Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - Which Of The Young St. Louis Cardinals SEIZED Opportunities

Episode Date: September 22, 2025

Cardinals' Did Find Some Runway Success: Herrera's Bat, McGreevy's Arm Top The ListSt. Louis Cardinals fans, buckle up for a deep dive into the standout performers of 2025. Ivan Herrera's offensive ex...plosion and Michael McGreevy's mound mastery take center stage. JD Hafron and Thomas Gauvain break down Herrera's team-leading OPS and debate his future position. They analyze McGreevy's impressive starts and bullpen heroes like Matt Svanson and Kyle Leahy. Plus, the emotional rollercoaster of Nolan Arenado's potential farewell game and its impact on the Cardinals' future.Tune in for expert insights on the Cards' silver linings in a tough season and what these performances mean for 2024 and beyond.0:00 Cardinals' 2025 season review5:01 Ivan Herrera's impressive offensive output14:22 Michael McGreevy's solid pitching performance19:30 Bullpen standouts: Svanson, Leahy, O'Brien27:23 Nolan Arenado's confusing farewell ceremony30:35 Final thoughts on Arenado's Cardinals tenureFollow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-st-louis-cardinals/Locked On MLB League-Wide: Every Team, Prospects & More🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/leagues/mlb/Follow on Twitter/X: @JDSPORTSRADIOFollow the show on Twitter/X: @LO_CardinalsSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!5-Hour ENERGYEnough with boring, flavorless caffeine, it’s time to give your caffeine a flavor upgrade with 5-hour ENERGY®️ shots. Get the favorites you love or be bold and try something new in-store and online at https://www.5hourENERGY.com or Amazon today. NutrafolSee thicker, stronger hair with less shedding in just 3–6 months with Nutrafol. For a limited time, get $10 off your first month’s subscription and free shipping when you go to https://Nutrafol.com and enter the promo code LOCKEDONMLB.ZippixGo to https://ZippixToothpicks.com and use promo code LOCKEDON for 10% off your first order. Zippix Toothpicks—energy and focus, anytime you need it.RugietReady to level up your confidence ? Head to https://rugiet.com and use promo code LOCKEDONMLB for 15% off your first order. Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONMLB at https://monarchmoney.com/lockedonmlb for 50% off your first year.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONMLB for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelToday's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Football season is around the corner, visit the FanDuel App today and start planning your futures bets now.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)#ForTheLou #stlcards #mlb #lockedoncardinals #stlouiscardinals Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 As the season comes to a close, which Cardinals actually took advantage of the runway they were given in 2025. 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. My name is J.D. Haford, former National Radio Sports anchor, born and raised in St. Louis, Lifetime Cardinals fan, and I'm your host for Locktown Cardinals, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network covering your team every day. This right here is a show serving Cardinal Nation and giving you all of the info about the birds on the bat. Today's episode brought to you by five-hour energy, enough with boring flavorless caffeine.
Starting point is 00:00:43 It's time to give you caffeine a flavor upgrade with five-hour energy shots. Go to www.5hourenergy.com or Amazon today. So on today's show, we are going to be taking a look at the Cardinals victory over the brewers on Sunday, which is why you get the ugly shirt if you're watching on YouTube. So that's always nice. We're going to preview the upcoming series against the Giants a little bit. But our main focus today is going to be what I deem another positive spin on what actually happened during this 2025 season. And to help us break it down is the wonderful Thomas Govane from Redbird Rants.com joining us here today.
Starting point is 00:01:23 Welcome back in Thomas. I hope you had a good weekend. I did. Yeah, it was pretty good. My wife and I celebrated our five-year anniversary on Friday. So we got to go out to a nice steak day. on Saturday and watch a movie. It was good. All right. What's your temperature on the steak? What do you do? I can't say this out loud. I'm going to get it run over in the comments, but I do medium.
Starting point is 00:01:45 I don't think medium's a bad thing. I'd rather you see it undercooked than overcooked and get the well done where it just comes a piece of charcoal. So yeah, no, I'm definitely medium, medium rare. That's me as well. And if they overcook it a little, so be it. but as long as it's not gushing blood, I'm good to go. Yep, I agree. All right, so let's talk about what this season was about, all right? Like, you know, the grand scheme of things was to have this runway season, right? You know, the whole idea was about letting the younger players get as much playing time as they possibly could so that, you know, the Cardinals and Heimbloom could evaluate things for when he takes.
Starting point is 00:02:32 over for next year and he can make the decisions on, you know, who he seems, you know, deems worthy of staying or going, you know, that term runway got used to exhaustion personally. If I never hear the word again, I'll be just fine. I'm tired of it all year. It's just been regurgitated repeatedly and, you know, I'm just kind of over it. But that's what they wanted to call it this year instead of the rebuild. It's runway. There were some obstacles from the get-go, obviously the inability to move Nolan Aronado and other veterans in this offseason to clear room for some of them, which created issues for playing time in the infield, the outfield, pitching staff as well. So Ali did his best to get the guys in as much as he could. And for a bit,
Starting point is 00:03:16 the cardals were very competitive, you know, they were overachieving. You know, they were in the thick of things after the first two months. Eventually they started to slide a little bit, finished the first half at 51 and 46 here in the second half, they're 24 and 34. And whether it was due to injuries, guys that's not playing well, trade deadline, you know, eventually more and more of the younger guys were finally getting to play and get at bats and get innings. And you recently put together a list of nine guys who you believe took advantage of the time that they received during the season. So we're going to link that story in the comment section down below so you guys can check
Starting point is 00:03:52 it out for yourself at redbirdbrance.com. But we're going to give you a little taste of some of the stuff that Thomas talked about. So let's start with one of my favorite guys. I know you like him too. Let's start with Yvonne Herrera. Your thoughts on Herrera's 2025 season. Yeah, when you're looking at his success, it has come on the offensive end alone.
Starting point is 00:04:12 His OPS is the best on the team. It's in the below 800s, which is pretty good for a core bat. His batting average is not as high as it was last year. It's still pretty high somewhere on the 285 mark. It all starts with his offensive output, which is what we need. We've been looking for a right-handed power bat ever since Jordan Walker came up and fall through it a little bit. And he seems to have filled that hole pretty well. He's got his shortcomings, as does every other player on my list.
Starting point is 00:04:40 His shortcomings are on the defensive side, but he seems to be addressing those as offseason with an elbow surgery. So what we need now is some pure offense that was one of the struggles from the Cardinals last year with runners in scoring position. And then this year as well, and he seems to be a perfect fit for a plus offensive player. Yeah, and we remember how hot he was to start the year. You know, he had the big game against the angels and things were going well. And then in Boston, he has that knee issue. And we all thought it was like over. We thought we were like, oh, gosh, he like blew his knee out or something.
Starting point is 00:05:15 But he struggled with a couple of different injuries this year. So that's held him back a little bit. But like you said, you know, you go back and you look at the numbers overall. And you're like, this seems like a good building. block, you know, as far as offensive side to, to build around somebody who can be a solid bat in the meat of the order on a really good team. He'd probably be batting like five or six, but, you know, the way the Cardinals are right now and they're starving for offense, you know, he's probably going to be more important to, uh, to them than he would to another team. The real question I have for you,
Starting point is 00:05:48 in your opinion, you know, obviously you mentioned the elbow surgery, which is something he said he's been dealing with and it's going to, it's going to help him out. Um, but, Is he a catcher? Like what are we doing with them when you look at the depth that the Cardinals have at the catcher position, not only coming up in the minors, but on the roster right now, because I would assume you would expect Pahez and crooks to come back next year. Is there room for Yvonne Herrera to be a catcher on this team anymore?
Starting point is 00:06:18 Yeah, there will be off-season trades, I'm sure, from the catching position. It has exceptional depth that our system. If you move Herrera back there, that gives you him, pose it. Pah Hayes with NLB experience. Crooks has gotten a taste this year. Behind Crooks, you have Leo Bernal and Renéo Rodriguez to very hot prospects. They have to trade at least one of those guys this winter.
Starting point is 00:06:39 I wouldn't be surprised if it's one of the prospects, Crooks, Brunall. I don't think they'll trade Rodriguez. They like them quite a bit. One of Crooks are Brinol, and then Pahes are Pozo. So get two of them out of there, see what you can get in return. Maybe a pitching prospect or a reliever or something like that. And then you'll really scrape some space.
Starting point is 00:06:56 a Herrera Jimmy Crooks combo next year, good righty, lefty matchups. I think that'd be pretty interesting to see behind the plate. Crooks has received pretty great reviews from the minors for his game calling. I heard yesterday in broadcast that he has also been seeing positive feedback from the major league staff and the coaches there too. So I think a righty lefty split between Crooks and Herrera would be pretty fun next year. So we think maybe Pahas is on the move? Do you think that they might actually?
Starting point is 00:07:24 Do they have the courage move on from Pedro Paez? Because they haven't, they haven't shown that ability at all. And let's be honest, he's hit a lot better than I think we all thought he was going to. For sure, me, I know that he's been much better recently after not our hitting coach, but Thomas O'JC told him to make an adjustment to his batting stance and go back to what he used to do. And now, you know, things have been much better for him recently. But do you think that Paez is the guy that might get moved? probably probably i hope so personally i don't know petropates i think putting stock in a catcher
Starting point is 00:08:00 whose primary skill is framing is is pretty weak he has he has been better in the second half his august opi s was 1097 he's backed up to 552 which would be his second the lowest of the year in any month this year so he had a surge in august let's not pretend that's who he actually is though i'm just i'm trying to think like what, and I got to quit doing this. I got to quit thinking what Mo would do, because I'm so used to his ideas and how he would look at it. Where, because I don't know High Bloom,
Starting point is 00:08:33 I don't know what the hell he's going to do. Yeah. Which adds a little pinch of excitement to what might happen this offseason because I think we've, we know what Mo's going to do. We knew what his ideas were and what he was going to lean towards. And now we're not totally sure what's going to happen this offseason with some of these guys and how Heim Bloom's going to, you know, make decisions on who stays and who goes.
Starting point is 00:08:56 So, you know, it's, it's kind of nice. It's a little refreshing to go into this unknown, if you will, with Heim Bloom taking over. So, all right. So Yvonne Herrera, do you trust him as a catcher? What if he goes back there and he sucks? What if he can't throw? And he's still terrible back there.
Starting point is 00:09:13 Where would you like to see him play if you had to give him a secondary position? Yeah. Well, I hope is the elbow surgery fixes his throwing issues. But if he needs a secondary position, D.H feels like a waste of who he is. I think that he still has some potential playing the field. He's still really young. So I think corner outfield would be a good spot for him.
Starting point is 00:09:30 That him just partially on the trades this all season again. Do we see Lars New Bargo? I don't think it'll be this guy. But Alec Berluson might be on the block if they can get a nice return for him. So corner outfield would be a nice place for him. D.H. is probably more likely, although that feels like a little bit waste of who he is. Yeah, I got you. Yeah, I'm very curious what Ivan Herrera's future is going to be
Starting point is 00:09:50 if it's not behind the plate. We've seen him play a little bit of left field. I've always said that I don't know why he doesn't just start becoming a first placement. Obviously, you got Wilson over there. And if Burleson's not going to play outfield, you got him over there, first base now. You got Blaze Jordan coming up. Got a lot of first baseman on this team.
Starting point is 00:10:09 Here we go again, another log jam position. So we'll see what they end up doing. All right, we're going to switch things up and go to some other guys. Because you did mention in this article, and I want people to go check it out. You mentioned Alec Berlinson and Thomas and J.C. and Mason Winn as other infield guys that, you know, they have done quite well with their time on the field this season.
Starting point is 00:10:31 But we're going to switch it up and go to the pitching side of things and talk about some guys who, you know, impressed, impressed Mr. Thomas Govain from Redwoodrance.com. We'll have more with them coming up next here on Lockdown Cardinals. This episode is brought to you by Zippix toothpicks. Now, whether you're looking for nicotine satisfaction or an energy boost, Zipix has you covered with their nicotine and caffeine-infused toothpicks. Now, for nicotine users, Zipix provides a discreet way to satisfy your cravings and the hand-to-mouth
Starting point is 00:11:04 habit without vaping or smoking. It can be helpful tool as you try to reduce your dependence on things like that on vaping, available in six-grade flavors with two milligrams and three-millimeter nicotine options. And if you need energy, which is something I'm into, without the crash, they got these caffeine toothpicks that are a game changer as well. I don't smoke, but I love me some caffeine. I will just inject it into my veins if I could. And this is one of the great ways to go about it.
Starting point is 00:11:31 I've been using the caffeine toothpicks. Obviously, you can see that they're open. And they give you the energy that you need, and they don't give you those jitters. And they've got some really cool flavors like cinnamon, bourbon. My personal favorite is the peppermint watermelon ice, which tastes great.
Starting point is 00:11:46 I know it sounds like a weird combination, but it actually works pretty nice. So if you haven't tried them, check them out for yourself. Go to Zipix toothpick. com. Use the code locked on for 10% off your first order. You got to be 21 or older to order. Warning, though, nicotine is an addictive chemical. That's zipix tooth fix.com. Promocode locked on. Zipmore smoke glass with Zippix tooth fix. This episode also brought to you by five-hour energy
Starting point is 00:12:12 caffeine. Just got a flavor upgrade. Five-hour energy shots deliver tasty caffeine in 17 bold flavors. Each two ounce shot packs the caffeine of a premium 12 ounce cup of coffee. Plus, you're getting the B vitamins and nutrients with zero sugar and zero crashes. And what I love most about it, first off, it's not a lot of liquid. So you don't have to go to the bathroom as much if you were to drink like a whole can of something. But because they're smaller, they're also very portable. Big taste, tiny shot, you can take it anywhere, get that boost that you need. My personal favorite flavor is peach mango.
Starting point is 00:12:44 I'm a peach guy. Refreshing gives me that quick lift before a busy day or whether you're going to the gym or whatever you got going on. but with fall here, obviously, this is the 22nd. I'm jumping on this pumpkin spice. I'm going to give that a try. They got Outer Worlds, two, Purple Berry Punch and Glomotion as well as there are other ones that interest me. I like how it kicks in real quick, sugar-free. Like I said, don't have to drink a whole can of stuff.
Starting point is 00:13:07 Small, quick, and potent. Enough with boring flavorless caffeine. It's time to give your caffeine a flavor upgrade with five-hour energy shots. Get the favorites you love or be bold. Try something new in store and online at www. 5-hour energy.com. or Amazon today. Thanks again for making Locked on Cardinals.
Starting point is 00:13:28 Your first listed every day. You've enjoyed daily Cardinal content, I'm sure, or yes, you wouldn't be on this podcast. So make sure you're following us on X at L1 underscore Cardinals. We're also on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram at Lockedong Cardinals. Got Thomas Govain from Redbirdrance.com. You can follow him on X at Thomas Govain and obviously get all of his work at redbirdrance.com.
Starting point is 00:13:47 We're talking about players that use the runway that they got this season and made an impression where they've locked themselves in for the 2026 season. We already talked about Yvonne Herrera. Let's switch to the pitching side and start with a guy that I know you like, I like, and the Cardinals like too, because they actually won ball games when this guy took them out. Let's talk about Michael McGruevy, Thomas. What did you like and see from Michael this season that impressed you and kind of locked himself in for next season? He just kind of churned through his starts after he's brought up. I think what was most impressive was the beginning of the year. He had four or five spot starts, and they weren't easy games.
Starting point is 00:14:27 One of them was in Colorado. He had a couple against division rivals. I think he had a start against the Dodgers early in the year two. And none of those really phased him. He was up and down, AAA majors. He probably deserved a spot in the rotation out of spring, but didn't get it. And he kept his mentality strong throughout the year. None of his numbers really pop off the page.
Starting point is 00:14:45 His strikeouts are below average. His walk rate is in the 97th percentile, which is really strong. Groundball rate is probably about leak average as well. But you just went through to this business. And I think what's most important, like you said, is he helped the team win games. And he was significantly cheaper than the rest of the guys who were pitching ahead of them between Sidi and Michaelis, all those guys. And he was just as good, if not better than them. Yeah, the unfortunate side of it.
Starting point is 00:15:13 And you can't really blame the Cardinals for doing what they did was that everybody expected more out of Eric Fetty. Like what they got from him was beyond. unexpected. Like it was not supposed to be this bad. Nobody thought he was going to be as bad as he was. I mean, it was basically after that game against the nationals where he was amazing and he throws this complete game and we're all like, yeah, we nailed it. We got this guy and he's going to be worse so much at the deadline if we do. And then he just, whew, right off the flesh, dude. Yeah, like it just went south so bad. Goes to the britt. Now he's going to the playoffs. It's crazy. Now he's with the Brewers and he pitched against. And before he played us this weekend, he was not that bad.
Starting point is 00:15:54 the Brewers either. That's what happens. It doesn't matter how terrible you are in a Cardinal uniform. You play against the Cardinals later. You are an All-Star. Doesn't matter who you are. It's just the way it works out. And I've said that before. I don't know if that happens to other teams as much as it happens to the Cardinals because it feels like every guy that goes away and goes somewhere else with a little bit player for some other team, they are going to burn the Cardinals in some way, shape, or form. And yeah, he pitched well. They still lost, but that's fine. But yeah, now Eric Feddy's going to be going to the playoffs.
Starting point is 00:16:27 But, you know, McGreevy had to bite his time. And I assume he was bored to tears at Memphis at some point where he's just like, I don't even know what I'm doing here anymore. And it was a rare case where the Cardinals pitching staff just didn't get hurt this year. Like that was, you know, that doesn't happen where all of the same guys took the ball every fifth day. Like they were always available. So that was another thing where,
Starting point is 00:16:54 I was one of the things we worried about, remember? And the off-season were like, gosh, the injuries started searching. If anybody goes down, we're screwed and nobody went to. They did. It was just the miners. It was all the prospects who went down. Yeah, that was the problem because the guys you were excited about it. You're like, all right, if we do move on from guys like Fettie and Michaelis and, you know, if we need to move Palante out, we've got these guys.
Starting point is 00:17:19 And then all of them got Tommy John surgery. Yep. Any of the guy, especially to go Roby. That was a real bummer to lose him. But yeah, Michael McGreevy, is any part about him worry you? Because he is in the mold of the guys like Michaelis and Fetty, where he is a pitch to contact guy. Does that worry you at all going further down the road with him that, you know,
Starting point is 00:17:42 at some point he's going to continue to have games like where he does get blown up like he was a couple times this year, which is the same stuff that would happen to Michael. it does but I think it's a mentality difference for me like we're paying him one 15th of what we're paying the other guys that we had which helps a lot it gives you more financial flexibility in other places I think that there is at least some optimism that he can improve whereas what we saw with fettie and michaelis that that is who they are there's no changing them at that point they're established veterans McReevy doesn't get hit very hard like Miles Michaelis is like a pitching tea most of the time
Starting point is 00:18:20 and Eric Fetty was as well, especially in the second half of the year. He's not going to be an exciting pitcher, but he's probably going to be a very solid four or five in most rotations throughout the league. And I think that's an important feature to have within an organization. Yeah, he's certainly a guy. I just enjoy watching pitchers instead of throwers. And, you know, to see McGreevy. He's a pitcher.
Starting point is 00:18:40 Like, he goes out there in the way that he attacked the, you know, the Reds where, you know, he just threw against him. And then he comes at him again recently and he switched up his whole game plan. You know, he was like, they were expecting one thing, and he came at him with two different things that time and was able to beat him again. So that encouraged me a lot. And like you said, the demeanor on the mound, like he just looks like he believes in himself. He's confident. And he's got a youthful energy to him and the smile and stuff.
Starting point is 00:19:07 So certainly a guy that I think fans are going to enjoy moving forward. Now let's talk about the bullpen real quick because you also had some guys out there after the trade deadline, which opened up a number of different spots. that helped open things up for more guys to get some looks. And you were impressed by a few of the bullpen guys that you saw this year, too. I cheated. I threw three people in a one on account here. So whatever. I mean, you lose, you lose Ryan Helsley, you lose Phil Maton, you lose Stephen Metz.
Starting point is 00:19:37 There are three reliable relievers for the last two years for the Cardinals, or last year at least, who's going to come in and replace them? And Matt Sponson, Kyle Leahy and Riley O'Brien have done an excellent job doing that. With Riley O'Brien, you have to have a little. bit of worry with guys with that much stuff, usually with those control. And he seems to have settled down. His walk rate's probably a little bit too high for most people's comfort. But he's striking out batters. He's got that high heat, that high power stuff that that's tantalizing for a bullpen arm if he can get it figured out and in control. He would be an excellent late-meaning guy. And he's
Starting point is 00:20:08 proven that Kyle Leahy's been a workhorse all year. It gives me like Matt Bowman vibes. You know, hopefully he doesn't fall off like Bowman did. But his strikeout numbers are solid. And he's, his strikeout numbers are solid. He's got a low ERA for most of the year. He had a rough June. He's having a rough September, but overall he's still having a really good year. And then Matt Sonson came up last year's save leader for AA for the Cardinals. He had 27 saves then, and he seems to be fitting in quite nicely late in games. His sweeper, paired with this fastball, is pretty ridiculous. There were a couple pitches he had over the weekend against the Brewers. I was like, that's not fair. Nobody should have to see those two pitches back to back. So those three guys late in games,
Starting point is 00:20:49 have proven themselves. I'm not a big believer in runway for relievers. They're pretty volatile as far as the mold goes. But these three guys have given me some confidence this year, heading into next year and beyond. Yeah, I've enjoyed it. I've enjoyed watching these guys pitch. You know, Riley, as you mentioned, the wildness that he has from time to time.
Starting point is 00:21:09 Really keeping them on the field has been the most difficult part about his career. So keeping him healthy. And that's, but you see why the cardals are like, No, we kind of like this dude. Like there's some good stuff here. So that was great. What about Leahy going to the rotation next year? If another spot opens up, there's been a lot of discussion about that.
Starting point is 00:21:31 Fan or foe of trying to work that out? I'm fine with stretching out this winter and giving him a shot in spring. If he can come in, stretched out three innings, four innings right off the bat, and then get a little bit more work in the spring. I think that's fine. The more rotation depth you can have, especially with, Cooper Jopi and Toccoa Robi out still for next year. I think that would go a long way.
Starting point is 00:21:52 He could be Stephen Mats from last year and a little bit this year where we flex him in the rotation sometimes, but he's long releasing the bullpen, that kind of stuff. I'd love to see just what he can do with the starters workload, too. Obviously, he won't be getting 150 innings. That's too big of a jump. But 110 somewhere around there. I think that'd be a nice fit for him next year, 10 starts or so.
Starting point is 00:22:12 Yeah, certainly an interesting thing. Again, we don't know what Heim Bloom's going to do, what moves he's going to make to bring in. starting pitching for next season. It seems like it's something that they need to attack because they've got some decent bullpen arms, but, you know, we'll have to wait to the offseason to find out. But Leahy seems to be the guy that most believe has an arsenal to be successful as a starter as well as a believer.
Starting point is 00:22:37 So that'll be interesting. But it's been nice to see how well they've done after moving those guys and everybody kind of shifting and getting bigger roles. And for most of it, they've succeeded. And again, like you've had that word volatile when it comes to a bullpen. Yeah, like they make one mistake and you're like, this guy sucks. And you're so mad about it. But, you know, you don't look at like how, hey, he just threw like six straight appearances without giving up a run.
Starting point is 00:23:02 Like I get real mad at guys like Ryan Fernandez. He's just been terrible. Yes, yeah. But his last three appearances, he's looked all right. So sometimes you just got a, you know, that's the bullpen, man. It's, it's going to happen from time to time. So, all right. Coming up next.
Starting point is 00:23:18 going to reflect on what we saw on Sunday with the Nolan Aronado situation and, you know, what were our feelings about how things went down, how they did that moment with him coming off the field and stuff. So we'll discuss that. The series went over the brewers and talk a little giants at all coming up next year on lockdown cardless. Today's episode brought to you by Nutraful. Now you've probably seen a million ads for hair growth products and thought, sure, like that actually works. But there are a lot of products out there and it's hard to know which ones are actually going to do something for you, and that's why you should give Nutrafol a closer look. Nutraful is the number one, dermatologist recommended hair growth supplement brand. Number one,
Starting point is 00:24:04 trusted by over one and a half million people, and it's not just hype. This is a supplement that is clinically tested to target the root causes of thinning and shedding with a proactive approach. In my life, I've learned that confidence is key in everything you do. So when you're getting ready for work, when you're getting ready to go out with friends or just, you know, Ready for the day. You want confidence in the morning to get you off on the right foot, and that's what Nutrafol can do. It'll give you more confidence in your daily routine.
Starting point is 00:24:31 Simple to add to what you're already doing for pills with a meal. No prescription needed. Boom, it's easy. And you can feel good about it, knowing that Nutrafol is NSF certified and backed by peer reviewed studies. See thick or stronger hair with less shedding in just three to six months with Nutraful. For a limited time, Nutraful is offering locked on MLB listeners, $10 off your first month subscription and free shipping.
Starting point is 00:24:53 When you go to NutraFull.com and enter the promo code locked on MLB. That's Nutrafol.com promo code locked on MLB. Today's show also brought to you by Monarch Money. Most people can't name all their financial accounts or even what they're worth, whether it's 401Ks, properties, investments. And when you don't have the full picture, you can end up leaving money on the table. And that's why Monarch Money is here for you. So that doesn't happen.
Starting point is 00:25:17 It's an all-in-one personal finance tool that brings your entire financial life together in one clean, easy-to-use interface on your laptop or your phone. It's built for people with busy lives, people like me and you. And if you put off organizing your finances, Monarch Money is here to help. They do the heavy lifting for you. You can link all your accounts and minutes. See clear. Data visuals, get smart categorization of your spending,
Starting point is 00:25:39 and finally feel in control of your money without ever touching a spreadsheet. So maximize your investments, increase your savings rate. Easily review finances with your partner and or financial advisor with Monarch. money. Don't let financial opportunity slip through the cracks. Use code locked on MLB at monarchmoney.com in in your browser for half off your first year. That's 50% off your first year at monarchmoney.com with code locked on MLB. Thanks again for making Locked on Carls. Your first listen every day for your second list and check out locked on MLB game night every game night until the World Series champion is crowned. Get local analysis. But on a national scale, you can find MLB game night on Locked on MLB on the YouTube channel or wherever you listen to your podcast. We've got Thomas Coveyne from Redmondgrants.com joining us here.
Starting point is 00:26:27 All right, real quick, emotional weekend for a number of different reasons for Cardinals fans. We had the John Moseilock thing, which I know people are like, what have you done for me lately? But in the overall, his career, John Moseilac has been an excellent part of this Cardinals organization. And there was a lot of winning baseball under John Moseilock. Things have not gone well the last couple of years. we all know this, but saying goodbye to him, obviously, is something that was kind of like, well, do we cheer? Do we not?
Starting point is 00:27:00 The Nolan Aronado thing was a very strange situation. And you and I were talking about this before we started this show. And we were like, did you like how they did it? Because it confused a lot of fans who were in attendance. What were your feelings on the way they handled Nolan Aronado coming off the field on Sunday? Yeah, I didn't love it. before the game he wasn't in the lineup card that's what a lot of the reporting was and then i think it was like five minutes before first pitch we get updates saying that he was swapped in directly for nolan gorman goes out in the field talks to brewer's third base coach and then all he comes out for a fake man visit and pulls arnato it felt weird to me like i can't imagine everybody who was going to the game was already there at that point you always get those fans who show up in the first through the third innings and they just missed the beginning they're okay with it so a the stadium wasn't full enough be a lot of people probably had assumed that they saw the lineup card.
Starting point is 00:27:53 He's not coming until later. Let's just forget about him for now. And then all of a sudden, he's walking off the field. The ovation felt lackluster for what he's done for us. I didn't love it. I mean, you looked last year, too, the organization didn't do much of anything for Goldschmidt, Lance Lynn and Matt Carpenter's departures.
Starting point is 00:28:11 It feels like they just kind of forgot or didn't care. Yeah, yeah. It seemed very poorly planned, which is very cardinal-like recently of the way that Well, this is what we're going to do and the idea was to do this, but we kind of did this. And it just looks very like, it looked confused. It did confuse everybody. It was odd. You came up with a better idea.
Starting point is 00:28:32 It was like maybe like and, you know, have him come in as a pinch hitter at some point. That way he can get that moment at home play where you can, you know, tip the helmet and do his thing. And everybody would realize that like this could be his last at bat. After the game, the reporters spoke with Aronado. And he talked about his time with the team saying that his favorite. thing about being a cardinal was probably just Albert Poo holes, just going off and playing in front of a packed Bush Stadium. When you come to the games now and you see there are seats open, it just doesn't feel even feel like Bush. You know, when you think of Bush Stadium, you think
Starting point is 00:29:04 of a packed house to not have that anymore. It's been disappointing. But at the same time, it's not their fault. It's ours. We're not winning enough for them. And he said, I miss a packed Bush. Does not regret anything. Does not regret opting back in when he had a chance to get out. does not regret the trade. He genuinely just feels like I just wish we could have won more for the fans. And I got emotional a little bit yesterday, not that I was crying like that, but it felt weird to say goodbye to another legend who's going to be in the Hall of Fame and to see him walk away and that's probably going to be it.
Starting point is 00:29:39 It just, I was a little bummed about it. How did you feel about it? Yeah, it felt sad, it's probably like a good word for it. Bittersweet, maybe. Like, we wanted more. we couldn't get more when he was here. If his career hadn't ended on such a down note with the Cardinals, I think I'd feel a bit more different about it all.
Starting point is 00:29:57 But yeah, it's just, I don't know, it didn't feel good enough. And I wish there was more that could have happened with him. Yeah, yeah, maybe a better send-off than what he got in a half-empty Bush Stadium, probably, yeah, like he said, kind of felt like, hey. Yeah, and I know there's a lot of mixed-up. opinions on his career here, a lot of focused on, like, his playoffs. But he's still really good. We got to see a Hallfamer for five years. His defense was extraordinary at third base. We haven't seen that since rolling, really. So it's tough to watch him go.
Starting point is 00:30:32 Yeah. Well, it certainly seems like more finality than it was last year, where the talk was, hey, this offseason, they might be moving these guys. It never happened, but it feels like now everybody is on the same page. And if he gets an opportunity to go anywhere else, else. He's probably going to, he's probably going to grab it. So the question is, well, they try to do similar things with guys like Wilson, Gertriss and Sunny Gray. That is something we'll have to wait and find out about it. All right. Be sure to check out Thomas Govane on X at Thomas Govain. Of course, read his work at Redbirdrance.com and get more on the nine people who he says actually took advantage of the runway season the Cardinals had here in 2025. Again, thank you guys
Starting point is 00:31:15 for making Locked on Cardinals for us listen every day. We haven't already. Give us a follow on Axadillo underscore Cardinals at a JD Sports Radio, TikTok, Locked on Cardinals, and on Instagram. You can like and subscribe on YouTube, help our channel and love for the Cardinals grow. They will be taking on the Giants tonight. Another chance to play spoiler.
Starting point is 00:31:32 So some late night West Coast baseball games. I don't know. I hope for the good. You want to be the reason why the teams don't make the, they don't make the playoffs. But it is going to be weird if like the Reds, the Cubs and the Brewers are all in. So that's going to be,
Starting point is 00:31:53 that's a tough pill to swallow as well. But they'll take on the Giants tonight. And if you're going to stay up late, I'll be up late with you guys online talking about it. So come out and hang out. You guys are the best fans of baseball for a reason. We'll see you next time. My Locked on Cardinals.
Starting point is 00:32:08 Thank you, Thomas, for joining us again today, buddy. Of course. Thank you.

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