I don't know if they're still shellshocked about what happened to Wainwright, but the Cardinals can't be losing games to the Phillies.

artie_fufkin wrote:

I don't know if they're still shellshocked about what happened to Wainwright, but the Cardinals can't be losing games to the Phillies.

Yeah, these next three need to be wins. 

You're right on that, AP. You guys know how much I love sabermetrics, but not all transactions fit in a vaccum. Jason Heyward was not the solution for this team. The Cardinals needed right-handed power to compensate for the fact that Molina and Holliday would be declining offensively. They were too left-handed when Taveras was still alive and projected to take over. I get the logic behind Heyward: he's 25, he's a gazelle and he's a tremendously gifted defensive player, despite some weird hiccups so far this season. He also seems to be a savvy baserunner, which is a godsend for a team full of lunkheads. 

Heyward was the answer for a team like, say, the Tigers, Blue Jays, Red Sox, Orioles, Rockies, Dodgers, Reds or Brewers, i.e., teams that had a strong offensive core that could use a great defensive outfielder but bat him sixth or lower. Justin Upton was the answer for the Cardinals. 

Heyward is a good enough defensive player that they could shift him to center field, acquire a right-handed bat in right field and not miss a beat. Why Heyward isn't an option for center field boggles my mind, but the Cardinals clearly think he profiles as a right fielder. 

The other mistake the Cardinals made was not pushing hard enough for an Adams replacement or entertaining the idea of moving Carpenter to first and acquiring a third baseman. 

I'm not proclaiming gloom and doom despite my bluster, but it's going to be really hard for this offense to support a Waino-less pitching staff that has three pitchers who have never thrown 200 innings. 

I agree with moving heyward to center.  I brought it up before the season started.  When grichuk returns i wouldnt mind seeing him in the outfield somehow.