forsberg_us wrote:

100% agree on missing an element with Lackey.  I've heard Lynn has a similar mindset, but if you're not playing you can't be that vocal in the clubhouse.

Wainwright is a great pitcher, but he doesn't have the "asshole effect" that Carpenter or even Lackey brought to the mound.  

Matheny hasn't really had to handle adversity.  Yes, he's had to manage around injuries, but he's had 4 years of winning.  If this team starts off slow and the Cubs get out to a quick start, it'll be interesting to see how he handles it.

 
We ought to brace ourselves for the possibility the Cubs are going to be substantially better than the Cardinals. I just don't see the Cardinals generating enough offense to compete with them over a 162-game season.

artie_fufkin wrote:

APIAD wrote:

artie_fufkin wrote:

I honestly don't give a crap whether these guys get along with each other. This isn't a summer camp. It's a friggin' major league baseball team. 
But having a whole bunch of meetings in ST isn't a good sign. As much as I didn't like him showing up his teammates (which he was pretty good about not doing in St. Louis compared to some of his other stops), I think Lackey is going to be missed in the clubhouse. He brought some piss and vinegar that was needed  every once in awhile. I'm sick of watching Holliday ground into a double play and then flipping his helmet to the first base coach like it's no big deal. The leaders like Holliday, Wainwright and Carpenter almost never blow a gasket because it would be very un-Christian behavior. Sometimes a team needs a shit-stirrer. Not a loon like Zambrano taking a bat to the Gatorade machine when an outfielder misplayed a fly ball. That was more about his ERA than anything else. But they need someone to wake them up every so often. It doesn't even have to be a tantrum. Jeff Bagwell never had to raise his voice in the Astros' clubhouse, but everyone - even Carl Everett - in there knew he wasn't going to put up with any shit.

Of the "core four" waino, molina and holliday are all past their prime. Including carp as a non vocal person. I agree, the team needs an asshole. I cant play worth a shit but i can be a dick. Id be willing to sign at the minimum too.

Key-rist. I'm an asshole and I do it for free.
Spitballing here, but maybe this is one area where they miss that guy who went to Anaheim. Pujols certainly flaunted his Christianity, but that didn't necessary mean gathering everyone in a circle in the clubhouse and singing Kumbaya before every game. 
Or maybe it had more to do with La Russa's personality. I can't see him calling a meeting during batting practice to have everyone hug it out.

Also, i work for a man who identifys himself as a christian.  Not to go on a religious rant but identifying yourself as a Christian and being one isnt the same thing.....anyway...  if i told him and argued long enough that the cardinals wore robins on the bat he would eventually agree.  Being spineless isnt a virtue of Christianity.

"You under cutting sob"

Hey, a gig is a gig.

tkihshbt wrote:

artie_fufkin wrote:

2003 was the last season I didn't have access to either MLBtv or Extra Innings, so I wasn't able to follow the team on a daily basis.

Tino Martinez was a grade-A asshole and one of the worst signings the Cardinals ever made. He was pissy that he had to leave New York and the fact that his numbers bounced back once he was traded to Tampa seem to support the idea that he was deeply unhappy in St. Louis and let it carry over. He couldn't really handle La Russa's intensity. I recall reading reports that he was helpful in helping the Cardinals deal with Darryl Kile's death, but overall, he was just toxic to that 2003 team. Sulking bastard. 

Wondering if bringing back Colby Rasmus would help the team's clubhouse aura. Much like Berkman, Raz is a uniter.

[img]https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s---xPYN9-i--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_358,q_80,w_636/18j4wzd1ngjktjpg.jpg[/img]
 

Good one, Raz. Blue Jays fans were probably uttering the same phrase in 2011 when you got traded to Toronto and hit .173 for the rest of the season.