[UPDATE] Still not “imminent” but John Mozeliak is hopeful that first round draft pick Brett Wallace will be signed soon. He could be signed within the week (during the Cardinals homestand) and will probably take slot money (surprise, surprise). [/end update]
Blake Hawksworth will DJ your baseball game.
Bad news for Mark McCormick as he continues to experience shoulder discomfort.
“I was just going by what (medical experts) said I would feel like. I believed that at first,” McCormick said. “But I came to realize that I didn’t think it should feel like this. That’s when I said something.”
McCormick said that, should the 10-day period not produce desired results, he would likely undergo another surgery. It would effectively end his season because the recovery time is three weeks, followed by a six-week program.
That can’t be any fun for McCormick who says he hasn’t been healthy since being drafted. I’m not sure we’ve ever seen his best stuff but I’m increasingly skeptical that we ever will after all these shoulder surgeries.
Michael Inoa to sign with the Athletics.
The system goes 3-for-5 tonight as Batavia’s game is postponed.
- Brian Barden goes 2-for-4 with a HR. I’d love to hear from a scout about Barden’s game because he’s done nothing but destroy pitchers and I’m starting to wonder if he’s a viable bench option next year rather than our 3 middle infielders who really can’t do much but slap singles.
- Colby Rasmus was 0-for-4.
- Joe Mather was 0-for-3.
- David Freese was 2-for-4 with a HR.
- Shane Robinson was 2-for-4.
- Mike Parisi had a solid outing going 7.2 innings allowing just 4 hits and 2 walks for 2 ER. He struck out 5 and had more groundouts than airouts (10-8). Here’s another player that John Mozeliak should probably see if any NL team is interested in exchange for a live arm or as part of a package. Parisi looks like he’ll be servicable in a rotation or in a pen (despite his struggles) but the Cardinals have better options.
Springfield 1, Midland 0 (10 innings)
- Jon Jay was 2-for-3 with a HBP.
- Allen Craig was 1-for-5. It’s not that Craig’s having terrible year but at best he’s taken a slight step backwards after moving up to a hitter friendly park. I’m not sure where the power stroke from May has gone but he needs to find it again. If there’s a single hitting coach in the system that I trust to help him with that it’s Derrick May.
- Eat your heart out Clayton Mortensen, Jess Todd is kicking some serious butt. He goes 8 innings allowing just 2 hits and 1 walk (+ 1 HBP) while striking out 10. O ya, and he also had 10 groundouts to 4 flyouts. I’d label this as the best pitching performance by a Cardinal prospect so far this season.
- Springfield couldn’t scratch out a run till the 10th denying Todd a win but Luke Gregerson pitched 2 perfect frames striking out 1. While everyone has fallen in love with Salas, Gregerson’s stats are flat out ridiculous and the FIP of 3-something doesn’t do the 58% groundball rate justice.
- Palm Beach collected 9 hits but they were all singles with the exception of Donvan Solano’s triple. Only one batter, Dan Nelson, drew a walk.
- Brad Furnish went 7 innings allowing 7 hits and 1 walk for 3 ER while striking out 4.
- Then Kenny Maiques showed up. He walked 2 batters, threw a wild pitch and hit a third batter. He wasn’t done any favors as both of his runners were allowed to score but wow he’s been bad this year. I’d love to see video of him because the player I saw at Quad Cities was dynamite.
- Pete Kozma was 0-for-5.
- Francisco Rivera was 2-for-5.
- Matthew Arburr was 2-for-4 with a HR. He’s got some big time power numbers with 13 HRs in 200 ABs and a 225 ISO. The problem is he’s hitting just .250 and has drawn a measly 17 walks versus 78 Ks. That’s not going to work as he moves up the latter. Heck, his .312 OBP would imply it isn’t working well right now. He’s got to make contact more often.
- Domnit Bolivar goes 2-for-4 with a HR.
- Nick Additon went 7 innings allowing 4 hits and 3 runs (2 earned). Both the earned runs came on solo shots. He struck out 4 and walked 1.
- Osvaldo Morales goes 2-for-4 with a HR.
- Matt Rigoli goes 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.
- 4 errors accounted for 6 unearned runs in the game.
- Jon Bravo threw 3.1 innings but was knocked around for 7 runs (6 earned) including a 2-run jack. He allowed 6 hits, walked none but hit two batters and struck out 5.
- Matthew North was dominant out of the pen tonight for 4 innings. He allowed just one hit, walked 2 and struck out 7.
Filed under: Daily Farm Reports
erik
azruavatar
fewgoodcards
roarke49
theredbaaron
Barden absolutely deserves a shot at being the all-infield guy next season - if not sooner.
I still like Freese so far as a potential heir to Glaus at 3B. Does he have any leather?
As I feared - it seems as though Parisi has fallen into the Anthony Reyes trap. He can dominate at Memphis, but struggles when thrown into the fire in the bigs. It’s almost as if he tells himself “hell, I’ve been to the show - I can mow these guys down” when at Memphis, but loses his self-assurance when called up. Too bad.
Matt North was held back by injury last year, but he’s projectable, the son of a Cards scout.
Arburr was dreadful when signed. He comes from Div 2, snow belt. If he keeps improving, he can play higher. The Cards will try him higher at some point.
Maiques and Daley have the arms, their wildness is a shame.
With McCormick, shoulder operations often do not have happy endings. It might have been better to spend this year as a reliever just to build strength.
I wouldn’t be opposed to Barden at 2B and Ryan at SS next year. Fat chance of that happening though.
Todd is a phenomenon. The legend grows.
The link explains the Yankees dropping out on Inoa. Wonder where Boston and the Mets went?
If I had to guess, I would think the Cards call up Brian Barden tomorrow and send down Stavy.
No need for a 6 OF’s and only 1 backup INF…now that your back to the doubleswitch heaven of the NL
Barden was taken off the 40 man, so that complicates things, but no reason for Haerther or Uncle Rico to be on the 40 man.
They really need a backup at 3B and SS..no offense to Miles but his range and game are suited for 2B.
Barden didn’t exactly set the league on fire during last year’s audition, and he’s not young (born in 1981). This may be another AAAA guy. He may be more useful as trade bait than manning a middle infield position.
The “AAAA-guy” phenomenon — Parisi and Reyes are other examples — strikes me as something well worth some careful study. There must be SOMETHING that sets prospects on a true major-league trajectory apart from the ones who terrorize AAA ball but never perform in the bigs. And if you can figure out what it is, there are 30 franchises that would very much like to pick your brain, probably. One would think that the collective wisdom of the “best fans in baseball” should be able to find it — wouldn’t one?…
You gotta call up an infielder though and Barder is pretty much the only one who can play SS/3B.
Mather deserves it, but he isnt a 3B anymore. Hoffpauir has questionable range at 2B, let alone SS/3B.
Rico was overmatched in his stint….really not much to chose from.
You cant go with just Miles as your backup at 3B/SS/2B.
Can you?
I’ve seen Barden play a lot and he can absolutely pick it and can play four IF positions. Add to that a bit of modest pop, certainly more than the guys manning back up spots right now, and I think a callup could help the team. The one problem I see is that he’s been really streaky in the past, going from white hot to cold in stretches, which gets exacerbated with limited at bats off of the bench. When he’s going good though he’s making great plays in the field and spraying the gaps for extra bases…I’ll take it.
There are more competent aspirants than room for them all, creating AAAA. For some the door may open, by random fate rather than master plan. For others, fate is less generous.
Reyes passed through the door. He had 1+ year as a ML starter. Many others fall far short of this. But competition is incessant and ML careers can be brief.
It’s not even close to being significant that Brian Barden is 27. They don’t need him to be a superstar, but the team started Aaron Miles at 3B today. Anyone who has read my grumbling (and others) about Miles on other boards knows that he is not suited for anything on the left side of the infield and is barely adequate enough to play 2B.
Brendan Ryan stinks. Aaron Miles stinks. Cesar Izturis stinks. Adam Kennedy stinks. Regardless of hot streaks, none of them are heads and shoulders above Barden.
They would do well to ditch some of the slop and try to acquire Dallas McPherson for some sort of Spiezio role.
The Cards won yesterday with little Aaron at 3B. If Glaus were to be hurt, then Freese or Barden are ready to step up.
Did the A-ball teams drop the tendem starts? I’ve noticed more often the starters have been going more than 3-4 innings.
It looks like Thompson is going to be called up and Stavi sent down. Probably a good move, I don’t think any team needs four middle infielders.
Yes, they did drop the tandem for the 2nd half of the season.
The Cardinals may need Barden, but it appears they are not going to fetch him. Strauss reports a 13th pitcher will be added once more, presumably Thompson. Of course, that’s really a 12th pitcher since the Cardinals are obviously afraid to use Mulder but prefer to waste the roster spot on him while foolishly continuing to play shorthanded.
Of course, Strauss may be wrong. After all, he thinks Bradford, our 18th round draft pick is still unsigned.
I have the privelage of living in Springfield and getting to go to most of these games but this Justin Fiske cat needs to be put on the fast track to the STL bullpen. He is down right dirty and already has better stuff than either Ron Villone or Randy Flores
The difference between a AAAA and a MLB player is very small. Mental makeup plays a huge role. A lot of guys don’t have the mental ability to have a career like a Craig Counsell. Most of these guys are so used to dominating and being “the man” that it takes a lot to get used to going through slumps. The other thing especially for hitters is the fact that in AAA they are going to get a lot more “mistake” pitches that are in the middle of the zone and they won’t see nearly as many quality breaking balls. One of the major attributes of a professional hitter is also their ability to make adjustments game to game and in game. The best in baseball at this is probably Manny Ramirez. It is amazing to watch. He will make adjustments pitch by pitch.
One hard truth is the role of luck in dividing average players between minors and majors. Some guys have ML talent, but suffer injuries or get stuck in circumstances that do not allow them to get a shot at the majors. There is not a neat, convenient bright line between MLers and AAAA players.
As a player ages, the appeal of promoting him may worsen, because his potential diminishes. A team may work a guy into the majors at age 25, because he can contribute for 5 years and the team gets a multi-year payoff. Yet when the rookie is 28, the multi-year payoff is lower.
Parisi has positive traits, but is not as promising as some other guys. For instance, Boggs had a lower ERA at AA and in early going at AAA. His pitches have more velocity, movement or control than Parisi, who is more hittable. So its possible Boggs becomes a ML, while Parisi may be traded.
Barden for 2B.
His defense would be a plus at 2B as would his bat.
As a 3B he is a AAAA player but at 2B he just may be a pro.
I’ve watched Barden play serveral times this year in person - I was impressed each time. He seems to do everything well - he even played the outfield in one game. The best way I can describe him is a gamer with tools. It seems to me that the cardinals could use him - but what do I know I predicted Craig was going to hit 40 hrs this year (it could happen 15 homers a month for July and August = 41)
I just dont understand the hold up on the Wallace contract..but they went thru the same thing with Kozma last year.
Just get it done already.
I’ve wondered if the Cards have more of the 4A players in their system than other systems. I would doubt there is any accurate way to tell. I am curious because I fear that Luhnow’s strategy of drafting middle of the rotation players lends itself to drafting guys who will be borderline pitchers. Of course, the youngsters in the system seem to be proving me wrong for now. I guess we will see once we see them making their way to STL.
Is Todd kind of like Lincecum or Oswalt or even Pedro Martinez? Those 3 are all little guys who can just bring it. Is Todd like that or is he overacheiving?
Todd is more like a David Cone type to me.
Martinez and Lincecum got such great arm action and velocity from a little frame.
Todd is more of a bulldog.
Fewgoodcards made a great comp…look at Jessie Listch from Toronto…nearly identical to Todd.
Anyone notice that Johnny Bravo’s struck out 17 batters in almost half as many innings?
Vertically Challenged Pitchers of the World… UNITE!