Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - IMPLOSION: Sonny Gray's WORST Career Start Dooms Cardinals

Starting point is 00:00:00 The St. Louis Cardinals get crushed by Arizona. Again, grab the hammer and nail and hang the open for business sign up. It is time to sell. You are Locked on Cardinals, your daily St. Louis Cardinals podcast, part of the Lopton on Podcast Network, your team every day. Hey there, Cardals fans. I'm J.D. Hafford and I'm your host for Locktown Cardinals, part of the Locktown Podcast Network, covering your team every day.

Starting point is 00:00:31 Follow me on X at JD Sports Radio, the podcast also on at L.O. underscore Cardinals. We're on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram. Find us at Lockdown Cardinals. This is a show serving Cardinal Nation and giving the best fans in baseball. All of the info about the birds on the bat. Today's episode brought to you by Fandall. Right now, new customers can get $150 in bonus bets when your first $5 bed wins. Now, the last thing you wanted is for the cartels to come out of the All-Star break like this. Flat. Might as well call them the St. Louis pancakes because they have been completely flat in the first two games in Arizona, getting pummeled again on Saturday by a score of 10 to 1.

Starting point is 00:01:10 And the really depressing part about it is that they had Sunny Gray on the mound. This is your guy, right? Sunny Gray, he's the man. He's the guy that you turn to when everything else is burning down all around you. he's the guy with the fire extinguisher to put out the flames, and instead he grabbed an extra couple of gallons of gasoline and drenched the entire building with it. Up in smoke, everything went.

Starting point is 00:01:40 He was dreadful on Saturday, lasted just three and a third innings. He allowed nine runs on 11 hits, career high nine runs, by the way. Two home runs to A. E. E. E. E. E. E. Haneo Svarez, who now has 33 ding-dongs this season. Of the 15 balls that were put in play against Gray, 11 had exit velocities above 95, 10 of them reached 100 miles per hour or higher. He was batting practice is what he was. Like they never even had a shot in this game.

Starting point is 00:02:11 Like the game was over by the third inning. There was no coming back. It was done. The trade deadline is less than two weeks away. And perhaps this beat down, and I try to look at things through a positive lens, perhaps this beat down was a good thing because it hammers home the fact that this team should be selling. There, there is no more sitting on the fence. It is sell time. I don't think that's really that tough of a pill to swallow though either. To be honest with you,

Starting point is 00:02:42 it sucks that the small glimmer of hope that they might stay relevant in this playoff race is all but extinguished. But at the same time this season, it wasn't supposed to be at the playoffs. And the fact that they had a good first half, enough of a good first half, that they stayed relevant. I think that's commendable. I'll give them props for that. They weren't supposed to be here still. They were supposed to be hanging out with the bottom feeders, right?

Starting point is 00:03:09 Rockies, White Sox, the Sacramento A's, those type of people that weren't expected to win either. The Cardinals were picked to be down there with all of them. And they'd been better. And for a few months, they kept their head above water. They had that outstanding May. They really helped out. and it wasn't that long ago that they were within striking distance of the Cubs. Remember, they won those first two games at home against Chicago back on June 23rd and 24th.

Starting point is 00:03:39 That is less than a month ago. Today's July 20th. And they were two and a half games back in the division. Since then, they have gone seven and 12 and are four in 12 against anyone not named Cleveland. They're now eight and a half back of the Cubs, two and a half back in the wild. And I realize the two and a half games back, that is not that far. That isn't much. And I'm not suggesting that this team should quit or they are quitting or giving up on the

Starting point is 00:04:06 season. I'm not saying that. But what I am willing to concede is that even if they do make the playoffs, which is a big if, the chances of them getting through the wild card and then doing any damage thereon is extremely thin at best. they do get to face the Rockies after they leave Arizona today. The Rockies have been a squad that teams have used as a get-right team all year. You know, if you need to turn things around,

Starting point is 00:04:40 teams like the White Sox and the Rockies are the guys you want to face. So they get swept by the Diamondbacks. They got Miles Michaelis on the mound today. If that happens, and then they sweep the Rockies, you get a three-and-three road trip and you're right back at Square 1. You haven't really lost all that much ground. But it's not a given that that will happen. And it seems like they would really just be pushing off the inevitable

Starting point is 00:05:02 and just really need to start planning for 2026 and beyond and not worry about what's going on this season. Again, don't quit on the season. I'm not saying like you blow everything up and then you don't start from scratch. I'm not saying that. I sincerely hope that some of these young guys can rally together and start playing some good baseball again. the rest of the way. I mean, hard to do that when your pitching staff is just getting

Starting point is 00:05:29 shmammered by people. How do you trust it? How do you trust this pitching staff right now? I don't know how you can. Sunny Gray after Saturday's annihilation now has an ERA over four. In fact, all five of their starters are in the fours now. And I've looked at the positive side of things and pointed out that, you know, well, if you took away three or four starts, they'd have these outstanding numbers. And that's still true, but they still could get blasted at any moment. I always make that joke about Michaelis Roulette. It's kind of like St. Louis Cardinals starting pitching roulette.

Starting point is 00:06:03 We don't know what's going to happen. They're either going to get killed one day or they might pitch all right and get away with one. And you're like, okay, that's not bad. But there's always that hint that they could just get crushed like they have the last two games. And many fans are saying what a lot of us are thinking. thinking that, you know, if we're going to watch our pitchers get blasted all the time,

Starting point is 00:06:29 I don't want to see the veterans do it. I want to see the young guys come up, take their bumps, take their lumps now and learn from them, then watching veterans just get hammered into retirement like we saw with guys like Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson. I say that because two of the Cardinals recent starters from last year, two of their starting five are now both retired. Lance Lynn was pitching for the Savannah bananas. weekend, you know, and those were two of the three big signings last year, along with Sunny Gray, who gave up nine runs on Saturday. Lance Lynn had a better Saturday than Sunny Gray did on the mound. So two of them have hung up their spikes. What are the futures of

Starting point is 00:07:12 like, you know, and Eric Fetty and a Miles Michaelis after this season? I don't think they're going to be, they're in retirement mode yet. They're not getting signed by a team that is legitimately trying to win anything. They'll end up on another one of those lower spending. teams and probably dominate the Cardinals when they face them because that's what happens. And I'm just done with those type of players being on the roster. I'm with the fans. I'd rather take my chances with the young guys. I want the young green dudes up and pitching and hopefully watch them grow and develop

Starting point is 00:07:44 then sit here in 500 purgatory like they've been doing. So sell, sell, sell, sell, sell, sell, sell, sell, sell, get some of them inflatable tube men that you see at the car dealerships, put the faces in the names of Fetty, Michaelis, Mattes, Mayton, Helsley, Aronado, New Bar, everything is on sale. So come and get them while they last. I'm just, I'm frustrated, frustrated just like you guys. So let's do some Cardinals confessionals next. That always brightens us up, right?

Starting point is 00:08:15 The natives are restless, and I'm in the mood to hear some anger. So let's take a trip to the dark side together. This is Locked on Cardinals. summer sports are in full swing and whether you're all about baseball under the lights golf of the green maybe some high-stakes soccer action fan dual is the best way to make every game even more exciting you're already following the action that's why you're listening to a baseball podcast right now why not make it a little more thrilling and now that the MLB season is even remotely over we still got quite a ways to go but training camps are starting up the NFL is just 40 plus days away

Starting point is 00:08:58 from kicking off their season. It's coming in fast. And Fandall is where I go to get in on the action. I've been using Fandle for years to track my favorite matchups. I'm a big Green Bay Packers fan. So always on there looking at their stuff. And the app, it keeps it fresh with new daily promotions and fun ways to bet so that it never feels like I'm just going through the motions and doing the same thing over and over and over.

Starting point is 00:09:20 I don't want it to feel like a slot machine, right, where I'm just press a button and move on. I wanted to be entertaining. And Fandle makes that happen. And it's super easy to use. You get a fast payout, and it even makes regular season games feel like must watch events. So whether you're placing a same game parlay or watch it a bet right into the ninth inning, Fandle will make it feel like you're part of the action. And if you're new to Fandul, that's great because new customers can bet just $5 and get $150 in bonus bets if your first bet wins.

Starting point is 00:09:47 Open the Fanduel app today or visit fandle.com slash locked on to get started. Thanks again for making lots on Cardinals. First listen to every day, leave you comments on YouTube as well as on Act. and TikTok anytime you want. Your feedback is always welcome and encouraged. It is time to unleash the fury. We've got some slightly unhappy fans. We've got some disappointed fans.

Starting point is 00:10:15 Remember when your parents should say that to you? I'm not mad. Just disappointed. People always said that made them feel worse. I don't know. I didn't like getting spanked or anything like that when I was in trouble. We've got some who were just played angry at this point. A lot of them.

Starting point is 00:10:29 Some of these are like I just mentioned. Some are from TikTok, some are from YouTube, from X, you know, TikTok in case you don't follow us there. You can. That's where I put like short clips up, game recaps. Those goes on YouTube on the short stuff too. But we're available in all these places. But you can always comment on these things and it'll get right to me.

Starting point is 00:10:52 And we're going to go through some of these right now. These are your cardinal confessional. So no names will be given, but your voices will be heard. so please speak freely my child all right first one simply said a while ago this is the end exclamation points so i'm trying to read it the way they wrote it all caps by the way this is the end has been the end the cards suck the manager and team are not good at all no one on the cards are worth anything i feel like emperor palpatine right now i can feel your anger the hate flow through you. I get it, man. My rebuttal to that is that as upset as you are, there are some players on this roster who do have some worth. All right. Let's, let's not do that. I mean, this is not, again, this is not the Rockies of the White Sox right now with 2030 wins.

Starting point is 00:11:47 We're talking about a team that's a couple games over 500 and two and a half games out of the wild card. So let's blow things out. Let's not blow things out of proportion here. I genuinely like some of the young core guys that they've got. Mason Wynn, Yvonne Herrera, Victor Scott, Alec Berlinson, Matthew Libert's who are still waiting on, you know, is what Thomas to Jacey could be because he's got to get regular playing time, right? It hasn't hit much since he's been back up the last couple times that he's shown up. Jordan Walker, Nolan Gorman, they continue to be those enigmas that, you know, if those guys were doing things, you'd feel so much better about what the future could be for this team. You know,

Starting point is 00:12:27 Gorman was showing signs of production, but he's out again with the back issue. And it's always his back every year on the IL multiple times with this back thing. So that sucks. Back issues for a guy in his mid-20s, like that's not great. In Jordan, I don't know what else is left to say about Jordan Walker, except that he's got to produce. Like, you know, he's tinkering with everything. He's tinkering with his stance. He's wide open one week.

Starting point is 00:12:59 He's closed one week. Now he's just kind of like in the middle. And he's trying. He's doing everything they're asking him to do. He's working on his swing. He's been to double a. He's been to Memphis. He's done it with the Cardinals.

Starting point is 00:13:12 Nothing is working so far. He's trying everything, though. It's not a lack of effort. He's probably more frustrated than you and I are because he's used to being awesome. His whole life. He has been awesome. at this sport called baseball. And now he's not.

Starting point is 00:13:29 And it's got to be frustrating. And it's got to be pissing him off. And he can't seem to get it right. I don't know what else to say about. You're not going to trade him. I've seen those people out there. You're not going to trade him. His value, first off, it's rock bottom.

Starting point is 00:13:45 So you're not going to get anything for him. So the plan is to live and die. People who are asking you about Jordan Walker, if you want to trade him, they're trying to rob you blind. They're hoping that they can come in, swoop him up and then he becomes a star with them. So you're not doing that. The plan is to live and die with him in right field. That's just it and hope that it finally

Starting point is 00:14:05 clicks for him. He's hit a couple balls hard in this series against Arizona that Alex Thomas catch and left center was awesome, which Jordan wanted to spike his helmet after that. I felt the pain there because, you know, when you're in the situation, he's in and you finally smoke a ball like that. I thought it would. I couldn't believe it stayed in the ballpark. but yeah you're just hoping that it'll work out for him he's a good kid he's got all the tools just needs to have it finally come together for him and uh i'm rooting for him i'm rooting for him as much as i wanted to work not only just for him but for the cardinals too like i want to see jordan walker succeed uh fire marmal and blake this team blows no pitching no offense

Starting point is 00:14:51 i stopped watching the cardinals three weeks ago this franchise is broken. I probably will not live long enough to see the cardals come back to relevance. I don't know how old you are. I don't. But I hope that it happens. I would hate for you to, you know, to pass on to the other side. And the cardals not be relevant. I think they're relevant right now. They're just not one of the top teams. You know, two and a half games back out of the wild cartel. You guys, this is not, again, not Colorado. It's not Chicago. But I get it because we're pissed because we expect the cardals to be better than this. They're not supposed to to be meddling around 500. That's not what we grew up on. So I get it. I'm not bashing you for that.

Starting point is 00:15:31 I'm just saying like, people are angry right now because they're not winning. And I am curious to see how things are handled this offseason with Ali and Dusty Blake and this coaching staff. You know, with Heim Blum taking over, is he going to want his own guys in there or not? Is it time for new voices? You know, I think Bram Brown has been awesome on the hitting side of things. I don't think there's a lot of complaining there. Things have gone quite well for them until the injuries started. But I'm like what Ali and Dusty have done with the talent that they were given to work with. You know, how many other managers in baseball and pitching coaches in baseball would have succeeded with this group? Like if I gave, I don't even know who the best pitching coach in the league is right now, but if I gave that pitching coach, Miles Michaelis, Eric Fetty, Andre Belonte.

Starting point is 00:16:21 Is he going to turn them into 15 game? winners with ERAs around three. If so, go get that guy and pay him whatever you need to pay him and bring him in here. That way you pay him, not the players and he can work this, you know, black magic that you think is out there that would fix these people. You know, who is the guy that is going to come in as a manager and magically make some of these other guys hit for more power or get more swing and miss with the, the pitchers that they have and the, you know, the arsenals that they possess.

Starting point is 00:16:54 I always blame the GM in any sport. It's not just the Cardinals and it's not just baseball. I've always blamed the GM in these situations and not the coaches because that's the guy that assembled the talent. He picked the talent and said this is the group that I think is going to be good enough to go win ball games. And the manager's job is to manage that stuff and get the best out of them. and I think most of our opinions are the same where there's just not enough talent in that clubhouse.

Starting point is 00:17:31 Like these aren't guys that are not living up to their potential. You know, the Jordan Walker and Olin-Gorman thing is a different story, but they've been struggling this whole time. It's not just this year. But why is it always on the manager of the coach who has to take the fall? Like the GM is the guy who said that these were the guys and this is how we're going to spend the money. And there have been ownerships out there that don't pay a lot and still find ways to win. But, you know, I say this to give some credit to Mo, he had to go backwards the last couple seasons.

Starting point is 00:18:05 He was used to, you know, money going up a little bit here and there and using it that way. Last couple seasons, they've had to go the opposite way and not pay people. And unfortunately, the guys he did chose to go along with that situations, they have, not worked out. The traits have certainly not worked out. Heinbloom will be picking up the pieces after the season, and I'm not sure what changes he's going to make, but it wouldn't shock me if you saw some new blood in the dugout next season. I mean, why wouldn't just a fresh start for a lot of people be the best thing moving forward? I'm not blaming Ollie. I'm not blaming Dusty. Mo's going to move on. Ollie was kind of attached to Moe. Dusty is attached to Mo. Dusty is attached.

Starting point is 00:18:52 to Ali, you know, I could see it totally happening. And whatever changes Heinblu makes, the other thing is you can't expect instantaneous results where they all of a sudden will be part of the top tier teams in the national league like they have in the past. That's kind of fools gold right there. The only way to do a turnaround that quickly is buying free agents. Go splurge, get three or four guys that can help turn it around quicker

Starting point is 00:19:21 and ownership doesn't appear to be interested in paying that sort of money to rebuild that way. And it certainly has to sting, too. I'm sure you've seen the footage of Bush Stadium packed this last couple nights with the Savannah bananas in town. And Wainwright, Lance Lynn, coming out. And, you know, you've got this madhouse where there's not an empty seat in the place. And then when the Cardinals come in town, it's just a sea of empty red plastic seats. The fans still love baseball in St. Louis.

Starting point is 00:19:49 that passion has never gone away, but they don't love this product that the Cardinals have put on the field. They don't like the message that ownership has given them. And if you want butts in the seats again, you're going to have to do something. And I don't even, you know, your top prospect, J.J. Weatherholt. If he's on this team next year, is that really going to bring people back?

Starting point is 00:20:10 Are you spending what it costs to go to a ballgame to just go see J.J. Weatherholt in his rookie year? I love the kid. I think he's going to be a, a nice piece. But I look at the division and I see, you know, the pirates, they're not any good, although they've been whipping the cardals butts this year. But they got a star in Paul Skeens to build around, you know, you can always look at

Starting point is 00:20:33 that and go, dude, skeeds start. Let's get down there. The Reds have got L.A. Dela Cruz and Hunter Green and a nice little group of young guys that are doing some good things in Cincinnati. The Cubs have got Pekro Armstrong and Michael Bush and Sayas Suzuki and Shota and Managa. We don't know if Kyle Tucker is going to be back next year or not. But they've got those nice pieces right there. The Brewers, they invested highly in Jackson Churier.

Starting point is 00:20:59 They got Freddie Peralta. They got the Mizz, All-Star after five games. Like, who are the Cardinals guys? Mason Wend could be, but needs his offense to develop to become a star player. The defensive side is awesome. Yvonne Herrera looks like a slugger when he's on the field, but he's been hurt twice. Brandon Donovan, he's a solid player. He was a lone all-star, but he lacks the wow factor, you know, that attracts fans.

Starting point is 00:21:27 Jordan Walker should be that guy with the amount of talent he possesses, but hasn't progressed to that point yet, has dealt with injuries this year. No one Gorman shows flashes. The pizzazz that first-round pick Liam Doyle has, like he just has a vibe and an energy to him. That is something I'm excited to see in St. Louis at some point because that is sorely needed. but we don't know how long it will take him to get to St. Louis if he ever makes it. We never know. There are always possibilities that they never get here.

Starting point is 00:21:57 So we're going to continue with these confessions next before we wrap things up for the day. So more to come on Locked on Cardinals. Thanks for making Locked on Cardinals your first list. Today for your second list to check out Locked on MLB game night. It's every game every night all season long. You get local analysis on the national scale. Find MLB game night on the Lockton MLB. channel on YouTube or wherever you listen to your podcast.

Starting point is 00:22:27 A couple more of these. No matter if we were in a playoff spot, we should, we should still be, okay, horrible English here. We should have still been selling regardless. Sell for the future. I never understood the idea of buying potential rentals for this young team. Sell, Helzley, Matt's, Nato, mats for whatever prospects you can get,

Starting point is 00:22:46 Fetti and Michaelis for cash considerations. In theory, that sounds great. But no one or not. I would have to waive is no trade clause. No guarantees he's going to do that. Again, I've said it since they started talking about trading him last year, that feels like an off-season move for Aronado, not something he's going to be interested in doing in the middle of the year.

Starting point is 00:23:08 Maybe I'm wrong, but it just, his personality, it just feels like he'd rather plan ahead and do it in an off-season. Michaelis has to waive his no-trade clause. Who wants him, by the way? Eric Fetty is almost worthless on the market right now. Rock bottom. Helsley and Mats could net you some stuff. So I'm sure they're listening.

Starting point is 00:23:32 But with the closer market, you've got some other names, some big names like Emmanuel Claussay's name's been floating around. Batista from Baltimore, Kinley Janssen from the Angels, also being dangled. I don't know if there's a team that covets Helsley like we think they will. maybe you know uh who was it uh philadelphia detroit i don't know i'm trying to think who they were talking about the other day uh but there were a couple of teams that obviously could use another guy um i hope i hope people like him and won him but i just don't know right now like

Starting point is 00:24:10 his stock has dropped since what he did last year like when when some when teams are hitting over 400 against your fastball that's that's not going to to attract people. But as fastball does come in at 102. I hate being right about the Cardinals, but I've been telling everyone they just aren't good enough to be a playoff team. I predicted a fourth place finish. And it's looking that way. I really did want to be wrong. Yeah, the Cubs and the Brewers and the Red, they're all playing very well right now. And then the Cardinals at the same time, they're fading away. So a lot of distance being made here. You know, I didn't care where they finished in the division. I just figured they'd be similar to last year. I had,

Starting point is 00:24:50 them right around 500 is what I thought they'd be. What I say, 84 wins, I think is where I was at. I never thought they'd be embarrassingly bad the way many predicted them to be. But it has been tough to watch over the last few weeks. This series for sure. This series for sure has not been a whole lot of fun. You got Michaelis on the bump today to try to avoid the sweep. Maybe he comes out and surprises us again.

Starting point is 00:25:16 Maybe he gives up 15 runs in the first three innings. I don't know what's going to happen. could be anything, although he's pitched better since giving up all those home runs against the Cubs. And they figured out whatever it was, they figured out, whether he was tipping pitches or whatnot. But he has pitched better since then. So maybe he comes out and doubts up the Diamondbacks today. I don't know. But the Diamondbacks look like they're trying to, you know, again, they're under 500.

Starting point is 00:25:43 But they're playing like a team that is pushing for a playoff spot. So they're going to be an interesting team here. the deadline too because are they really going to make it all the way back? And if they do, you know, uh, do they add? Or do they trade guys like Svarez? You got a 33 home run guy on your squad. And if you're selling, you know how many teams are going to line up to get him? Oh, it could be dangerous on a team like the Cubs. Like, oh, that would be, that'd be something. Anyway, not rooting for the Cubs to get him. I'm just saying, like, thinking out loud, wow, imagine if he goes and plays third base for them.

Starting point is 00:26:20 clubs are all in. They got Kyle Tucker this year. We don't know if they're going to have them next year. So this is this year is a window for them. And with them playing as well as they are, I could see them making a push for them. I mean, why wouldn't they? But we'll see what happens.

Starting point is 00:26:36 You know, they're going to try to avoid the sweep today that it's off to Colorado who again, on pace to set a new record for their worst winning percentage in baseball, but have now won their last two games. So wouldn't that be the Cardinals luck that they get hot right before St. Louis shows up? They go on a run of winning like six of seven, and the Cardinals are in the path of that.

Starting point is 00:26:56 I just would be their luck, wouldn't it? So, all right, enjoy the game today. Thank you for making a lockdown cardinals. Your first listen every day if you haven't already. Give us a follow on X at L1 underscore Cardinals at a JD Sports Radio, TikTok, Instagram, a Locktown Cardinals, YouTube as well. You guys are the best fans in baseball for a reason. I know we're all frustrated.

Starting point is 00:27:15 We'll get through it together here at Locktown Cardinals.

Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - IMPLOSION: Sonny Gray's WORST Career Start Dooms Cardinals

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.