Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - Sonny Gray Spins A Gem, Pham Stays Hot In Win Against TB! Are They Really Bringing Goldy Back?

Starting point is 00:00:00 The St. Louis Cardinals needed to win in the worst way and Sunny Gray delivered as the Cardinals try to keep pace in the playoff chase. This is Locked on Cardinals. You are Locked on Cardinals. Your daily St. Louis Cardinals podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Hey there, Cardinals fans. I'm J.D. Hafer and I'm a national radio sports anchor. Born and raised in the Lou and a lifetime Cardinals fan. And I'm your host for Lockdown Cardinals, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network covering your team every day. day. You can follow me on Twitter X at JD Sports Radio. You can follow the podcast at L.O. underscore

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Starting point is 00:01:18 So the Cardinals came into Tuesday's game, having lost four of their last five. Things were not good. The players and the coaches are frustrated. The fans are beyond frustrated, and many of them already believing that the season is done. People are not pleased. And they're like, nah, it's over, wake me up in the spring, blah, blah, blah, blah. A lot of people think they're out of the playoff chase. I ran a poll recently on X asking if the Cardinals will make the playoffs.

Starting point is 00:01:48 Simple answer is either yes or no. And to me, it seems like the negative crowd is usually the more vocal and outgoing of the groups. when it comes to doing stuff like that on on x. But the numbers don't lie. All right. We had 75.2% of the vote say no. They said no. They said no.

Starting point is 00:02:14 They're not going to make it. They're out. They're done. They're cooked. And I can see why so many people feel that way. I do because I really see both sides of it. There's the fan side of me that obviously wants the Cardinals to make the playoffs. and no, never give up.

Starting point is 00:02:30 You know, there's plenty of time left. But then there's the realistic side of things when you see how good some of the other teams in the National League are right now. It's going to be difficult. You know, the pitching is struggled. The offense can't hit with runners in scoring position. Some of them just aren't hitting at all.

Starting point is 00:02:46 It doesn't matter if anybody's on base or not. And the Cardinals have a very, very, very, very tough schedule ahead of them the rest of the way with series coming up against, you know, you've got the raise now, who are not a horrible team. They traded a lot of pieces of ways, so they're not exactly the same team that got them to where they are right now, but you got to face them,

Starting point is 00:03:06 and you get the Royals, Dodgers, Brewers, Twins, Padres, and Yankees in the month of August. All of those teams are currently playoff teams, whether it's by leading a division or by a wild card spot. So August sucks as far as the schedule goes. So getting a win against the raise, which is one of the few teams that you're playing, that isn't really playing for anything.

Starting point is 00:03:31 Despite having traded away of a ton of pieces at the deadline, including swapping Sean Armstrong for Dylan Carlson, they've got more wins than the Cardinals have going into this game. So this was something that needed to happen. They needed to beat the Tampa Bay raise on Tuesday. You had to get this thing turned around. And when those types of moments pop up during a season,

Starting point is 00:03:53 it's kind of nice to have your staff ace on the hill to try and give you that push in the right direction. And that's exactly what the Cardinals had on Tuesday night when Sunny Gray took the mound. Now, I didn't start off great for one Sunny Gray. Things got bad quickly. Two hitters into the game, Cardinals are down two to nothing after a walk and a home run by Josh Lowe on a hanging curveball. And, you know, we all probably did the same thing.

Starting point is 00:04:22 You probably let out a sigh. You probably were like, here we go again, right? That's what you were thinking. I was too. I'm not ashamed to admit it. I'm like, oh, boy, this is not what you needed. And Sunny had to throw 30 pitches in that first inning to get out of there with giving up just two runs.

Starting point is 00:04:42 So, not ideal. Not ideal. And with the offense struggling, it probably felt more like five to nothing to everybody that was at Bush Stadium. and probably to the players too. They're like, oh, boy, we're in this hole already. So bottom of the first inning, the Cardinals, they actually get the bases loaded. They actually work a few counts, and you get Mason when he gets the double. And then you get walks to Wilson Contreras and Paul Goldschmidt, which brings up Nolan Aronano.

Starting point is 00:05:14 Five pitch walk to Willie, six pitch walk to Goldie. Most of them weren't even close to being strikes. not even close. Not really around the strike zone all that much. So probably a good idea to make the pitch of prove that he can throw a strike before you swing at something. Right? Right. Am I crazy?

Starting point is 00:05:39 Or should that be the mental thought process going into that at bat? That is not what Nolan Aronado does. Arnato swings at the very first pitch, which happens to be a slight. down and out of the zone. So it's not, it was within where the plate was, but it was low, well below the strike zone. And I'll be nice. I'll give him credit. He hit the ball hard, 103.6 miles per hour off the bat, but it's a double play ball to the third baseman. Endings over. Once again, I do not understand what Nato is thinking there. Is a slider what you were looking for? Is that what you were, you were going, ooh, I hope he throws me a slider.

Starting point is 00:06:24 Who says that? And I know Nato's been in his career a very, very, very good low ball hitter. But I can't sit here and tell you that that was the smart thing to do just because the ball was low, especially when the guy just walked two dudes ahead of you and is having trouble finding the zone. Again, like in the Cubs series when Assad was having trouble throwing strikes, two and O on Aronado and he bails him out by swinging at something not even close to the strike zone. This was another case where you've got a pitcher who's fighting it. He's on the ropes.

Starting point is 00:07:07 Why are you helping him? Why are we swinging at that? Now, if this had been like a fastball and it had been lower portion of the zone and Nato took a swing at it, I wouldn't feel quite as bad. but we're talking about a breaking ball out of the zone. Like, I just cannot wrap my head around it. And, you know, the same excuses get put up. Like, well, he's trying to do too much.

Starting point is 00:07:33 He's trying to hit an eight-run homer. But he's got to be better than that. He's supposed to be smarter than that. And he's just not. He keeps taking terrible at bats in situations where the Cardinals need him to come through. Now, later on in the game, he came up and he was very, patient had learned, I think, from what happened in that first abat, was very patient, worked the count, finally got him to come over to the plate with an off speed pitch and caught a lot of

Starting point is 00:08:04 the zone, and he ripped it into center field. It was beautiful. I just need Nato to be a little more patient, a little more selective. I'm not trying to just pick on him, but these are the abats that stand out to me when I watch these games. And it just recently, it's been him. there's Roverson's scoring position where something just like, I'm like, huh? Why are we doing this? It baffles me. It baffles me sometimes. Anyway, luckily for the Cardinals, they still had eight innings to go.

Starting point is 00:08:34 It's two to nothing at this point. We're going into the second inning. We're going to talk about the rookies who stepped up and the very interesting ending to this game because you'll see what I'm talking about. We'll get into it next on Lockdown Cardinals. Order supplies from the website. that is made for the skilled trades. Find thousands of parts from hundreds of brands and just a couple of clicks at supplyhouse.com. Supplyhouse.com gives you 24-7 access to a huge selection of plumbing, HVAC, and electrical supplies, and they get it to you with fast delivery anywhere in the United States.

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Starting point is 00:10:01 Are you watching Fox Sports or ESPN on your TV all day and have to turn it down because they keep shouting, then make the switch to lock down sports today. It's better for you. It's a free 24-7 sports streaming channel and it is programmed for you every single day to bring you the biggest stories, but you don't have to worry about the screaming. That's the good part. It brings you can't-miss analysis. Opinions news, streaming 24-7 on YouTube or the free Amazon Fire TV channels app. It's part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. A reminder, you can catch every pitch of the Cardinals sometime broadcast with Sirius XM. Just download the SXM app and search the word Cardinals. All right, Cardinals are down two to nothing at this point. It's second inning.

Starting point is 00:10:42 So no, not a time to really freak out. Like, it sucked that the bases loaded didn't work out. Hasn't worked a lot out very recently. And that's, you know, it's rough because. hitting with runners in scoring position. It's been a problem all year. It's been a real big problem recently, and to see the first inning in the way it did is a bomber.

Starting point is 00:11:05 But you get to the bottom of the second inning, and it's the bottom of the order that's coming up. But the Cardinals just had a ton of youth in the lineup tonight, which I kind of enjoyed. I know we got some oldies, but goodies on the Cardinals roster right now, and a few of them obviously have to play every single day. But you've also got kind of a bright future when you look at things from a different angle.

Starting point is 00:11:28 All right? You've got Mason Wend, leading off, right? 22 years old. Alec Burleson, batting sixth. Nolan, Gorman, back in the lineup there tonight. Good to see him again, batting seven. Pedro Pahas was eight, Victor Scott the second in the number nine hole.

Starting point is 00:11:42 That is five of your nine hitters in the lineup on Tuesday, 25 years of age or younger, for those of you counting at home. So nice, right? And the rookies here in the second inning, they deliver. With two outs, Pedro Paw has his great a bat, hits a single into left field that brings up Victor Scott the second, who then blasts a two-run shot into the Cardinals' bullpen. That is his first Major League home run. Very nice, very nice.

Starting point is 00:12:12 Goes into the Cardinals' bullpen, ties the game up at two. And, you know, we had heard about the changes that Victor Scott the second has made with his approach at the plate. He's doing the leg kick thing and really kind of what he calls being more athletic with his with his batting stance and stuff. And it is working out, man, because over the last few games, counting at Memphis and then here in St. Louis, like he just looks like in a completely different person. He's not swinging with all arms. He looks, he looks smooth and he looked competent. It looks really competent. So that's working out great, obviously.

Starting point is 00:12:52 So Mason wins, circles the bases. It's the dinger, and, you know, everybody's very much excited. They're trying to get the curtain call because it's his first one ever. And while that is happening, your next hitter is another rookie. Mason wins. So you got three rookies in a row batting in the setting. He gets plunked on the very first pitch. And out brings in the Cardinals hottest hitter in Tommy Fam, who was definitely not a rookie.

Starting point is 00:13:17 And the crowd is still buzzing over the Victor Scott home run. All right. Everybody's still excited about that. You get the hit by pitch. And then the very next pitch is Tommy Fam hitting the home run into the raise bullpen in left field to make it a four to two ball game. And you're just like, oh my gosh, three pitches, two home runs, four runs scored. So to steal a phrase from Chip Carrey, an absolute ambush by the Cardinals. Meanwhile, you've got Sonny Gray who is absolutely dealing at this point.

Starting point is 00:13:53 and he has settled in nicely, ends up firing off seven innings, allows two runs on four hits, he strikes out six. Andrew Ketridge gets into this game. He throws a clean inning, which brings us to Ryan Helsley in the ninth inning. And for usual, things get a little bit hairy. All right, I don't know what it is with why? When the Cardinals have a multi-run lead, they cannot seem to hang on to it and they have to make it a one-run game.

Starting point is 00:14:23 It's unbelievable and it's so stressful. But what's the worst thing you can do, right? Lead off walk when you're a pitcher. I mean, I guess you can give up a home run, but lead off walks are always a big problem when it comes to a closer in the final inning. And that's exactly what hellsley does. He gets ahead of his hitter and then ends up losing him.

Starting point is 00:14:43 It's lead off walk. And then you get a single on a little flared right field. And now you got first and second when nobody out and you got me chewing my nails, didn't need the stress on my birthday. but he gets the next two hitters, gets a pop out, gets strikeout, then breaking ball gets hit for a two-out single to left field, moves the tying run in the scoring position. Now we're all freaking out. Helsley's now gone three and two on the next hitter, which is Taylor Walls, and this is where

Starting point is 00:15:10 the ending is just kind of goofy, gets him to ground the ball up the middle. It deflects off Ryan Halsley's right butt cheek. It goes over to Mason Wynn, who was trying to cut across the middle, already because he thought that's where the ground ball is going to go. So it hits Halsley's right butt cheek. I feel like I'm doing the zip rudder film from JFK. It changes directions. It's the magic bullet.

Starting point is 00:15:36 It changes directions off the butt cheek, goes to Mason Wynn, slows down in velocity, obviously, after it hits Helsley's ass. And Winn has to pick it up and just rips a cannon over to first base to Goldschmidt, gets the runner by a step. Cardinals won the game four to three. Just silliness. Like, why oh, does it always have to be so difficult at the end? I don't know.

Starting point is 00:16:05 But at this point, are we going to complain, or can we just say, yay, win? We got to win. So that's great. And it feels even nicer because it was on my birthday today.

Starting point is 00:16:15 So that makes it all that much better for me. Greg gets his 11th win of the season. Helsley with his league leading 35th save. Tommy Pham goes two for four with what ends up. being the game-winning home run when he hit that one that put him up by two, but that ends up being the game-winning RBI with him scoring on his own home run. He's now batting 379 with an OPS of 1.159 since getting traded back to St. Louis. So for comparison, because stats can get dorky and nerdy from time to time, and I get that. But OPS of 1.159 for Tommy Famp since being traded. League leader in OPS this

Starting point is 00:16:50 year is the Yankees Aaron Judge. We know how much damage that dude does. He's at 1.159. So you're getting Aaron Judge-like production since Tommy Fam has come over. So since putting on the Cardo uniform, he is 11 for 29. Two home runs now, three doubles, a triple, nine ribbies, five runs scored. He's played pretty good in the outfield, too. There's been somebody that obviously they like in the clubhouse. So not too shabby, not too shabby with the Tommy Fam acquisition. As far as the standings go, the Cardinals remain six-back of Milwaukee,

Starting point is 00:17:30 who just beat the snot out of the Braves right now tonight, 10 to nothing. The Braves, they're reeling, man. They've now slid to the third wild card spot. The Padres and D-Back stay hot with wins. So the wild card spots are situated this way. You have Padres, then the Diamondbacks, then the Braves. Then it's the Mets, who are a game and a half out, who just beat the Cardinals six to nothing on Monday.

Starting point is 00:17:53 Then you've got the Cardinals who were three games. back, then followed by pirates and the Giants who both lost on Tuesday. But it's not all sunshine and rainbows at the end of this game because there are some things we've got to point out because there are still some struggles going on here. The team is 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position on Tuesday. So by my calculations, and I'm not a great mathematician, but that makes them now three for 38 with runners in scoring. position since the beginning of the Cubs series.

Starting point is 00:18:29 Three for 38. That is a 79 batting average. 79. They are now hitting 231 with runners in scoring position, which is 27th in the league ahead of the Cubs, the Rays, and the White Sox. Their OPS with runners in scoring position is 641, second to last, ahead of only the White Sox, who congratulations. It's done. The White Sox broke their 21 game losing streak on Tuesday. They beat the Oakland A's who, I don't know if you guys heard this, but the A's were trolling them, at least the people that are running the music. I can't say that the team itself asked for them to do this, but the A's were playing a Taylor Swift song called 22 before the game started, kind of predicting that they were going to lose their 22nd.

Starting point is 00:19:21 in a row. Oh, hell, karma will get you, won't it? And how are the A's trolling anyone, by the way? They're about to be homeless. They're going to be playing their home games at a AAA stadium in West Sacramento for the next three years. It's not like this is some, oh, yeah, you'd be here for a couple. Three years. They're going to be doing that. So kind of funny that the White Sox snapped their streak against the A's after getting trolled a little bit in pregame. So, back to the Cardinals, hitting with runners in scoring position, still broken. Wilson Contreras, 0 for 3 tonight. He's now batting 95 in the month of August, does not have an RBI. Alec Borellison continues to scuffle over 3 hitting 105 with 1 RBI in August.

Starting point is 00:20:10 Nolan Gorman got the start on Tuesday. He did have a single in four at bats with one strikeout. We're really hoping he turns things around. We're at the point now where I'm starting to feel sorry for him. Because there are, I mean, imagine what he could be providing for this offense, you know, with the, with the power and stuff. And it has been so bad that he hasn't been getting any playing time whatsoever where they're pinch hitting Brandon Crawford in key situations over Nolan Gorman, who's got 19 home runs on the year and 50-something RBIs, but they can't trust him to put the ball in play. So good to see him get a single and get some playing time tonight. I hope he's on the road back to being the guy that we know he can be. Paul Goldschmidt was 0 for 3 with a walk. He is now 0 for his last 17.

Starting point is 00:21:03 Again, not great with calculations, but that's a zero batting average in his last five games. And he's hitting 136 in August with seven strikeouts. Now, Goldie has had a really, really, really rough year. We know this, right? We're all aware of it. We know it's been tough. And most people think that the Cardinals should just move on from him.

Starting point is 00:21:21 at the end of the season when his contract is up. But recent news says that that's not exactly a given right now. I'll discuss that next on Lockdown Cardinals. I love sports. I love them so much that I never want them to stop. And when the sports aren't sporting like I want them to, it can be a bit of a downer. But Fandul lets me keep the sports going whenever I want.

Starting point is 00:21:49 All I got to do is open up the app, dream up some bets. anytime I'm in the mood to get into some sports. NFL preseason getting underway, obviously. We're all getting excited for that. College football, not too far off. Obviously, the Olympics still going on. It's getting close to the end, though, but it's still, they're still happening. And, of course, you've got baseball, the pennant chases, the wild card races, all of that's going on right now.

Starting point is 00:22:14 And the summer fandul is hooking up all customers with a boost or bonus daily. That's right. There's something for everyone every day all summer long. All you need to do is. head over to fandul.com slash locked on and start making the most out of your summer, whether you're betting on the Cardinals or against the Cardinals, we've got some people who aren't so happy with them and think they're just going down the toilet. So if you feel that way, bet against them.

Starting point is 00:22:36 Maybe you can make some money off of that. Here's your chance to prove us all wrong. So check it out for yourself on Fandall. That's Fandle.com slash Lockdown. Fandle, the official sports betting partner of Major League Baseball. Thank you for making Lockton Cardinals your first listen today for your second listen, enjoy the locked-on MLB podcast, host Paul Sullivan, aka Sully. He does not like being called Paul Sullivan, by the way. So don't do that. If you're going to write to him or talk to

Starting point is 00:23:08 him, Sully, that's what he likes to go by. He's here, though, to provide national expertise daily with his trademark humor to help you get ready for the MLB playoffs here in the dog days of summer. Prepare for the fall classic with Sully, who has it all covered every single day on Locked-on MLB, which is available on YouTube or wherever you get your podcast, part of the Locked podcast network, your team every day. We need to get a crossover with Sully. I would love to get his thoughts on what he thinks about what the Cardinals have done and are doing right now. Maybe we wait until they heat up a little bit more before we bring amenities,

Starting point is 00:23:40 and he starts tearing us apart. But let's talk about Paul Goldschmidt. Bringing Paul Goldschmidt back or not. To be or not to be? That is the question, right? Do you bring him back or do you say thank you for your service? and move on with your lives. This is a question that most Cardinal fans have probably pondered over by now.

Starting point is 00:24:04 I want to look at both sides of this real quick because there are a reason why, reasons why you would want to cut the cord and let it go. And there's also reasons why bringing Paul Goldschmidt could make sense, though, if you bring them back. Let's start with the good. Two years ago, he's your league MVP, right? Goes bonkers. Threatens to win a triple crown.

Starting point is 00:24:27 in 2022. Has the unfortunate struggles in the playoffs against the Phillies, but all the Cardinals did. Nobody had them except for Juan Yuppes. So that was a sour end to what was a pretty fun year in 2022. You had Goldie doing his thing. You had Albert Pooleholds going for 700. Arnado was crushing the ball as well.

Starting point is 00:24:50 It was a lot of fun for the most part. It just ended badly. So you got that, which is not that long ago, 2022. It's not like this is six, seven years ago that we're talking about. As a person, there is probably none better than Paul Goldschmidt, right? A model player and citizen in our city. Everyone loves this guy. He's a hard worker, puts in the time and the effort to be the best he can be.

Starting point is 00:25:14 Like you're always seeing him doing the extra work in the cages and out in the field. He doesn't complain. He just goes in, does his job, day in, day out. A perfect guy. a perfect guy on your baseball club. But since that big season, things have dripped. Things have dipped dramatically, which it happens to most athletes at some point or another,

Starting point is 00:25:42 unless you have PEDs helping you out. But most people, they hit a spot and then the end is near. It's just a little bit shocking that after, being so good just two years ago, how far things have fallen. So with his numbers that year in 2022 when he was the NLMBP, hits 317, 35 home runs, 115 ribbies, his OBPs 404, the slugging 578, OPS, 982, and 141 strikeouts. Okay? Incredible stuff. Now we knew there was going to be regression in 2020. Nobody expected Paul Goldschmidt to do that again. You knew they were going to come down a little bit. I think they fell a little bit farther than a lot of people thought they would because

Starting point is 00:26:32 2023 was a disaster for the Cardinals. He hits 266, 25 home runs, 80 ribbies, OVP down to 363, the slugging down to 447, the OPS down to 18. The strikeouts go up to 161, which is the third highest amount he has ever struck out in the season in his career. Now we're here in 2024, and this is where the cliff happens. Batting average down to 228, 17 home runs, 43 RBIs, on base percentage 288. He's not walking at all. Slugging 384. OPS down to 672. and he's already had 135 strikeouts. If he plays the rest of the year and he stays the way he is, he is going to shatter his most strikeouts ever in a career in one season,

Starting point is 00:27:32 like shatter that. So it feels like when you think about things, and you're like, oh, man, you hate seeing him struggle, but it feels like the Cardinals are coming to the end of a contract at the right time. Perfect time would have been last year, right? before you got to this one. But this is when you're like, all right, well, you know, we did the best we could. And this is the guy you are now.

Starting point is 00:28:00 And we're going to move on. But what if I told you that they might want to bring him back? And if they do bring him back, there's a chance, he would have to come back at $17.6 million. Did you just spit out your drink if you were just, drinking something or your food, you might have. But that's how it is. According to Derek Gould, during his chat on SCL today.com and reported by JT. Bouchite, I think it's Bouchite or Bucite at Redbird Rance.com. We haven't had them on. Maybe we can work on that and try to get JT on to talk about this stuff. But according to them, the Cardals are going to talk to Goldie after the season

Starting point is 00:28:44 to gauge his interest in a new contract. Now, the reason I said $17.6 million in this article the JT did, it says if the Cardinals want to re-sign Goldschmidt before allowing him to reach free agents, like if they wanted to work something out before that, they are only allowed to cut his salary by a maximum of 20%, meaning Goldie's minimum salary in 2025 would be $17.6 million because he's making $26 this year. Of course, if the Cardinals wait until the free agency period and allow Goldschmidt to discuss contracts with other teams, and Goldie could negotiate a brand new contract altogether. So if he wants to stay in St. Louis, they can talk about things and get it done before he ever reaches free agency.

Starting point is 00:29:32 They could also make it easier on the Cardinals financially to wait until it's over and then come up with something new. J.T. brings up that maybe they could talk him into coming back in a similar role to what Albert Pooholz did in his final year with the team where he's kind of the platoon D.H. first baseman against left-handed pitchers, and then Alec Berlinson would take over the majority of the playing time at first base. We've already discussed Burley being the first baseman in waiting for this team, although Lucan Baker hit his 30th home run at AAA tonight, game-winning walk-off home run,

Starting point is 00:30:09 30 bombs down in Memphis, and you just don't hear anything about them, about the Cardinals going, you know what, we were excited to see if Luke and Baker can be that next guy. Maybe last year in the short amount of time that he was up, they saw all they needed to see and don't think he can make it. Maybe they don't think he's got the bat speed for Major League Baseball. But kind of wild. You're like, oh, man, if only we had more production from the right side of the plate and you got a dude in his, I guess, late 20s now. What is he, 27? And you got him who had a triple crown type of year just like a year ago.

Starting point is 00:30:45 And then this year has hit 30 more home. runs and it's not even a discussion about maybe he could be somebody who could help this team. Anyway, I digress. But Goldie is a bench bat in 2025. The idea of having that kind of a guy who's been that kind of a player on the bench for you makes a lot of sense, right? you need a righty bat off the bench. But how much money are we talking about here? Like if you're not hiring a bench bat for $17.6 million,

Starting point is 00:31:26 it's not going to happen because the Cardinals have their own salary cap that they kind of like to adhere to. They're never going to just blow money like that, although, I mean, you've had some bad contracts. But you know what I mean? They're not going to just, they're not paying somebody who's not going to play all the time, 17.6 million dollars to write bench on purpose. Your old guy bench bats that are on this team right now.

Starting point is 00:31:51 Brandon Crawford, Matt Carpenter, are getting a combined $2.74 million with $2 million of that going to Crawford, which when I say it out loud makes me want to vomit my mouth that Brandon Crawford is getting $2 million for what he's doing this year. He must really be good in the clubhouse. Anyway, Goldie makes $26 million. this year. We already discussed that. How far down would he be willing to go to come

Starting point is 00:32:16 back to the Cardinals? Help them out financially, but stay with the Cardinals, to retire with the team, and still be a productive part of this roster. Now, Poo-Holes, if we go back a couple of years, Albert Poo-Hulls, when he did that role,

Starting point is 00:32:32 made $2.6 million. Would Goldie drop that low? Would you go from 26 to 2.6 If you were Paul Goldschmidt, kind of find that hard to believe that he would actually buy in on that. And I think somebody else would give him a decent chunk of change for two-year deal. I feel like somebody would. I just do.

Starting point is 00:33:02 The team already's got what, 25 going to Sunny next year, 21 to Nato, 18 to Contreras, 17.6 to Michaelis, 12.5 to Matt's, barf, seven and a half for Fetty. You've got options on Gibson at 12 million, Lynn at 11, Keenan Middleton, $6 million if they choose to exercise all those. It's just something to think about. It's something to think about. Would you take him back if he was like, cool, I'll take a lesser role and isn't in there, everyday batting cleanup like he has been, for the most part, this year.

Starting point is 00:33:42 Something to think about, something to think about. For Wednesday, you got Eric Fetty set to make his Cardinal home day, debut against right-handed, Tage Bradley for the Braes, who very good this year, by the way. Six and five on the year, 2.71 ERA, which if he had enough innings, would be top three in Major League Baseball and ERA. Since getting crushed by the Baltimore Orioles back on June 1st, he's 5 and 2 with a 1.35 ERA and 10 starts. His most recent start, he actually got roughed up a little bit by the Marlins out of all teams. They scored four runs and five endings against them, including two home runs.

Starting point is 00:34:15 So once again, the rest of this month of August is not going to be easy. Wednesday is not going to be easy. Tough pitcher on the mound. But he is right-handed. He's not left-handed. And the cardinals have much better numbers against the right-handers than they do the lefties. So maybe that'll work in their favor. Thank you for making lots on Cardinals.

Starting point is 00:34:34 Your first listen every day. If you haven't already, please give us a follow on Twitter X at L1 underscore Cardinals and at JD Sports Radio. Like, subscribe on YouTube, and help our channel in our love for the St. Louis Cardinals grow. You guys are the best fans in baseball for a reason. I'll see you next time on Lockdown Carles.

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