Putting a wrap on 2010’s top stories for the St. Louis Cardinals, I am declaring the following winners of your votes for numbers six through ten.
New winners:
10. The fight in Cincinnati
9. Stan Musial’s Medal of Freedom, turning 90 years of age
8. Tony La Russa returns for 2011, Dave Duncan for two or three more years
7. Adam Wainwright becomes the ace
6. Jaime Garcia’s rookie emergence
Previously chosen stories:
5. Colby Rasmus not traded
4. The Brad Penny / Kyle Lohse injuries
3. The Ryan Ludwick–Jake Westbrook trade – Jon Jay emergence, Westbrook re-signing
2. Matt Holliday signing – seven or eight years
1. The collapse – favored defending champs miss playoffs
For more detailed background on any of the stories, click on this link to the blog’s top 20 countdown.
Thanks to everyone for your votes and comments.
Link to The Cardinal Nation Blog’s top 20 stories of the year countdown
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Here are some interesting numbers to ponder.
This is Colby’s line when he batted in the 2 spot.
.257/.295/.405/.700 in 79 plate appearances
In the 5 spot.
.290/.377/.539/.916 in 285 plate appearances.
What do we think?
Another tidbit is that Colby led all cardinals in pitches per at bat. So do you see the correlation between that one statistic and the K’s? Getting oneself into 2 strike counts is not a good thing when you are not a patient hitter with 2-strikes. So would one expect Colby to take as many pitches this year as last if he is trying to cut down on the K’s?
Remember what I said about the OBP? Would you rather have a high OBP and a high number of K’s or a low OBP and a low number of K’s?
He was better in the #2 spot as a rookie (.766 OPS) than in 2010. As it turns out, he was better in #5, too! Using both seasons closes the gap some, but nowhere near completely.
My only other comment is that there are many moving parts in a lineup and the goal is to try to optimize them all.
Freese in 2 makes sense, Berkman in 5 is what Tony has said he wants, and then maybe Colby in 6. what do we think?
I don’t care I am just glad we got away from the WWE battle . I thought I was going to have to start wiping blood off my computer.
Pretty hideous thought, CC in wrestling tights… going commando!
No argument on this point
Other than internet speculation, I have nothing to support hopes that TLR is considering Freese as #2. TLR has never played him there before and coming off injury I continue to doubt he will be thrown into the fire there now either.
I feel like this is a Groundhog’s Day discussion as the batting order comes up every week. I hope to ask TLR about #2 this weekend to try to get some real indication of what he is thinking.
Brian, first off I was just looking to get us off of the topic which was just a continuing nightmare of insults and numbers.
But will you agree that TLR is a numbers guy? Do you think he knows Colby has really performed better in the middle of the order verses the 2 hole?
I understand where you are coming from and did not mean to cut off discussion. Hoping some others will join in as I am being repetitive. I already explained why bunching the two lefties together doesn’t make sense, etc.
Like I said above, the manager has to juggle a number of lineup variables. Where to bat the centerfielder is one.
But with the new emphasis on speed and the weight drop ( and probably less power), wouldn’t Colby do better in the #2 spot? High OBP would indicate that would be the best place for him.
No need for speed in the two hole as you are not running in front of Albert.
I believe the numbers show that batting ahead of Albert has shown Colby to be more aggressive and his OBP has taken a hit but with a new approach it may be a better fit.
There is still a chance that Skip will lead off and Theriot will bat second against RH pitching.
Thats why they pay TLR the big money….to make these types of command decisions.
If Skip and Theriot are on top, Yadi is pushed down to 8th. I can’t see TLR doing that either.
Yadi won’t bad further down than 7 and very well may be at 6 many times imo. You never know, Tony could very well put Colby down at 7 or 8. That wouldn’t really surprise me at all.
If not at the top of the order, that’s where slap hitters usually bat
For Pete’s sake, RC. They ALL can’t bat from 5-7, can they? Colby won’t bat eighth. That is just silly to even suggest.
CC, I don’t think you will hear Colby even mention anything to do with slapping anything. I’d be surprised if he even spoke.
5 is Berkman, 6 could be David, 7 will be Yadi. If David doesn’t bat 2 then watch what happens. I may be wrong but I could see it happening. Heck somebody has to bat there, why not Colby?
Ok here’s my lineup.
Theriot
Rasmus
Pujols
Holliday
Berkman
Freese
Molina
Schumaker
Pitcher
If Skip starts hitting .300 again, then move him up.
It will be interesting to see how TLR puts everything together.
I have previously guessed that Freese will end up second and I still think so.
The spot ahead of Albert is a honey hole. Tony will put his boy there rather than Colby.
Brian, it looks like the unthinkable may happen, I will not be at winter warmup. Please do ask Tony about the top of the order. Also, you might ask Mo what he thinks about Bill James rating Albert as an average fielder last year.
I should explain that I had just poked up the fire and poured a couple fingers of MacAllan. My dog and I were just getting comfy sitting by the window, waiting for spring, when my wife popped in.
Wife: Well, I see you have February 14th circled in red on the Calander!
BB: Pitchers and catchers report day, didn’t want to forget.
So, I will be spending the weekend on damage control.
Cards sign Miguel Batista and Ian Snell to minors deals with spring camp invites.
Roster matrix has been updated. I have both signees parked in Memphis for now.
Is Batista going to bring Miss Iowa with him?
Snell has no chance, he’s too young (29) for a TLR/Mo dumpster dive!
Hey, CC, I really liked your portions of the top 40 prospects write ups. Well done!
Thanks
crdswmn — That rings a bell… can you remind me of the rest of the story?
Batista played for the Nats and was brought in to relieve Stephen Strasburg. The crowd booed him. He was asked about it later and he said it was like coming to see Miss Universe and getting Miss Iowa instead. Miss Iowa (the real one), made some joking remarks about it, resulting in Batista sending her flowers and inviting her to throw out the first pitch at a Nats game. He has been asked to judge the 2011 Miss Iowa contest. The whole story was pretty funny.
That is funny! Thanks for sharing…
Tony………………….chemistry……………………….career flashing before his eyes………….
He won’t destroy Theriot in spring training………or anyone for that matter……………..
He will reserve……..for himself……..the privilege of being Tony………..bank on it. There won’t be a set order.
All these speculations are unknowns………….. it all depends on whether there is smoke coming out of AP’s nose……………….. who can stand the flames on their ass…………….. he might be a pouter……..
who knows……………
How and why does an average defensive 1st baseman win a gold glove? Or is Bill James wrong about Albert being average defensively in 2010?
I have attempted to look at some other SABR defensive stats, and I think they say the same thing. Albert was average in 2010, after having been at or near the top in 2009, and previously.
Besides wondering about the GG, does it indicate slippage? Or am I reading this stuff wrong?
Gold gloves are won on reputation as much as reality. They are also heavily influenced by offensive production. Palmeiro won a GG one year and I thinkhe only played like 16 games at 1B all year.
CC, what you say may be true in general, but I reject it as any explaination for Albert’s GG.
Not only was Albert’s offensive production significantly better in 2009, his defensive was far better and his reputation was not any less, yet he did not win the GG. Therefore, while what you say may be true, it offers no help in explaining the 2010 GG.
Also, I mentioned the possibility of slippage because, while Albert’s O and D historically have both moved up and down somewhat, a substantial decline in both in the same year is a departure.
A few of things: Gold Gloves don’t mean anything because they are voted on by people who don’t really seem to understand fielding or even care to consider it when voting, as WC and CC suggest. Have you ever sat down and asked people why they vote for one thing over another? Most of them don’t make any sense, so I wouldn’t try.
Fielding stats are notoriously unreliable. The sabermetric fielding guys say that you need a year and a half worth of data to reach a large enough sample size to provide reproducible numbers.
Pujols gets a lot of putouts because he takes them from Skip. In practice, that may not be considered a good thing.
Furthermore, the sabermetric numbers appear to be compared to league average numbers. From a cursory glance, I’m guessing that first basemen in general simply played better defense last year.
OK, i am getting the picture that it is like getting voted prom queen. As much a popularity contest as anything. The question remains, why Albert in 2010? His stats, both O and D, were not especially impressive as compared to his previous years.
There is more to GG than just fielding BB…………….. hitting for a start…………
Everyone raises good points here………………. Tony is in survival mode.
A factor……….Berkman won’t understand “pitcher hits 8th”………..Tony likely won’t find anybody here to deal with AP’s vibe up front…………………………… If Berkman is the kind of guy I think, and helps himself at the table, he likely will be pressed to the front……………..TLR’s argument/explanation will be the story that number 2 in that system is actually 3rd the second time around…….etc…That will depend on Lance regaining his RH stroke…………who wouldn’t want a switch hitting number 2 with power?…………………This lets Freese hit 5th (less pressure)…..allows Colby RC’s dream spot where he can just hack at his power number and RBi’s for his arbitration package numbers……….keeps Molina 7th so he doesn’t pout……….and allows tony to rotate Skip and Theriot around the 9 / 1 spot………………….. and most importantly…lets Tony keep his “innovation”………………..It’s also a good order for rotating and double/triple switch opportunities in the late innings without chopping Berkman off the last at bat………at times of course.
Mo has just covered up his young pitching……….shows you what he is thinking……….. If he gets a guy like Punto…………Nick is going to win some playing time………..He is offering a minor league deal I’m guessing………………
Looks to me like Batista/Snell are coming in to give Fernando Salas competition for the 5th RH relief spot on the roster. Can’t see Franklin, KMac, Motte or Boggs going anywhere unless there’s an injury. Team lacks a swing-man with the departure of Hawksworth and Salas isn’t that kind of pitcher, is he? Didn’t he close in Memphis last year?
I’m not arguing with anything you say there, certainly, but I don’t have to like it.
Unless Batista suddenly got younger or Snell suddenly learned how to throw strikes, I can’t imagine this going well.
Nut — Both have opt-out clauses if they don’t make the roster. Batista’s is effective at the end of ST, Snell’s in June. Bet Snell ends up in Memphis, and Batista (if he pitches well) on the roster. I’d guess Augenstein is also in the mix. Four RH pitchers competing for one spot. Not much other drama going into spring training this year… maybe Tallet vs. the Cuban left we got from the Mets.
HBT- Snell; and Batista are low risk options and maybe Duncan can help Snell get his location back.I still think there will be a couple of more NRIs for the INF before ST starts.Cards will cover backup inf with a couple of guys IMO.
Maybe they brought in Snell to pitch BP to Albert. I have a vague memory of Albert killing him when he was a Pirate.
IIRC, last year in Jupiter Mo brought in some guys that were throwing them off the backstop. Pawing through the chum bucket looking for the fish head with a twinkle in its eye.
Salas was a starter in Mexico and started his first year here in the states.
From a long relief standpoint, it looks like Hawksworth only pitched 5 games of more than 2.0 innings and none more than 3.0. Salas had quite a few games of 2.0 innings.
Batista only started one game but he had several relief appearances where he went 4+ innings and his pitch count stats show him getting stronger as the games went on.
Snell was so bad has a starter and reliever his stats aren’t even worth looking at
I think he was injured so if he’s healthy he could be OK but I doubt he is.
Snell reminds me of a RH Rich Hill… same strategy.