Author Topic: Around Baseball (Read 405786 times)

Deeg · « **Reply #20805 on:** May 07, 2023, 08:12:03 pm »

Willson pissed a lot of people off with those “I always wanted to be a Cardinal” comments, but I feel for him. Guy doesn’t deserve to be hung out to dry by his own organization like this. And, I might add, it’s something Theo or Jed would never do.

guest405 · « **Reply #20806 on:** May 07, 2023, 10:11:16 pm »

Screw him.

The grass isnt always greener on the other side.

He's learning the Cardinal way.

CurtOne · « **Reply #20807 on:** May 07, 2023, 10:24:45 pm »

It seemed that Willson really wanted to remain a Cub. All his actions and words before the season ended indicated he wanted to stay in Chicago. Anything he said on signing with St. Louis was Bull Durham speak. He would have said the said similar words anywhere he landed.

Reb · « **Reply #20808 on:** May 07, 2023, 10:52:51 pm »

Hard to think of why Cards would be so public about Contreras shortcomings re. working with pitching staff——unless they didn’t like what they heard privately from Contreras when talking to him about the matter.

Kind of lighting a fire under him, maybe?

Basically, seems like Cards have put Contreras under DH House Arrest for a couple of weeks unless and until he shapes up. Do his homework properly. Listen to his pitching staff. Have a Pow-Wow with the pitching coaches. Maybe bring Yady in to give him a crash course in Catching 101 For Dummies.

You sign a catcher for FIVE years at that money and find out he’s really a DH??? Hard to believe this sticks.

Something tells me that this will blow over and Contreras is going to be their primary catcher again.

Reb · « **Reply #20809 on:** May 08, 2023, 12:59:12 am »

Looking At The Bright Side Department.

From St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

“If I’m DH more,” Contreras said, “I’ll have more time to sit with the pitching staff and talk about the game.”

Ron · « **Reply #20810 on:** May 08, 2023, 08:13:06 am »

Here is a long section from The Atheletic with Mozeliak discussing Contreras (I've highlighted some portions). While he keeps saying he has not lost confidence in Willson, he does not give the impression to me that he is wildly optimistic Contreras can become the kind of catcher they expect.

“Obviously the Cardinals were used to one guy behind the plate for close to two decades,” Mozeliak said. “The nuances of that position, maybe very subtle, are what a lot of our pitchers were used to. What we were seeing was a lack of confidence. Normally, you would say, why didn’t you address this in spring training? But in spring training, it’s so different in terms of what people are trying to work on. Pitchers are going a couple of innings. It doesn’t really count.

“With this, we’ve noticed a lot of puzzling trends we know we need to fix. We know we need to address it. … We just decided to do it head on, put it out there. Do we think we’ve seen Willson catch his last game? No. But this is going to take a little time to get him to where we feel he understands the expectations of what this role is for us.”

The Cardinals were accustomed to a certain preparation level and perhaps spoiled by nearly two decades of Yadier Molina. While they knew they could not replace Molina’s presence — and were not trying to — they perhaps underestimated the difficulty the staff would experience adjusting to a new catcher.

“What I don’t want to have happen is a finger-point, this is all Willson’s fault. It’s not,” Mozeliak said. “There are many parts of our team right now that are not performing to what we expected. I do think the nuances of the catching side, we haven’t had to spend a whole lot of energy thinking about it because of what Yadi did for us. You know that saying, you sometimes feel like you had a coach on the field? That was Yadi. That’s how we thought. Even though you might have a game plan, Yadi had the ability to allow that to evolve during a game, real-time decision-making.”

The debut of the pitch clock this season, which adds another component to game-calling and pitch selection, further complicates the matter. Pitchers feel they don’t have ample time to shake off pitches they disagree with. The pitchers, Contreras and coaching staff have yet to find an in-game solution to alleviate the issue.

“When you ask, where is this on the pitchers’ side, the difference is, this year you have a pitch clock,” Mozeliak explained. “In the past, if hypothetically you were my catcher and you keep asking me to throw a slider, I could just step off. Eventually, if you wanted to burn one of your mound visits, we could talk it over. But the clock has changed the dynamic of the interaction. It does speed things up. We need to come up with a strategy of how the communication between our catcher and pitchers can become more seamless or candidly, more timely, to allow if they’re not on the same page.”

Mozeliak said he still believes in Contreras’ ability to catch. But he also acknowledged the beginning of the team’s five-year commitment to Contreras has not started well.

“We’ve had a lot of face-to-face meetings together,” Mozeliak said. “We’ve assured him, we haven’t lost confidence in him. What we have to do is come up with a strategy that works for all parties.”

“You’ve got to have confidence with people in certain roles, that’s what it comes down to,” Mozeliak said. “We’ll be patient, but look, again, this has not gone how we would have thought. You’ve got to remind yourself it’s a long season, but it’s certainly gotten off on the wrong foot. … I do (still believe in Contreras). But some of the things we expect, some of the things about the game we’ve become accustomed to, I think he realizes it’s going to require more preparation. Now the question is, can that happen? I guess we’ll have to find out.”

The Cardinals are off to a disastrous start. They entered play Sunday on the verge of being swept for the third straight series. They have lost eight straight games and their 10-24 record is the worst in the National League. Their .294 winning percentage is higher than only Kansas City’s and Oakland, who both sit at .235.

St. Louis took a series of risks last offseason. The team did not address their rotation. The Cardinals bet on their internal depth and young talent. And they signed Contreras, believing he would adjust to a new pitching staff over the course of a couple of months.

So far, not much has worked out.

“When you make offseason decisions, you’re hoping they play out and work,” Mozeliak said. “But there are a lot of things that just haven’t gone right for us. Nobody cares if you’re having bad luck.

“The good thing is, we have time on our side. Hopefully, we can all be patient enough to work through this.”

https://theathletic.com/4496561/2023/05/07/cardinals-john-mozeliak-willson-contreras/

I sounds like the Cardinals are looking for Contreras to do the things that the Cubs appreciate so much in Yan Gomes (and even Barnhart), managing the game on the field, working with the pitchers to make real time adjustments based on what the catcher sees from hitters, etc. Maybe after eight years catching in the major leagues, Contreras can learn to do that now. I'm guessing the Cubs tried to work with him on those things without success, but maybe he's more motivated now or the Cardinals will figure out some way to teach him? It will be impressive if he can accomplish this so late in his career. I admit I'm skeptical.

CurtOne · « **Reply #20811 on:** May 08, 2023, 09:03:32 am »

“We’ve assured him, we haven’t lost confidence in him. What we have to do is come up with a strategy that works for all parties.”

“You’ve got to have confidence with people in certain roles, that’s what it comes down to,” Mozeliak said.

Doubletalk anyone?

Can we address, sir, that your idea of adding a star pitcher was Steve Matz?

Cub fans, Contreras is a scapegoat here. They've done it with former Cubs. Dexter Fowler wasn't what they thought he was. Press kept referring to him as "former Cub" when things were bad. Lester was a great addition when things were going well, an "ex-Cub" if he struggled. Heyward was a god in St. Louis, a piece of sh*t when he signed with the Cubs (in the St. Louis media.) They never refer to Lou Brock as an ex-Cub. And remember Lackey, a pitcher that did well for them, and then came to the Cubs and helped us in '16? He's a pariah in St. Louis now. Mozeliak and the St. Louis media are "homers" and will attack anything that they feel diminishes their beloved birds on a bat.

Deeg · « **Reply #20812 on:** May 08, 2023, 09:16:46 am »

Javy Baez has now gone six games without a K for the first time in his career.

Also leads all SS in OAA.

Reb · « **Reply #20813 on:** May 08, 2023, 05:15:50 pm »

Quote from: CurtOne on May 08, 2023, 09:03:32 am

…….Cub fans, Contreras is a scapegoat here. They've done it with former Cubs…..Mozeliak and the St. Louis media are "homers" and will attack anything that they feel diminishes their beloved birds on a bat.

Curt- If Cards had signed Contreras from, let’s say, the Nationals (instead of the Cubs), are you saying Contreras would still be catching and this catching brouhaha would not have happened?

CurtOne · « **Reply #20814 on:** May 08, 2023, 06:25:10 pm »

To an extent, yes. For baseball fans around here, fixing the blame on a "Cub" would be very popular. If Contreras had come from elsewhere, he might still be blamed just as anyone following Molina would have been, but coming from the Cubs makes him too easy a target. Molina made a statement supporting Contreras which must have been regarded as fake news around St. Louis. Cardinal pitchers were getting hammered those first few games Contreras was out. Mozillak is CHA.

Deeg · « **Reply #20815 on:** May 08, 2023, 06:35:29 pm »

It’s interesting to speculate on whether Contreras is getting scapegoated more because he’s an ex-Cub - that could factor into a pass the buck mindset from ownership and management. But the larger issue is that what they’re doing is totally classless. Why are they airing their dirty laundry in the press? And why are they poisoning their relationship with a player they just committed to for 5 years? It may give them some instant gratification but it seems pretty self-defeating.

guest405 · « **Reply #20816 on:** May 08, 2023, 07:55:54 pm »

Makes me wonder if the Cubs didnt want him and nobody wanted to trade for him and now the Cards have soured on him if he's the issue.

Chris27 · « **Reply #20817 on:** May 13, 2023, 05:49:17 pm »

Cardinals score the tying and winning runs in the 9th on a throw to first that would've ended the game.

CurtOne · « **Reply #20818 on:** May 14, 2023, 11:12:33 am »

AMAZING! The Cardinals teach this guy how to catch within a week!
https://www.mlb.com/news/willson-contreras-to-return-to-catcher-role-for-cardinals?partnerId=zh-20230514-909851-mlb-1-A&qid=1026&utm_id=zh-20230514-909851-mlb-1-A&bt_ee=T6T1SWqNfXRGA%2FTOPX1sedJWOfZnfiVIfwTV7FykLXbucETn9v%2B%2BAhxvc%2BLVSDXM&bt_ts=1684067874720

Deeg · « **Reply #20819 on:** May 15, 2023, 08:57:50 pm »

Ohtani came within a double of hitting for the cycle as the starting (and winning) pitcher tonight, and O’s fans booed when he stopped at first on his last hit. Gonna go out on a limb and say no one has ever done that in baseball history.

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