Monday Afternoon GM: Broom Factory

The Cardinals voodoo magic is back this season; since the trade deadline, they are 14-3. The pitching is looking better and the hitters appear a little more consistent. The Cardinals swept the Rockies at home and the Diamondbacks on the road.

After struggling at Colorado the week before, the Cardinals looked very strong in the rematch series. They outscored the Rockies 23-5, which mainly came from a 13-0 win in the finale. Jose Quintana was the worst starter of the series, allowing 2 runs, 2 walks, and 4 hits in 5 innings of work; if that’s the worst of the series, I’ll take it.

The Diamondback series saw similar results in a different method; while the offense was good, the pitching was just behind the previous week. The Cardinals outscored the D’backs 27-12 and allowed more in 1 game (Saturday’s 16-7 win) then they did in the previous series. Miles Mikolas pitched a gem on Friday night, allowing a run on 2 hits and a walk in 8 innings. Albert Pujols and Paul Goldschmidt each hit 2 homers over the weekend, while Nolan Arenado flashed the leather barehand.

Up Next
It’ll be a big week, with 5 at Chicago against the Cubs and 3 at home against the Braves. The Cardinals are 7-4 against the Cubs and 1-3 against the Braves. The Braves are hot coming in, winning 8 of their last 10 and will be taking on the Pirates before heading to St. Louis.

NL Central

The Cardinals have gone from 3.0 back of the Brewers at the trade deadline to 5.0 games ahead and the run differential has gone from +67 to +112. The Brewers have gone 7-11 in the same span and have a run differential of +34. Pundits have said all along that the Brewers have the pitching, but not the bats to win the division and it’s showing now. Let’s check out the remaining series for each team:

The Cardinals have series with contenders in the Braves, Dodgers, Padres, and Brewers with everything else against the bottom of the Central and the Nationals. The Brewers have series with contenders in the Dodgers, Yankees, Mets, and Cardinals; the Giants are borderline and are a hot run away from joining the contenders again. The Rockies in Colorado is not an easy series as the Cardinals found out. Then they have the Diamondbacks twice, the Marlins, the bottom of the Central. I think the edge goes to the Cardinals.

Based off their current winning percentage, they should be 93-69 for the season.

NL Wild Card

The Braves have established themselves as the Wild Card team to beat (for now, if they can’t pass the Mets in the East at 4.0 games back). It’s pretty much 3 teams fighting for the last 2 spots, and none of them are playing all that well. Right now, ESPN is giving the following playoff chances:

The top 4 are pretty much locks at this point. The Brewers have a shot, but they’ll need to play really well to push those odds up. The Giants, and every other team, are pretty much eliminated at this point.

Run Differential
The Cardinals have scored 585 runs (5th in baseball) and allowed 474 (6th in baseball), good for a run differential of +112; that puts them at 4th in the NL and 6th in baseball. Their record should be 72-48 based off run differential, or 3 wins better then they have played. They are on pace for a record of 97-65, easily a playoff team.

After a week of scoring 50 and allowing 17 (for +33), the Cardinals are over +100 for the first time this season and the 6th team to do it this year. The +33 is the biggest jump in 1 week for the team.

Cardinal News
The season of questionable decisions for Yadier Molina continues; after showing up to camp late for an unknown reason, then going to Puerto Rico while injured and having limited contact with the team, the Cardinals added their retiring catcher to the restricted list for a personal issue. That personal issue: the basketball team he owns was about to win their championship. The fanbase is divided on Yadi leaving the team; there is the portion that feel Yadi can do no wrong, while others will criticize every thing he does (although the haters are a smaller segment then the lovers). I’m torn on it; Yadi makes good money to play baseball and the team is making their playoff push. At the same time, I can take a day or week off for whatever reason I want; baseball players are people too and they should be able to take some time for whatever they need or want to do (granted, I don’t get an off-season like athletes do).

The Cardinals called up Ivan Herrera to replace Yadi on the roster; he’ll probably go down after Yadi returns.

There were some questions on what they Cardinals would do after Juan Yepez was ready to come off the IL; that question was answered when he was optioned to Memphis. It was a hard decision, but Brendan Donovan is to critical to the roster with his versatility and Lars Nootbaar has been on a tear recently. The only other option was Corey Dickerson, but the Cardinals have been reluctant to eat his contract this season when he’s played worse.

There weren’t many other roster moves this week. Ryan Helsley left the team for the birth of his daughter; recently acquired JoJo Romero is taking his spot.

Cardinal Rumors
None.

Minor Leagues

• Memphis Redbirds: 59-57 (4th Place)
  • Up Next: vs Charlotte Stone Crabs (47-70)
  • Ben DeLuzio (OF), Aaron Brooks (RHP) activated from IL.
  • Roberto Baldoquin (IF) placed on IL.
• Springfield Cardinals: 55-59 (2nd Place, 2nd Half)
  • Up Next: @ Northwest Arkansas Naturals (47-66)
• Peoria Chief: 48-66 (5th Place, 2nd Half)
  • Up Next: @ Beloit Sky Carp (56-57)
• Palm Beach Cardinals: 56-56 (1st Place, 2nd Half)
  • Up Next: @ St. Lucie Mets (66-47)
  • Omar Sanchez (LHP) promoted from FCL Cardinals
  • Ryan Holgate (OF, see FCL Cardinals), Joshua Baez (OF), Alex Cornwell (RHP) activated from IL.
• FCL Cardinals: 24-28 (4th Place)
  • Tanner Jacobson (RHP), Chandler Arnold (RHP), D.J. Carpenter (RHP), Hunter Hayes (RHP) activated.
  • Ryan Holgate (OF), Angel Cuenca (RHP) demoted from Palm Beach.
• DSL Cardinals: 33-24 (3rd Place)

Rehab Assignments

• Jack Flaherty (RHP, Springfield) – 2 G, 7.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 11 K, 0.78 ERA, 1.14 WHIP
  • Overall – 3 G, 8.0 IP, 5 ER, 10 H, 2 BB, 13 K, 3.56 ERA, 1.50 WHIP
  • No ETA on his return yet, although he and the team are happy with the results.
• Steven Matz (RHP, Memphis) – Matz hasn’t pitched a game yet, even though he’s listed as being on a rehab assignment.

Former Cardinals

• Aledmys Diaz (UT, Astros) was placed on the IL due to a groin issue. He’s played all over the diamond for Houston and is sporting a solid 108 OPS+.
• Jose Godoy (C, Pirates) was optioned to the minors because Tyler Heineman (C) was reinstated from the IL; he ended the weekend by being designated for assignment. Both former Cardinals minor leaguers have been on the active roster as the backup catcher for Pittsburgh, although Godoy will probably see his MLB time this season end unless he’s claimed again.
• Kevin Herget (RHP, Rays) could make his MLB debut soon; he was added to the active roster with Tampa Bay. The former Cardinal draft pick made it to Triple A in 2019, but couldn’t get past that. He spent a year in the Cardinals front office before giving pitching another shot; it looks like he’s close to making it pay off.
• Marcell Ozuna (OF, Braves) continues to have off the field issues in Atlanta. After being suspended for a domestic incident a few years ago, Ozuna was arrested last week for a DUI. He was back in the lineup on Sunday.
• Stephen Piscotty (OF, Athletics) has been released after another disappointing season. Piscotty was traded to Oakland to be closer to his mother before she passed. He should catch on with another team on a minor league deal.
• Nick Plummer (OF, Mets) has been designated for assignment in New York and outrighted him to Triple A. He was signed as an MLB free agent in the off season after the Cardinals didn’t add him to the 40-man roster. In a small sample size, he struggled against MLB pitching.

To Retire or Keep Going
If you’d have told me back in May or June that Pujols would go on a run, I’d have called you crazy. The Cardinals didn’t follow what the Dodgers did with the former superstar; only allow him to hit against left handed pitching. The Cardinals have gotten better about his usage against righties and the splits are still very prevalent; but they way he’s been playing is causing him to get into 4-5 games per week.

If you look at his batting average for the season as a whole, you’ll see him hovering around the Mendoza line with the occasional spike.

Just before the All Star break, you see his average gradually going north. Then he makes a big push this month.

At August 5 and 6, he’s sitting at his low point for the month at .228; as of yesterday, he’s hitting .273 for the season. His slugging for August is the same.

His low point is the same dates, where he’s slugging .398; he’s jumped up to .515 for the season. His power surge has moved his career home run total to 692; this is 4 behind Alex Rodriguez for 4th all time, and it’s 8 from that magic number of 700. This timing should be noteworthy; I noted already about the Cardinals run since the trade deadline and Pujols’ hot streak is pretty much coinciding with the pitching acquisitions.

This revitalized Pujols is bringing up a question: should he retire? What if Albert ends the season at 695/696 or at 699? Should he play until he hit’s both of these milestones.

While fans are clamoring for another season, Pujols is not. He said he doesn’t care about the numbers.

I believe he will be done after the season, no matter his home run total. It’s the right time and he should go out on top; no one wants to see him play another season like many of his years in Anaheim. But there is one thing that will guarantee he retires: a World Championship. Let’s hope he goes out on top.