Enrique and I played some “pepper” again this year with Daniel of C70 At The Bat: Check it out. In exchange for some thoughts on the Brewers’ upcoming season over at C70, Daniel provided some great answers to questions we had about the Cardinals heading into the 2015 campaign. You can follow Daniel’s work on the Cardinals at @C70 on Twitter. -NM
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TBB:
Losing young outfielder Oscar Taveras in a car crash was a horrible thing for all of baseball. How has the fan base dealt with that tragedy? Will the Cardinals wear a patch or something in his honor this year?
C70:
There’s no doubt that losing Taveras was a blow that came out of nowhere last October. There’s still that sense of unreality about it, especially when you see pictures from last year with him in them or talk about some of the playoff highlights, which included his home run at Busch. After hearing about his amazing talent for years as he was coming through the system, we aren’t going to get to see him fulfill that and that’s the least sad thing about the whole situation.
The fan base did a lot of mourning at the time, but time does tend to heal, especially when it’s not a situation you are directly in the middle of. I had a chance to talk to both Jamie Pogue, the Cardinals’ bullpen catcher, and Tyler Lyons this January as part of my podcast and they both said that spring training would refresh those wounds as they finally were all together with Taveras missing. I think they’ve pushed past that now that spring training is well underway, but I’m sure there’s still that occasional memory or thought toward him.
The Cardinals are planning to wearing a patch this season, a black circle with OT in the middle. No number, because the more active memorial will be the fact that his very good friend Carlos Martinez, who was extremely broken up after Taveras’s death, will wear 18 this year and I assume every year going forward. The Cardinals are also going to build a ballpark for kids in Taveras’s home town in the Dominican Republic and name it after him.
TBB:
Picking up Jason Heyward and Jordan Walden from the Braves was a nifty get for the Redbirds. Do you think Heyward will produce enough offensively to make a major impact?
C70:
Given that Cardinal right fielders last year were among the worst in baseball, there’s no doubt that Heyward would be an upgrade even if he played at a fraction of what he’s capable of. Even his numbers last year with the Braves, though disappointing to him (11 HR and a .735 OPS) would be a big help to an offense that struggled last year.
However, the general thought is that Heyward has the potential to be so much more. He’s said that he changed his approach to be a leadoff hitter in Atlanta and he wasn’t ever completely comfortable with it. He won’t be leading off in St. Louis–Matt Carpenter is likely to hold that role for a long time to come–and the hope is that will help him settle in to a more powerful role. It seems likely he’ll start the year in the second spot between Carpenter and Matt Holliday and that could make for some tough first innings for NL pitchers.
TBB:
How do you feel about the Cards’ rotation depth? They could be vulnerable in that department as are the Brewers.
C70:
The rotation depth is pretty solid for the Cardinals, if you ask me. You’ve got the main four that could be one of the best in baseball in Adam Wainwright, Lance Lynn, Michael Wacha and John Lackey. The fifth spot will most likely be Carlos Martinez, who has amazing stuff but still needs to fully harness it. He’s come to camp pretty focused, partly because of the loss of Taveras, and the club really wants him to be in that last rotation spot.
That said, Jaime Garcia is in camp and is looking healthy and fairly solid. When Garcia is healthy–and those times are few and far between–he gives you a dominating lefty who can shut down any lineup. The problem is, do you gamble on his health and put him in the fifth spot, moving Martinez to the pen again? The pen has a lot of arms as well and you run the risk of never getting Martinez to being the starter folks think he could be. Garcia has a $9.5 million contract for this year, though, and with his injury history you might not want him in the irregular work of a long man in the pen. Plus the Cards have a lot of lefty relievers to choose from.
And if THAT wasn’t enough, then you have Marco Gonzales, who made his debut last year and won two games in the playoffs. He’s a very capable starter and, indeed, has had the best spring so far, giving up no runs in six innings over two starts. He’s a good bit like Wacha with an outstanding changeup, but he throws from the left side. Many years and many teams, he’d be a lock to start on the big club, but odds are he’ll get a little more seasoning at Memphis.
That doesn’t count the other possible arms that are quality but on a lower level than these guys. Folks like Lyons (who is a personal favorite since he wears #70) and prospect Tim Cooney. The Cardinals have depth, though that depth is likely to be tested given the health questions that can be raised about many of their starters.
TBB:
What are your predictions for St. Louis this year…cruising to another NL Central title?
C70:
The Cards haven’t cruised to a division title since 2009, I don’t think, and even that wasn’t as easy it it appeared. The last two years, they’ve had to rally to overcome clubs like Pittsburgh and Milwaukee and then hold on late. I do think they’ll win the division again–I think many of the teams that were close to them took a slight step back while they improved–but I wouldn’t bet on them winning by more than five games, I don’t think.
TBB:
Are the Cubs contenders this year? Their improvement seems over-blown at this stage.
C70:
Make no mistake, the Cubs are coming. The folks at Viva El Birdos have a Game of Thrones-like parody going and the Cubs are the White Walkers in that scenario. They are going to be a clear danger to the division. However, a present danger? Like you, I have trouble believing that. We do live in an era where worst to first situations happen quite often, but I don’t think all their moves will net them 20 wins this year, which is about what it’d take for them to win the division. Will they be better? Yes. Will they be a factor in the race? Probably. I just think they have a lot of young talent that still needs to season. Next year, I’m not sure I’ll be as sanguine about things!
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Thanks again to Daniel for these thoughtful, thorough responses. The Cardinals’ recent NL Central success only seems like dominance; that’s a good thing to remember. Hopefully Milwaukee will make ’em sweat a little at the least in 2015.
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