Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - Which Path Is The Best One To The Playoffs?

Starting point is 00:00:00 Neither one of them is going to be easy, but which path is the best one for the Cardinals to get into the playoffs this season. 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. Haffern 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 Locked on Cardinals, part of the Lockedon Podcast Network covering your team every day. You can follow me on Twitter X at JD Sports Radio as well as the podcast at L0 underscore Cardinals.

Starting point is 00:00:39 I do want to thank those of you who make Lockton Cardinals your first listen every day. We're free and available wherever you get podcasts. You can also find us on YouTube if you want to see our faces and get a visual version of this show. Be sure to stop on by and check that out because 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 Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account. use the code locked on MLB for $20 off your first purchase.

Starting point is 00:01:06 Terms apply. All right. We've got a guest today. My man and yours, Thomas Govane from Redbird Rance.com. In with us today to talk a little Cardinal Baseball. Thomas, how are things with you getting ready for school, I hear, right? Yeah, we go back in about a week and a half. So my mind's trying to get used to that idea.

Starting point is 00:01:29 Do you still get nervous? You know how like students when we were kids when you got nervous? before school started. Do you get nervous as a teacher too? A little bit. It's my seventh year at this point. So I'm kind of used to it. I know what to expect. But yeah, it's always a little bit anxious. Do you come out like snapping rulers and stuff? Like, all right, here we go. This is how it's going to be just to scare the kids. And then like, all right, I'm kidding. I'm really a nice guy. I think the trick has always start a little bit harder and then loosen up as you go. It's a little bit easier.

Starting point is 00:01:57 All right. All right. See, we get a little insight here on what it takes to be a teacher. Let's talk about some Cardo baseball, buddy. Thursday night, Cardinals lose this one, six to four against the Tampa Bay raise, which was a tough loss, considering that it felt like the whole game outside of the, you know, the top of the first inning, it felt like they had this one in the bag that the sweep was inevitable. And then it goes away with an ugly seventh inning. Kyle Leahy did not pitch well. And then Jojo gives up the dinger on the first pitch.

Starting point is 00:02:31 that he throws and Cardinals' offense goes quiet again. You know, they start off kind of hot. It's almost like they're inspired early on because they tend to be in a hole. For whatever reason, our starting pitching gives up a couple of runs early on. They come back and then they just get real stagnant and they don't do much the rest of the way. So what were your thoughts on last night's loss? How did you feel about it? It was tough to see.

Starting point is 00:02:56 I mean, we had the defense from Nato and when. You saw a goal being Arnato getting hit. which we haven't been seeing lately, but then have the bullpen, lose it the way they did late in the game, and then us not come back out of that hole again once more. It was tough to watch. Yeah, and considering that the bullpen's been such a strength all year,

Starting point is 00:03:14 and, you know, when it does falter, it's almost like, oh, my gosh, he's got shocked, and you're like, well, I mean, they've been used a lot, guys, and it happens, and that's part of the, of 162 game season, so it's not like, you know, I got so many Kyle Leahy's trash things last night, where I'm just like, he's the last dude in the bullpen. Like, he just can't throw the same guys every single night. And when you're only getting six innings from starters sometimes,

Starting point is 00:03:41 like, it's going to happen. You're going to end up throwing these guys. And inevitably, they're going to get beat by teams that are good. And the Tampa Bay raise, although they traded a bunch of dudes away, there's still a pretty decent squad. Like, it's not like they're just trash. But, yeah, it was a tough one to watch last night, which comes to, brings us to our.

Starting point is 00:04:00 our first thing here, it's about getting to the playoffs. And there's been a big debate online about which path is really the best path for the Cardinals to not only get into the playoffs, but if you do get in, to succeed in there, which is something the Cardinals haven't done in a long time when they had made it to the postseason. They don't go very far. So losing games like last night is not going to help your cause getting into the playoffs, considering the schedule that is coming up here and the rest of. of August because it is quite tough. But you've got two options. You've got the go win the NL Central, which means you got to catch the Milwaukee Brewers,

Starting point is 00:04:40 or you can win the wild card spot. Now the Brewers, for some reason or another, won't lose. And when they do lose, it just happens to be on the same night that the Cardinals lose. They just destroyed what's left of the Atlanta Braves in a three-game series. Just hit the crap out of the ball and end up taking

Starting point is 00:05:00 that and the cardals are now seven games back of Milwaukee in the NL Central. So that's a lot considering how much time is left in the season. And then we flip over to the wild card spot and your top three spots are the Phillies, the Dodgers, and the Brewers and their division. And then you've got the Padres who have won five straight and eight of their last 10. The Diamondbacks finally lost yesterday, but also winners of eight of their last 10. The Mets have now taken over the Braves in that third. spot and then you've got the Braves and then you've got the Cardinals who are now two and a half

Starting point is 00:05:35 games back of a wild card spot. So in your opinion, Thomas, which way do you think is the best way for the Cardinals to get in? I love the division. You get the home field advantage for the first series locked up. You don't have to worry about who's going to be around you from the wild card, whether you finish fourth or whatnot. So you've got to lock up the division to get that home field advantage. We have six more games against the Brewers. They are currently destroying us in the season series. We have one win out of the seven games. So we'd up to sweep all six to a, give us a chance for the division and B, give us the tiebreaker against them. We have the Padres four more times, Giants three more times who are right behind us.

Starting point is 00:06:19 I love the division, but given the three wild cards, that may be the easiest route, just with more options. And the thing is the brewer's got to slow down. And I used to it's, it's incredible. Like I was talking to Chuck who does locked on on brewers. We say in such a lot because I'm also, you know, a cheesehead for the Packers. So talking about sports in Wisconsin like we like to chat. But the he's he's as amazed as anybody about it. He's like, I take what? He's like, I did not see this coming that it would be a team that would just be this consistent considering all of the changes that they had with, you know, losing Craig counsel as manager, losing their tattoo pitchers. Trading away Corbyn Burns and losing Woodruff

Starting point is 00:07:03 and getting better is not something that I thought was going to be happening. Losing Devin Williams for pretty much the whole season. He's just starting to, you know, get going in game. So it's been amazing how that they've been able to stay the course and can continue to be not only the top team in the NL Central, but one of the top. teams in the National League. And I still don't think people give them the credit that they deserve because when you talk about the teams that are remaining and we'll go to the playoffs and it's obviously they're probably going to be one of them, that nobody really gives them a shot in the playoffs against

Starting point is 00:07:38 any of these other teams that we brought up. So kind of funny that way. As far as the wild card spot goes, and, you know, we're two and a half back out of it. So obviously it's a shorter distance to get in there. But what are some of the negatives about being the wild card team, if that's indeed the way they have to get in this year? Obviously, you have the chance of losing home field advantage, which it didn't do us too well two years ago.

Starting point is 00:08:08 So I don't know if that's even something we want. But it's just murkier. Honestly, when you land in the wild card, you don't know who you're going to face as more of a sure thing. You're duking it out with three or four other teams. below you. I mean, even the Giants and the Pirates are within five games of a wildcard spot. So there's a lot of mess that you have to play around with and worry about. It's just the division's much more sure shot when you get into the playoffs. And a lot of these teams that

Starting point is 00:08:35 we're talking about, because, you know, the Cardinals made improvements with, you know, getting Fetty and FAM and Armstrong, but some of these other teams went crazy at the trade deadline and made dozens of moves, it seems like. So, The Diamondbacks are getting healthy, too. I mean, they just got Eduardo Rodriguez back. Montgomery could be turning around. Corby Carroll could always go off at any point. I know he's had a bad year, but he's scary.

Starting point is 00:09:02 He's definitely warming up because he was one of my first picks in fantasy. So he's been on that amount. I was like, do I cut this guy? This guy sucks this year. What happened? And then slowly but surely, he's starting to come to life, just like the Diamondbacks are, who now are 63 wins on the season, like out of nowhere. You're like, what?

Starting point is 00:09:20 Where did this come from? And, yeah, they've just been on a tear recently. The Padres have gotten super hot. And, you know, they made all those different moves. Their bullpen is disgusting now with the additions that they made. So either way, none of them sound great, to be honest with you. Maybe we just pack it up and call it a season. It's not like they're going to go very far.

Starting point is 00:09:41 If they do make it to the playoffs, obviously we're kidding. We want to see them get in. But it is not going to be easy. And as I mentioned, losing the teams like the race who have, have, you know, punted on the season to lose that game on Thursday night, obviously doesn't make things any easier. It also doesn't bring a lot of faith into your fan base when stuff like this happens. When you see teams that are, you know, we're on the on the verge of making a playoff spot.

Starting point is 00:10:07 And then they go out and make all these other moves. Then the Cardinals kind of do the Cardinal thing. And, you know, they get the safe moves. And, you know, it's not something that inspires a lot of fans. And if you've noticed, and I'm sure you have, the attendance at Bush Stadium has not been great either. So how do we re-excite the fan base and get things going again at Bush Stadium and make it fun again? Thomas has got some ideas on that. So we're going to jump into that next with him on Locked on Cardinals.

Starting point is 00:10:40 Going to baseball games in St. Louis, absolute tradition. You and the family, you want to make the trip to ballpark village. You want to grab a pregame meal and then head on over to Bush Stadium to cheer on the Cardinals, although there hasn't been as many of you as I just mentioned, that have been going to the games. But for the faithful, you're down there a lot. And when it comes to getting tickets to a game, I'm telling you, if you want the best deals,

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Starting point is 00:12:17 Last minute tickets, lowest price, guaranteed. Are you watching Fox Sports or ESPN on your TV all day and have to turn down the volume with all the shouting and make the switch to Lockdown Sports today. It's a free 24-7 sports streaming channel program for you every day to bring you the biggest stories without all of that screaming. You get the analysis, the opinions, the news, and it's 24-7 streaming there on YouTube with free Amazon Fire TV channels app, all part of the Locktown podcast network, your team every day. Thomas Govain from Redbirdrance.com joining us here today to talk a little cardinal baseball. And the fans are a big reason why this franchise has thrived. Obviously, the product on the field, you know, when they're good, more fans are going to come out.

Starting point is 00:13:10 And it's going to be a whole lot more fun for everybody involved. But the Cardle Nation is monstrous. You know, you get the packed houses at games. Anytime you hear like we had that the World Series team that just came back, was that 04 just came back. And they were talking about one of the things that made that team even more special than who the guys were was the fact that, you know, you're playing in front of 40,000 people every single night packed house and the energy that

Starting point is 00:13:35 they would receive from that. I remember the interview with Ray Langford specifically talking about it. You know, you got merchandise galore across the Midwest and just, you know, across the United States, anytime you see an away game, you see a lot of Cardinal Red out in the crowd, man. It's a, it's a cardinal nation's huge. But after the injection of fun that they had in 2020, remember we get Albert back. He goes on the run to go to 700. It's Yacht's last season. We didn't know what was going on with Wayno there, but it was a lot of fun. They win the division. They go to the playoffs and then, you know, the Phillies knock them out.

Starting point is 00:14:09 Since then, though, the fans haven't been quite as excited about things going on at Bush Stadium and the product on the field and what's been going on in the front office and who the manager is and who the coaches are. I mean, there's been a lot of turmoil going on with this team and you're seeing it in the attendance the other night. It was something where it was like one of the lowest crowds in a non-COVID season that they've had in a really long time. How do we re-excite the fan base and get these butts back in the seats and get the energy back at Bush Stadium? You recently wrote about this, Thomas. So what were some of the ideas that you had to get them all back and get them back on the train? Yeah, all of this started. Derek Gould had in his chat earlier this week.

Starting point is 00:14:54 Some people were talking about what's going to excite the fan base. and so I decided to dig a little bit deeper. I think I came up with about five or six ways. The most obvious answer has to be winning. I mean, you look at our annual attendance for the last 15 years or so. You go back to 2004, they lost in the World Series, and then there's a huge spike the next two years in attendance. Then they won the World Series in 06, and the attendance continues.

Starting point is 00:15:17 So winning seems to be the key ingredient here. We had a winning season in 2022, 93 wins, but there's also the Albert Buhl, Yadde, or Melina, Adam Wainwright Factor. So then I also brought in the legacy player idea. That brought me down a rabbit hole to bringing back Paul Goldschmidt, which may not. Oh, boy, here we go.

Starting point is 00:15:38 Yeah, you can't just drop that bomb and then not talk about it, Thomas. Where are you when it comes to the Paul Goldschmidt coming back next year? Because I kind of talked about this too, where in my opinion, I'm like, if he's cool with a very lower salary and is cool with not playing every day, then I'm okay with that. But at the same time, if you're Paul Goldschmidt, how does that make sense for you where you know you can probably get a starting job somewhere else and still probably make $20 million if you want to? Why would he want to do that with the Cardinals? So that's kind of the road I was on.

Starting point is 00:16:14 Where are you with it? Yeah, it's the same. It depends on the role and the price. If he's like two, two years, $30 million and he's okay, getting... 400, 350 at bats a year, sure, go for it. But if he wants more money and time, probably not. All right. So Paul Goldschmidt, legacy, bringing him back.

Starting point is 00:16:34 I feel like he doesn't have quite the pull as the Yadi and the Albor, but all right, let's continue. Big signings is another thing I talked about. Gould brought this up in his chat. I mean, you think about in the last five years, we've added two perennial MVP candidates in Goldschmidt and Arnado. So we added last year's AL runner up in Salyong, and they haven't seemed to move the needle to too much either. Honestly, I think it just comes down to winning.

Starting point is 00:16:58 There were a couple of fans in Gould's chat who talked about replacing the Moseilock and other people in front office, ownership, coaching staff. Gould said, how many general manager jersey giveaways do you see? I don't know. I think there are, there's a small segment of fans that would be coming back if Moseilock or Marmorrow. mall or even the do-its shift a little bit, but I don't know if that's the move. To me, it'd be big winning seasons, 100 wins, deep post-season runs, those types of things that would bring fans back. Yeah, obviously winning is always going to be top priority. You know, the guys, the cardals just don't do business that way. And it's, I think that's part of it is it's the way

Starting point is 00:17:43 they go about things. It's just they go about it as a business. You know, it's not like we're like the Padres and the Mets where it looks like it's like, you know, their ownership's like a kid with a toy. And they're just like, ooh, I can add this and add this and go crazy. Well, how many rings do they got? You know, it hasn't worked out. And it doesn't work out all the time for people who just go out and spend a gazillion dollars. Like it fails a lot more times than it actually works. I mean, the Dodgers or the Dodgers have to show for all their money that they have been shelling out over the years. They got a COVID World Series and then Kirk Gibson, right? Yeah.

Starting point is 00:18:22 I mean, it doesn't always work that way. So it's at the same time. And then when they do, the other side of it, too, is like when they do spend money, they just spend it on some bad guys. So, you know, there's been bad choices. I'm not talking about gray or Goldie or Aranao. Those were obviously good ones. But, you know, some of the other pieces that they bring and, you know, the Dexter Fowler's

Starting point is 00:18:43 and stuff like that, where, you know, you're just kind of like, even at the time of the signing, you're like, that's not, first off, that's not an exciting choice. And second off, like, isn't he on the wrong side of his career? Like, I don't know anybody who thought the Dexter Fowler thing was going to work out the way that they thought it was going to. So just some odd choices with things like that. I don't need them to spend $300 million. I just need them to spend it right, you know, like when you're spending,

Starting point is 00:19:12 17.6 million on a Miles Michaelis, that's not a great investment. Yeah, that's bad. And that's where I think their problems are. Like, they just have to spend it better. Like the Eric Fetty, seven point, that's good. That's going to be a good price for him.

Starting point is 00:19:29 But it's not as easy as that with the way these salaries are escalating and whatnot. And then when you go and you look at, you know, what it's going to take to bring in free agents? Like, what about St. Louis? Lewis is sexy anymore, you know, is the, the shine of all of the years that they have one. That's why I felt like, you know, getting Sunny Gray, it seemed like kind of an easy, easy pickings there, is because he's somebody, he's at an age where he appreciates that stuff still, where

Starting point is 00:19:59 if a 25, 26 year old free agent and you aren't going to pay him top dollar, what are the other reasons to come to St. Louis? Like, what is it about the Cardinals that excites those types of players in that age? group and I don't know if there is anything to be honest with you. Are you saying that Juan Soto doesn't prefer the gateway arch over everything in New York City? I'm going to go out of limb and say no. I don't think that's going to happen. And, you know, some of these guys just love the bright lights of those bigger cities. And then there's the guys that, and that's why, like, when I talk about like Paul Goldschman, I'm like, there's just no emotion

Starting point is 00:20:36 sometimes. He's just such a robot or whatever. But those are the kind of people that live in the Midwest and like St. Louis, you know? And so that's why those kind of players are attracted to this franchise and make sense for them. It's really about bringing up youth, in my opinion. If you really want to start getting really, really good and have exciting play, you have to build guys from within, and then you're going to have to sign them before they get away from you, which I think is something you touched upon in your write-up as well, where leaning on guys like, you know, like, look at the energy that Mason Wend brings to this team.

Starting point is 00:21:10 And hopefully at some point, a guy we're going to talk about here in a minute, Jordan Walker is another one of those guys, you know, these top prospects. And we keep seeing guys like Dylan Carlson doesn't work out. Tyler O'Neill, what exciting on the field couldn't stay healthy, but, you know, doing good things in Boston now. The attitude that a guy like a Randy or Rosarena brought to the raise for those few years, you know, that was stuff that was missing with the Cardinals. You know, Lars Dupar has big energy, but he's not producing like we thought he would. So, you know, these guys got to pan out and those got to be the way that, you know, you're not going to probably pull those big stars from the free agency pool. But if you grow them and they become your new, you know, Alberts and Yadis,

Starting point is 00:21:53 you know, guys that came from within and you built them up and they became superstars in your organization, I think that's the best way to get these guys energized again. And obviously, you have to win the ball games when they do come up. But I want to talk about a couple of guys who perhaps could help this team here in the very near future because, you know, they've been looking for right-handed bats. You know, that was something that bringing Tommy fan back was the reason why. And, you know, obviously that's worked out nicely. He's been very, very good so far.

Starting point is 00:22:25 But a couple of guys that are down in the minors might also be coming up to the team here real, real soon. We'll get to those next on Locked on Cardinals. Order supplies from the website that's made for the skill. trades find thousands of parts from hundreds of brands and just a couple of clicks at supplyhouse.com. Now, supplyhouse.com gives you 24-7 access to a huge selection of plumbing, HVAC, and electrical supplies, and they give you the fast delivery anywhere in the United States. Doesn't matter where you are. And if you need help with an order, one of my favorite things about supply house is that you actually get to talk to a real person. You get industry leading after

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Starting point is 00:24:34 Again, Thomas Gauvade from Redbird Grants.com joining us here. Coming up in September, there's the additional spots. It's not like it used to be a few years ago where you could call up 75 people. And then you had this football roster available. to come out and do whatever you needed. You were allowed to add, what is it, two more people for the September call-ups. The Cardinals bench at this moment, you know, because they're fairly healthy, you know, when outside of, you know, Michael Siani getting hurt, most of the guys are doing all right.

Starting point is 00:25:13 And things are tight because they're not going to cut from everything I'm told, for people who know, there's no way they're DFA and Brandon Crawford. So everybody can stop talking about that. Apparently they love him. The guys in the clubhouse love him. They love his role with the team. So get over it. He's not going anywhere.

Starting point is 00:25:36 So where do we find spots for right handed bats to help this team out when facing left hand of pitching? Because we threw out the stats the other day. They are what second to last in pretty much. much every category against left-handed pitching this year ahead of only the White Sox, and it's usually them or the Marlins. One of those two are the only ones that are worse. And the Cardinals could use some help.

Starting point is 00:26:03 And Tommy Fam has provided that, but now with Siani going down, and because Fam has been so good, he's not on the bench. He's not there. So it's still all left-handers out on the bench again. So we get to that pickle where we don't have anybody can come off the bench and hit a left-hander later in the game. So there's a couple of guys that you brought up in your blog that you wrote about actually this morning. You brought up Jordan Walker.

Starting point is 00:26:27 You also brought up Lucan Baker and a third guy, which will put the blog and put the link in the notes and stuff. You guys go check it out for yourself. But let's start with Jordan Walker, who last year had this fantastic second half. Everybody thought, all right, here he goes. Here's our future star. And then it didn't work on earlier in this year. Things were bad, and then he continued to struggle at Memphis. But recently, things have gotten better, haven't they, Thomas?

Starting point is 00:26:55 They have. First, I'm going to say, Ivan Herr is not on this list because his OPS against Lefties is 643, which does not help our case. All right, so no Herrera, so it's another guy. But Jordan Walker has been great. Just in August alone, prior to August 8th, I think. He had a 391, 440, 652 slash line, nine hits with three doubles and a home run. So he's doing what the organization wanted him to do.

Starting point is 00:27:20 He's hitting the ball hard and he's lifting it in the air. That's exactly why they sent him down. So I think that he would be a great addition via the 27th, 28th men on September rolls around. Everybody likes Jordan Walker, I think, as a person. Some people are starting to get prospect fatigue with him, which I don't understand because he's only 22. Right. Give the guy a break. There's no patience in this world anymore, Thomas.

Starting point is 00:27:46 And I know that is the forbidden word because Moselock has buried that word so many times into our brains. But at the same time, it's part of what baseball is. You know, it's 162 games. It's, you know, it's long years. And it takes time for these kids that develop. And Jordan Walker is not some college kid. He just came up and is ready to rock and roll. You know, he's not J.J. Weatherholt.

Starting point is 00:28:11 He was a kid coming out of Georgia and had to learn a new. position and all this stuff. And the fact that people are like, oh, he's a bust already. Like, it just infuriates me that they're like that already. I think his promotion is a pretty easy transition, especially if he comes up before September. No one Gorman could probably use arrest down in AAA. He's striking out almost 40% of the time. That's crazy. Yeah. So you bring up Walker, you send down Gorman, Donovan gets to move back to second base, and then the outfield gets opened up with four guys still. Yeah. Watching Gorman last night, there was in a bat where, like, he just swung with his arms.

Starting point is 00:28:53 Like, he just, I don't know what's going on. There's another guy when talking about prospects that seem to be regressing. And even though he's got, like, 20 home runs and like 60 RBIs, like, he just cannot put the bat on the ball enough. And it's weird. I always, the first thing I think of when I see that stuff, and I'm like, are his eyes okay? Like, does he need contacts? Tommy family of 2018 all over again. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:29:18 It just blows me away that we're like the skill sets are there. You know, he's got quick hands. He's got the power. He's got the build. He looks fine defensively. I just don't get it. It's bizarre to me how. And it's almost like he's in his own head.

Starting point is 00:29:33 And it feels like it's all mental stuff with these guys. I said the same thing about Dylan Carlson for years. Like it just looks like he's so hard on himself and he just has no confidence up there. And that's a big part of hitting a baseball is being confident that you can go and hit those guys. And when you don't, you know, that pitcher's already won half the battle there mentally against you. So, yeah, Jordan Walker makes a lot of sense. And, you know, if you're going to be facing lefties, I mean, and people are like something that I brought up is one of the reasons why he hasn't been pulled up ever. It's not only if the stats not been there, but you want him to play

Starting point is 00:30:07 every day. But, you know, if the Memphis season has winded down and why not? Because you're in a playoff push. You're not there to win AAA championships. We're here to win World Series. We're here to win World series championships at the major league level. And if Jordan Walker can help you in that final month, and by God, you bring him up and do that. All right, let's move on to the next one. And now this has been kind of a hot topic, too. Luke and Baker,

Starting point is 00:30:31 Luca just popped his 30th home run the other day. We know that he had this monster season at Memphis, where he was a triple crown type of stuff. Comes up to the Cardinals when they stink. And he gets 100 at bats. doesn't look great in a lot of them, but he walks a lot. Some of the barrel percentages, that stuff's kind of good. If you go to his baseball savant page, like there's a decent amount of red on there.

Starting point is 00:30:58 There's also a decent amount of blue because he struck out a hell of a lot. But the walks and like, you know, his exit velocity, stuff like that, that was all there. But after 100 at bats, it seems like the cartels were like, meh, and have moved on from him. because you don't really hear a lot of people talking about him. And when I brought this up on Twitter, you know, most fans were saying he's a 4A player, which is the joke where he's not a major league player, but he's better than a AAA player. So what do you do with him?

Starting point is 00:31:29 I think he's 27 years old now. But once again, this is a guy that, I mean, 30 home runs is 30 home runs. He's got pop. You don't have to play him every day. What is the reasoning behind not giving Luke and Baker another shot? What do you think that is? All right. talked about this in the write-up. I think part of the issue is, A, Paul Goldschmidt's at first base,

Starting point is 00:31:49 and it's tough to de-thrown a potential future hallfamer. But then you also have Alex Burleson who could play first place just as often as Goldie or Lucan Baker. So to have three first basemen on your roster feels a little bit like a waste. I think you can honestly throw Matt Carpenter there too, so now you throw a fourth guy who can play first base. And the Cardinals are a team that loves their utility. So they're, I mean, Jose Fermin would probably be called before Luke and Baker would. And for me, it's actually been a good year. But it seems as though Luke and Baker's just being blocked despite being 27 years old and performing very well these last two years at Memphis. Yeah, I have these, you know, visions of like a Luke and Baker,

Starting point is 00:32:31 like, you know how like Britt Rooker or the A's, which obviously he plays outfield and can play both corners. So he's a little more versatile than what Luke and Baker can do for you as far as something outside of a D.H or first base. But, you know, there's these guys like Brent Rugg who didn't do much. And then all of a sudden at age, what, 28, 27, 28. He just kind of something clicks, figure some things out. And he's able to go on to have a pretty solid career. It was one of the more sought after guys at the deadline.

Starting point is 00:33:00 A said, we're going to keep them, take him to our AAA ballpark in Sacramento for the next couple of years. But for whatever reason. But, you know, that's obviously another joke. that's going around is that, well, as soon as Luke and Bacon leaves, somebody will pick them up, he'll be their DH and mash and be amazing for everybody else. People brought up bat speed, you know, at the major league level. And I just continue to say, like, he had 100 at bats. Okay.

Starting point is 00:33:26 So if you're going to go off 100 at bats and say this guy sucks, then that means Mason wins shouldn't be a ball player anymore. Because remember last year, he was not very good, right? He was adjusting to the major leagues and did not hit very well. And you see what you're getting this year. And there were people that were like, yep, he's a bus, you're out of here. No, and Gorman, I'm not ready to give up on yet. But, you know, obviously when he first came up, you're seeing he did a lot what he's doing right now where he was just striking out.

Starting point is 00:33:51 But he got better after you gave him more of that. Jordan Walker didn't, you know, do all that much when he first came up. Had the hits, but it wasn't like he was doing a lot. And then the next round when he came back up, he was much better. I wonder if that's something that maybe the Cardinals will look at is just a benchback. somebody off the bench because if you're going to be putting Tommy Fam and you're starting lineup more times than not because he's hitting so well, then you still need a right-handed bat off the bench. So when they expand the rosters a little bit, I wonder, I wonder Baker will get

Starting point is 00:34:23 that chance just to be a bat, like not to play first. Obviously, the DH role is clogged with Contreras, you know, because they want to get Pahas in the game as much as they can as a catcher. obviously Burley's not the best outfielder. He's not the most athletic guy out there. So they like him in the DH role, getting guys off their feet like Nato and getting a goldsmith offer a day. There's plenty of guys who can D.H on this team. So that's not a situation where there's just a big empty spot there.

Starting point is 00:34:52 But just for that thump off the bench, I wonder if that's something they'll think about when those rosters expand. So we're going to get you links to all of Thomas's writings for Redwoodrance.com. We're going to put those in the show notes and in the comments section down below. So make sure you guys click on those, check them out. Because he does have a third guy that he talks about in that blog where, as a guy that I've brought up as well could be an interesting bat to bring up who offers a little more versatility than one Luke and Baker.

Starting point is 00:35:24 So you'll have to go check that out for yourself. Thomas, as always, appreciate you jumping in and chatting here today. By the way, everybody, Thomas, who lives in Kansas City, will be at the Royals games this weekend, yes? Absolutely. I got tickets to both of them. Okay, do you know where you're sitting in stuff already? I think tonight I'm up.

Starting point is 00:35:43 I think they're both in the 400s because I can't afford anything better than that. I think tonight I'm behind home plate. I don't know about tomorrow night. They didn't used to be a problem in Kansas City. It used to be where you could just go wherever you wanted because they were stinky, but now you got Bobby Wood Jr. and the boys playing some good ball. And, yeah, the Royals are tough, man. Those are one of those teams that maybe doesn't get enough credit in the American League

Starting point is 00:36:06 that I think might surprise some people in the playoffs if they make it in. So interesting stuff. All right. Well, enjoy the games. Have fun with the family, brother. And we'll talk to you real, real soon. All right. Take care, JD.

Starting point is 00:36:18 All right. Thanks for making Locked on Cardinals. Your first listen every day. If you haven't already, give us a follow on Twitter X at L0 underscore Cardinals and a JD Sports Radio. Like, subscribe on YouTube. Help our channel and our love for the Cardinals grow. You guys are the best fans in baseball for a reason.

Starting point is 00:36:32 And we'll see you next time. on lockdown cardinals.

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