important that they contain the middle of the order especially Asdrubal Cabrera, the switching hitter has been a lightning rod for the Mets lineup all season.  The Met’s have had a problem giving up home runs early in the season giving up 1.15 homers per game in 2018 which has them ranked 23rd in the league. The Met’s seem to have a problem with home runs, which is perfect for a Cardinal team that ranks 2nd in the league in home runs per game.

The Cardinals are set up to win this series. They should win this series. Playoff teams win these series at home, let’s see what they are made of.

Don’t Blame Bryan Price

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The Cincinnati Reds fired Manager Bryan Price in the midst of an MLB worst 3-15 start to the 2018 season. The final straw for Reds management may have been the back to back shutouts at the hands of division rival Milwaukee at home. The Reds are going to throw numbers out that “justify” the firing of Price at the end of the day they are using him to scapegoat what was always going to be a bad season.

Price leaves the Reds with a career record of 279-387, a winning percentage of just under 42%.  During his tenure as manager Price watched as the Reds began a rebuild of epic proportion.   Realizing that they had begun a fall of contention in 2014 the Reds began trading off long time pieces of the organization.  Names like Todd Frazier, Jay Bruce, Brandon Phillips, Mike Leake, Mat Latos, Aroldis Chapman and Johnny Cueto were moved to try and rebuild an unimpressive farm system. As the big names left the fan base began to join them. The 2017 team ranked 26th in attendance, they currently ranked 20th in the league in 2018.  This number will continue to decrease as the losing continues.

The Red’s front office has found a way to appease an angry fanbase by moving on from a manager that was never set up to win.  By moving him they can deflect the blame of horrible moves made. For example, of the 4 players picked up in the Aroldis Chapman trade, 3 are no longer in the organization, while the 4th, pitcher Rookie Davis, has a torn Labrum.  The Todd Frazier trade netted them current starting shortstop Jose Peraza whom has shown no ability to hit at the major league level.  The only remanence of the Johnny Cueto trade, Pitcher Brandon Finnegan, has spent more time on the DL then the lineup card.  The Red’s chose to clean house in an attempt to follow the trends of the Chicago Cubs and the Houston Astros. They have seen the success of these franchises by choosing to “tank”.  The problem with the tanking method is that eventually it becomes a problem with your fans. The Reds have begun to realize that when you are a historic franchise you do not always have the time to wait out a rebuild.

On record alone the firing of Bryan Price was justified, but it has become a trend for teams to move on from a manager just to make a move.  Price has been a strong leader for a team of young players.  He will move on and find a job most likely as a pitching coach for a major league team, but the sting of a potential turn around over the next three years for the franchise will sting.  The Reds have built their farm system up to 9th in the MLB.  Potential franchise players, infielder Nick Senzel and pitching phenom Hunter Greene are working their way to the show soon to join Joey Votto and hopefully a healthy Eugenio Suarez.

When you look at who is to blame for the start of the season for the Reds, don’t let the front office fool you into thinking it was Bryan Prices fault.  Management was never planning for him to win.  He was never going to be succesful in Cincinnati.

Role Definition: Luke Gregerson

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Luke Gregerson was activated by the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday.  He will now take his role in the redbird bullpen.  But what is that role?

John Mozeliak signed the 9 year veteran to a 2-year, $11-million contract in the offseason in hopes to add a reliable arm to a bullpen that had some uncertainty.  Mozeliak then shocked Cardinal nation by saying that he saw the Cardinals going into the 2018 season with Gregerson as the teams closer. While Gregerson has been an effective reliever during his tenure he had not seen much time as a full time closer, his most time spent as a closer was in 2015 with the Astros where he recorded 31 of his 66 career saves. His signing was not the impact the fanbase was looking for in the offseason. As the season drew near Gregerson’s closer role still set, an unfortunate hamstring strain caused management to call an audible in their bullpen play.  Feeling as if the injury caused a need in the back end, the Cardinals brought in 2017 NL saves leader Greg Holland as well as gave opportunities to other relievers.

With the signing of Holland, the emergence of rookie Jordan Hicks and and the steadiness of early season “Closer” Bud Norris, Gregerson’s role doesn’t seem clear. Gregerson is going to have to take on a role that most wouldn’t be accustomed to in traditional baseball circles. He must be the guy Mike Matheny goes to against tough lefties in middle inning situations.  Injuries to 2017 free agent signee Brett Cecil and young lefty Ryan Sheriff have left the Cardinals with a uncertain options in their bullpen.  Tyler Lyons currently is the only left handed pitcher in the Cardinals bullpen and frankly he has not be effective in that role. Lefties are currently hitting over .300 against Lyons.  While the Cardinals wait for another left handed pitcher to step up they have to find a way to handle current left handed bats.  Gregerson has the ability to get those outs as well as not put Lyons in a situation to lose confidence or have him be the left handed version of Matt Bowman.

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Cardinals fans will want to see a power arm like Jordan Hicks take on powerful left handed hitters, but it will be important for Matheny to fight the urge to use the young fireballer in those situations.  While Hicks has the stuff to handle any hitter he currently is still learning his new role in the pen. Keep his confidence high while he develops into what could be a cornerstone piece in the Cardinals pitching staff for years to come.

During Gregerson’s most successful season as a closer in 2015  he held left handed hitters to a .233 BA, while slugging .325 and only allowing 1 home run.  Gregerson during that time was exposed to batters much more. Gregerson’s effectiveness against lefties will be depended on his slider movement. He has the ability to fool left handed batters with the movement he brings from an awkward angle. His 3 different sliders feature movement from all different angles.  Each one can be effective against left handed hitters.

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The Cardinals will be faced with another situation where they have to ease a player into a role. While he can be a featured player at the end of games, Gregerson right now has to fill a need for his ball club.  The clubs biggest hole is a left handed reliever, while technically he doesn’t fill that role, he does have the numbers against some of the premier left handed hitters that the Cardinals will be facing during the season.

Anthony Rizzo 0 for 4

Joey Votto 0 for 5

Corey Dickerson  1 for 4, no homeruns

Carlos Gonzalez 2 for 11

Brandon Belt 0 for 9

Charlie Blackmon 1 for 5

Jay Bruce 0 for 4

It will be hard for Mike Matheny to get away from the classic lefty vs. lefty matchup but with the lack of choices that he has it is time to try put a veteran in this role.  Gregerson showed that he still has the ability in high leverage situations during the World Baseball Classic closing for a team of All- Stars.  The 2017 MLB season may not have reflected that ability, but now he moves to a much more pitcher friendly National League park.  While Cardinals fans wait for their other left handed relievers to recover this role could be the most beneficial role that Luke Gregerson can play. Mozilak and Matheny may have seen him as a stable force at the end of games but baseball is about day by day adjustments. This is the right move for the team and for the success of the pitcher.