I hope it’s not true that the St. Louis Cardinals went to a casino, because if it is — wow
I sure hope the rumors that the St. Louis Cardinals who ignited a COVID-19 outbreak in the team’s clubhouse by taking a field trip to a casino turn out to be untrue.
I don’t want to convict anyone of a crime for which they haven’t been proven guilty. But losing your starting catcher, Yadier Molina, your starting shortstop, Paul DeJong, starting pitcher Carlos Martinez as well as two useful relievers, your backup shortstop and your top right-handed pinch hitter is pretty devastating for the Cardinals’ post-season chances. If this was a lapse of judgment as opposed to an accident, it was a monumental.
The Cardinals rely on Molina for a lot more than his ability to hit and his skill at controlling the running game. He’s a very important on the field leader for the pitchers and, over the past decade, when he hasn’t been behind the plate it shows in the hurlers’ statistics. So, losing Yadi is a bummer. But I’m more worried about DeJong at this point. The only legitimate shortstop on the active roster right now is Edmundo Sosa, who is also out with COVID-19. That likely means the Cardinals are going to have to slide Tommy Edman over to short and put poor-fielding veteran Matt Carpenter back in the field at third.
Edman has played all three outfield spots in the big leagues as well as second and third base. But he hasn’t logged an inning at short. He did start 231 games at short in the minors. But, obviously, there is a big difference between performing against minor league hitters and playing at the highest level. Especially when Edman will get virtually no help on the left side of the infield from Carpenter who seems to have resigned himself to taking advantage of the designated hitter being added to the National League this season.
On the bright side for the bullpen, the Cardinals perennial top prospect Alex Reyes is healthy and ready to make a fourth run at sticking on the active roster. While it’s fair to be pessimistic about his prospect of doing so, it’s better to take a shot at in in this lost season than in more normal times when a division title, pennant and potential World Series berth are on the line. I’m still rooting for the kid. It would be awesome to see him have a spectacular couple of months and work him back into the picture for 2021.
Running out of patience with Carlos Martinez
While I give Molina and DeJong the benefit of the doubt about the origin of their infection, my patience is starting to run out for the enigmatic pitcher Martinez.
When I heard the news that seven Cardinals players were infected with the coronavirus, my initial thought was “Carlos Martinez and which six others?” Why? Because the guy brings drama with him everywhere he goes. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of his talent. But it’s amazing to me that Martinez can’t find any consistency with the velocity and movement he has on his pitches. He can’t master his mechanics and repeat his delivery, so every offering is an adventure and he can’t throw enough strikes to dominate batters. I also think he’s failed to prepare his body, which has led to shoulder problems.
When he signed his current five-year, $51 million contract, it looked like it might turn out to be a tremendous bargain. But right now it looks like a bust to have to pay the guy a guaranteed $11.7 million next year and as if his $17-million option for 2022 and his $18-million option for 2023 seem like they have about as much chance of becoming reality as me winning the lottery.
It may be that Martinez was an innocent bystander and he did nothing wrong to get himself put back on the shelf for an undetermined amount of time. But he needs to straighten his act out or else his time with the Cardinals — or in the big leagues, for that matter — might come to a premature end.