The St. Louis Cardinals rank 24th in home runs. They rank 18th in slugging. A poor week (like the one they’ve already started) could plummet these rankings even lower.
This is a team that lacked offensive punch before the trading deadline.
And if you think Brandon Moss was going to help the problem, then he’s got other news for you:
The one to left-center (on Saturday), that’s one of the balls I wouldn’t even question before. It’s 10 rows deep. In the past, it’s gone. It’s kind of a buzzkill when it gets caught at the wall. I know that I did everything right on that swing. This year it hasn’t been a homer. Next year, it’s a no-doubter.
I did not fabricate that quote from Brandon Moss. It’s currently in a Derrick Goold article on STLToday and you can verify it for yourself.
The man that the Cardinals traded a top 100 MLB prospect for to come in a shore up the offense in 2015 isn’t so sure that he’s ready to be that dude.
He’s even pretty candid on why:
Asked how much of his swing-mechanic work related to the hip, Moss was blunt. “All of it,” said Moss, who has hit around .200 since last summer’s midpoint. “It was definitely a battle just to be consistent and to take a consistent swing. Definitely all of that was attributed to the hip. The hip hasn’t bothered me since mid-May. It hasn’t even really gotten tight. … I like the ball down, but it’s like I kept fouling it off, fouling it off, pulling it away, pulling it away. It’s not that they don’t look good to hit, it’s that the body won’t let you.”
So. Um.
Was all this ‘real talk’ on the table when Mo was looking to deal for Moss at the trade deadline? Sure, I’m reading in between the lines a bit here, but these quotes indicate a player that’s trying to work through an injury with his focus on being his best self in 2016.
Meanwhile the Cardinals have the best record in baseball in 2015. And desperately need some pop. In 2015.
At the time of the trade, I defended it. Moss is under control for 2016 for the Cardinals and there is no guarantee that Rob Kaminsky is going to be a difference maker in the majors.
But after this article?
I’m just not sure why the Cardinals would give up a pretty good prospect for someone that doesn’t seem all that convinced that he can give the team what it needs now – when that need CLEARLY has been established all season long.
Maybe this is a slow play. Maybe he’s got high standards. Maybe this will all work out just fine.
But at the moment, the Cardinals still have trouble scoring runs. And the cavalry appears to not be coming down from the horizon.
Photo: FOX Sports
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