In the event of Rapture all other teams will be Left Behind: the 2015 St. Louis Cardinals

Matheny has him in LF, batting 9th. -_-

Piscotty, post-game:

"When I was able to get the hit and lay off a couple of pitches low and was really able to see it and attack and be in a good hitter’s count, after that, I was able to see the ball a lot better," Piscotty said.

Piscotty just got scratched from line-up. Hmmmmmmm

just a stiff neck *sadly turns drudge siren off*

was he originally slated to play 1B tonight?

just realized this is a 1-game series against KC. following a 2-game series against the chisox. weird week of games!

yep, looks like he was. bummer! i was looking forward to seeing how he looked at 1B. guess i'll have to wait til...probably tomorrow or something

yeah, I thought it might have been a trade. I've been listening to some sports talk radio and we are close to moving Piscotty and a middle reliever for Stanton or Harper. the only thing stopping us is Mozeliak is dumb.

i was forced to listen to sports talk radio last week (when i was visiting missouri for a short spell) and it was a nightmare

i guess it's not really their fault. i think it's impossible to have a daily sports talk show and not sound like a complete idiot at some point. there's just not enough to talk about

jaime garcia helped peoria no-hit the worst team in the midwest league last night, bet he feels pretty badass

https://38.media.tumblr.com/a24a54b3dc20ed0ff005195defade371/tumblr_ns8cb7VMZL1rrjuxno1_400.gif

brandon moss for rob kaminsky.

as a random commenter just said, it sounds like a deal that Mo would make...from the Indians side.

----------

but actually much more meaningful news this morning is that they just signed a $1 BILLION tv contract, 2018-33

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2015/07/cardinals-tv-contract-billion.html

...a 15-year television contract that will immediately increase yearly revenue by as much as $20MM beginning in 2018

its good we'll be rich because won't have much depth left.

Mo's track record is pretty strong...but sometimes he does miss ala Justin Masterson

i'd just rather him see no trade to upgrade 1B, rather than this. I'm not sure that Moss will be much of an upgrade over Piscotty or Reynolds at 1B, and even with Holliday out, we have plenty of depth in the OF. just seems like spinning wheels.

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/matheny-contracts-can-t-be-ignored-in-setting-bullpen-roles/article_92da9db5-ecb9-591d-9939-e1d2e2762f8a.html

obviously a big part of a manager's job is keeping his players happy, and they do of course have the best record in the game either way, but still

“Guys are compensated for that and for us to turn a blind eye to that is not looking for what’s best for all of our guys,” Matheny said. “Complex answer, but I think it’s a complex question."

i give him some props for saying it. he's certainly not the only manager following that pattern of the closer has to pitch the 9th.

of course by not breaking from it he is just reinforcing the inflated value of closers.

who ARE the arbitrators, anyway? they need to update their valuation methodology STAT

but seriously it's crazy that there's a crew of arbitrators that apparently rely on baseball card stats

27 straight scoreless innings ffs

+9

awww: https://twitter.com/gbrowniepoints/status/631209283758223360

yeah, but just above the frame there's another piece of tape that says "you're not"

http://m.cardinals.mlb.com/news/article/142518376/carlos-martinez-not-yet-on-an-innings-limit

god i hope he doesn't blow out his arm. but it's ok - it's "certainly something we think about"

yadi with a triple AND a SB (3B!) in one game

;_;

pedro alvarez has had a rough couple of games

http://i.imgur.com/1SoQT8O.png

pirates are 3-19 in their last ∞ or whatever at busch

and these have been *good* games for pedro alvarez

Pirates 2.38 ERA at Busch in 2015... 0-5

It is weird both teams have great records and feature a black hole at 1b

Cardinal pitching and cluster luck

Cardinals pitchers have a collective 81.5 percent left-on-base percentage, a rate that hasn’t been seen since — well, ever, actually.

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/2015-mlb-st-louis-cardinals-cluster-luck/

‏@dgoold 19m minutes ago
If you had the trifecta of Moss-Pham-Piscotty in #Cardinals outfield on Aug. 17, 2015, then please take your ticket to the window. #stlcards

;_;

If I was Bourjos I'd be flipping tables over all over the place

thanks for jinxing us, SI

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CMszZcKWEAAeU0L.jpg

clint hurdle is supposedly reading 'the matheny manifesto'

lol

the NL Central is #blessed

#grit and #god going hand in hand

Moss is batting cleanup. new team motto "can't hit, can't score, who cares"

well, worst case scenario is .500 for the year

you and your bloody worst cases

at least it appears that, should they make it, the Mets will get the West winner in the division series, while the Central battles itself.

it would add a new, professional wrestling-like layer of excitement to the playoffs if the top-seeded team in each league could choose their opponent in the first round

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/812fsONhUZL.jpg

coming in february, from a former mets beat writer

the Cards have lotsa arms and wings for all that embracing

while the Central battles itself.

on a related note: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/on-the-inequity-of-the-2015-nl-wild-card-game/

as the kids say, it is what it is

i just hope there isn't a situation like last year in which the pirates are unlikely to catch the cards but it's still vaguely possible on the final weekend, so they use cole and end up with jeff locke facing arrieta in the wild card game

(the cubs *would* go with arrieta over lester, right, despite the big contract?)

or vice versa -- the cubs could easily pass the pirates

it's going to be a really interesting chase. seems like every time i check the score the pirates/cubs have won AGAIN (and sure it feels the same for you!)

it's darn greedy if ya ask me that 3 NL central teams are all but a lock to take 3 out of 7 postseason spots

^^^^ secret dodger fan