Munoz to the DL and they had to burn another spot on the 40 man (sigh) after putting Gregerson on the 60-day.

Man, they don’t exactly have a cake schedule from here on out but these guys could actually make the Wild Card game.

still doesn’t explain why the call up now? Has he cut down on his strikeouts? If not, why do we need a strikeout guy killing rallies when this offense finally is starting to show some life?

We kept the guy exposed and no one in baseball wanted him for waiver wire money. Can’t we just expose him again this off season? Or does a player have to stay on the 40 man roster a specific amount of time when added?

He was still striking out about the same rate as always, but he has been more productive overall (.842 OPS). I was surprised it was him, but that has to be a good feeling after getting snubbed a bit in September last year.

they are playing some good baseball. Young guys in the pen are coming through for the team. WC or not it’s a lot more fun watching this team since Matheny was fired.

Think we can win 30 or more games from here to the end? Would that be enough to get us into the wild card?

30-14 the rest of the way? No way. But we don’t need that many games to make the WC. 88 games should get us in. 26 more wins. 26 - 19 the rest of the way. Finish 88-74.

I would imagine 92 wins would get us there, yes, but that’s winning 2/3 of our games from here on out.

And I haven’t looked at anyone else’s schedule either, maybe everyone else is full of cupcakes and 92 won’t get us in.

If you get to 92 wins, you have a shot at the division. If the Cubs lose to Mad Max today they would need to win 25 more games to get 92. That is a .555 winning pace, hardly a swoon.

That said what you are suggesting would be quite a turnaround. I would say it is actually helpful that they get to play the teams above them. If you win you are picking up ground on someone.

Our issues this year hasn't been who we are playing, the issue has been our own underwhelming play.

Here's the math.
62-55 (current)

45 games left
87 wins got you in the NL WC last year

If we play close to what we have played recently and finish those 45 games with a totally doable 26-19. That gets us to 88 wins.

28-17 gets us 90 wins.

Our remaining games with current records. We are currently 62-55.
Dodgers are 64-54, we play them 7 more times.
Nationals are 60-57, we play them 7 more times.
Brewers are 67-53, we play them 6 more times.
Pirates are 61-57, we play them 5 more times.
Cubs are 67-49, we play them 3 more times. The last 3 games of the season.
Rockies are 62-55, we play them 3 more times.
Giants are 58-60, we play them 3 more times.
Reds are 52-65, we play them 3 more times.
Tigers are 48-69, we play them 3 more times.
Royals are 35-81, we play them 1 more time.
We are 15-9 since Matheny was finally terminated. Which is 62.5% win rate.
We have a shot and once a team is in, anything can happen.

Not happening ROFL

After 2006/2011 no Cardinal fan should ever say “not happening” again.

We are 2.5 games out of the WC with 45 games to play.

Of course it’s a long shot but it’s better to think about long shots than being pissed that Meathead is still managing this team. So there is that. :)

This is the first time since like 2008 i haven't made it the the K series. Kinda sad about that.

“That’s a winner!”

Keep ridin the wave fellas!

The Cards take care of business on the road. 7/9. Not bad. Not bad at all.

I'd rather miss and fire Mo to complete the turd flush

Nice spot start by Ross- five in a row!

Royals helped the Cards get back in the race.

Congratulations!

people in hell want ice water too. Neither are going to be a reality within the next few months.:)

They aren’t firing Mo if they miss the playoffs. It’s clear where they thought most of the blame should fall.

It’s still a big long shot, no doubt, but why hope for them to fail? They are playing smart and loose. That is fun to watch.

It’s PGM bro. He prefers to be miserable.

Cubs walk off grand slam :(

According to the Wisdom article on STL, the players are discussing a playoff run.They think they are in a playoff race. Know the teams in front of them, who won or lost the day before.

We need to get 3/4 from the Nationals. No Scherzer, Strasburg and their best reliever will not play. Push them out of the race. Take 2/3 from the Bucks and then split the road trip to LA and Colorado.

If we do that, we will have a realistic chance at the WC. I don't think we will do much if it does happen. But, it will help our young guys get their first playoff experience out of the way. They will remember the losing, the gut punch. Will be a better player from the experience.

Plus, its a lot more fun to watch this brand of baseball than the shit show the Matheny managed team had become.

THAT was awesome!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YG5qH8HOY9A" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

LMAO

Still love ya man

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">WALK-OFF GRAND SLAM FOR THE <a href="https://twitter.com/Cubs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CUBS</a>!!!!!<br><br>DAVID BOTE&#39;S WALK-OFF GRAND SLAM TO STUN THE NATIONALS IS EVEN BETTER WITH TITANIC MUSIC!!! UNBELIEVABLE WIN!!!!<br><br>⚾️���� <a href="https://t.co/cLEkwQxY7p">pic.twitter.com/cLEkwQxY7p</a></p>&mdash; TITANIC BASEBALL⚾️���� (@TitanicBaseball) <a href="https://twitter.com/TitanicBaseball/status/1028843854580121600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 13, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


Look at Harper walk off the field with that slight smirk on his face watching the replay. "Man this is fun. I like Chicago."

Jk.

Morosi on MLB central today reporting that two different sources within the Cardinals have told him that the odds of Shildt coming back as manager in 2019 are already at 50/50. Going up with every series.

Carlos Martinez to the bullpen when he returns from the DL. Will return as a starter in 2019.

Well umm... ok, then.

Interesting. Wonder how long that lasts for?

making me wonder if they found something in his shoulder other than this temporary thing the medical staff is selling? When he’s “on” he is fantastic. Going to the bullpen has red flag all over the move.

————————

"It looks like it would be in his best interest and our best interest if he was in the bullpen to get back sooner," interim manager Mike Shildt said.

Shildt said Martinez will throw from the bullpen for the rest of the season but will resume work as a starter in spring training next year. Martinez has a 3.41 ERA on the year and has thrown 100 1/3 innings.

"We've got another bullpen that it looks we can use when it's necessary," he said.

Not sure how its in the best interest to bring him back as a bullpen arm. If he isn't healthy enough to start why are you even risking pitching him at all? He only happens to be a big part of the teams future rotation.

Would have liked to hear the thinking behind that decision. Wacha on the other hand is preparing for a return as a starter. I guess out of the pen they can use limit workload easier, but still a puzzler.

yeah, I’m sure we will hear more details other than this PR BS, “it’s what is best for him and the team”.

Bernie on the athletic: differences since Matheny was fired.
———————————-

At 16-9 with Shildt as manager, the Cardinals have the NL’s best winning percentage (.640) since July 15.

In his last 25 games as the manager, Matheny was 11-14 (.440.) In his last 31 games, Matheny was 12-19 (.387).

In Matheny’s last 20 series as manager, the Cardinals won only five of them.

Shildt has managed the Cardinals for seven series, and the team has won five of them.

The Cardinals have won five consecutive series for the first time since late May/early June of 2015.

After a 7-2 road trip to Pittsburgh, Miami and Kansas City, the Cardinals (63-55) are eight games over .500 for the first time this season. They’ve won five consecutive games, which matches their longest streak of the season.

The Cardinals averaged 4.37 runs per game before firing Matheny and batting coaches John Mabry and Bill Mueller. They’re averaging 5.1 runs per game under Shildt and new hitting coaches Mark Budaska and George Greer.

The overall team ERA under Matheny was 3.84 (No. 11 in the majors).

Since the promotion of Shildt, the expanded influence of pitching coach Mike Maddux and the restructuring of the bullpen, the Cardinals are fourth in the majors with a 3.45 ERA in Shildt’s 25 games.

How about situational hitting? Before the changes, the Cardinals were tied for 16th in the majors in two-out RBIs. Under Shildt and the new hitting coaches, the Cardinals rank third in MLB with 53 two-out RBIs. And they’re fourth with a two-out OPS of .839.

On July 14, the Cardinals ranked 25th in the majors with a two-strike batting average of .133. With Shildt’s strong emphasis on putting the ball in play, the Cardinals’ change in approach has produced a .231 batting average on two-strike counts, which ranks first in the NL and No. 2 overall.

Before the dismissals, the Cardinals were 25th in two-strike slugging percentage (.262), 20th in two-strike OBP (.176) and 24th in two-strike OPS (.504).

In the last 25 games, following the directives from Shildt, Budaska and Greer, the Cardinals are No. 2 in the MLB in two-strike OBP (.294), No. 1 in the majors in two-strike slugging (.381) and No. 1 in two-strike OPS (.676.) And no team has more two-strike doubles (21) than the Cardinals over the last 25 games. Only four have more two-strike homers than the Cards’ 15.

The Cardinals’ two-strike 85 wRC+ over the past 25 games is tied for No. 1 in the majors. Under Matheny and his batting coaches this season, the team’s two-strike wRC+ of 39 ranked 23rd.

Before Shildt, Budaska and Greer: A two-strike strikeout percentage of 42.2 percent, which ranked 18th in MLB. After Shildt and the new batting coaches got to work: The Cardinals rank No. 2 in MLB with a two-strike K rate of 34.8 percent. That’s a significant decrease.

The energy level is way up, though. The Cardinals are having fun playing baseball again. And they’re entertaining to watch again.

I don't know if many of those stats make a very compelling case given the extremely small sample sizes he's comparing. I have no doubt that the quality of coaching has significantly improved, but some of this is just string luck/positive regression.

JFC, a fence post could have done better than Matheny.

But, Bernie has been saying for a long time that Shildt is the smartest baseball mind in the Cardinals organization. So there is a “told ya so” slant to his Schildt views.

I want some Gorman next year!:rolleyes:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Nolan Gorman can’t drink alcohol legally for three years and will play for Peoria this summer. Amazing. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/STLCards?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#STLCards</a></p>&mdash; Dan Buffa (@buffa82) <a href="https://twitter.com/buffa82/status/1027181940846280706?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 8, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Good lord I hope Holland gets into this game.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-X...2520napoli.gif


https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-X...2520napoli.gif

Never mind, that other cuck will do.

God damn it. I just turned the game off and went to lay down and i can't remember the password to MLB.tv on my roku. Had a hell of a weekend in Vegas. Running on fumes.

Carp is on a different level

Carp is all world now.

Is Hicks up getting ready? Norris looks off tonight.

They have to get Norris out of this game post haste. He is all over the place and can only throw strikes with hanging sliders or meatballs down the pipe.

Shit like this is why I ****ing hate relievers. They're just kickers without shoulder pads. Any time this kind of shit happens, the stupid one who sucks the peniss always manage to **** it up.

come on man, pull the trigger. It’s not his night. He’s already at 20 pitches.

Get that one who sucks the penis out of the ****ing game, Schildt.

After the tying run gets to 3rd with one out he finally gets someone warming up. Just destroying the Carp moment.

Has Noris even thrown one in the zone? His statcast zone looks like everything is outside?

WTF? Took the dog out for a walk after the 8th and I come back to this.

Omg. Is Matheny back tonight?

Fire Mo

everyone could see that he just didn’t have it tonight. He waits and waits to even get someone up warming up. :cuss:

Luckily, Difo is a turd

He did the same thing two weeks ago. The same damned thing. And Schildt just let him lose the game. I mean, learn your ****ing lesson and know your ****ing players. Norris is just an average pitcher. He's not a dominant closer. He has a middling fastball and slider, and if he can't locate both, he's damn near ****ing worthless.

Looks like it's been a good game but damn that sucks when the opponent ties it late - GO CARDS! - tuning in before bed, now. I'll help you take home the 'W'

he owes Carp and this team an apology. You want to stick with your guy? Your “closer”? Fine. But, get someone up when your guy is all over the place and is looking like shit from the first pitch.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-X...2520napoli.gif

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-X...2520napoli.gif

Nationals blow another ROFL

Can I share my Braves excitement here? we've done well historically with this - but yeah - I have no else where to go - Ronald Acuna Jr is wrecking shop for us.

& there it is - #walkoff - you're welcome :) :) :)

Fire Dan please ROFL

Thank you Dejong

What are his thoughts on krispy kreme burgers???

you have been through some tough times but it looks like you have turned the corner. 16 over :clap:

Now every time we need a rally late, you have to show up in here.

Schildt needs to buy his mom a car for bailing his slow ass out tonight.

that was crazy - after that post - not like 90 seconds went by and BAM! congrats - I am no fan of the gnats!

I'm not sure yet.

Meanwhile the overrated Brewers are falling back to earth.

Jeez rough crowd. That line up is brutal. Not sure why you're saying overrated. :)

Rivals man, it can get ugly. :rolleyes:

Nice write up on Bader. Pretty amazing he is tied for 1st among all outfielders with Billy Hamilton with Outs Above Average (OAA) despite playing 400 fewer innings!

https://www.mlb.com/news/harrison-ba...?tid=277658066

They certainly abused the Cubs today. That was nice. %(/

Firebombed by Milwaukee today. 3 jacks,now 4.85 fip. LULZ

Appreciating the most extraordinary turn around of a season that I can remember.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Three months ago, Matt Carpenter had a .140 average, a .272 SLG.<br>Chatters: &quot;When will he be traded or DFA&#39;d?&quot;<br>Me: Patience.<br><br>In 79 games since, Carpenter has hit .332, slugged .721.<br>Chatters: &quot;When will he win NL MVP?&quot;<br>Me: Patience.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/stlcards?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#stlcards</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cardinals?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cardinals</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MLB?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MLB</a></p>&mdash; Derrick Goold (@dgoold) <a href="https://twitter.com/dgoold/status/1029203367304806401?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 14, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Watched the first couple of innings in the lunchroom today. My Cub fan friends seriously hate Quintana. They definitely weren't enjoying the game.

But I was. :D

“Matheny was the worst bullpen manager in baseball, to the extent that he was deemed worse than a random number generator—that isn’t a joke, Shildt doesn’t have to be good at running a pen to be a massive upgrade.” ROFL

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/c...rent-approach/