No words to describe what the organization did to it’s best homegrown position player of the last 10 years.
On to the DFR!
Memphis 4, Round Rock 13
- Shane Robinson went 1-for-4.
- Matt Carpenter went 1-for-4 with a 3B.
- Aaron Luna went 1-for-4 with a HR.
- Bryan Anderson (RBI) and Adron Chambers (2B) went 2-for-4.
- Blaine Boyer was roughed up over 4.2 IP. He gave up 8 R (6 ER) on 9 H and 2 BB. He struckout 1.
- Cory Rauschenberger threw 1.1 IP with 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB and 1 K.
- Rich Rundles only surrendered 1 H but walked 2 and gave up 4 UER while recording 2 outs. He struckout 1.
- Bryan Augenstein threw 1.1 IP with 1 H.
Springfield 5, Arkansas 1
- Ryan Jackson went 3-for-5 with 2 2Bs and 3 RBI.
- Alex Castellanos went 1-for-4 with a HR and 2 RBI.
- Charles Cutler and Zach Zack Cox went 2-for-4.
- Chris Swauger and Daryl Jones went 1-for-4.
- Jose Garcia went 1-for-3 with 2 R.
- John Gast threw a gym gem, only giving up 3 H and a BB in 8 IP. Arkansas scored 1 ER on a solo HR and he struckout 1.
- Kevin Thomas pitched the ninth, giving up a H, BB and recording a K.
Muckdogs 1, Staten Island 10
- Garrett Wittels went 1-for-5.
- Joseph Bergman went 2-for-4 with a 2B.
- David Medina went 1-for-3 with a HR and RBI.
- Virgil Hill went 1-for-4.
- Roberto Reyes went 2-for-4 with 2 2Bs.
- Nicholas Martini and Cesar Valera went 1-for-4.
- Jose Almarante took the loss as he was tagged for 7 ER on 8 H and 1 BB. He struckout 2 over 3.2 IP.
- Javier Avendano threw 1.1 IP, walking 3 and striking out 3.
- Eric Binder gave up 2 H, 2 ER on 2 BB and 1 K in 1 IP.
- Kevin Jacob got 2 outs but walked 4 for 1 ER to go along with 1 K.
- Adam Bileckyj gave up 2 H and had 2 K in 1.1 IP.
- Manuel De La Cruz finished off this beating with a perfect inning and 2 K.
Riverbandits 6, Peoria 2
- Kolten Wong went 2-for-5 with a 2B.
- Michael Swinson and Oscar Taveras went 2-for-4 with a 2B.
- Victor Sanchez went 1-for-4.
- Cody Stanley went 1-for-3.
- Patrick Elkins went 1-for-4 with a 2B.
- Ryan Copeland threw 7 IP wit 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB and 6 K.
- Dean Kiekhefer picked up 2 IP with 1 H and 1 K.
Entries (RSS)
Gast must be really strong (hee! hee!). I am sure Yadier Molina would take exception to his ommission in your initial statement.
You mean that Yadier Molina with the career OPS+ of 85?
Yes, that Molina. The guy who is the best defensive catcher in the game.
Molina has had the better career so far. Their offensive ceilings do not compare however.
another strong start by copeland. will be interesting to see if it keeps up as he moves up.
agreed, his k to walk ratio is still best on the team. and he had another quick outing with his pitches moving like crazy.
Rasmus may have been the Cardinal’s ” best homegrown position player of the last 10 years”, but I don’t think he would have ever put it all together for us. His baserunning was horrible for someone with his speed. His instincts in the field were sad for someone with his background (a coach’s son). Most of the time with a bat in his hand, he looked like he was still in a 8-9 year old coach pitch league and expected the ball to hit his bat. He foolishly ignored the people with experience in the organization and was a constant thorn in LaRussa’s side because of his lack of baseball smarts. He has ever advantage an athlete needs to be great except for a brain so I’m not going to cry over this trade. Maybe he puts it together, maybe not but atleast it isn’t at the expense of the rest of the team. His lack of team play was bad. Maybe this was because he was the “saviour of the organization” and felt entitled. He never did the little things that helps the team. he wouldn’t sacrafice his self for the team, it was an all me attitude all the time.
This trade gives us a better chance of winning the central this season and get into the playoffs. After getting into the post season, anything can happen. We have a very good offense and now our pitching is alot stronger.
+1000
Baseball is more than just numbers when it comes to winning.
I’m not going to get into the Rasmus vs. TLR debate, it’s been beaten to death. I don’t care what the reasons are, the whole reason I follow prospects is so one day when we have a young star, I can say, yeah, I’ve been follwing this kid’s career since he was in Rookie Ball. I don’t care what the reasons are, it will be a long time before we have someone with Rasmus’ potential, it sucks he’s never going to realize it here and that would be the case no matter what.
I agree with pretty much all of that, except when you said it will be a long time until we have another player with his potential. I might be in the minority here, but I think it’s possible we’re witnessing the early stages of it right now, as Oscar Taveras, young for his league, continues to completely murder low A pitching. Granted Rasmus put up an amazing season at AA as a 19 year old, and I doubt Taveras makes it that far next season.
Rasmus was 20 and turnede 21 when he was in AA
Couldn’t have said it any better!!
Taveras turned 19 in June while playing at the Quad Cities. Rasmus turned 19 in August of 2005, while he was playing at Johnson City. So, Taveras is ahead of the game so far in that respect. I have no clue what the overall opinion is on Taveras, but so far, so good.
Umm…..Shelby Miller and Carlos Martinez?
You didn’t say position player.
Adams? Taveras? Possibly and hopefully sooner than you think…..
I don’t mind the trade but I basically totally disagree with all of this.
Especially:
“His baserunning was horrible for someone with his speed.”
He was the best baserunner on the team IMO, and generally very good at it indeed. In fact the analysis would bear that out – in Fangraph’s running value stat, he’s been consistently excellent since he came into the league. On a team of poor runners, he was head and shoulders above the rest.
I’m like you. I don’t think it was a national tragedy we witnessed yesterday. Still, outside the local St. Louis media, the trade has almost universally been evaluated negatively in terms of what the Cardinals gave up and what they gained. People outside of St Louis (and perhaps a little more removed and objective about the evaluation) are scratching their heads over this one.
The following comment from Keith Law on MLB Trade Rumors is pause for thought:
“The price the Cardinals paid to acquire Jackson and bullpen help was “just too high,” according to ESPN.com’s Keith Law, who suggests St. Louis’ internal emphasis is on manager Tony La Russa, not the players.”
I’m not a big numbers person. I have no statistical knowledge and it’s hard for me to understand the game that way. I’ve never based what I think of a player or their value by numbers (I’m not knocking your use of them or your knowledge of the game because of your use of statistics). My view of Rasmus and his baserunning is from my personal view. I can’t remember the last time he went 1st to 3rd on a single to right. He never pushed for the extra base and it seemed he just never could read the ball off the bat. He never moved runners along on the basepaths. Any sac flys were by mistake. It just wasn’t something he would do. I could be wrong but it’s just my view of him. I was a big fan and will always be a fan just because of his potential but I lost faith in him. It wasn’t just one thing but the combination of things. I never thought he was lazy. I never thought he wasn’t trying. I just lost faith in him as a Cardinal. I don’t think he will ever be a team player, I don’t think he will ever be a clutch hitter, and I don’t think he will ever be a player to build a team around. I think he will be a good player with great tools but never a great player. We have had good players that did the little things in the game and are remembered for that. We have had great players that did the little things in the game and are remembered for doing that. It’s the Cardinal way. Rasmus never played that way in my view.
I had the exact opposite view of his baserunning (stats aside) – excellent at going 1st to 3rd or scoring from 2nd, and very rarely gave up outs by getting thrown out on the bases (like Pujols and Molina do all the time).
He was/is a 5 tool prospect. He simply isn’t a 5 tool player. The arm has proven subpar. The speed, albeit available, is underutilized. The OBP tool is sketchy. The power is streaky. The defense is there IMO, but is still developing (Edmonds didn’t win his 1st GG until age 27).
I think in the end Colby will be a very solid 3-4 tool player. There is a lot of value in that, especially if he can stick in center. However, baseball is generally a win-now sport. Nobody talks about the Royals’ farm system when the Yankee/Red Sox game is on.
I agreed with you until you described him as the “savior of the organization”. Who called him that? I don’t think Rasmus ever felt “entitled”, he just wanted to fit in. But LaRussa and some other coaches, along with Ankiel and Chris Duncan were calling him “Luhnow’s Boy” as soon as he made the team. This was according to the StL media who heard it themselves. LaRussa made it a toxic situation from the very start and wanted him gone three years ago. All it took was a two month slump and TLR got his way. LaRussa is great at keeping his agendas hidden until the perfect opportunity presents itself. Funny that as soon as he heard about Rasmus’ contract extension talks, he had to go and spout off to the media about how CR is uncoachable. Well played, TLR. And he’s smart enough to suck up to Pujols and Molina so that he always has the players’ support when he decides to pick a fight with a lesser player. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the Cardinals played their best this year when Tony was suffering from the shingles and couldn’t be his usual red-ass self.
You disqualified yourself with this statement: “His baserunning was horrible for someone with his speed.”
Rasmus was not a particularly good base “stealer,” but for all his faults (and he had some), if you could not recognize that Ramus was an elite baserunner (he may have been the best player going from 1st to home on a double that I’ve ever seen), then, I’m sorry to say, you are a poor judge of baseball ability.
As a sidenote – Ryan Jackson only has 2 hitless games since 6/26. He is really trying to convince everyone he can be that SS of the future for the Cards and I pray that he can be. His D is so damn smooth it would be a pleasure to watch him every night.
I’ll take it.
Yep. I think I’d take him RIGHT NOW, as is, over who we have at shortstop in St Louis.
Yeah. Holy hell is Theriot f’ing pathetic defensively.
Aaron Luna: A guy that has seemingly been undervalued. He can provide a decent RH stick at any OF spot and could supplement as an IF if pressed.
“Best homegrown” doesn’t include Dan Haren, then? (Just asking, not trying to be snide.)
Anyway, for the second year in a row, it looks like the club is putting a certain amount of faith in Jon Jay as a fulltime outfielder. It backfired terribly post-Ludwick last year…did we learn nothing?
If the Rasmus trade had been followed up with a bold move for, say, Carlos Beltran, I could understand it better—and who knows, maybe there’s still another trade to come.
On a brighter note, Oscar T. is now at .396/.438/.599, and for July he’s hitting .411/.456/.678 with a sturdy 9/14 BB/K ratio. He’s been playing position #8 on your scorecard lately, so does the organization now see him as their “centerfielder of the future”?
Also, down in the Dominican, 18-year-old Amaury Capellan is batting .333/.453/.553, for an OPS roughly 350 points above the DSL average. (The plate discipline is really good, too, with a 23/21 BB/K over 140 PA’s or so.) Mucho impressive.
I’m a big Capellan fan too Bob. Can’t wait to see him over here next year! Reyes is showing some damn good potential as well at 2B. I can’t remember a time when we had so many guys with such great upside.
My bad on the Haren comment—didn’t notice the “position player” part.