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Vibe Check: How do Cardinals fans feel heading into spring training? · Cardinal Territory: A St. Louis Cardinals Podcast

0:05
Speaker 1: Hello friends, and welcome back to Cardinal territory. Good news. First,
0:09
Speaker 1: we do have a brand new episode for you, a
0:11
Speaker 1: lot to discuss over the week that was in Cardinals' land.
0:15
Speaker 1: Bad news. This is one of those episodes where it's
0:18
Speaker 1: hosted just by me, so that's unfortunate. Trevor Rosenthal is
0:22
Speaker 1: on vacation. He'll be back with us next week when
0:24
Speaker 1: we start broadcasting from Jupiter, Florida. Yes, spring training is
0:29
Speaker 1: like four days away. Someone tell me how that happened,
0:31
Speaker 1: because this has definitely felt like the quickest off season
0:34
Speaker 1: since I've taken over the Cardinals beat at the Athletic
0:38
Speaker 1: might have something to do with the fact that I
0:39
Speaker 1: really haven't had to work all that much because you know,
0:41
Speaker 1: not that many moves, but whatever. It's also kind of
0:44
Speaker 1: crazy that this is about to be my fifth season.
0:47
Speaker 1: I don't really know how that happened, But you know
0:49
Speaker 1: what they say, time does fly when you're having fun,
0:52
Speaker 1: and I certainly have been having fun hosting this podcast,
0:55
Speaker 1: so hopefully you guys can say the same about engaging
0:58
Speaker 1: with it. But yeah, let's get into it at long last,
1:01
Speaker 1: and we've waited a very very long time here at
1:04
Speaker 1: Cardinals territory. But it's true. We have a roster move,
1:11
Speaker 1: a trade, if you will, to discuss now, I kind
1:14
Speaker 1: of wish I had like a confetti emoji to just
1:16
Speaker 1: blast off because it's been a long time coming. Now.
1:18
Speaker 1: This is not the trade that I think anyone really
1:22
Speaker 1: thought was going to be happening or that we'd be
1:24
Speaker 1: talking about, but it's a trade. Nonetheless, the Cardinals and
1:27
Speaker 1: the Twins have made it official. They have traded for
1:29
Speaker 1: utility man Michael Hellman from Minnesota in exchange for cash consideration.
1:35
Speaker 1: So if you're not familiar with Michael Hellman, that's because
1:38
Speaker 1: he has exactly ten Major League played appearances. But he
1:42
Speaker 1: does have three hits in those ten appearances, So three
1:45
Speaker 1: hundred hitter. That's exciting. All jokes aside, though, I think
1:49
Speaker 1: this is more or less a death move, and to me,
1:52
Speaker 1: the reasoning behind this move speaks volumes as to where
1:54
Speaker 1: the Cardinals are at with the player that they did
1:57
Speaker 1: actually plan on trading, Nolan Aronado. A big concern putting
2:01
Speaker 1: together the very early roster projection, and we've talked about
2:04
Speaker 1: it a little bit on the show, is the Cardinals,
2:06
Speaker 1: outside of Mason Wynn, didn't have a shortstop, a true
2:10
Speaker 1: shortstop to play backup to Mason as currently constructed, Like, yes,
2:15
Speaker 1: Brendan Donovan can't play shortstop, jose Ferman can't play shortstop,
2:18
Speaker 1: but they're not like your true back up shortstop options
2:23
Speaker 1: that really give the club a lot of confidence. Thomas
2:26
Speaker 1: to Jac could have been that option, but we've talked
2:29
Speaker 1: about it before. If Nolan Arronado is on the Cardinals
2:32
Speaker 1: come opening Day, it kind of doesn't leave any room
2:35
Speaker 1: at all for Thomas to Jac to have consistent playing time.
2:38
Speaker 1: So I think this is my speculation. The trade for
2:41
Speaker 1: Hellman does bring the Cardinals forty man roster to forty,
2:45
Speaker 1: so it is full, but to me, it's just kind
2:47
Speaker 1: of shoring up some depths, specifically at shortstop, because at
2:50
Speaker 1: this point it doesn't really look like Thomas to Jac
2:53
Speaker 1: will have a clear spot on that roster, and there's
2:56
Speaker 1: no use in him sitting and riding the bench at
2:59
Speaker 1: the Majors when he could be playing every day in Memphis.
3:01
Speaker 1: Michael Hellman, of course, maybe they don't feel the same
3:04
Speaker 1: way about how that that's gonna work out, and he
3:06
Speaker 1: does bring in some needed depth at shortstops. So there
3:09
Speaker 1: you have it. Our first official trade on Cardinal territory.
3:13
Speaker 1: It's February sixth. By the way, we launched a show
3:15
Speaker 1: in December, but who's counting. It does count though for
3:18
Speaker 1: the Cardinals, they did actually make a major league trade.
3:22
Speaker 1: So however, that wasn't the splashiest of acquisitions or not acquisitions.
3:27
Speaker 1: I don't know announcements. I think we are all pretty
3:31
Speaker 1: familiar and have a good idea of where this conversation
3:34
Speaker 1: is going to go. Next, let's talk about Jim Edmunds.
3:38
Speaker 1: Jim Edmunds went on One on one ESPN the Morning
3:42
Speaker 1: Show and did an interview, came out that he would
3:46
Speaker 1: not be coming back to Bali Sports broadcasts. I'm sorry,
3:49
Speaker 1: Fandel Sports Network broadcasts in twenty twenty five. A mutual
3:54
Speaker 1: decision and the interview I thought was going to talk
3:57
Speaker 1: about that decision, and it talked about a lot more.
4:01
Speaker 1: Here's a quote from that show. Again, at the morning
4:04
Speaker 1: after on one on one ESPN in Saint Louis, Jim
4:07
Speaker 1: Edmonds said, I haven't really gone down, just bring training
4:10
Speaker 1: the last couple of years. It's not fun anymore. They
4:13
Speaker 1: the Cardinals don't make you feel like you're wanted. He
4:18
Speaker 1: also said about forty five minutes worth of other things.
4:21
Speaker 1: If you have not listened to the interview, I recommend
4:23
Speaker 1: doing so. First things first is Jim Evans is a
4:27
Speaker 1: friend of mine. He has been nothing but kind to
4:30
Speaker 1: me since I've come to Saint Louis. He's been a
4:33
Speaker 1: great teammate. You know, I'm not on the broadcast by
4:35
Speaker 1: any means, but media works together, whether it's print or
4:39
Speaker 1: broadcast or radio, and anytime I needed something or just
4:42
Speaker 1: wanted to chat, I found Jim's availability and insights to
4:45
Speaker 1: be really helpful. Jim Edmans is also totally entitled to
4:51
Speaker 1: feel how he feels, and I'm not going to comment
4:53
Speaker 1: on the broadcast situation. I'm not going to comment on
4:56
Speaker 1: most of the of the interview, but I will comment
4:59
Speaker 1: on what he said here in this quote we have
5:02
Speaker 1: highlighted because I think it does really kind of highlight
5:07
Speaker 1: some inconsistencies with the Cardinals compared to other organizations in
5:11
Speaker 1: terms of their Hall of Famers and coming back and
5:14
Speaker 1: helping in spring training. We know the Cardinals had to
5:16
Speaker 1: do some cuts in twenty twenty during the COVID season,
5:20
Speaker 1: ultimately led to Chris Carpenter taking a different position with
5:22
Speaker 1: the Angels. What I like to see more red jackets,
5:27
Speaker 1: more special instructors at spring training. Of course, I don't
5:30
Speaker 1: really think that's a hot take, do I think that
5:34
Speaker 1: the Cardinals have some of the most rich history and
5:37
Speaker 1: respected former players in baseball, of course. I mean, just
5:40
Speaker 1: take one look at opening Day. The red jacket ceremony
5:43
Speaker 1: for each Hall of Fame ceremony is I think something
5:46
Speaker 1: that's super special. I would love to see more and
5:48
Speaker 1: more Cardinals come to spring training, so I do hope
5:50
Speaker 1: the organization is listening. I think Jim has a great
5:53
Speaker 1: point here, just off the top of my head. I
5:56
Speaker 1: saw last yesterday Buster Posey, in his first year of
6:00
Speaker 1: president Baseball Operations for the San Francisco Giants, is bringing
6:04
Speaker 1: back a slew of former Giants, including you know, take
6:07
Speaker 1: your pick. I remember Jag Snow being on there, just
6:09
Speaker 1: because Jag Snow was my favorite player growing up. But
6:12
Speaker 1: it was about ten or twelve different giants that didn't
6:14
Speaker 1: necessarily have to be Hall of Famers, but they were
6:17
Speaker 1: still invited to spring I would like to see the
6:19
Speaker 1: Cardinals take a page out of that. They are bringing
6:22
Speaker 1: back David Freeze as a special instructor. He'll be working
6:24
Speaker 1: alongside his pals Daniel Descasso and John Jay. Ozzie Smith
6:28
Speaker 1: is there, and that's great anytime Ozzie Smith is out
6:30
Speaker 1: there on the Diamond. I mean, you've seen players like
6:32
Speaker 1: Mason Wynn and Nolan Arnatto really gravitate to that. Willie
6:36
Speaker 1: McGee could make an appearance. He's at a different kind
6:39
Speaker 1: of assignment. I personally would love to see Willie McGee.
6:41
Speaker 1: I know that's not exactly a hot take either, but
6:44
Speaker 1: the point that I'm trying to make, and I think
6:45
Speaker 1: that Jim did a really nice job in conveying even
6:48
Speaker 1: though it was emotionally charged, But again, he has the
6:50
Speaker 1: right to feel that. The way that he wants to
6:52
Speaker 1: is that the Cardinals have so many prestigious, respected, accomplished
6:58
Speaker 1: former players in their organization, and why not bring them back,
7:02
Speaker 1: Why not bring them to a couple of weeks just
7:04
Speaker 1: as a special instructor. I'm excited to see what David
7:06
Speaker 1: Freese is going to do. I hope the Cardinals can
7:09
Speaker 1: continue to do that. You know, I'm not again, I'm
7:13
Speaker 1: not going to comment on the entire forty five minute interview.
7:16
Speaker 1: We do not have the time for that. But I
7:18
Speaker 1: did think it was interesting and I thought this point
7:20
Speaker 1: that he made in particular about not having a lot
7:22
Speaker 1: of special instructors. I hope that changes in seasons to come,
7:26
Speaker 1: so we will see. Now, if you are a follower
7:31
Speaker 1: of Cardinal Territory on Twitter, then you might have seen
7:34
Speaker 1: a call for action for me, because with spring training
7:38
Speaker 1: about to start, I kind of just wanted to see
7:41
Speaker 1: where the pulse of the fan base was. And you know,
7:45
Speaker 1: I can go and read through comments on YouTube or
7:47
Speaker 1: the athletic pretty much, I do it every day, but
7:51
Speaker 1: I like asking for fans opinions on things because it
7:53
Speaker 1: just kind of helps me understand where everybody's at. And
7:57
Speaker 1: something that I think is great about baseball fans is,
7:59
Speaker 1: no matter what team you're rooting for, who you grew
8:03
Speaker 1: up a fan of, what you're rooting interested, what your
8:05
Speaker 1: rooting interest is, is come this week, come February first.
8:10
Speaker 1: That first week of February, we start getting a little excited.
8:13
Speaker 1: Doesn't matter if you're a fan of the Dodgers, the A's,
8:16
Speaker 1: the Yankees, the Rockies. February means baseball season is coming,
8:20
Speaker 1: and all of a sudden we are a little optimistic.
8:23
Speaker 1: I don't know why. We're kind of sickos it's what
8:24
Speaker 1: we do. We're like suckers for pain. Twenty nine fan
8:28
Speaker 1: bases are going to be massively disappointed this year. That's
8:32
Speaker 1: just how it is. But it's that slim hope no matter,
8:34
Speaker 1: and some teams slimmer than others. That comes around in
8:37
Speaker 1: February where I think it's just the overall excitement of
8:40
Speaker 1: baseball being back, and it just gets us feeling a
8:43
Speaker 1: little weird. We get a little excited, we get a
8:44
Speaker 1: little optimistic. So I just wanted to see where the
8:47
Speaker 1: Cardinals were at, our Cardinals fans were at in that excitement.
8:52
Speaker 1: So let's pull it up. Let's see where that call
8:55
Speaker 1: to action is. All right, give me a second. There
9:04
Speaker 1: it is, vibe check pictures and catchers are less than
9:08
Speaker 1: a week away. How are you feeling about the upcoming
9:11
Speaker 1: Saint Louis Cardinal season? Let us know if for a
9:13
Speaker 1: chance to be featured on our next episode, and you
9:18
Speaker 1: guys delivered. I went through every single response and I
9:22
Speaker 1: pulled five and I tried to get a balance, because
9:25
Speaker 1: I think there is a balance of emotions around here. Yes,
9:28
Speaker 1: some of us are really optimistic about the season to start.
9:30
Speaker 1: Some of us are on board with the youth movement.
9:32
Speaker 1: Some of us are pretty disheartened by the lack of
9:35
Speaker 1: moves in the off season. Some of us are pretty
9:37
Speaker 1: disheartened by the state of the organization in general. But
9:41
Speaker 1: no matter how you feel, you felt something, so let's
9:44
Speaker 1: get into it far and away. Though, the biggest or
9:48
Speaker 1: the most common, I would say, emotion that I saw
9:53
Speaker 1: through these responses was indeed apathy. This right here for
10:00
Speaker 1: my podcast friends. You can't see it, but it is
10:03
Speaker 1: my favorite meme. This is a top meme and my rotation,
10:07
Speaker 1: especially during the season. Ask how this you felt about
10:10
Speaker 1: the state of the Cardinals. Not great. I use this
10:13
Speaker 1: at least once a week. It is applicable to my life,
10:16
Speaker 1: to baseball season, to the Cardinals. Just fantastic memes. So
10:19
Speaker 1: I wanted to point that out there. Thanks at Dukeness
10:23
Speaker 1: for remember reminding me that that meme exists, because I
10:26
Speaker 1: re added it to my camera roll and I will
10:29
Speaker 1: be using it as soon as I get to Jupiter.
10:32
Speaker 1: But let's get into like some actual fan conversations. My
10:38
Speaker 1: first one this is a surprise to me because there
10:40
Speaker 1: are no particular orders, so you're gonna get like a
10:42
Speaker 1: real authentic answer is from our friend Quinn stl Cards.
10:51
Speaker 1: Quinn says, I feel good about what they the Cardinals
10:55
Speaker 1: are saying the plan is, but I'm a bit worried
10:57
Speaker 1: about whether or not they'll be able to impute. I'm
11:00
Speaker 1: glad players like Gray, Sunny Gray, and Wilson Contreras are
11:03
Speaker 1: sticking around, so there are experienced starters. But I hope
11:07
Speaker 1: the young players do get a lot of games. I
11:08
Speaker 1: think that is the name of the game for the
11:11
Speaker 1: twenty twenty five season. Look youth movement. We're gonna hear
11:14
Speaker 1: about it from pitchers and catchers to the end of
11:17
Speaker 1: the season. That's what the Cardinals want the season to be.
11:20
Speaker 1: They wanted to be a reset. We know this. We
11:21
Speaker 1: don't need to hash into it. Did it get a
11:24
Speaker 1: little complicated in terms of like their reset plans because
11:27
Speaker 1: so many veterans either wanted to stay or we're not
11:30
Speaker 1: able to be traded. Sure, but that doesn't mean that
11:34
Speaker 1: the roster is complicated in itself. I, for one, if
11:38
Speaker 1: I'm a fan, I'm glad Sonny Gray said I want
11:41
Speaker 1: to be the ace of this ball club. He went
11:42
Speaker 1: out and went and warm up and said, I like
11:44
Speaker 1: to be that mentor for young players. I want to
11:47
Speaker 1: be that guy, and I think that would have been
11:49
Speaker 1: a role that he would have enjoyed last year, except
11:51
Speaker 1: the problem was he was actually considered one of the
11:54
Speaker 1: younger starters because that was such a veteran experienced rotation.
11:59
Speaker 1: So if I'm a fan, I'm fired up that Sunny
12:02
Speaker 1: Gray is choosing to stay in Saint Louis. If I'm
12:05
Speaker 1: a fan, I'm fired up that Wilson Contrera's is doing
12:07
Speaker 1: the same that he's going at first base. I mean,
12:10
Speaker 1: Contrarasts what he said at winner and warmup, I think
12:14
Speaker 1: just re solidified why fans gravitate to him so much.
12:17
Speaker 1: He's so passionate, he's so fiery. He said, quite simply,
12:20
Speaker 1: there's nowhere else I want to be. I want to
12:22
Speaker 1: play for my teammates, I want to play for the city.
12:23
Speaker 1: I want to play for the fans. So those two
12:26
Speaker 1: guys stayed, And I also thought it was interesting that
12:28
Speaker 1: these were the two players that spoke up about the
12:30
Speaker 1: state of disarray that was the Cardinals' minor league system,
12:34
Speaker 1: and neither of them had been here for more than
12:36
Speaker 1: two years and they saw it. So you know, I'm
12:39
Speaker 1: if I'm the Cardinals, I'm feeling a little bit better
12:42
Speaker 1: about the situation. Not that it was so bad that
12:44
Speaker 1: players new to the organization could spot it instantly, but
12:47
Speaker 1: because players who've seen and come from different organizations and
12:51
Speaker 1: different uh, you know, different systems can see the changes
12:55
Speaker 1: need to be made and at least acknowledge that the
12:56
Speaker 1: Cardinals are doing the right thing. I do think certain
13:01
Speaker 1: young players are guaranteed to see a lot of games
13:03
Speaker 1: health provided those players we know, Jordan Walker, Nolan Gorman,
13:07
Speaker 1: Lars Newbar, those guys are going to play every day,
13:09
Speaker 1: Mason wyn Brennan, Donovan. Where again, it gets dicey, is
13:12
Speaker 1: can they find playing time for Alec Burlson, What are
13:15
Speaker 1: they gonna do with Ivon Herrera and Pedro Pajez? What
13:18
Speaker 1: a center field going to look like? But that's why
13:20
Speaker 1: we do spring training, folks, so we can figure out
13:22
Speaker 1: how that's going to work. Again, I think there's a
13:26
Speaker 1: way for the Cardinals to be successful in what they're doing.
13:29
Speaker 1: It just and a lot of these things do. It
13:32
Speaker 1: does sort them seld out in spring training whereas the
13:34
Speaker 1: season goes, Unfortunately, injuries happen. But it's why you're not
13:37
Speaker 1: really seeing a lot of panic, at least from Alie
13:39
Speaker 1: Marmel and his staff right now. It's because there's no
13:42
Speaker 1: need to. They have six weeks to figure out how
13:43
Speaker 1: they're going to make this work. And if you're looking
13:46
Speaker 1: for a reason to tune into spring training, might I
13:48
Speaker 1: suggest that? So Quinn, I feel you. I think a
13:52
Speaker 1: lot of the fan base shares the same sentiment as
13:54
Speaker 1: you do. Let's see what else is going on. Let's
13:57
Speaker 1: check in on Troy at twenty four Lakers eighteen. Excited
14:05
Speaker 1: for the youngsters to get their run, but really want
14:07
Speaker 1: to see our top pitching prospects get a legitimate opportunity
14:11
Speaker 1: to make the rotation. Cardinals have to nail the development issue,
14:14
Speaker 1: and if they do, we can be contenders again in
14:16
Speaker 1: two to three years. I could not agree more with
14:19
Speaker 1: the have to nail the development issue portion of this tweet.
14:23
Speaker 1: And I dare I say Troy if that's even a
14:26
Speaker 1: real name I never know on Twitter. I actually think
14:30
Speaker 1: the Cardinals can close that window if they're pitching prospects
14:34
Speaker 1: take a step up. So I don't hate starting the
14:38
Speaker 1: season with a mostly better in rotation Again, Sunny grayzier Ace,
14:41
Speaker 1: You're in a good spot if we were constructing the
14:44
Speaker 1: rotation today. Dare I say I would put Andre Polante
14:48
Speaker 1: as your second starter just based on performance. That's not
14:51
Speaker 1: how they're going to open the season. But if I'm
14:53
Speaker 1: ranking them based on ability and ceiling, I would put
14:55
Speaker 1: Polante too, just based on having end of the season.
14:58
Speaker 1: And then you have Eric Fetty in the middle. Well,
15:00
Speaker 1: I know the organization or fans are not super thrilled
15:03
Speaker 1: about Miles Michaelis in his last two years, but if
15:05
Speaker 1: Miles Michaelis is your number five starter to start the season,
15:09
Speaker 1: to me, that's not the worst thing in the world.
15:11
Speaker 1: You have durability, you have consistency, you have a guy
15:13
Speaker 1: who you know is going to make thirty starts. What
15:16
Speaker 1: I think the Cardinals can really do to set themselves aside,
15:19
Speaker 1: and we've said this before, is start McGreevy and put
15:22
Speaker 1: Stephen Matt's in the bullpen. That would give the organization
15:25
Speaker 1: a chance to see two starters go start the open
15:29
Speaker 1: or start the season with Polonte and McGreevy and see
15:31
Speaker 1: how they do out of the rotation, and if they
15:34
Speaker 1: do well, great, Guess what those are two spots you
15:38
Speaker 1: don't have to worry about next year if the team flounders,
15:42
Speaker 1: if things don't go hot, and they're in a position
15:44
Speaker 1: to sell at the deadline, and you start looking at
15:47
Speaker 1: guys like Quinn Matthews, you start looking at guys like
15:50
Speaker 1: maybe tink Hens. This is all hypothetically speaking. Then there
15:53
Speaker 1: is the silver lining to having a poor twenty twenty
15:57
Speaker 1: five season is you maybe get a chance to see
15:59
Speaker 1: these pitchy prospects and get a headstart on what that
16:01
Speaker 1: development looks like for twenty twenty six. But I do
16:04
Speaker 1: agree with you, Troy. It is pivotal for the Cardinals
16:06
Speaker 1: to figure out their development issue, and it's pivotal to
16:08
Speaker 1: figure out what they have and their upper systems of
16:11
Speaker 1: pitching prospects, which is why I maintain Mike McGreevey should
16:15
Speaker 1: start thank you all right. Next, I'm doing so good
16:22
Speaker 1: with the technology today, you guys. This is weird, But
16:26
Speaker 1: dare I say getting better? All right? From Scott Plaza,
16:29
Speaker 1: mister plastastic seventeen, I'm like sixty percent sure I said that, right.
16:34
Speaker 1: I'm in with the current roster at this point. I'm
16:36
Speaker 1: willing to accept where the team is at, and I'm
16:38
Speaker 1: allowing myself to get excited for the upcoming season. I
16:41
Speaker 1: expect a competitive year. The only losses were a statistically
16:44
Speaker 1: league average first base and Kittridge that team won eighty
16:47
Speaker 1: three games. There it is, there's that optimism I knew
16:50
Speaker 1: would come around. See we're baseball sickos. We are allowed
16:53
Speaker 1: to believe again. And I think you make a great
16:56
Speaker 1: point here, Scott about the losses. Yes, Paul bid was
17:01
Speaker 1: not I think what anyone would have envisioned him to
17:03
Speaker 1: be offensively in twenty twenty four, and we've talked about that,
17:07
Speaker 1: and Kittridge was invaluable, I think to the organization and
17:10
Speaker 1: to me. The biggest hole the Cardinals are going to
17:12
Speaker 1: have to fill from the pitching side is that setup
17:14
Speaker 1: man role. They're most likely going to have to do
17:15
Speaker 1: it internally. The good news is there seems to be
17:18
Speaker 1: for the first time in a while, significant amount of
17:21
Speaker 1: depth for them to choose from. What I think is
17:24
Speaker 1: maybe going under the radar of some people, maybe even
17:27
Speaker 1: in the organization itself, is Paul Goldschmith's defense at first base.
17:32
Speaker 1: And this is no knock on Wilson Contrara's but what
17:35
Speaker 1: Paul Goldschmidt did defensively at first base for six years
17:39
Speaker 1: was especially in twenty twenty four, when I think we
17:42
Speaker 1: all got so hyped up on the frustrating part of
17:45
Speaker 1: his offense. I think he was kind of an unsung hero. Defensively,
17:48
Speaker 1: I'm a little worried about the defensive makeup of the
17:51
Speaker 1: Cardinals roster overall. So off the top of my head,
17:55
Speaker 1: let's just see how close I am to be an
17:56
Speaker 1: opening day ready if the Cardinal season started today, are
18:00
Speaker 1: out of a third, So you're feeling confident about that. Defensively,
18:02
Speaker 1: you have Mason When at shortstop. Same thing. You're probably
18:05
Speaker 1: starting Nolan Gorman at second base, and you have Wilson
18:08
Speaker 1: Contraras at first base. He's played first base before, but
18:12
Speaker 1: not as an everyday position. So I'm feeling a lot
18:14
Speaker 1: stronger more confident about the left side of the infield
18:17
Speaker 1: than I am the right. The outfield is where it
18:20
Speaker 1: gets a little bit more dicey for me, And when
18:22
Speaker 1: I say a little bit, I mean a lot. You're
18:24
Speaker 1: most likely going to have Brendan Donovan as your left
18:26
Speaker 1: fielder to start the year. If Nolan Gormer is Nolan
18:28
Speaker 1: Gorman is at second base, Dottie can play everywhere. Not
18:30
Speaker 1: really that concerned about him as outfield is true position, no,
18:34
Speaker 1: but he can make any position look like a true position.
18:36
Speaker 1: So that's fine. Jordan Walker in right field, We've talked
18:39
Speaker 1: about it. It's not been the prettiest scene. It's you know,
18:43
Speaker 1: I don't want to give up on him. He's twenty
18:44
Speaker 1: three years old. It still remains to be seen if
18:46
Speaker 1: he can stick there a long term. But you know
18:49
Speaker 1: that you're taking a little bit of a hit. I
18:52
Speaker 1: think defensively, with Jordan Walker in right field, what are
18:57
Speaker 1: you going to do in center field? Because with all
18:59
Speaker 1: the names we've said, we've left out Lars new Bar,
19:01
Speaker 1: and we know the Cardinals want him to play every day.
19:03
Speaker 1: That logically makes him a center fielder, though that's been
19:06
Speaker 1: a position in years past that Alie Marmal and his
19:08
Speaker 1: staff have been felt I don't want to say adamant,
19:11
Speaker 1: but they felt certainly strongly enough to avoid it when
19:14
Speaker 1: they can to not put him in center field. Now
19:17
Speaker 1: they might feel like they have to. And it's not
19:20
Speaker 1: to say that Lars new Bar is not a capable centerfielder.
19:23
Speaker 1: He just profiles much more strongly in the corners and
19:26
Speaker 1: outfield defense is pivotal, especially when you have him mostly
19:29
Speaker 1: pitched to contact pitching staff, which surprise the Cardinals do again.
19:34
Speaker 1: So I'm a little concerned about the defense overall. But Scott,
19:38
Speaker 1: I like what you're thinking. You're right that tam one
19:41
Speaker 1: eighty three games with a very subpar offense, regression years
19:46
Speaker 1: across the board from pretty much every player that needed
19:49
Speaker 1: to step up. You had Wilson Conturer's for half a year.
19:53
Speaker 1: Everyone except Kittridge really is coming back from that bullpen.
19:57
Speaker 1: There's a reason to believe they can contend again. That's
19:59
Speaker 1: all I'm That's all I'm saying. You're allowed to be optimistic.
20:02
Speaker 1: It's February. But I do think you make a good point.
20:05
Speaker 1: They won eighty three games with having an incomplete roster,
20:08
Speaker 1: some depth issues. They certainly didn't have a bench for
20:11
Speaker 1: at least the first half of the year, and for
20:13
Speaker 1: like six weeks they had like three and a half
20:16
Speaker 1: starting pictures. So there's a reason to believe. All I'm saying,
20:21
Speaker 1: all right, we got two more. Who else made the cut?
20:30
Speaker 1: We are looking at? Oh? Did I even share that right?
20:35
Speaker 1: Probably not? Give me a seck. There we go, right
20:43
Speaker 1: after I bragged about being good about technology from light plate.
20:49
Speaker 1: He's cautious he or she I can't tell. It's quite
20:52
Speaker 1: literally a lighthouse cautiously optimistic. I'm excited to see what
20:57
Speaker 1: Jordan Walker, Nolan Gorman, Lars Nubardu, if they can put
21:00
Speaker 1: it all together for a year. I think Wilson at first,
21:03
Speaker 1: if it keeps him healthy, might be the best move
21:05
Speaker 1: of the off season. Low bar, low bar. Indeed, there
21:08
Speaker 1: have not been a lot of moves of the off season,
21:10
Speaker 1: but I like where your head is at because if
21:13
Speaker 1: Wilson Contrera's is healthy, he, in my opinion, immediately becomes
21:17
Speaker 1: your most effective bat. And that I think is really
21:21
Speaker 1: exciting when you think about what he looked like in
21:23
Speaker 1: twenty twenty four, when you look when you think about
21:25
Speaker 1: the offensive, the lack of offensive production for the most
21:29
Speaker 1: of last season, Contrera's is a catalyst of the heart
21:32
Speaker 1: of the order. He has that like he has that
21:35
Speaker 1: energy right you see him coming out, He's mad. There's
21:37
Speaker 1: a reason other teams don't like him. It's because he
21:40
Speaker 1: has that kind of attitude, like few I'm going to
21:42
Speaker 1: do something here, and his teammates respond to that. There
21:46
Speaker 1: I think are valid questions about, again the overall makeup
21:50
Speaker 1: of the lineup, but I do like the lineup that
21:52
Speaker 1: we just went through. In my head. By the way.
21:54
Speaker 1: So that was good. With the offense, I think there's
21:59
Speaker 1: a higher seat lean there certainly than last year, and
22:03
Speaker 1: keeping Wilson healthy and keeping him at first base certainly
22:05
Speaker 1: makes the team better offensively. A concern I have is
22:09
Speaker 1: how much are the Cardinals sacrificing defense to ensure that
22:12
Speaker 1: they score runs. Do they have the pitching staff that
22:15
Speaker 1: can bolster them through that We talked about it being
22:18
Speaker 1: a pitch to contact staff. It definitely is. From the rotation.
22:20
Speaker 1: We have no idea what the bullpen looks like, minus
22:23
Speaker 1: the fact that Helsley will be closing games in the ninth.
22:26
Speaker 1: So I want to also say that I'm cautiously optimistic
22:31
Speaker 1: on how the lineup will work, but I do want
22:36
Speaker 1: to caution the defense. Again. I just feel like, with
22:41
Speaker 1: all this hypeover if the offense can score enough runs
22:43
Speaker 1: and it's justifiable because they didn't last year, is defense
22:47
Speaker 1: going by the wayside? Cardinals certainly hope not? All right? Okay,
22:56
Speaker 1: see that was only scary for the first like twenty
22:58
Speaker 1: minutes of host by yourself. That's all I got. Spring
23:04
Speaker 1: training again starts Monday. We have a fun guest lineup
23:09
Speaker 1: for most of February. Again, we'll be down there in Florida.
23:12
Speaker 1: Trevor will be there at some point. I'll be there
23:13
Speaker 1: for the majority of spring. Guys. I can't sleep. We're
23:16
Speaker 1: about to do it again. For those of you who
23:20
Speaker 1: don't know already, you can like and subscribe to Cardinal
23:23
Speaker 1: Territory on YouTube, and thank you so much for the
23:25
Speaker 1: so many of you that have already. It really does
23:27
Speaker 1: make a difference. And you can find us on Spotify
23:29
Speaker 1: and Apple. Trevor will be back to save us on Monday. Yeah.
23:35
Speaker 1: But hey, you know what I think overall, I think
23:37
Speaker 1: you guys pretty much passed the vibe checks. So hopefully
23:40
Speaker 1: we can carry these good vibes into February and into
23:43
Speaker 1: March and you know baseball, do you guys? We're almost there,
23:47
Speaker 1: all right, I'm Katie Woo again. Trevor Rosenthal's back next week.
23:50
Speaker 1: This is Cardinal Territory. Thank you for watching.