Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - Will The St. Louis Cardinals End Their 2 Year STREAK Without A GOLD GLOVE Award Winner?

Starting point is 00:00:00 Not one, but two Cardinals have been announced as finalists for a gold glove in the National League. One has a very good chance of winning while the other one, well, let's just say it's going to be an uphill battle. 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. Haffer, and I am a former national radio sports anchor. I'm born and raised in St. Louis Lifetime Cardinals fan since I was. little wee, JD, and I am your host for Locktown Cardinals, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network covering your team every day.

Starting point is 00:00:41 A big thank you to all of our everydayers for being here with us throughout the season and now into the off season. We do have some things that we're working on. I was in a big meeting today, so there are some things that we're working on that I want you just be aware of. They're coming soon. And for those of you who are new, hey, welcome in. Hope you guys enjoy the content.

Starting point is 00:01:00 This is a show that serves Cardinal Nation, gives you all the info about the birds on the bat. today's episode being brought to you by GameTime, download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code locked on MLB for $20 off your first purchase. On today's episode, we will be discussing what's going on in the MLB playoffs, like what I'm learning from the MLB playoffs that I want to take from that and put it towards the Cardinals, how it relates to what our Cardinals are trying to do to, you know, become competitive again, become a, playoff team once again. So we will discuss that. But we've got some really good news to talk about

Starting point is 00:01:39 today. And we're going to talk about the defensive side of things for the Cardinals. We are going to take a quick glance at the overall defensive numbers that the Cardinals gave us in 2025 because there is some good. There is some bad. But let's start with the good stuff where we have two of our current Cardinals who were announced as finalists for an NL Gold Glove Award. So let's begin with Mason Wynn since he was the one that, you know, that doesn't really come as a shock for those of you who follow the team who have been every dayers on this show. We've talked about how good Mason was all season. And most people didn't realize how good his numbers wore until it started to get, you know,

Starting point is 00:02:21 later in the year and you're like, wait a second. Like Mason Wend is like way up here as far as his defensive numbers, not just among shortstaps, but among all players. in baseball. And if you're somebody who likes to do research on your own, just so you know, I went to fan graphs for all my defensive stuff. It's my go-to. So that's where I'm going for and getting these stats from in case you're wondering. But Mason win, again, an elite player at the shortstop position, yet again, because he was very, very good there last year, was a finalist for the award along with Danesby Swanson of the Cubs. And then the eventual

Starting point is 00:02:58 winner, Ezekiel Tovar of the Colorado Rockies. Now, last year, he was a plus three in out's above average. You let all short stops with 14 defensive runs saved, but he also made 18 errors. And that was the strange part about it is you got all these great, uh, defensive metric numbers. You're like, wow, he's insane. And then you go, whoa, why do you have 18 errors? That was, that was a, that was the tough part of it. But it just shows you like how good he really was when he didn't make the errors, you know, and, uh, he cleaned that part of his game, very, very well this year. This year he finished a plus 21 and outs above average. Second. only to the Royals, Bobby Witt, Jr., which is saying something because Bobby Witt, Jr.

Starting point is 00:03:39 is, if he's the best, if not, he's one of the best, if not the best, defensive shortstop at baseball right now. So he finishes a plus 21 an ounce above average second only to Bobby Witt among shortstops. So it's plus two, a defensive run saved, and only made three errors this season. Now, before we go further, I do want to reiterate what exactly DRS and O, AAR, okay, because not everybody is familiar with these terms. Okay, so if you're familiar, I'm sorry, but I just want to explain it for those who aren't so familiar with some of these analytical things that have popped up over the years.

Starting point is 00:04:16 You know, most of us back of the day, you look at errors. Oh, didn't make a lot of errors. Cool. It's probably pretty good. Now there's different ways to see this stuff. Defensive runs saved is DRS. You're going to hear me say that a couple of times, which measures how many runs a player saves or allows for their team compared to an average player at the same position.

Starting point is 00:04:33 position. If you get a positive DRS, that means a player who saved runs through the range. They're throwing an ability to make difficult plays. While a negative DRS obviously indicates poor defense that costs the team some runs, a player receives credit for making a play that others don't and gets penalized for missing a play that other players would have made. OAA is outs above average. Measures a field or skill by qualifying, or quantifying, I'm sorry, quantifying how many outs they have saved compared to an average. fielder at their position. So it's like a cumulative metric that will go into take into account the difficulty of plays, positive values indicating a fielder is above average, negative values

Starting point is 00:05:14 below average. It analyzes individual plays based on a probability of being caught, considering factors like the distance they had to travel, distance to the ball, time to get there, direction, all this stuff is brought in. Again, I'm not a mathematical wizard. I just know that if you're in the plus column of either one of these, that's really good. If you're below that and you're in the negatives, that's not so good. If you're at zero, that means you're, your average and you're right there in the middle of the road with everybody else. But both are very important, but they aren't exactly measuring the same things.

Starting point is 00:05:47 But obviously being on the plus side is good. And both of those is key, just like Mason wins was last year and this year. Now, his competition last year finished behind Mason, win, a DRS. When was at 14? Tovar was at 10. Swanson was at seven, but they clobbered him in outs above average. When was at three? But Tovar was at 15. Swanson was at 17. And as I mentioned, Mason made a bunch of errors. He had 18 of them, 18 of them last season, fourth highest among in L shortstaps. Tovar made eight. Swanson just five. In the end, it ended up being Ezekiel Tovar taking home the gold with the Rockies. Now Mason's competition this year, very interesting. And it starts with the Dodgers, Moogie Betts, which, I mean, you know, I'll get into Moogie in a second, but it's Moogie Betts for the Dodgers, and then it's Nick Allen from the Atlanta Braves win, only made three errors and had that 49-game airloor streak at one point, battled through a knee injury for a lot of the season. And although that's not going to matter to people in the end,

Starting point is 00:06:51 it is something to think about as a fan of the Cardinals and as a fan of Mason win, that you've got to kind of consider and appreciate that Mason win was as good as he was this year at arguably the most demanding position in baseball. Some will say center field, but most people think it's shortstop. And he was as good as he was while on one leg, had an injured leg, injured knee, required surgery that it was such a problem. So think about that and keep that in mind. Now, Mookie Betts.

Starting point is 00:07:20 Mookie Betts being a gold glove caliber shortstop is so annoying. And I say that with all the respect in the world for Mookie Betz because he's a stud. But seriously, the student is good at everything. And I mean, think about this for a second. Betz has already won six gold gloves in the outfield. In the outfield. Four with Boston, two with L.A. was a finalist for the utility gold glove in 2023 when he was splitting time between

Starting point is 00:07:49 second and right and shortstop. I mean, how many outfielders? Gold glove caliber outfields. switch to a middle infield position and become a gold glove guy there as well. Has anybody ever done that? I don't know. Has anybody ever done that before? Like, been incredible in the outfield, but the team needed to move him to the infield, not to first base where some guys go to a middle infield position, to a harder, more difficult position at shortstop and be awesome. It's ridiculous, right?

Starting point is 00:08:24 here's the tail of the tape between your three contestants. Mason Webb, three errors plus 21 OAA plus two defensive runs saved. Mookie Betts, seven errors, plus five OAA, plus 17 defensive runs saved. Nick Allen, five errors, plus 17 OAA, and plus 12 defensive runs saved. Mason is certainly deserving of the win. But you can also see why Mookie Betts and why Allen also have a case to take home the award. And like I said before, it makes you wonder what Mason's numbers would have looked like if he had been healthy all season and wasn't dealing with that knee issue that ended his season prematurely. Would it shock me if Mason win won?

Starting point is 00:09:21 No. would it shock me if mooky bets won because he's mooky bets no not at all Alan is certainly deserving and I know it's a defensive award but I also I got to look at the offense a little bit and I see a 53 OPS plus for Nick Allen and I'm like oh again I know it's a defensive award so I but I wonder if they take that into consideration at all and I know I catch hell with fans about that aren't fans of the Cardinals about Oz Smith. I've been told many times that, oh, Ozzie Smith, so overrated. And I always have to put up an argument because Ozzie was my favorite player growing up, but I know Ozzy wasn't an offensive

Starting point is 00:10:01 powerhouse by any means, but during his prime years between 1982 and 1992, his OPS plus was a 96. 53 is ridiculously low. It's almost like not taking a bad up to the plate. So I think it's going to be between Mookie and Mason. I wonder if the star power of Mookiee Betts will give him the nod in this one. But the numbers are deserving. And the fact that he went from an outfielder and came in and is a stud and is on the current world champions. It might be on back-to-back world champions where the Dodgers are playing. We'll see if that sways the voters at all.

Starting point is 00:10:41 But Mason deserves it, right? And he should be there. And if he's not, if he doesn't win, he should for the second, in my opinion. The other gold glove finalists comes speeding in from the outfield for the St. Louis Cardinals. We're going to talk about Victor Scott next on Locked on Cardinals. There's nothing like catching a baseball game live. You get the energy. You get the crowd, a chance to see your favorite team and players in person, but actually getting tickets.

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Starting point is 00:12:39 We're also on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram at Lockdown Cardinals. So be sure to give us a follow on the socials as well. The St. Louis Cardinals have been very blessed with very good defensive teams over the years. We've had outstanding shortstop play through the years with Ozzie, Edgar Renteria. Now you got Mason Wynn. that looks like he will take on the mantle as the next great defensive shortstop with back-to-back years of being a gogloff finalist and might even win one this year. Being strong up the middle is something that teams always strive for.

Starting point is 00:13:09 You always, you know, you're like, I want to be strong up the middle. I want solid defensive catcher. We know we had those years of Yadi. Nice to have good defensive pitchers. If you can find them, that's good too. But shortstop, second base, center field. When you're strong up the middle, it really can make a world of difference for. your team. And the Cardinals have had that for the most part for many, many years.

Starting point is 00:13:32 They've enjoyed stellar play in center field, or, you know, from guys like what, Kurt Flood to Willie McGee to Jim Edmonds, you had Harrison Bader out there. And although he didn't win anything last year, you know, my guy Michael Ciani was a difference maker defensively out there with his club. And now we can add Victor Scott to the list because Victor Scott is now a finalist for the first time in his career. for the NL Gold Glove Award in center field. He had already won a Gold Glove Award in the minor leagues. So we kind of expected him to be really good when he was coming up through the system.

Starting point is 00:14:06 The elite speed obviously is a big plus for him. He still gets great jumps on the ball. But obviously if he is fooled a little bit, he can make up for things with the speed that he possesses, which is always key, especially in a spacious center field like we have at Bush Stadium. And his numbers this year were outstanding defensively. Victor did make six errors this year. And most of them were just kind of lackadaisical silly stuff,

Starting point is 00:14:31 usually something like with a ground ball up the middle going under his glove or something like that. He had one throwing error. So that wasn't really an issue in five fielding errors. In center field, he was a plus 16 and outs above average and a plus 12 in defensive for instance. He did finish plus 17 overall in OAA, which includes the innings that he played in left field and right field.

Starting point is 00:14:53 It wasn't a lot. I think it was only maybe like 31 innings total. but he was out there. So 17 overall in OAA, he's very much deserving of a goal glove. The tough part for Victor, and it's going to continue to be a tough part for Victor for a few years, I believe,

Starting point is 00:15:08 is that he's going up against two of the best defensive centerfielders in baseball, and those two guys just so happen to be playing in the National League. One of them is Pete Crow Armstrong from the Chicago Cubs. And then you've got Jacob Young of the Washington Nationals. And let's not forget about the Rockies Britton Doyle who won the award the last two seasons, but his numbers fell way off this year for whatever reason. I didn't watch a ton of Colorado Rockies baseball this year. So I can't really tell you what his issues were.

Starting point is 00:15:41 But to go from back-to-back gold gloves to wear his numbers were this year, it was a little bit weird. So maybe injury or something he's been dealing with that now. All right, tail of the tape for the NL Center Field Gold Glove Award is as follows. Your Victor Scott, six errors plus 16. OAA just in center. And then a plus 12 defensive runs saved. So excellent stuff.

Starting point is 00:16:04 Peacrow Armstrong only made two errors this season was a plus 21 outs above average and a plus 15 defensive run save. And then you've got Jacob Young, the center fielder for the Washington Nationals. No errors. Did not make a single error this year. Plus 14. OAA plus 13 DRS. even through the Cardinal Red goggles that, you know, some of us fans often wear I'm guilty of it where I kind of see our players

Starting point is 00:16:32 and our team in a different light than everybody else does. Even looking through those, you got to say, better luck next year, Victor. I think PCA has got this one wrapped up, and he might have the next decade wrapped up if he remains in center field for the Cubs. He's that good. He was also a plus four and outfield arm run saved,

Starting point is 00:16:55 which is like, you know, how many runs that he saved just by his throwing abilities. He's got a cannon. He's super fast. Had trouble remembering how many outs there wore at one point in a game at Bush Stadium, which I know we all got a nice laugh out of. But he's insanely good.

Starting point is 00:17:15 No, it shouldn't take anything away from what Victor Scott's season was like. He was awesome and will hopefully continue to not only be where he was this year, but also to get better and improve. And if that offensive side ever comes around to go along with his ability to steal bases, which we know he's very good at already, 34 swipes this year, seventh highest total in baseball, despite not hitting all that well and getting on base all that much. So if he can improve on the offense, to go along with the defense that we know he already has, to go along with the stolen base ability.

Starting point is 00:17:51 Can I have one hell of a player on our hands in St. Louis? So let's not judge him too hard by the offense we saw this year. I know it was down. We want it to be better. It needs to be better. But it was also his rookie season. So I'm going to cut him a little bit of slack there. And hopefully things will turn around because we've seen him be a better hitter than he was.

Starting point is 00:18:14 You know, he started off very good. we saw what he could do in spring at spring training. And then, you know, he had a lot of trouble with breaking balls. So that's kind of what he needs to work on. Notable absences. So let's talk about the rest of the Cardle's roster, notable absences from the finalists. You did not hear Nolan Arnato. You did not hear Brendan Donovan, who were finalists last year.

Starting point is 00:18:36 Arnato and Donovan both had injury plague seasons this year, which led to less playing time. So they weren't really qualified to be kind of, you know, top of a. top of the food chain there at their positions, but they weren't up there anyway. You know, Arnado had a good season, finished with five errors, was a plus three, OAA, a plus six DRS, so very solid, but not quite up to stuff. He missed a lot of time and not quite up to stuff for the gold glove finalists, Key Brian Hayes, who played with the Pirates and the Reds, Ryan McMahon, who was a Rocky and then went to the Yankees and then Matt Shaw of the Cubs.

Starting point is 00:19:12 Key Brian Hayes is the guy like his numbers are incredible, you guys. He should run away with this award. It'll be the second time he's won it in three years. He was the one that ended Arnado's streak of Gold Glove wins a couple years ago. He only made five errors this season was plus 22 outs above average at third place and plus 19 DRS, which led all major league third baseman. And he was top three at any position in both of those categories. he is insanely good with the glove over at third base.

Starting point is 00:19:46 The bat has not quite come around the way the pirates were hoping, and the Reds were a little underwhelmed by his offensive prowess as well, but can't take anything away from how he plays over there at the hot corner. Also, Matt Chapman, not in this discussion this year as well with the Giants. Brandon Donovan only made four errors this season at second base. Obviously, we know he played different positions, but four errors this season, all of them are at second. but he was only plus 2 OAA and was a negative 2 DRS there.

Starting point is 00:20:17 Other notable defensive numbers for the Cardinals this year. Wilson Contreras plus 6 OAA in his first season at first base. Thomas and Jacey was a plus 4 OAA shortstop. Newt plus 2 in right field. Nathan Church in the limited time that he was up on the team had some good numbers, plus two in center field. When it goes to DRS leaders, Pedro Paz, your catcher, plus nine behind the play.

Starting point is 00:20:40 Newt plus four in right field, church plus three in center field, Sunny Gray plus two as a pitcher. Most of the pitchers had negative ones. So I'm going to have to work on that spring training. Let's be better. Let's be better defensively with our pitchers on the bad side, because there are a lot of negative numbers here. Bad side of OAA, you had Nolan Gorman was a minus nine at third base.

Starting point is 00:21:06 The eyeball test tells you that he got better when he was playing there more. Well, Aronado was out, but obviously there was quite the drop off from Nolan Aranato to Nolan Gorman at third base. Thomas Jayce was a minus five at second. Jordan Walker minus four in right, nupe minus three in left field. Burley was a minus three in right field. Donnie was a minus two in left field and Burley was a minus one in left field. The bad side of DRS. You've got an astonishing minus 11 for Jordan Walker in right field.

Starting point is 00:21:39 So Jordan Walker, minus 4. OAA minus 11 DRS, did very little offensively. You can see why everybody is pretty ticked off at what we've seen out of Jordan Walker. The development has just not been there. So really need him to turn this thing around. Gorman was a minus three at third base, burly minus three at first base, so J.C. minus three at second, Newt was a minus two in left field, Donnie a minus two in left field and at second base.

Starting point is 00:22:08 Burley was a minus two in left field. Willie was a minus one at first base. So clearly there's some work to be done. The plus nine by Pahas, I did not expect that. The DRS plus nine for Pahas. That was fifth best among catchers in baseball. He finished with a five in the framing category, which ranked him sixth best in the league.

Starting point is 00:22:29 We know framing is going to get affected when the ABS comes in next year. How much it gets affected? We'll find out. But you can see why Pahas. has some value behind the dish and why pitchers like throwing it to him so much. So just keep that in mind because we were talking about trading away catchers. And I was like, well, obviously Pahas is the guy that you want to trade away. Well, his defensive numbers are pretty good.

Starting point is 00:22:53 Cardinals finished 14th in errors this past year, ranked 14th in errors. So right in the middle of the pack. But they were a plus 36 an ounce above average, which led the league. Obviously, Victor Scott and Mason Wynn had a big chunk of that. but they were only plus five in DRS, which ranked them in 19. So there is some good here. There's also a lot of room for improvement. That's for sure if you want to become one of the elite defensive teams,

Starting point is 00:23:18 which the Cardinals were. And then the injury started to happen. You lost out of then you lost Arnaud. The defense came down. Mason Wynn was out for the final month. So, you know, injuries took their toll. But there's some good things there. There's some good things there.

Starting point is 00:23:35 Leave me your thoughts and comments on the defense. of numbers for the Cardinals, let me know in the comments section on YouTube or you can hit me up on X. Let's talk a little playoffs next. Playoffs, I do it every time. We'll talk about what's going on and how it relates to the Cardinals future. Coming up next on Lockdown Cardinals. The NFL season is here in Fandall has an offer. You do not want to miss right now.

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Starting point is 00:25:37 Cardinals your first list in every day for your second list. And be sure to check out locked on MLB game night, every game every night until the World Series champion is crowned. You'll get local analysis on a national scale. You can find M&B game night on locked on M&B on YouTube or wherever you listen to your podcast. The Milwaukee Brewers are in trouble, folks. I've said it before when you get to the playoffs. It's usually pitching that dominates the action and good pitching beats good hitting. Just like in football, a great defense will be a great offense.

Starting point is 00:26:05 And Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto have done what many teams struggled to do this year. And that shut down the Brewers' very annoying offense that they have in Milwaukee. We've seen it firsthand when the Cardinals had to face them 13 times this year. They base hit you and walk you to death and they steal faces and they move runners over and they take advantage of any sort of errors you make and you look up and now all of a sudden you're down four to one wondering what in the hell just happened. They don't even look like they're that good. Well, the Dodgers pitchers have figured out a way to subdue them.

Starting point is 00:26:37 And basically they're doing it by missing bats and it's paying off in games one and two. I think Blake's now had what, 10 strikeouts and Yoschner. Geno, Yamamoto had, I think, seven. They're missing bats, man. And it's funny that this is what it's come down to because of doing so well in games one and two for both of those starters that they're much maligned bullpen in LA has not really had a chance to screw anything up yet. I mean, they almost did in game one, right?

Starting point is 00:27:09 But they take a two-to-nothing lead back to L.A. after Yamamoto fires the complete game. And I'll be honest, I'm not sure Milwaukee can survive this and get the series back to Wisconsin. L.A. has got Snell and Yamamoto. And then their three and four are Tyler Glass now and Shio Tani. And they're ready to roll. Bull pit is fresh.

Starting point is 00:27:32 Didn't even get used in game two. Now they're going to have a day off before game three. Brewers have already lost two games with their best guys on the mound and Quinn Prester and Freddie Peralta. Like how are they going to come? compete now. Do they let the Mizz start? Jose Cantana, former Cardinal. The bullpen has been used a bunch. So a bullpen game doesn't sound like such a great idea. I mean, they're in serious trouble. On the other side, you got the Mariners up two to nothing after their starting pitching was

Starting point is 00:27:59 excellent as well. They all but stopped the Blue Jays in game one and then stuffed out their spirits in game two by jumping out to that three to nothing lead. Offense grinds back, ties it up at three. And then the Mariners were like, no, no, no, no, this is ours. They took it right back, made it six to three, go on to win at 10 to 3. Game 3 is Wednesday night in Seattle. They viewed Bryce Miller and Logan Gilbert. They still got George Kirby ready to go in game three. Luis Castillo, ready to rock in game four.

Starting point is 00:28:26 Brian Wu, who was their best pitcher this year, is coming back from a peck injury, but it has gotten the okay to go ahead and be ready to pitch if he needs to. He'll be available for game five if they need them. They might even need them. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays, they're scrambling to find people. Bosman and the rookie Savage have already been used. That didn't work. Shane Bieber is going to go in game three,

Starting point is 00:28:49 but they're hoping to turn back the clocks with St. Louis and Max Scherzer in game four, who was now 41 and made just 17 starts this year with an ERA over five. He's not the Mad Max from a few years back that you've seen do very well in the playoffs. Those two, Toronto and Milwaukee are in trouble. And if the Cardinals, and this one it made me think of it was like, if the Cardinals are ever going to compete for a title again, and they will.

Starting point is 00:29:16 We are seeing that pitching still dominates, pitching still dominates, especially in the postseason. The offense that the Cardinals have had the last couple of years, it needs some juice. You could use at least one big thumper in there, somebody who really scares the hell out of the other team

Starting point is 00:29:34 and their pitching staff. But I also think that their offense might be enough if you have the stellar pitching to go along with it. And right now you don't. You got Sunny Gray, might get traded. Matthew Libertzoor, good first year as a starter. Need him to get better. Michael McGreevy, good first year in the major leagues.

Starting point is 00:29:53 Need him to continue to be better. But then who else is there? Right now, you don't know. You're hoping Liam Doyle at some point will come up and be a guy. Quinn Matthews, I'm hoping next year, he's ready to go at the major league level. You're going to go out and sign some people. That's just what it's going to take. Andre Palante is not good enough.

Starting point is 00:30:18 You're going to have to do better than that. But that's where the real problem lies for the Cardinals, in my opinion. I think you can get by with the guys you got offensively. The pitching, because the bullpen, they've been able to do wonders with them and make them quite impressive over the last couple seasons. But you need some starters. You need a couple of them. So if there's going to be any area that you spend money this offseason,

Starting point is 00:30:39 I think starting pitching is where it's got to go. And we're going to need to have an episode about who are the starting pitchers that might be available. And the Cardinals should get their hands on them. So we'll talk about that in the future. Thank you for making a lockdown Cardinals. If you haven't already, please give us a follow on next at L.O. underscore Cardinals and a JD Sports Radio, TikTok, and Instagram at Lockdown Cardinals. Please like and subscribe on YouTube if you haven't already.

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Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - Will The St. Louis Cardinals End Their 2 Year STREAK Without A GOLD GLOVE Award Winner?

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