Comments on: Failure to Launch

By: riotmute

riotmute — Wed, 18 May 2011 17:16:16 +0000

Kozma has been called up? Wow..

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 18 May 2011 17:11:54 +0000

Fox Sports Midwest just tweeted that Kozma has been called up and Punto put on the DL. Guess we’ll see what the Cards have got there. Never thought I would say this, but thankfully Schumaker is only a few rehab games away…or so they say.

By: Lou Schuler

Lou Schuler — Wed, 18 May 2011 16:14:06 +0000

Great point. When I looked at the list before I posted, I was struck by how many names I hadn’t seen since draft day.

By: Felonius_Monk

Felonius_Monk — Wed, 18 May 2011 15:32:42 +0000

To be fair, though, most of the guys who were considered likely first rounders in the midst of the Kozma-range of that draft have been busts too. With the exception of Stanton and Freeman, the majority of “alternative” picks to Porcello and Kozma wouldn’t have provided us with any value. It was a pretty exceptionally mediocre draft class.

By: Gruntosaurus

Gruntosaurus — Wed, 18 May 2011 13:02:24 +0000

I will add to this that when he’s focused, he “looks” good on defense. Movements are smooth (I saw him start a double play in ABQ that was poetry in motion) and he gets to things. Unfortunately, he doesn’t always look good, and I wonder about focus. Wonder if a sports psychologist would help him?

Of course, there’s still this little problem that he can’t hit.

By: ron ferch

ron ferch — Wed, 18 May 2011 12:05:12 +0000

I love Dirty Dan but if he is the best out of your 2007 draft….FAIL!!!

By: Lou Schuler

Lou Schuler — Wed, 18 May 2011 11:57:54 +0000

The 2007 draft was an odd one for the Cards. I don’t know if this is correct, but when I read post-draft interviews w. Luhnow and others, I got the impression that the Cards didn’t necessarily draft the guys they had at the top of their boards. Instead, they got guys they wanted to draft later but were afraid others would grab before they got the chance.

My working hypothesis is that the Cards were so happy w. the 2005 and 2006 drafts that they were overconfident going into ’07.

I think everyone would like to see a do-over of the ’07 draft. Porcello aside, by the time they drafted Kopp in the 2nd round, Mike Stanton and Freddie Freeman were still on the board.

It’s crazy to think that a guy like Descalso — a nice player and potential MLB-average 2nd baseman — is the best player to come out of a draft in which you have the 18th overall pick and 4 picks in the top 100.

By: Indiana Cardinal

Indiana Cardinal — Wed, 18 May 2011 11:19:03 +0000

By no means am I supporting the original draft choice, although I seem to recall that some were commending the Cards for picking him immediately before the Blue Jays, who were rumored to be set to pick him.

The only point to think about is that if he can play in the majors at $414000 versus say Theriot at $3.3 million, Shu at $2.7 million or even Punto at $750000 he has some value even if he is the second utility IF, provided he can be a good fielder and hit like a utility IF, e.g. Punto.

By: bc

bc — Tue, 17 May 2011 23:29:12 +0000

I’ve always liked Kozma, probably cause so many others don’t. His defensive stats in the minors compare favorably to Brendan Ryan’s minors defensive stats. I think he’s got the defensive chops to play SS/2B in the majors, probably as a utility guy. I expect him to get another 500PAs in Memphis next year and then perhaps make the big club the next year (2013) if has eked his OPS back to .700 next year.

By: JDod

JDod — Tue, 17 May 2011 22:51:08 +0000

Greene has demonstrated when given regular at bats at every level and time to adjust he will deliver offensively. He has very good range but throws get off the mark at times and lets the ball play him too much. I say move Kozma to 2nd or trade him to clear room, keep Greene and give him 500 ab’s.