Quote:
Originally Posted by BigRedChief
jeeezz WTF has Descalso ever done? Especially anything ro get mad about not getting playing time in the big show.
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WTF has
Punto ever done? Descalso might actually be able to contribute as a starter to a major league team. Punto absolutely cannot.
And again - the Ryan thing was a copout. Blaming Brendan Ryan for the 2009 squad laying down is a pathetic excuse thought up by a curmudgeonly manager that didn't feel like dealing with a hyper player. Ryan was energetic. He wasn't a malcontent, he was just a high-strung guy. That doesn't do a damn thing to explain why the Cardinals were the worst team in baseball against sub .500 teams from August forward. That's a problem that lies direction with the manager's inability to inspire his team. But that require an assumption of blame by the Infallible Ego.
He's essentially become my grandfather at this point. Brendan was the irritating grandchild that he didn't want around anymore so he got booted. We took the single best defensive player on the squad (yes, including Molina) and threw his ass out of town. Not for baseball reasons, but because our manager didn't like him. Now we have a 'pitch to contact' staff that relies on a defense built around a guy that was so bad at playing SS that the Dodgers chose to play an OFer there instead of him when Furcal went down last season.
Oh yeah, and we have a first baseman in RF instead of the GG caliber guy we had last season because said player decided he wanted playing time and questioned the mighty LaRussa about his role. Nah, can't have gamers on your squad - he's gotta go.
So now, on a team that considers Dave Duncan one of its greatest strengths, we're paying
TWENTY MILLION to our 4th and 5th starters. Oh, and we're paying another $14 million to a below replacement value 2nd baseman masquerading as a SS, a 1bman playing RF and a 5th OFer playing 2b. To complicate matters, we're counting on a 3b that hasn't made it through an entire season healthy in nearly five years with a backup that is unlikely to put up an OPS of .600 next season and for his career has a SLG% that's the same as his OBP, for an ISOP of approximately
zero. Awesome - gotta love that kind of production from your corner IF.
This is the most poorly constructed baseball team I've ever seen. It makes no sense on any level. They built a pitching staff that relies on its defense, the proceeded to field one of the worst defensive squads in baseball. They have an offense that's contingent upon production from the 3 thumpers in the middle of the lineup (presuming Berkman hits) and yet they haven't found any OPB guys to put on either side of them. To top it all off, they're probably going to finish mind-****ing Rasmus this season before blaming him for the failings of 2011 and trading him for a B level prospect next season.
The only plan in place seems to be to do whatever LaRussa wants and hope it's enough to get Pujols to re-sign. Gotta keep that cash cown in Cardinal Red.
This team is rotting from the bench and it's completely rudderless. If that means Pujols walks - so be it. We're not going to win a damn thing with AP and LaRussa on this squad going forward. LaRussa will absolutely hamstring this team for as long as he's here. And I used to worry about losing Duncan if LaRussa left, but seeing as how we're content with paying 7 figures to our 4th and 5th starters at this point, I'm not real sure WTF we need Duncan around for either. It's not like he knows anything about mechanics (by his own admission).
The worst thing that could happen to this team this year is an 80 win season. If they don't win 95, I hope they win 70.
Blow the whole damn thing apart.