This is just epically hilarious.

Thanks for sharing. That is indeed epically hilarious. ROFL

Trey is a great dude. In an ideal world, he’d take a Zobrist-like path to the majors.

I know a guy who IS letting Trey **** his sister. Doesn’t seem to be any problem there.

Good god, that is confusing.

So he got $9.1 million upfront, $750,000 per year for six years, $1.12 million from 1991-2021, and will get $9.1 million in 2022?

If that's the case, he actually earned $56.3 million

O/U 9.5 Ks for Kluber tonight?

Hopefully a rainout

The way I read it the $9.1MM all at once (up front) was actually deferred to 2022 and he was given a slary of 8% interest for the duration of the contract (6 years) then 12% after that, or something like that.

Ok. So that puts it at 47.2. Still insane. If I bought the Braves and found that in the books, I think I'd have to call up the mother****er who negotiated the salary structure once a month and re-fire him.

Well that was unexpected. Cards will play just well enough to sit tight at the trade deadline or trade for some middle of the road reliever then **** it up in September.

Yep, unless we fall apart worse than we have yet, its going to be more of the same in the long run. Uninspired .500 baseball in the hunt for a wild card but no chance of winning a playoff series.:sulk:

As I read it, the 'salary' of $9.2 million was effectively a signing bonus so it was earned the moment the ink was dry. However, it was fully deferred with only interest payments being made annually.

So there was no up front cash payment, rather the money was effectively escrowed and interest only payments were made to Sutter (based on a projected interest rate and not actual, so he came out way ahead). And by calling it a signing bonus rather than a salary, that's how he was able to keep all of it even though he retired before the contract expired.

Then when the interest only period ends and the deferment is over, the 'res' is paid to him in a lump sum.

He mauled the Braves, man.

:eek:

Ozuna's stats since he got hot are close to "Trout" levels also.

Can we release him though?

hello - why isn't anyone posting?

its not the losing. we all are disgusted with our manager and crappy style of play. :hmmm:

Hoping the Braves can hold on to the lead in the division - I'll be surprised if they do. One yr. ahead of schedule.

they have some good young players. It was smart to hang on to Freeman during the sell off.

Cards putting together something here in the 9th

So, Turdy Pham... 0-29 stretch .240 hitter. Yeah....

meathead keeps batting him 2nd.

He had a Turnpike Troubadours tune as his walk up song back in the day.

Those giveaway hats are very nice.

I really like your announcers today.

Dan: Mujica is a phone call away :facepalm: That turd is back?

The Cardinals have the worst announcers in baseball. Edmonds is the only good one and he rarely calls a game.

I like the guys today. Much better than Chip Caray and Joe Simpson.

Holy Shit man you guys give away some nice swag to fans.

You are trolling me bud :) Dan is the worst lead guy in sports and Stutter boy "BT" is their fourth string radio hack guy.

Cowboy hat in a few weeks!

I think i have gotten something free at every game I've been to at Busch.

Not my cup - but those looked damn nice.


I bet!

So, the Cards played the Cubs, Brewers, Indians, and Braves and are likely to go 5-8 with only one of those series on the road.

Given his recent hot streak, I think now is the time to shop Carpenter aggressively. As always, Jose Martinez should always be on the block.

I'd trade them, Wong, Matheny and Mozeliak to anybody for a lukewarm six-pack of Bud Light.

This team has become the baseball equivalent of the Pioli Chiefs. Time to chip in and rent a plane, I think.

I read you guys are interested in Moose. I’d like to see that trade. Good luck.

you guys should win this if our offense is done for the day - Braves BP is a nightmare.

Holy Shit 101

If Sam Freeman comes in in the 9th - I fully expect you all will walk away w/ the W.

Edit: Looks like it'll be Minter - struggled early in the season - but much better than SF.

This is such a crappy type of baseball. There is no position players that are untouchable. Matheny has to go. He has had way too many chances and time to turn this around.

Joe Block and John Wehner are worst.

I can’t remember the last time anyone in the front office, including Mo has publicly called out a player line this.
————————————-

PHOENIX • In a series of broadcast interviews the past two days, John Mozeliak, the Cardinals' president of baseball operations, has had a blunt assessment of the team at the halfway point, and that included comments that were perceived as critical of center fielder Dexter Fowler.

Mozeliak told interviewers that he has been questioned about Fowler's "effort and his energy level," and during an interview Sunday morning on KMOX/1120 AM he said he wanted to "challenge" Fowler to bring more of the energy and excitement that the team saw from the veteran a year ago. He elaborated on that thought Monday during a podcast interview with Fox Sports Midwest broadcaster Dan McLaughlin.

"Those are things I can't defend," Mozeliak said of the perception. He then launched into a general comment on the team: "Everybody needs to take a hard look in the mirror and decide what they want that next chapter to look like. In Dexter's case, maybe taking a brief timeout, trying to reassess himself and then give him a chance for a strong second half is probably what's best for everybody."

Inb4 Fowlers wife calls mo a racist on Twitter

Should be calling out the manager that's let the team get this way.

Yep

He should just fire Meathead.

Although I agree with his sentiments and have advocated just DFA’ing Fowler.

The GM shouldn’t be calling out any players so publicly. Just cut him, demote him, whatever but public shaming isn’t a good thing for the Cardinals org. We are already having trouble recruiting good players. If the org is willing to public shame a player, why should I go there?

How big is DeWitt on paying 2 more years of Matheny's salary when he isnt an employee?

he paid $144 Million for the team. It’s worth $1.9 Billion now. He’s making a small fortune with baseball village and the team is making $100 million in profit this season. He can afford the write off.

Being able to afford something and being willing are two entirely separate things.

Who is the Cardinals biggest retained salary? Mike Leake? Isn't he off the books after this season?

IIRC, when the Cubs hired Maddon they were still paying Sveum AND Renteria.

If people were still willing to play for a ****wad like George Steinbrenner after he hired a degenerate gambler to try and ruin Dave Winfield's reputation out of spite, and after he called Hideki Irabu a fat toad, then I doubt what the GM says, which is pretty milquetoast in this instance, moves the needle much at all.

It's always about who will pay free agents the most money. Boston is an openly hostile fan base to black players and they still manage to get plenty of them as free agents because they offer more money.

its a different era back then. The Yankees had a lot more money than the rest of baseball and an owner willing to spend money.

Now the majority of teams have money. The players have options to get their top $ money. Different era.

Now the majority of teams have money and players like David Price are still going to the Red Sox because they offer the most money.

Yadi is $20M in AAV.

Here's the problem with the Cardinals: they don't understand that in sports a dollar is worth more than four quarters. They want to fill the team with 2-3 win players. High floor, low ceiling type guys. Yet when they were on their run of excellence, they had multiple guys giving them 6+ wins rounded out with a bunch of 1 win players, not a lineup and rotation filled with above average MLB starters and no elite players.

Yadi is not wasted money yet. Still have two years to go though.

Cardinals position players are worth .5 WAR for the season. So theoretically we can get anyone to replace theses guys.

This zone tonight is the worst I've seen all year, and there have been some awful ones. Welke missed five calls in the first inning, and every one of them benefited the Dbags.

This Bradley for Zona has really good stuff...wow

Cardinals lose...again

Yeah, Flaherty was out of that inning. That was a clear strike. They want to speed up the game, get more offense in the game, you don't have to change anything, just call the strike zone according to the rule book. Armpits to the top of the knees.

Another new wrinkle I've seen with runners on base is that Yadi sets up outside but the pitch is really going inside or vice versa. It's clearly a strike but because he has to reach for it on the opposite side of the plate, the umpire doesn't give them the strike because traditionally if the pitcher misses location that bad, the umpire doesn't give them the strike.

I saw an interview with Yadi that at the start of every series with a new umpire crew he tells them this happens as a plan. To tell the other members of the crew.

Seems like a stupid plan.

The pitcher "missing location" isn't a reason the umpire wont give the strike, pitchers miss location all the time unintentionally and still get strikes. But when your catcher has to dart his glove from one side of the plate to the other side in the matter of 1 second it gives the illusion that the pitch was further off the plate than it actually was because the catcher is no longer trying to frame the pitch and give a good look to the umpire and instead just trying to prevent a wild pitch.

Who are the Cardinals trying to outsmart with that strategy? How many batters peek back at the catcher to see where he's setting up? Why not just start at the opposite side before the pitch and get into position when the pitch is on its way to receive it where its meant to be like every other team?

Sounds like Yadi just feeding a bunch of bullshit to the umps, imo.

Umps had nothing to do with stupidly pitching to Goldschmidt with a base open and Turdy Pham being the awful player I said he was.

wellll the last time we played Arizona both benches cleared when the manager complained to the ump about Yadi framing pitches and getting the call.

Which was a weird thing to complain about. All catchers frame pitches to get calls. Your complaining to the umpire about the skill level of a player on the other team?

So sure, Yadi works the umps pretty well. Wouldnt surprise me that it’s BS to get calls. As his physical skills diminish with age, it’s something he can still contribute to the team at an elite level.

I guess. But is he working the umps in an elite way?

http://www.statcorner.com/CatcherReport.php

Yadier Molina has the 6th worst zBall%, worse than defensively meh catchers like Contreras and Sanchez.

You have to go back to 2013 for the last time Molina had a RAA above 10. His highest since then was 9.3 in 2016. Last year he was -0.4. This year he's currently at 0.9. These numbers still put him in good standing for catcher rankings but when compared to the best in each year its hard to consider them "elite."

Stats don’t tell the whole story with Catchers.

The Arizona manager thought it was a big enough advantage that he felt he needed to work the umps. Cause a bench clearing incident.

I dont know the whole story behind what happened in Arizona but it was an isolated incident.

A pitch is either a strike or not and the catcher gets the call in his favor or not. Molina hasn't been elite in a long time. Good? Sure. Better than average? Yes. Elite? Not even close.

I didn't know Salas was still pitching

Holland is drunker than i am.

Cut this pos

Rosenthal is reporting that Minnesota is interested in Martinez. What do they have and willing to give up for him?

Jose correct? Why would they want him, they're shit?

yes Jose. Rosenthals info is usually pretty solid.

I ****ing hate this team. We are going to play .500 ball. Be in the hunt for thew wild card late in the season and nothing changes next season. Other than another wasted season.

Cubs beat writer:
The bottom line is, the Cardinals were once known as a model organization. But what we’ve seen of late has been a jarring juxtaposition to the St. Louis teams of just a few years ago. The fundamentals on defense and the base paths are gone, and issues that normally should be handled in house are being discussed publicly on a podcast with a current team broadcaster, and by the team’s top baseball executive, no less.

St. Louis looks nothing like the franchise it once was. Giancarlo Stanton enacted his no-trade clause and refused to be traded to St. Louis. Jason Heyward took less money to sign with the Cubs. The Cardinals lack any semblance of the franchise Theo Epstein once suggested the Cubs must mimic in order to find sustained success.

USA Today Nightengale:
PHOENIX - The good folks of St. Louis can feel it. They sense it. And they can certainly see it. Groundhog Day.

The Cardinals, one of baseball’s proudest and most prestigious franchises, winners of 11 World Series championships, with 12 playoff berths since 2000, are stuck on the treadmill of mediocrity.

They are 43-41 entering the July 4th holiday, nearly closer to the last-place Cincinnati Reds as the first-place Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central, 6 ½ games out of first place.

They are in danger of missing the playoffs for the third consecutive season, for the first time since 1996-99.

“That’s embarrassing,’’ says Cardinals outfielder Tommy Pham, one of the Cardinals’ team leaders. “You never want to see something like that happen to this franchise. That’s on us.’’
Or, as Cardinals Nation might tell you, it’s on manager Mike Matheny. Or hitting coach John Mabry. Or club president John Mozeliak. Or owner Bill DeWitt.

They want someone to pay for this era of mediocrity. And no one is feeling the heat more than Matheny.“People who tell you they’re used to it,’’ Matheny tells USA TODAY Sports, “are lying. There’s a very small percentage of people in this world that can truly say they don’t care when it comes to stuff like that, and truly mean it. Unfortunately, I’m not in that small percentage.
“I’m not in the business of gaining public approval, but to say you’re completely unfazed by it, that’s hard to say.’’


It’s hardly Matheny’s fault his team is littered with guys who can’t field, but can hit. Guys who can hit, but can’t field.

Given that the Orioles are terrible and that pending free agent Manny Machado is the opposite of terrible, it seems highly likely that the star infielder will be moved in advance of the non-waiver trade deadline.

Machado in his age-25 season is batting .311/.378/.565 (160 OPS+) with 21 home runs in 83 games. That's on pace to be easily a career year for Machado, and he's also proved himself capable of returning to the shortstop position in 2018. He's going to get paid this coming offseason, and he may wind up fetching a bigger contract than Bryce Harper does.

In the here and now, though, Machado is very likely on his way to a contender. Here's what CBS Sports HQ MLB analyst Jim Bowden says about the quickly development market for Machado ...

"I've talked to people involved in this over the last 24 hours, and I've talked to teams. Eight teams have confirmed to me that they've had discussions with the Orioles on Machado over the last 10 days. This is heating up. I've also been told, for people that are skeptical if the Angelos family will approve a deal, I've been told they are going to approve a deal. Their intent is to trade the player. When they get the package they like, they will move him."

So, yes, Machado is almost certainly going to be traded. At this point, you're no doubt wondering who those eight teams are. Straight from Bowden and CBS Sports HQ, here they are ...

• Phillies
• Cardinals
• Cubs
• Dodgers
• Indians
• Braves
• Diamondbacks
• Brewers

Some teams would have Machado in mind as a shortstop (the Diamondbacks, for instance), and others would target him for his stronger position of third base (the Indians, for instance, who would then move Jose Ramirez to second base). The Cubs don't really have a clear need for him, as Kris Bryant is entrenched at third and shortstop Addison Russell has been producing at a solid clip this season. As for the heavily hyped Dodgers, Bowden says: "My intel says no, that they're not even close." The Braves and Brewers, meantime, don't like the current asking price.
That leaves us with this key takeaway from Bowden:

"I look at this and I go Phillies, Cardinals -- probably the frontrunners right now."

In terms of production to date, the Phillies' most glaring need is at short. Machado would also be an upgrade at third over Maikel Franco, who himself has been the subject of trade rumors. As for St. Louis, they're already giving Jose Martinez time in the outfield because of his sub-par defense at first base. Installing Machado at third base would allow Matt Carpenter to be the primary first baseman.

Whatever the case, expect some clarity on this front soon -- possibly several days in advance of the deadline.

They aren't getting Machado

And shouldn't if we are give up Hudson/Kelley/JMartinez to get a 6 week rental. Manny alone will make us a contender but then he moves on next year and we are stuck with Meathead.

If you honestly believed that Machado would be the key to making the Cardinals a legitimate contender and WS threat and all you had to do was give up a catcher that hasn't proven he can swing a bat at a MLB level, a first baseman with an .850 OPS but struggles to even get on the field because he can't even play first base, and your 3rd best prospect that has yet to crack into the top 100 and you said no to one of the games elite players because you were worried he wouldnt re-sign after the season then you should be fired on the spot.

There are pitchers that hit every 5 games that manage to be better at it than Carson Kelly. I don't care how good your defense is, if you can't hit close to respectable you won't be on the field.

you miss the point I thought I made clear. The cause and effect. The effect of having Manny means Meathead stays.

Has Trout, Arendo and Harper been able to win shit by themselfs? Even Manny can’t overcome the ineptitude of Meathead.

I’d rather lose a chance at maybe some playoff wins than have Meathead for another year.

I’d rather have Meathead gone and then trade for Arenado with a new manager in charge.

3 playoff teams last season changed managers in the offseason. If Machado means the Cardinals keep Matheny then they were never going to fire him.

They aren't a contender WITH Manny this year. No point.

Dogshit defense, terrible bullpen. Lineup full of streak, junk ball hitters.

Cardinals acquired LHP Elniery Garcia from the Phillies for international bonus pool money.

Garcia has an ugly 6.38 ERA, 1.91 WHIP, and 29/21 K/BB ratio in 42 1/3 innings (nine starts, one relief appearance) this season at Double-A Reading, but the 23-year-old left-hander put up promising numbers in the lower minors. He was suspended 80 games last April after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug. Garcia will presumably report to Double-A Springfield.

Bullpen issues solved! :clap: