Welcome to the weekly Cardinals chat here at StlToday. The chat was rescheduled due to Monday’s holiday — and today it really is a free for all. It’s open to all, not just subscribers and that means things could get particularly zany. And also entertaining. And let’s hope informative. The best chats are the ones that become conversations.

As always, questions are not edited for spelling or grammar. They are ignored for vulgarity or threats of violence.

You’ve got questions. I’ve got a keyboard. Let’s dive into the mosh pit and see what we can learn …

Donald N: Derrick; One of I would imagine many Jordan Walker questions. Walker simply cannot continue in the majors next year with his lack of offensive production, correct? Your guess on what happens in the off season with Jordan? Thank-you Donald Nahnsen

People are also reading…

DG: I would prefer not to guess, honestly. I’ll do my best here in the chat to rely on reporting — not guessing. The Cardinals and Jordan Walker are reaching a decisive point in his career, and it will be Chaim Bloom and his group that makes it. Walker has not improved as he would like, as the Cardinals would hope, and as his potential would suggest. That said, I spent some time in a recent newsletter looking out how players of his profile and size are usually not in the majors at his age — and they don’t reach their stride until their mid-20s, start of the late-20s. The Cardinals sped that up with Walker, for sure. And that puts them all on the clock. He’s got one more option year remaining, but there’s a sense within the team that going back to the minors will not benefit him. That leaves the team and Walker with this situation — either they trade him and watch if he reaches that peak elsewhere at an age when others with his profile did, or they keep him, play him, press on as he accumulates service and see what happens. It’s a real bind for the player and for the team, and at some point this winter there will be a discussion — definitely internally and perhaps with Walker and his rep about what they can do to help him thrive with the Cardinals, if they believe he can thrive with the Cardinals, or if a change of scenery is inevitable.

Ron: Let’s hope bloom new FO is more proactive and constructs better roster than this logjam:

DG: That would be a place for the offseason to start, for sure.

B: Can ttje demise of the Cardinals greatness be traced to Randy Arozarena trade, Marcell Ozuna, trade and Dexter Fowler signing?

DG: No more than it can be traced to the decision not to add a starting pitcher from outside the organization when they had generational talents at the infield corners. Imagine if traded for Arenado and then said, yeah, this is the time — and then went and added an ace to cover for a system that wasn’t going to provide that pitcher. Would have changed 2021 and 2022 for sure.

Matt: When the Cards played Tampa at George Steinbrenner Field, you wrote an article citing Willson saying the ball flies well there. That got me to thinking about the current orientation of Busch Stadium 3. You might remember me, I’ve asked every year for the last 5 years if the Cards are looking into moving the fences in to increase offense. With the Cards org and new Regime moving more towards strikeout pitchers with stuff, do they really need to punish their own hitters with this huge pitcher park? I’m calling on Dewallet to reassess and move the fences in a bit to increase runs, entertainment and therefore: Attendance. Any word on how Chaim or the new regime feels about the current dimensions? Thanks DG.

DG: As you probably know, the Cardinals have looked into this a few times over the past several years. Bill DeWitt III was the one who talked to me about it and said the team planned to do research — and then did that research. They looked into, as an example, how Baltimore moved the walls in, and they also looked at other options. That included what would be done with the new space — is it more rows of seating, does it free up space for a standing-room only or another place to gather and hang out with drinks and food. Etc. Etc. The decision at the time — dovetailing neatly with the team winning five Gold Glove awards — was to stay with the setup they have. They have other spots in the ballpark that they’re looking at modernizing and need to upkeep, so some of this was cost related, too. Where did they need to spend the money for structure/upkeep vs. changing the wall. All of that is to say, that this consideration is not over for the Cardinals — it’s something they talk about, discuss, and look at every so often. A new front office is definitely a time to re-engage in the notion and talk about what to do with the field of play.

And it’s not just about the style of roster they want to have.

The Cardinals do need to consider the style of play that will draw fans.

There are obviously mixed opinions on that, but it’s part of the discussion. The ballpark should invite the style of play that will draw the fans. If that’s a pinball machine, then it’s a pinball machine. If it’s open spaces that invite doubles and defense, then it’s doubles and defense. That has to be explored, in addition to what would maximize the roster direction they intend to head.

Johnny in St Charles: Hi Derrick, it is ownership or Chaim Bloom call on the manager for 2026? Seems to me Bloom should be given some freedom in this important decision

DG: It’s both. Full stop. Both have already been involved in that decision.

Jeff: Hi Derrick – Does Cardinals management realize fans are staying away from the ballpark NOT because they won’t support a rebuild. It is not because we are spoiled. It is not because of perceived crime. Rather, it has everything to do with: 1.) Fans not trusting the leadership structure in place to spend resources intelligently; 2.)

DG: Having talked with a lot of the Cardinals leadership over the past few weeks on this topic, what they realize and how they see it comes up again and again and again. And they outline a lot like you do. It’s not all of the peripheral talking points and it comes down to two things …

The Cardinals believe that a clarity of direction will bring fans back to the ballpark and that … drum roll please … winning will do so. Winning and contending is the one that comes up the most from officials with the team. When I ask them what will bring the fans back to the ballpark and the life back to Busch, the universal answer is that.

They need to give fans a winning team.

My colleague Jeff Gordon put it so, so well in a recent podcast we recorded: “The Cardinals fans got used to winning baseball, and the Cardinals got used to fans.”

It’s not a chicken-egg question.

Winning first. Then fans.

Rusty: In the current circumstances, it would seem foolish to hold onto Donovan and Nootbaar. The window of contention keeps shifting backwards and their contracts do not fit. What are the chances they are both dealt this offseason?

DG: I think you make a great point about their age, their contracts, and where the Cardinals appear to be in their plans to contend. You could make an argument that the Cardinals should move Nootbaar, Donovan, Burleson, and a few others and try to time up the next core with Winn and Wetherholt, which could be a year or so after Nootbaar and Donovan reach free agency and Burleson is nearing 30.

Your outline here is savvy.

And I stand by the description I gave of that in a recent podcast — not to keep quoting the podcast, but it was a good one! Here goes. If the Cardinals move those players and start to time the arrival of all the talent for a window to win and with all of the variables just try to bring it all together for a homegrown team that is strong and can contend — you know what that could make them?

Doug: Katie Woo reported a week ago the Cardinals wouldn’t be in the business to sign an impact starter for 2026.

DG: I really try to avoid doing this in the chat and in print, but it does feel increasingly necessary to point this out: The Post-Dispatch reported that too. Multiple times. Going back several months. And chatters will know this as well as regularly readers of the coverage. And the Post-Dispatch wasn’t alone, as you point out. Other outlets have reported it, too. That includes The Athletic.

I’ve been told to expect a quiet winter when it comes to free agent moves. We’ll see what Bloom has to say about it. But sources around and within the team have described that the activity will be trades and those kind of moves, not bidding on free agents and making headlines for those pursuits.

Ryan: The Cardinals believe that a clarity of direction will bring fans back to the ballpark and that … drum roll please … winning will do so. Winning and contending is the one that… more

If that’s what they believe, then Donovan, Nootbaar and whoever else someone wants needs to be traded this offseason for pitching. They don’t have it in the majors or the minors. When you look around at other teams prospects, the Cards have serious depth issues.

DG: They do indeed. Overlapping depth where they do have it.

ALAforever: Derrick Pallante is a lost cause this season. Is he going to keep getting the ball every 5th day?

DG: He’s going to make his next start. What they do five days after that will continue to hinge on how he does within those starts (and it’s not the line score that decides that) and the alternative the Cardinals have. Who is the alternative? That is the question the Cardinals have asked all year when it comes to such decisions. Who is the alternative? There are fewer answers than they hoped when it comes to starting pitching.

Phil: Do you think they already know their preference and just can’t announce it in-season, or is there still further evaluation and discussion that will determine whether they stick with Oli or move on?

DG: All year they’ve been making decisions and preparing for the future as if this will be the manager and the coaching staff that’s a part of it. Look to their actions. They instructed the manager and the coaching staff that this is a year about improvement and “runway” and that at times the roster won’t be ready to contend, and it is their assignment to help develop the future team. Throughout the summer, Chaim Bloom and Marmol have remained in contact, meeting regularly about what that looks like, what Bloom wants to see and wants to do, and that conversation was driven by what they needed to do together to make the team better. I hope this has been clearly covered and explained to fans in the coverage.

Ryan: Sounds like a tank and rebuild. That’s what it sounds like. In which case that would be another lie since they said they would never do that.

DG: Nah, it’s worse than that. Ever play Yahtzee? It’s like that. But you’re trying to time the roll when you get everything to come together and not spending to add the dice that will give you certainty. Maybe it works and you have the Royals. But often it doesn’t. Ask the Pirates.

Spork: When JWalk came back, he looked really good, and he had apparently made some significant swing changes. But recently he has been rough at the plate. Has he maintained his swing changes and they aren’t working anymore/got figured out, or has he reverted to some old bad habits?

DG: He’s maintained some of the swing changes. In Cincinnati, Brady Singer showed where those swing changes have to meet approach adjustments. Singer set him up to expect a fastball, and he got a breaking ball. Singer got him to a point where he was expecting a breaking ball out of the zone and the experienced pitcher got him with a fastball over the plate. The swing changes are only going to help if his approach also gets to a point where he can take advantage of them.

Tim: i dont think this franchise has been the same since HackGate, is there a correlation or just serendipity coming home to roost, I don’t think all the truth came out back then

DG: There is a correlation. The Cardinals lost draft picks, and it was very clear that the 2023-2024 years is when they would have benefited from the depth created by those early picks in 2017, and they didn’t have them. They also didn’t supplement that loss with spending on free agency (until 2024 with the pitchers) or get the return on the international signings that they did at the time. The pool of prospects was thin in part because of the draft picks taken from them due to the hacking penalties.

Paul Dewgong: I get annoyed with my friends who want to tank like the Astros and Cubs once did, that is not the reality of the newest CBA

DG: At the current pace … By the time the Cardinals are poised to contend, there will be a new CBA from this current one.

Jim 502: Can this mess of cardinal baseball be fixed ? In your opinion yes or no , if yes how long. I don’t see a bright future down the road, this is a really bad team that has so many parts to fix I can’t see how it can be done operating the way that management is doing now

DG: Yes, it can be fixed. There are two ways it can be fixed. It can be fixed quickly by spending on free agents and paying for known quantities and outfitting the young group with what they need for support. That’s one way. The other way, is to lean into development, ask for patience, offer a clear direction, and find ways to innovate and identify talent. It a recent conversation I had with an exec, he likened it to Pop-A-Shot. Teams leaning into development need to take a lot of shots, a volume of shots, to get buckets. That will take longer and the goal will be to find the timing.

What the Cardinals say they’re going to do is this: Identify a core (this year), attempt to develop that core and also what that core does not have (this draft, this next year future), and when that group appears to be primed to contend … spend to outfit it with what it’s lacking and bring that in from the outside to fortify a contender. A team that did some of that here recently would be Arizona as an example.

Adam: You mention the Cardinals following a similar path as the Pirates. Does management and ownership have wilpower to do that.

DG: I’m glad you brought this up. Let me attempt to be clear: I’m presenting one direction the Cardinals could go with their emphasis on development if … if, if, if … they also don’t supplement with spending, too. I’m using the Pirates as a cautionary tale.

Tom: Derrick, Have you heard in the past few days why Wetherholt wasn’t called up? I would believe the Dewitt’s would want to try to sell as many ticket as possible as they can for what games that are left of the season unless they have just checked out of the season.

DG: I’ve heard over the past month or so — really coming out of the All-Star break — why Wetherholt was unlikely to be promoted, and I’ve attempted to share that with readers, especially here in the chat. Even if some of it so, so boring …

It’s far easier to mock the reasoning than explore it.

I was asked this question at a pub last night, and I attempted to explain it again, and I do so with this caveat:

You don’t have to agree with it.

You can criticize the team’s approach and thinking and explanation, but that doesn’t make it less of a real factor for the team as it makes decisions.

The 40-player roster is driving factor here. Wetherholt does not have to be added this winter to be protected from the Rule 5 draft, and a handful of other players do. The Cardinals are at a spot where they need to protect the depth they have — especially on the pitching side, where the Cardinals have had such an issue this season. Every spot they give to a player who does not need to be protected is one fewer player they could keep in the organization … and that would mean exposing some of this group to other teams:

Jimmy Crooks (already on), Cesar Prieto (already on) — see a trend here? — and then also Leonardo Bernal, Blaze Jordan, Cooper Hjerpe, Joshua Baez, Bryson Mautz, Bryan Torres, and then consider Oddanier Mosqueda, a lefty the Cardinals pulled from the Yankees organization through the Rule 5 draft.

Now, the Cardinals will clear spots on the 40-player roster through free agency, non-tenders, and natural turn. That’s true. But also keep in mind that the 60-day IL does not exist during offseason. Tekoah Roby has to be on the 40 to be protected. Zack Thompson will be removed from the 60-day IL and put back on the 40. And if you go into the Rule 5 without an opening on the 40, you cannot participate — leaving one stream for talent the Cardinals could really use closed off to them.

Now, come spring, all of that changes. And openings happen, the 60-day becomes an option for Roby and others — and there will be Wetherholt pushing to be in the opening day lineup and competing for it, and all set to go.

Cardinals are in the talent accumulation business now. That’s the phase they’re in for this “retool” or “reset” or whatever. Look at their actions. So the roster spots have value to them.

From that foundation, we can launch into some real nuances of the decisions, such as the Cardinals wanting to promote Wetherholt when he’s going to play every day, and if they did that he would be playing every day at second base and not Donovan, not Prieto, or he’d be at third base and not Arenado, not Gorman. And then there’s the thinking that the Cardinals want to know what they have in Prieto because his role is let clear for their future than Wetherholt, and Prieto must be protected, so is there a benefit to playing him now to see how he does in the majors and if he’s protected at all … and so on and so on.

Let the criticism commence.

Avi Loeb: With MiLB’s seasons winding down, who do you think the team will send to the AFL? Seems like Chen Wei Lin and Hence (if he’s healthy) would be options to get more innings.

DG: You’re on to something there. How teams use the Arizona Fall League has changed some for sure. I’m wondering if Ixan Henderson gets a look there, respectful of his workload because before he’d be a prime option there to see how he does against elite hitters. Baez would be another likely candidate — both as a reward for his breakout but also to get him against the some top pitching. Ten years ago, he’d be the ideal AFL pick. As teams use it for different purposes now and it’s not the “finishing school” it once was advertised as, that’s changed. By naming a few pitchers to get innings, that’s a good place to start.

Amir Abdulkader: Forgive me for not having my sources – It was once reported that the Chaim/Mo transition would occur sometime in the second half of the season, likely September (though possibly not from the PD). I’ve since read that the outline of responsibilities is that Chaim has more control and oversight of the minor leagues, while Mo focuses on the majors. Will Chaim solely look over the minors for this last month of the season? Will he have any responsibilities relating to the major league team?

DG: I’m not sure where that info is coming from, but I can see where — if that is what you’ve read — it would be confusing.

Chaim Bloom will take over as president of baseball operations within the month. That’s the plan. The precise date has been discussed, but that’s more of a final-day for Mozeliak than it is a first day for Bloom.

Bloom has been involved in decisions all season, and that includes input on calls at the major-league level. He was part of the group in the room for all of the trade deadline maneuvering and Flores met often with Bloom as part of the preparation for the draft.

Bloom’s direct task this winter was to implement the changes and expansion and modernization of the minor-league system that he spent time auditing and exploring last season. To do this, he made his first high-level hires in Rob Cerfolio, at assistant general manager level, and Larry Day, the farm director. That trio oversaw the minors and player development, and Cerfolio, as the AGM over player performance, too, was also a presence with the major-league team.

Florida OBI-Wan: Just curious when the time will come to take Pallante out of the rotation and let someone else try and prove their worth for next year? Obviously he shouldn’t be in the plans as he hasn’t had a good season at all. We have to have better options somewhere. Thoughts ?

DG: Nowhere in your question did you offer an alternative, and that answers your question.

Q: You recently observed that the Cardinals lack a “tent-pole” hitter. I’m sure you’ll correct me, but I understand that to be a middle of the order hitter who is capable with consistency of home runs and extra base hits: The Jordan Walker the Cardinals dream on. I think of such a hitter as someone who does not strike out 27-32 percent of the time (Gorman and the current Walker). Do you think of Wetherholt’s potential when you think of such a hitter? This is a dumb question, I admit, because it’s speculative. W has extraordinary contact skills, and he seems to be hitting increasingly for power. Who knows where this takes him? But who else catches your attention? It’s not fair to expect a single player to carry such hopes (see what, IMHO, they did to Walker at such a young age). Joshua Baez and Chase Davis strike out a lot. Rainiel Rodriguez may evolve into that. Jesus Baez? Blaze Jordan? Or is this something that development produces more often (without guarantees)? Pujols arrived on the scene with astonishing force his first year. He seemed to me to come out of nowhere in the organization, without the hype of Wetherholt.

DG: We are on the same page, mostly. I don’t necessarily get hung up on strikeout rate as a singular litmus test for tent-pole hitter. Not too long ago Kyle Schwarber had a 29.9% strikeout rate, and I’d still consider him a tent-pole hitter. He’s just a better one now with a reduced strikeout rate.

It is not a dumb question.

And Wetherholt could definitely be that. I tread cautiously into comparisons, but there’s a real Dustin Pedroia-style to Wetherholt’s game and profile. Wetherholt looks like a No. 2 hitter on a contending team. And that is a hitter who can support a big-top lineup.

Detective Dietrich replied to Derrick Goold: “The 40-player roster is driving factor here. Wetherholt. The Cardinals are at a spot where they need to protect the depth they have”. Those players are terrible.

DG: Like I said, criticize away. The Cardinals likely have a different opinion than you, but maybe not. If they share your opinion, they should make decisions accordingly.

Jason S.: What kind of reputation does Mo have 1) among his peers in other organizations, and 2) among others within the Cardinals organization (outside of ownership)? Do you sense that segments of either of these groups are ready for the Mo era to end?

DG: 1) He’s respected by his peers. I recently spoke to one who told me how Mozeliak’s approach for trades is rather direct compared to others who go fishing. A few of his peers have told me they appreciate his honesty with them. Some agents have also mentioned this, though he can be cagey as you’d expect about the clients actually involved in trade talks, promotions, etc., but he lets them know where their client stands. As in other profession, there can be personalities that clash and that happens. 2) Many within the organization have examples of how Mozeliak has helped them directly, taken bruise for them PR-wise or other, and he’s got a devoted group. That doesn’t mean there isn’t some frustration within that fans share — about going bigger, about choices. He hears that internally, too. I get the sense that everyone, and that is Mozeliak included too, is interested in a new voice. That goes beyond Bloom. A fresh message from the team is sought. It might surprise you how much the organization echoes the fans in some of these discussions. But it’s like they cannot hear each other say the same thing.

cbow: If the Cardinals are not going to active in the free agent market this offseason, then who is going to pitch next year?

DG: Great question. I look forward to asking Chaim Bloom to get you an answer.

cbow: Buster Olney has stated that the Cardinals 2025 transition season from Mozeliak to Bloom “one of the strangest situations I’ve ever seen”. I tend to agree. Why have a lame duck POBO, which in my opinion sort of handcuffs the incoming POBO to a degree. If they were intent on hiring Bloom, why not fire Mozeliak, or reassign him and let Bloom take over? To me, this just sets the Cardinals rebuild or reset, or transition, or whatever its called an extra year.

DG: Buster Olney is not alone in that sentiment. There is a lot of curiosity when it comes to how the Cardinals set this up and why they did it. Most see it as a nod of respect from ownership to Mozeliak — who you may recall was not certain he would sign the extension that he did years ago and DeWitt explained talking him into it but only with the understanding that he would also oversee a transition period and introduction of a new leader for baseball operations. That was openly discussed. Now, that persona has come from outside — but they held true to that plan of it being an overlap, a transition, and that’s what they got.

There was one other big factor here that maybe isn’t included in your question — but is definitely being watched by other teams to see how it plays out.

Bloom got a whole year where he was able to focus and build and address and identify the future of the team — before he took over. I was talking recently with a member of a front office, and he told me about how when a new POBO starts they’re thrown into the maelstrom and the focus has to be on the big league team. It has to be. That is the product. And so the opening flurry of weeks is getting to know the major-league roster and staff and making decisions that pivot in a new direction. That’s why you’re hired. A new direction. But what I’m got to do was spend an entire year free from that to build the minor-league structure that will fuel his tenure.

Instead of moving into the house and starting to redecorate and dealing with the foundation later, he got to build the foundation and then decide what he keeps from the house. It’s a different approach for sure.

But teams are wondering if it’s successful — maybe the model is used, copied elsewhere.

Cardinal70: Has there been any hint of the projects Michael Girsch is working on?

DG: Yes, there have even been answers about it previous chats.

One of the things he worked on was the expansion of the minor-league staff and also what the future look of staffing is for a baseball team. For example: If the Cardinals are going to invest in cutting-edge tech for training hitters and get mo-cap and Trajekt and other things — then do they need to make sure to hire a technician ready to fix those things, a software developer ready to maximize those things, how many coaches to run those things and explain those things to hitters. What does the next evolution of a staff look like, and that was one of the things he spent time on looking at. That likely meant looking at other sports, other industries for innovating staffing decisions and then what to budget for spending on it to make a competitive offer.

Jose from Des Moines: Is there a John Mozeliak good-bye day coming in the last home stand. They might get a large gathering for his send-off.

DG: Probably. Have not heard of the specific date. That’s largely due to the fact that it’s Hall of Fame weekend, and there will be discussion of what the final home stand looks like for Mozeliak after this weekend.

Chris: All MLB writers, including you, are warning of a quiet/soft offseason with the lockout risk looming. To me, that also means some impactful free agents may get frozen out and have to settle for a one year deal in February/March. Where I’m most curious to see how Bloom works this offseason is if/when and impactful free agent opportunity arises that makes sense, does he jump on it or let it pass. That to me would indicate a desire to be competitive, even in a rebuild.

DG: Totally agree. This is something that I’ve mentioned a few times — and should have touched on above. There’s a real curveball that Bloom could throw here with the blessing of ownership. If you want to spot a market inefficiency and take advantage and get the green light to spend green to do so, then an opportunistic front office (even an aggressive front office) could make early moves to jump the market, before the chill, and improve a team. Now, it might take offers that reflect that urgency, and that’s likely why it won’t happen. Because teams will want to get “value” for their offers not always the “best talent” for their offers. But when someone in the chat asked how long it will take the Cardinals to make the turnaround, there is an answer where it doesn’t take long at all. It takes an approach that they have not advertised, have not shown a stomach for in the past, and don’t seem likely to do at this point. But if Bloom and ownership really wanted to flip the script, then this winter could offer some creative ways to do that.

chico: Are Michael Girsh and Willie McGee still with the team on a day to day basis?

DG: I’m not quite sure what qualifies as “day to day basis” because Willie McGee was with the major-league team on a day to day basis as a coach but Michael Girsch was not with the major-league team on a day to day basis even as GM, and neither was Mozeliak as POBO. Girsch works every day for the club, even weekends and holidays. That’s the gig. McGee now does not have a daily role with the club.

Ryan replied Derrick Goold: But baseball is not profitable…… That’s my go to answer for all Cards ownership / FO questions.

DG: It can be very profitable if you sell the team. That’s what it takes sometimes to really cash in, as you know.

Aside, if you’ll permit me a little commentary on what it’s like covering a team, a business, or a government these days: It continues to amaze me what quotes stick in the consciousness of fans and gets brought up and repeated, and how when someone attempts to apologize or explain those comments they don’t get the same attention. I get it — why give up the gavel when you’ve got a great quote you can pound and pound and pound and pound to make your point, especially when with each pound you further obliterate the attempt to explain or apologize so that there’s nothing left of the facts or the fallout, just the original quote that fits your narrative. What a time to be alive.

Jose from Des Moines: Derrick, who is the core moving forward? Can you name 6-8 players that the Cardinals want to build around, and does that intersect on players that would bring the best return in a trade for pitching. I think you swallow hard and move either Burleson or Donovan, or Walker or Gorman, or Nootbaar or Herrera, you cant keep them all, you gotta get some pitching for 2026

DG: I don’t know. That’s the answer. And the question for the Cardinals is why don’t they know yet — and what does that say about the success of this “runway” year. They’re about to run out the clock and still be in the same spot with several players as they were …

From a position player side … Winn, Herrera, Burleson, Donovan have clear roles and spots with the team. Nootbaar, Scott, and Gorman have done in stretches what was necessary to put them closer to that group. Pages, too, just in a different way than the others.

Evil Calvin: Can we finally get rid of analytics? Five years on and past the Jeff Albert era….still no better than back then. Only a few players batting over .300 in the NL. How about just do scouting on pitchers and let the players use their talent, rather than using a spreadsheet.

DG: No, we cannot. They win.

They are even more valuable when blended with strong scouting and coaching, and that’s what the best steams — hell, the best businesses — do. They utilize analytics to avoid poor decisions and accurately assess value.

You ask, ‘Can we get rid of analytics?’

You might as well ask, “Can we get rid of the sweeper? It’s too hard to hit. Can’t we just let the players use their talents?” Or, “Can we get rid of math? It hurts the hitters’ feelings that they can’t hit .300 so why remind them of that by doing division all the time?”

Matt: “Can we finally get rid of analytics?” Every other guys throws 100mph with movement – that’s the reason for batting AVG decrease. Not analytics giving the batter too much info

DG: Bingo. Analytics have definitely changed the game — and I’ll welcome … I’ve made! … the argument that sometimes the tail wags the dog when it comes to analytics. Sometimes it makes teams less likely to take risks, and it’s made it a real push on pitchers to max-effort their stuff. This are real things that are a result of analytics. But so to is finding hidden talents, so to is creating new pitches, and innovating defense and training and so many many many cool things. Yes, analytics helped that pitcher create that 100 mph pitch and yes analytics shows him how to use that pitch to absolutely confound batters, and it will be analytics that give us the puck bat, the torpedo bat, or whatever approach hitters take to combat what analytics gave pitchers. No surprise that in the Information Age, even baseball isn’t immune from its influence.

Larry: How would you evaluate Contreras defense at 1st base this season.

DG: Above average. Solid. Strong. What he lacks in experience or sometimes with his footwork, he makes up for with his athleticism. He’s done really well there and should be applauded for what he’s meant to the infield and keeping it together — especially in the past few weeks without Arenado and Donovan.

I have to relocate to the ballpark, where I can resume the chat shortly after attending to another assignment. Please be patient, but keep the good questions coming.

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