Cardinals Off-Day

After a flurry of free agent signings and other moves, at midnight on Dec. 2, Major League Baseball owners chose to lock out the players and shut down the offseason until further notice. What a bunch of jerks. In this episode, we talk about the Cardinals signing Steven “Dr. Thunder” Matz while the Cubs - of all people, the Cubs - signed Mr. Name Brand himself, Marcus “Dr. Pepper” Stroman. We also...

The GM Meetings have come and gone, and free agency is here… at least until the CBA expires on Dec. 1. Ben and Ben got together to chat about all the developments in Cardinals Land in the early offseason. First off, we recap the Oli Marmol and Skip Schumaker hires. Then we move on to the free agents who were non-tendered and a conversation on why the team parted ways with former first-round pick N...

At 1:43pm on Thursday, I got a text from a friend (White Sox fan) saying “I’m actually shocked at Shildt news.” I had no idea what that news could have been. My first instinct was something more like Jon Gruden e-mails. Firing would probably not have been in my top five guesses. But of course, that is exactly what happened, as John Mozeliak and Bill Dewitt, Jr. quickly held a press conference to a...

The Cardinals played the juggernaut Dodgers to a draw for 8 1/2 innings, but ultimately lost the one-game Wild Card and thus their season has come to an end. We are no longer in the world of off-days. It’s now the off-season. We look back at the Wild Card game - noting the strengths of this Cardinals team that kept the game as close as it was, but also the weaknesses and a little #BullShildt that...

The regular season ended Sunday. With a rain-soaked field, intermittent showers continuing, and neither team really giving much of a s**t who won the game, the officials eventually came together and decided it was best to send everyone home. It was the right decision. And so we look ahead to the Wild Card game, the coin-flip game, which the Cardinals will play on Wednesday against the Dodgers. Her...

The Cardinals have won 16 games in a row, a new franchise record, putting them on-pace for 90-wins on the season and a shot at the one-game Wild Card against either the Giants or the Dodgers. We discuss the good and bad versions of what that “coin-flip game” could look like, as well as which of those terrifying opponents we would want to face. But first, we answer several questions from listeners,...

The Cardinals are in the thick of the Wild Card race, and they owe it all to DeWittball. But that doesn’t mean they’re going to stay the course. We talk about the roster changes that still might come, especially with the returns of Dakota Hudson and Jack Flaherty. Then we consider Cardinals Devil Magic. What is it? Can we define it? Is it truly - like the Supreme Court definition of pornography -...

The Cardinals may not have felt like a playoff team for most of this season, but after watching three games vs. the Reds, we agree that none of the teams battling it out for the 2nd Wild Card spot feel like “good” teams. After considering the Cincinnati series, we touch briefly on the highly predictable and uninspiring September call-ups. Then we dive into a little Bull Shildt segment, looking at...

After a 6-0 run last week, this week’s 2-4 record has us reconsidering the potential for a Cardinals Wild Card run. First off, we tackle the news that Kwang Hyun Kim has returned to the roster, but will be working out of the bullpen. We both see potential benefits from getting him back with the big club sooner, but wonder if Mike Shildt can be creative enough to capitalize. Then we talk about Shil...

In the week since we last recorded, the Cardinals have gone 6-0 and find themselves flirting with Wild Card relevance once again. Before we get to that, Ben Godar shares his experience at the Field of Dreams game, which he was lucky enough to attend. As both Bens are Iowa boys, we kick things off with the question of how humid and buggy it was around all that corn. After that, we dive into a very...

We were lucky enough to welcome back Kyle Reis of Prospects After Dark, The Dirty 35 and more to talk about the Cardinals draft picks and minor league system overall. It’s one of our longer episodes but we cover a lot of ground. We kick things off looking at the draft picks and specifically, the way Randy Flores and Co. once again saved a little money in the first round to Go Big on a real toolshe...

The Trade Deadline came, and the St. Louis Cardinals acquired two of the best starting pitchers (of 2016). We discuss the moves for J.A. Happ and Jon Lester, as well as the moves the Cardinals did not but perhaps could have made. The Box Score of Yore is back, and this time we look at a series of games… the five starts Fernando Valenzuela made as a Cardinal at the end of his career, after being br...

We kick things off by breaking down all of the St. Louis Cardinals moves at the trade deadline. Then after zero minutes and zero seconds, we move on to the rest of the episode. Mo made some interesting comments in an interview with Jim Hayes Tuesday night. We interpret those comments and consider to what extent roster inflexibility is a problem for the team. That turns into a conversation about in...

The MLB Trade Deadline is just six days away. The Cardinals have won 7 of their last 10 games… and still remain just as far behind Milwaukee as they were at the All-Star Break. We talk about whether these last 10 days have changed the calculus for what the team might do at the deadline, then dive into how to read the many Trade Rumors that will float across Twitter and elsewhere in the coming days...

It’s the longest break of the Major League Baseball season, and we’re back with our All-Star Break Spectacular. We put on our tuxedos and handed out awards from the first half of the season. Aaron Miles plays a much larger role than you might expect. Then we look ahead to the 2nd half by each proposing a trade that seems like the kind of thing the Cardinals might actually do. Prepare to be… underw...

It’s the last off-day before the All-Star break, and the Cardinals are set for a 3-game series at Wrigley. We start by talking about how we can still enjoy the season even if the team remains less than competitive. From there, we move on to talk about Cardinals All-Star Alex Reyes. Despite the honor, the saves and the low ERA, we both see warning signs and think “selling high” might be the (unlike...

The Cardinals sputter into the off-day an even .500 after dropping three of four to Atlanta. We discuss the new rules on foreign substances, which go into effect on Monday. Then we analyze a classic piece of MoSpeak on what the Cardinals may or may not do in the trade market. As for what they already are doing, the Cardinals are bringing in potential bullpen pieces off the junk pile… a move that h...

Our first episode of the week focused more on the pitching side of the ball, so this time we’re looking at the offense. First, we tackle the Tommy Edman narrative, which may have grown larger than the skill set the player brings to the table. Then we quick-hit through Tyler O’Neill, Yadier Molina and Paul Goldschmidt. We spend a lot of time looking at the players profiles at Baseball Savant. Be su...

It’s been two weeks since our last show, and the Cardinals trajectory has taken a downward turn. Injuries are piling up on both sides of the ball. In the first of two Off-Day podcasts this week, we talk injuries, the rotation and bullpen, as well as when reinforcements might be coming. For the Box Score of Yore, we take a look at a game where the Cardinals managed to walk 16 batters in an 8-inning...

There was no minor league baseball in 2020, so after our first few weeks of minor league action in almost two years… what do we know about the players in the Cardinals system? Kyle Reis of Prospects After Dark and Birds on the Black joins us in a special episode focused on the minor leagues. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus e...

Alex Crisafulli becomes an official “friend of the pod” by joining us as our first guest. Alex and the two Bens banter about Albert Pujols joining the Los Angeles Dodgers, then consider if anything we’ve seen over the first month+ of the season has revised their win total projections. Finally, they look at a remarkable Box Score of Yore from the end of the Whiteyball Era and the beginning of the D...

In the two weeks since the last off-day, the Cardinals have played their way into 1st place and the best record in the National League. But even with all that success, it was the Angels DFA of Albert Pujols that most caught our attention this week. We discuss whether or not he could return to St. Louis and look at a Box Score of Yore from one of Albert’s greatest performances. This is a public epi...

We answer several listener questions, touching on Matt Carpenter’s future and how Mike Shildt is doing. We look at the surprise promotion of Scott Hurst and consider the coming of the 6-man rotation. We also look at how Jack Flaherty’s 500th strikeout rates to the eras of past Cardinal greats. We end with a Box Score of Yore, looking back at the 1996 game when the Cardinals set their team record w...

In this episode, we look at the Cardinals plans to implement a 6-man rotation, and consider the characters in that unfolding drama. We answer a listener question about the precedent for a team’s three outfielders to potentially be its bottom-of-the-order hitters. Lastly, on the day of Yadi’s 2,000th game behind the plate as a Cardinal, we look back at his very first game. Old Friends like Ray Lank...

Just a few hours after Nolan Arenado announced his presence to the Busch Stadium faithful with authority, Ben and Ben talk about bullpen usage in this season of reduced workloads, what’s up in the outfield and with Matt Carpenter, and share their favorite aspects of the Cardinals Home Opener. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus...