Is John Mozeliak One Of The Worst GMs In Baseball?

Speaker 40s - 29.48s

It's the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. How far has John Moseilock and the Cardinals ORG' front office fallen in the eyes of their peers? We look at the good and the bad of the Cardinals president of baseball operations on today's episode of Lockdown Cardinals ORG. president of baseball operations on today's episode of Locked-on Cardinals WORK_OF_ART.

Speaker 135.54s - 39.12s

You are Locked-on Cardinals, your daily St. Louis Cardinals podcast, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day.

Speaker 439.5s - 111.1s

Hey, they're Cardinals fans. I'm Jady Haffern PERSON and I'm a national radio sports anchor, born and raised in the Lou and a lifetime Cardinals fan, and I'm your host for Lockdown Cardinals, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network ORG covering your team every day. You can follow me on Twitter, acts to Jaddy Sports Radio ORG in the podcast at L.O. underscore Cardinals. We do want to thank those of you who make Locktown Cardinals ORG your first listen every day, free and available wherever you get your podcast. I know a lot of people have been watching on the Apple podcast. So appreciate all of you who do that. On YouTube ORG, you can find us as well, like, subscribe, and comment, interact with us,and hit that notification button so you know when the new episodes are posted. This is a show serving Cardinal Nation ORG and giving the best fans in baseball, all of the info about the birds on the bat. Today's episode brought to you by Monopoly Go PRODUCT. I admit it, I've got a competitive side. I bet you do too. And in my competitive side, it's a big fan of Monopoly Go. It is the mobile hit twist on classic Monopoly PRODUCT. So join your friends to download Monopoly Go now free on the app store or Google Play ORG.Once again, thank you guys for joining us here for Lockedong Cardinals ORG. My good buddy, Thomas Govain, joining us here today. You can find his work at redbird rants.com. Thomas PERSON, how you feel in after night number one of the NFL ORG draft and your chiefs landing just another dude who can run like the wind? Pretty good.

Speaker 2112.02s - 113.58s

Yeah, it's a common theme for the team.

Speaker 4113.76s - 118.88s

I'll say that after losing Tahrir kill a couple years ago, it seems like they've got their guy back, speed at least.

Speaker 2119.28s - 120.46s

Yeah, they got the speed.

Speaker 4120.64s - 177.4s

You still got the Mahomes guy, that Kelsey PERSON guy. You guys are going to be fine. Nobody's worried about you. What we are a little bit worried about is the state of the St. Louis Cardinals, Thomas PERSON. There was recently on the athletic. They did this article in this poll where I believe it was 40 executives that they asked to have them vote on who the top 10 frontoffices in Major League Baseball ORG were. And you wrote about this at RedwoodRance.com ORG. We're going to link that in the description down below and in the comment section so you guys can click on that and check it out for yourself and it's full glory. But I want to talk about that a little bit because the Cardinals ORG, as much as a lot of people in St. Louis GPE want to say,yeah, we're one of the best franchises. And obviously, we do some good work. Nowhere to be found on this list, man. What's up with this? What's going on here? Sorry about that.

Speaker 2177.46s - 224.92s

I was muted. I think it's interesting because I would imagine if you did the survey for even five years ago, the Cardinals ORG would be at the top. I mean, at least top three, I would argue. So the fact that it's been years ago, the Cardinals ORG would be at the top. I mean, at least top three, I would argue. So the fact that it's been done now, I think recency bias plays a pretty heavy factor in it. One of the authors of the athletic article, Andy McCullough PERSON, actually said thaton one of his podcasts, that the Cardinals ORG would actually make it up there. But you look at last season, the record, you look at most recent trades after and around the Noon Aronado PRODUCT trade. I mean, we've lost O'Contara, Gallin, Rosarena, Garcia PERSON. You can list five people off top of your head that we've lost in trades. So I think between the trades and the lost season last year, it looks bad on John Mosea Lock in the front office.Yeah.

Speaker 4224.92s - 325.92s

And just so everybody is aware, I'll give you the top five of who the executives voted for. You got the Dodgers in at number one. Then you've got the Tampa Bay GPE race, Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Guardians, and then the Baltimore Orioles ORG. And then you've got, as far as in how central teams go, the Brewers are in at number six. And then the Reds got one point off this report card, the way that they scored it and everything. So the Reds ORG got won. So maybe they voted for themselves.I don't know because they haven't won anything. So I don't know what's so great about their front office. But anyway, but that's what they're going up against. And, you know, John Moseilak PERSON, I'm not trying to be an apologist for him or anything like that because obviously, out of all the scrutiny that I think is deserved to be upon any other people in the organization, he's the guy I can send you to point my finger at too because, you know,he's the one who builds these teams for these managers to run. And sure, you can figure, you know, where Mike Mathini PERSON had his issues with certain things and things got really sloppy under him. Losing Mike Schilt, you know, having to fire him where, you know, a guy who in three seasons won a manager of the year award and was up for a second one. And for that not to work out, I think that looks bad on John Moseilac PERSON. And then you mentioned the trades. Now, they haven't all been horrible because there has been some stuff. And you mentioned a recency bias, which is a reason why maybeeverything's looking at him so negatively right now. But he has made some good moves in the past, trading for Jim Edmonds PERSON, or actually trading Jim Edmonds at the end of his rope and end up acquiring that David Freeze guy. Did he do anything important for the Cardinals ORG at any point?

Speaker 2326.04s - 329.06s

One or two things, I think. Yeah, yeah. So that

Speaker 4329.06s - 347.72s

kind of worked out for him. But again, this is something that happened years ago. We're talking, what, 2007-ish, somewhere in that vicinity. He also traded and held on to Matt Holiday PERSON, who if memory serves, isn't hegoing to be a Cardinal Hall of Famer, Thomas PERSON? Like, he's, he was all right.

Speaker 2347.96s - 349.02s

I'd be a shoe in, yeah.

Speaker 4349.66s - 430.46s

Not too bad, but it would have been nice to have one of his kids join him here in the, uh, in St. Louis GPE. But that's okay. Uh, one thing that I know it, it kind of splits cardinal fan bases, but deciding to let Albert Pooholz walk in a year where you offered him a lot of money. It's not like they didn't try to sign him, but the angels come in andblew him away with that 10 year, $240 million contract. But he didn't really do anything with the angels. You know, like when he went, when he was gone, the decline in production was massive. It wasn't the Albert Pooleholes that we knew and loved in St. Louis GPE that was playing in L.A. anymore. And the magical run that he just had in his last year with the Cardinals was better than anything that he'd really done either with the Angels or with the Dodgers ORG, you know, because he ended up going there for a little bit.So that was something that, you know, he probably took some hell for. I know a lot of people were mad at him just because, you know, nobody wanted to see Albert PERSON leave. But at the same time, I think you would agree it was probably a good idea financially, 10 years, 240 million for what the angels got. Keeping out of Eremalina and Adam Wainwright PERSON together, that was something that was huge. And you mentioned the trades for Nolan Aronado and Paul Goldschmidt PERSON. Those are some big moves, Thomas PERSON, right?Yeah, they're huge.

Speaker 2430.56s - 443.96s

And even I think where he really thrived prior to the 2020s were the moves on the margins, those small signings to fill the 20th through 26th on the roster, the trade like Jed Jerko trade with John Jay PERSON. Jericho PERSON.

Speaker 0443.96s - 444.92s

Little moves too.

Speaker 1445.2s - 445.7s

Yeah. That's a deep cut there.. We won those little moves too. Yeah.

Speaker 2446.8s - 447.08s

That's a deep cut there.

Speaker 1448.24s - 448.3s

But we won those little moves.

Speaker 0451.5s - 457.88s

And those are the things that Moseilock PERSON did that set him apart from the other general managers. He may not have spent the best in free agency, but he made up for that with those marginal moves. Yeah.

Speaker 4457.98s - 491.18s

And I do want to point out because like we're not here to kiss Mo PERSON's butt. We're not here to hold his water, as our friends over at Redwood Rants ORG like to say, because he has sucked in a couple of ways as well. One of the big moves, and I mentioned this just the other day, because it was a guy that I really wanted the Cardinals ORG to get. And when they got him, I thought it was going to be something that would work out nicely.And that was signing Mike Leak back in 2016. That didn't pan out so well. It didn't work out so well at all. We all know what happened. Remember Brett Cecil PERSON. That didn't pan out so well. Didn't work out so well at all. We all know what happened. Remember Brett Cecil PERSON? That was, uh, that was an ugly move that just you can't say that name.

Speaker 2491.18s - 513.28s

I remember they signed him too. I don't know what your reaction was to it, but I remember they signed him and I was like, man, I don't know about that. That was one that just felt weird all together. And I was like, we really gave him that much money? Greg Holland. PERSON I mean, they did something that I don't see. And that didn't work out so well. That was a bad one. What else we got here?How about, all right, let me get your thoughts on this one.

Speaker 4513.28s - 526.72s

So, because I talk about this a lot, the trade for Marcelo Zuna PERSON. All right, because there's a couple of layers to this. It didn't just start with Marcelo Zuna PERSON and that was it. Like, if memory serves,

Speaker 1527.18s - 533.12s

they tried to sign Jean-Carlo Stanton PERSON. They wanted to trade for him. All right. And he said,

Speaker 0533.12s - 536.62s

no, wanted to go to the New York Yankees ORG. That's just where he wanted to be. He didn't want to be in

Speaker 4536.62s - 551.74s

St. Louis and vetoed that trade. I believe the Cardinals also asked about Christian Yelage PERSON and the Marlins ORG said, no, we're not going to trade him. So they went to that third outfielder in Marcelo Zuna, who was coming off a monster year. Is that how you remember it?

Speaker 2552.34s - 578.42s

Yeah, I do. I think it's important to remember the year that that happened for him. It was 2017 and everybody was going off that year. That was the year of the long ball and the juice balls and everything. He was one of the best outfielers. Don't get me wrong. And we needed an outfielder spot, especially after Oscar Tavares PERSON situation.So I was fine with the trade. If you can go back and tell me you knew who Sandy Alcantara was and Zach Allen PERSON, good for you.

Speaker 0578.96s - 579.28s

Right.

Speaker 1579.7s - 579.88s

Right.

Speaker 2580.04s - 587.6s

Yeah. I think the trade was necessary. It stinks now to look at who we sent away and what they're doing away from us now. But.

Speaker 4589.38s - 600.7s

Yeah, and one of the things, too, is that, you know, Marcel, he was coming up a monster year. Like, we're talking Silver Slugger Award WORK_OF_ART. I believe he won the Gold Glove Award WORK_OF_ART in left field, which we still do.

Speaker 2601.24s - 606.74s

I don't remember how he played defense with the Marlins, but we saw what it was like in St. Louis GPE. It wasn't great.

Speaker 4607.38s - 741.26s

It wasn't great. So I'll never get that image of him climbing the wall and the ball falling short onto the warning track. That was one of the funniest things I've ever seen. But he was this guy that we thought was going to be one of those bats in the middle of the order.That's what the Cardos ORG were looking for because they were trying to win at that point. They sent some prospects away, and those prospects blossom. I mean, that's the idea of the order. That's what the Cardinals ORG were looking for because they were trying to win at that point. They sent some prospects away and those prospects blossom. I mean, that's the idea of a trade. Usually the idea is where it's going to be a win-win. Both sides are trying to get some good stuff. And it just didn't quite work out the way the Cardinals wanted to with Marcelo Zuna PERSON. But I remember specifically, I could have sworn that they said, Yelich PERSON is not going to be traded. And then later on, they decided, you know what?Maybe we will ship them out. And that's when he went to the Brewers. But I believe the Cardinals had actually asked about Yelich at the time before they settled in on Ozuno. So they tried to get the other two first before they got Ozuna PERSON. But obviously, it ended up not working well. Another one that was pointed out to me, the extension of Matt Carpenter PERSON. He had that one crazy year where he hit, what was like 36 home runs,and we were all kind of like, okay, he's eating salsa. We don't know why he's hitting so many home runs. Like, what is this? And the extension came, and all of us kind of were like, man, I don't know if that's a great idea. And then Carp PERSON fell off pretty quickly. So that was one that people have brought up to meover and over. And then, of course, we got to talk about guys like Rania and Dolis Garcia PERSON, you know, not being able to keep those guys around. And especially the Garcia PERSON one's the one that's always drove me nuts because you really got nothing. Like, he just gave a lot. And, you know, you've seen the damage he's been doing with the Rangers ORG ever since we've left. And that's a tough pill to swallow.The erosarana one, I mean, you were shipping him. At least you got a first round pick and back with Libertor PERSON. Has it quite lived up to what we wanted. But I don't know. It's the Garcia PERSON one drives me bonkers. But, you know, there's been some good, there's been some bad,but these are some of the reasons why John Moselock PERSON didn't get any votes here. You mentioned the recency biased. Do you think he's as bad as he's being portrayed, or do you think this has been unfair for him? I don't know.

Speaker 2741.7s - 743.7s

Probably as bad as he's been portrayed.

Speaker 0744.34s - 745.4s

You can be honest. Yeah, probably as bad, especially recently. I don't know. It seems like as bad as he's been portrayed. You can be honest.

Speaker 4745.52s - 747.86s

Yeah, probably as bad, especially recently.

Speaker 2748.02s - 771.94s

I don't know. It seems like he's taking a much more unilateral approach than he had in the past. I mean, he got rid of Mike Schilt, the guy who's going to go against him to put in his guy, Marmal. The other organizational depth that he's brought in with Gersh PERSON, it's just been people who have been below him before. He's just bringing everybody up with him. In the past, it was more of a group focus. It seems like it's more, you know,out of all at this point. No, no, I get it.

Speaker 4772.36s - 997.68s

Because as much as like, they always make me sound like I'm an Ali PERSON apologist, but I'm like, he didn't build the team. You know, it's not really Ollie PERSON's fault. He can only do with what he's got to work with. I mean, last year, as bad as things wore,I mean, for the second half of the season, he's working with a double A, AAA ORG, AAA team the whole time. So, you know, I always put the blame on the guy at the top. And I always think it's kind of unfair in any sport where the head coach or the manager, those are the guys getting fired when they didn't build this team. This is all he has to work with. And then it gets blamed on them. They get canned. Yet the GM who sucked and was with. And then it gets blamed on them. They get canned. Yet the GM who sucked and was doing all of the terrible moves and bad ideas, he's the onehe gets to keep his job and keep rolling with things. So let us know your thoughts in the comments section about John Moseilock PERSON. You hear the good side. You hear the bad side. I know everybody's pretty unhappy with the way things are right now, which is fine. But in the end, like, do you believe that John Moselek PERSON has been a good GM for the St.Louis Cardinal since he's taken over? Like, are you able to get past what you've seen in the last two, three years and look at some of the things that he did previously that might make you think that he's not as bad as everybody says he is? So let us know your thoughts on that in the comments section down below.We've got to talk about Jordan Walker next, Thomas PERSON. Jordan Walker gets sent down, Zach Thompson PERSON gets sent down. Are we doing the right thing? Is this a smart move? What keeps happening with Jordan Walker PERSON? We'll get those thoughts from Thomas coming up next on Lockdown Cardinals ORG.Today's episode being brought to you in part by Policy Genius. Policy Genius ORG is the smarter way to buy insurance. Their proprietary technology makes it easy to compare personalized quotes and policies from top-rated insurers side-by-side. Policy Genius's ORG team of licensed experts is here to answer questions, handle paperwork, and help you make decisions with confidence. They work for you, not for the insurance companies, from exploring coverage optionsto making policy adjustments as your life changes, policy genius, is your advocate at every step. And policy genius is also committed to your information remaining secure. Your security is their priority. They use industry leading security practices to help keep your information safe. So check life insurance off your to-do list and do it in no time with PolicyGenius ORG. I to PolicyGenius.com slash Locked-on MLB ORG or click the link in the description to get freelife insurance quotes and see how much you could save. That's PolicyGenius.com ORG slash locked on MLB ORG. Now I mentioned earlier, I've been told I'm a competitive person. I do have a competitive side. You do as well. I guarantee it.And my competitive side is a big fan of what's going on with Monopoly Go PRODUCT right now. I'm sure you've heard of it. It's been downloaded 150 million times. The odds are you're probably one of the people that enjoys playing Monopoly Go PRODUCT. It's a great twist on Monopoly where you play on not one, but hundreds, hundreds of monopoly boards.And you get them in these crazy locations and you get to build these amazing cities and you can get big money. It brings you this big money. And the best part, obviously, is when you are a competitive person, it's playing along with your friends or against your friends. You know, you can charge them rent on those iconic properties,just like in classic Monopoly PRODUCT. You can also heist their vaults of riches for yourself, and the leaderboards will let you know who the biggest monopoly tycoon is. But as I mentioned, you don't always have to go up against your friends. You can play along with them. You can team up with those guys and gals,and you can team up with people all around the world who are playing in time tournaments to earn huge reward. So get in the game and join your friends by downloading Monopoly Go PRODUCT. It's now free on the app store or Google Play ORG. Once again, download Monopoly Go available now for free on the app store or Google Play ORG.

Speaker 31000.38s - 1040.6s

Delicious meets nutritious and the snack that packs a real protein punch, Wonderful pistachios, one of the highest protein nuts out there. Miller Thomas of Lockdown Dimebacks ORG here, and I love these pistachios because each one-ounce serving has six grams of protein, giving you over 10% of your daily value. So whether you're a pistachio purist who loves cracking open every nut or you prefer the convenience of no-shell pistachios, Wonderful pistachios has got you covered. Grab wonderful pistachios and elevate your snacking game today.Visit wonderfulpastatios.com to learn more. Are you watching Fox Sports or ESPN on your TV all day and have to turn down the volume

Speaker 41040.6s - 1146.88s

because of all that shouting? Then make you a switch to Locked On Sports Today ORG. It's a free 24-7 sports streaming channel program for you every day. To bring you the biggest stories of all that shouting, then make you a switch to locked on sports today. It's a free 24-7 sports streaming channel program for you every day to bring you the biggest stories without all that screaming. Locked on sports today brings you can't-miss analysis, opinions, news, and it streams 24-7. So depending on what your schedule is, are you somebody that's got like a third shift job, you know, and you never can get the informationyou want in the way that you want it. Well, now you can. Streaming 24-7 on YouTube or the free Amazon Fire TV PRODUCT channels app. It's part of the Lockedown Podcast Network, your team every day. Thank you guys for making a lockdown cardinals your first listen each and every day. Leave your comments on YouTube ORG as well as on Twitter X anytime you want. You can find Thomas Govain PERSON on Twitter X.He is there just spelled the way his name is Thomas Cofane PERSON. And if you're seeing it on YouTube ORG, you got the handle down below, his wonderful face there. And we're talking Cardinals ORG baseball. And one more thought on John Mosella PERSON, because I was thinking about that, Thomas PERSON,is another thing that we don't ever really know is the restrictions that Mo PERSON is getting from ownership, like where they're like, look, this is where we need you to be. This is what we want you to spend in this section. And that's what you have to use. So go get them, figure it out.And we don't, we don't never know, like, what exactly he's told on how to spend things. We know that he's made some mistakes. All GMs do. But that's something that I always forget to think about too. He's got a boss ahead of him. It's not like he's the owner.He's not like Jerry Jones PERSON. He can just go do whatever the hell he wants because it's his team. He's the GM. He's in charge of everything and just do whatever makes him feel happy. He's got to make some tough decisions sometimes. And it's just been unfortunate that a lot of those decisions recently haven't worked out so much.

Speaker 21147.48s - 1150.92s

Yeah, he can't say how much money he spends, but he can't say how he spends it.

Speaker 41151.24s - 1265.1s

That's true. And there has been pretty significant evidence against him, like the Michaelis PERSON extension. That one doesn't look like it's working out so well. So that's another one people have pointed out. But let's move on to a recent thing that the Cardals have had to do as well. And that is what is going on with Jordan Walker PERSON? Because Jordan Walker just recently in the last year and a half was considered one of the top five prospectsin baseball, right? And he's, you know, a lot of people can't miss prospect. He's had to make an adjustment from being an infielder to an outfielder. I don't know what kind of toll that's taking on him. It hasn't been easy. We know that we think he's getting better. Like it seems like just, you know, the eyeball test.He has gotten better. But something's going on with him offensively. Last year, they bring him up. He does very well in spring training. And due to necessity, they decide we're going to keep him on the roster. And then in April of last year, he has to get sent down because they don't like how he's not hitting the ball in the air.Even though he was hitting, like he was getting on base, he was putting the ball and play. But they weren't getting the slugging that they were hoping from Jordan Walker last year. So they're like, look, we want you to learn to hit the ball in the air a little bit more. He goes down, comes back up and has a very, very good season the rest of the way. This year, to me, he looks worse than he did last year. Like either the pitchers are pitching him way differently than he saw last year.They're obviously targeting the outside portion of the plate, trying to get him to chase things outside of the zone over there. And the numbers are just bad. Like they're really, really, I mean, no home runs. There's really no power to speak of whatsoever coming from Jordan Walker. So they send him down again. In your opinion, is this the smart move? Or is he a major league player needs to figure this out at the major league level? I think it's the right thing to do.

Speaker 21265.24s - 1317.32s

I mean, you look at his age. He's only 21. A lot of the times, you'll see comparisons between him and Aaron Judge PERSON. They're not the same guy at all,but just the size alone, it makes sense to look at the two. Aaron Judge PERSON was a junior in college at his age. I mean, he's still another year in college and three years in the minorsbefore we even saw him in the majors. At the underlying, the underlying statistics really support some improvement for Jordan Walker PERSON. His whiff and chase rates are both down, and that's explained his walk rate going up a little bit. But the biggest thing against him is his line drive percentage is down to 16% from 25% last year. So he's just not hitting the ball in the air anymore. That's why he has no home runs.His extra base hits are really low. I think it's the right thing for him to do. Slow it down a little bit. See some pitches that he knows he can hit, get his confidence back up, and then call him back up to the majors when he's ready.

Speaker 41319.34s - 1388.28s

Yeah, because mentally this has got to be difficult on a guy who has crushed the ball at every level, no matter where he's been. You know, we forget about his numbers from last year where like you put that over 162 games and you're pretty darn pleased with what you're seeing from a 20 year old kid who turned 21 last year. And it sucks watching him struggle the way he is.And I try to think about it. I'm like, why would pitchers ever change their approach against Jordan Walker PERSON? Like the opposite, you know, because they continue, it's low and away, low and away, low and away. And they just keep going out there. And then they bust him in on something because he's staring that way and he's trying to go that way. Because you've seen some games where he's been able.And again, they're not doubles or home runs or anything opposite field, but he takes that pitch to the opposite field, laces it in there for a base hit and you're like, okay, that's what a good hitter would do. What do you think it is about what he's doing so far that is leading to him, not being able to be good enough at that to force pitchers to bring the ball back in where, you know, his power stroke will be significantly better.

Speaker 21389.08s - 1407.28s

Yeah, I'm not inside his head, obviously, but from the outside, it looks like he's trying to do too much. He's not settling into what's comfortable and what he's familiar with. He's looking at that outside pitch, and he's thinking, if they miss, I'll go for it, but he's twitching on it still. He's going to pull the trigger. He's going to they miss, I'll go for it. But he's twitching on it still. He's going to pull the trigger.

Speaker 01407.44s - 1416.08s

He's going to swing for it. And then, like you said, he gets lost on the outside, on the inside pitches. He may fight some off every once in a while, but they're in his hands. So he's not going to get any power behind it. Yeah.

Speaker 21416.38s - 1421.12s

I would imagine that he's overthinking some things. Which can happen.

Speaker 41421.12s - 1435.42s

I mean, it's tough. It's tough to be a hitter at the major league level. And being 21, he's a kid. He's still trying to figure all this stuff out. And he's trying to figure out how to play the outfield so that everybody's not ripping him for being out there all the time.

Speaker 21435.8s - 1437.28s

He's a plus defender though.

Speaker 41437.6s - 1443.4s

I'm going to say, everything I've seen this year, like it happens to all outfielders once in a while.

Speaker 21443.4s - 1446.68s

But for a guy that looks so bad last year,

Speaker 41446.76s - 1447.12s

I mean,

Speaker 31447.3s - 1455.02s

he's been covering a lot of ground out there, and he's made a lot of diving catches, and he looks significantly more comfortable in right field than he did last year.

Speaker 21455.16s - 1458.48s

He's a neutral defender. I'm sorry. I shouldn't say plus. He's a neutral defender.

Speaker 41458.96s - 1460.1s

You're lying to us, man.

Speaker 21460.14s - 1460.8s

What's up with that?

Speaker 41461.46s - 1467.7s

But either way, that's way better than what he was last year, where what was he minus what? It was crazy last year.

Speaker 21467.78s - 1473.2s

20, I think, wasn't it? Yeah, it was a lot of average. Yeah, it was disgusting how bad he was in the

Speaker 41473.2s - 1665.7s

out. But again, first year figuring it out. And so I wonder, you know, he's got all these things going on. And maybe it's just a little bit overwhelming right now. So I'm also pro sending him down. I mean, you have options so you can do it. And I mentioned something. I was out the other day. I was like, if you could send Goldie PERSON down to figure things out, you would do it because he's had a tough time. You just don't have options for a guy like him. So yeah, he'll be back. And I'm not sweating it. I'm not freaking out aboutit. And I'm glad that he's not striking out as much. I was telling a buddy of mine that works with the Cincinnati Reds was asking about him. And he was like, what's going on there? And I go, well, he's trying to do all of this stuff on the outside pitches. And then for whatever reason, doesn't it seem like when you're struggling, the umpires call even more pitches like six inches away on Jordan Walker PERSON.Like he'll see it and him like, okay, I'm not supposed to chase that. And he gets rang up anyway and you're like, how do you want this kid to figure it out, man? It's just been, it's been really, really tough for him. And, you know, he wasn't doing himself any good by just looking horrible at the major league level. So I think it's a smart move and I think he'll be back up here at no time and everything will work out just fine. I want to move on into the state of the Cardinals ORG right nowbecause a lot of people believe that the Cardinals are just same guys as last year, same team as last year. Look at their records. Nothing's really changed. They still stink. Not necessarily the case. They may not have won as many games, but they stink for different reasons if we want to put it that way. So we'll talk about it a little bit more with Thomas Govane from Redmond rants.com next on Locked on Cardinals ORG. Baseball season is officially underway, so don't miss your chance on being able to add your favorite players from thediamond, enterprise picks, entries, whether it's strikeouts, RBI's first inning runs, take your pick of more or less and add them to your prize picks entry today. You know, the Cardinals are going to be in New York this weekend. They're facing the Mets ORG. Mets ORG have played some decent baseball recently.We're going to talk a little bit about them here in a bit. But what do you think is going to happen in these games? You know, that's where price picks comes in and you can make big money. You know, Miles Michael is on the mound tonight. We know he has a pinching for giving up hits. How many hits you think the bet's going to get off of him tonight? Again, more or less on what that number might be. And you can win some big money. You can get in on the playoff action andwin up to 100 times your money on prize facts as you and the world's best players take the game to a new level during basketballs postseason, which is going on now. Stanley Cup EVENT playoffs going on right now. Prize fix is the best way to go about this to try to put your knowledge to work for you, bring you back some money. And when you do win money, it comes back to you quick. Quick withdrawals, easy gameplay, and an enormous selection of players and stat types that are what make price picks,the number one daily fantasy sports app. So download the app today. Use that code locked on MLB ORG, all lowercase, by the way. L-O-C-E-B-E-B-O-N-M-LB for a first deposit match up to $100. Once again, download the app today. Use the code locked on MLB for a first deposit match up to $100.Pick more, pick less. It's that easy with price picks. Delicious, meat, nutritious, and nutritious in the snack to $100. Pick more, pick less. It's that easy with price picks.

Speaker 01667.48s - 1705.52s

Delicious meat's nutritious in the snack that packs a real protein punch, wonderful pistachios. This is Ryan Fickleston, the host of Lockdown Mets ORG, and I love the no-shells wonderful pistachios so I can eat them straight out of the bag whenever I need a boost, and my favorite flavor is their sea salt and vinegar. But if you're a pistachio purist who loves cracking open every nut, they also have great flavors like sweet chili and salt and pepper.Grab wonderful pistachios and elevate your snacking game today. Visit wonderfulpastashos.com to learn more. Locked on has launched the first ever national sports 24-7 streaming channel on YouTube ORG.

Speaker 41705.7s - 1806.54s

It's now available on Amazon Fire TV in the Free Fire TV PRODUCT channels app. It's here for you 24-7 covering the top sports stories of the day with the local experts of lockdown plus our national shows covering every league. Find Locked on Locked on Sports today now available on the Free Fire TV PRODUCT channels app. Obviously, if you're an NFL ORG draft person, they're all over that right now. They've got locked on every team in the NFL, just like they do here in Major League Baseball ORG. So if you're a fan of the Chiefs or the Packers or even if it's the Bears ORG, I mean, we won't yell at you for that.But it's stupid. But anyway, they got you covered when it comes to all the NFL ORG draft stuff going on. Bears had a good good night on Thursday night, man. So to the Detroit Lions ORG. Anyway, let's talk more about the Cardinals ORG and what's going on with the state of this team right now. You're coming off of a series win against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Thomas PERSON. And you have a great come from behind win.You have the walk-off home run for Gorman PERSON, and then you get smashed right in the chin on the second game on Tuesday. Then on Wednesday, you're back to life again against Jordan Montgomery PERSON and you win. So inconsistent so far for the Cardinals ORG, people are saying, yeah, that's what they were last year. They couldn't do this, this, this, and they were good at this, this, and this.And it was just up down, up down, up down. How do you feel about the Cardinals and what you've seen from them compared to what we went through last year? Things are a little bit different, obviously, for different reasons or why they're losing and winning ball games? But do you feel like they're on the same path as last year? Or do you think this team actually has a chance to dig themselves out of this and actually become a winning team down the road?

Speaker 21807.4s - 1811.74s

Fair warning, I'm a forever optimist, so I will always be happy with the Cardinals ORG.

Speaker 41812.9s - 1821.34s

It does feel much different. I mean, you bring in guys like Lance Lynn, Kyle Gibson, and Sunny Gray for that fire. You bring in the veterans, you know what they're doing with Brandon Crawford and Matt Carpenter PERSON.

Speaker 21822.3s - 1843.06s

The youth has been exciting to see. So I think while the record is the same and the struggles might be in different areas, but they're still struggling, the team feels much different. And I think that spells positives for the long run. The pitching is doing what nobody expected them to do. And the hitting can easily come around to what people did expect them to do.

Speaker 01843.66s - 1850.68s

I think there's a path to a 500 finish in April, especially with the Detroit Tigers ORG at the last couple of games, the Mets ORG while they're hot,

Speaker 21851.24s - 1859.06s

I think they're a beatable team. So if we finish out the way we should, it's fully possible the Cardinals are 500 at the end of April, which is much different than what they were last year.

Speaker 41859.98s - 1901.64s

And let's not forget, John Moseilock, the St. Louis Cardinals, and everybody involved with them warned you that April was not going to be easy. Like you go through the group of teams that they've had to play, some very good baseball teams in there. Like even Oakland ORG wasn't playing bad when they, when they faced them. You know, and that was the Marlins, nobody expected them to be as bad, but, you know, you take two of three from them. But you've had to face a gauntlet of very, very good baseball teams.And they kind of warned you, like, hey, this ain't going to be an easy month. Like getting 500, I think when you looked at the schedule and say, if you can end at 500, you'd be pretty happy with that, wouldn't you? Yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 21901.94s - 1912.9s

I mean, it was, I think they've had the toughest strength of schedule so far. And to come out 500, what more could you ask for at this point? It's all easy. It's easier from here, I should say.

Speaker 41913.28s - 1965.92s

Yeah, and that's what I also want to point out too is like when you look at this team and how it was built this offseason, nobody said this was a hundred win team. Like nobody was like, oh, oh, it's going to be perfect. These guys are amazing and are going to take the pennant, no problem. No, most people thought they were an 84, 85 win team. So to expect more than that, especially against the schedule that they've gone up again so far, that's kind of messed up, right?Like it doesn't make a whole lot of sense if you're a family and that's what i've been trying to tell people it's like well didn't you expect them to be kind of this way isn't that what we thought was going to happen like the amount of people who were so disappointed with what's going on is a little bit shocking because i thought this is what everybody predicted yeah and they're built for the long run i I mean, look at the pitcher health right now.

Speaker 21966.46s - 1967.42s

Our starters are good.

Speaker 01967.8s - 1971.54s

We're fine. Like they're going to pitch 180 innings for the most part.

Speaker 21971.64s - 2002.46s

You can't say that for other starting pitching staffs. In my mind, as long as we're in the race by the trade deadline, there's going to be guys out there available for us to work the margins. The offense will level out more than likely. If the pitching can maintain its 15th ranking in most stats, the bullpen can be what it has been and the offense levels out.I think that's exactly what we expected out of the team. It'll be 85 wins. We will edge our way into the playoffs and we'll see what happens from there. Yeah, and that was just kind of the path that

Speaker 42002.46s - 2110.54s

they were taking. Like, they were never going to sign one of those big guys to make a huge impact. They weren't going to get involved in any of those contracts. So this is the plan. Like it is actually working the way they thought it would. The only thing that's come up short is, you know, people like Walker and Goldschmidt and Gorman PERSON coming out of the gate as slow as they have.You know, when people point the finger at Ali PERSON, I keep saying, well, have you noticed the situations, the guys that you want up in those situations are coming up? Like it seems to be working all right. Those guys just aren't coming through yet. And we're hoping we're starting to see a little bit of positivity coming from Goldschmidt PERSON.He looked better in this last series, you know, well, the 14 to one game, everybody looked bad. But, you know, he looked much better in the other two games. You can see Gorman PERSON's making adjustments. You're seeing him take it to the opposite field. Walker PERSON is learning. He's going to figure it out on his own at Memphis ORG right now, and hopefully he'll be back.But you've gotten new. You still got the good defense with Siani PERSON and center field. Donovan's taking over left field pretty much full time now. You still got an Alec Berlinson PERSON to back him up. I know Crawford's in the lineup here on Friday night to give Mason win his normal day off. This is not like that something's wrong with him, whether it's the back stuff still.You know, they're just keeping him fresh. Everybody relax a little bit. But I'm just, I guess I guess I'm just a little bit shocked at how many people were like, they're terrible. And I'm like, I thought this is what we thought they were going to be. Nobody said it was going to be much better than this.And we knew April was going to be tough. So they are in New York this weekend. I want to wrap things up here talking about this series a little bit. What have you seen from the New York Mets ORG and what have you seen from the Cardinals and how do you think things might play out this weekend in New York GPE?

Speaker 22111.16s - 2145.02s

I think it's a barometer matchup for both teams. The Mets started off cold and they have been one of the hottest teams in the last 15, 20 games, I think. So for them to continue that, it says a lot about them. If the Cardinals ORG can put a stop to it and even just win the series, that sets us up for, as we just talked about, a good finish April. There would be a tough matchup. I'm not sure who are going up against the next couple of games, but we've got, I'm going to butcher his name, Jose Butto, Budo PERSON. It's Budo, but you can say but because it's spelled, but it's okay. I haven't heard much about him. I know he's a young guy who's got some potential, but if we can jump on him early, get him out of the game,

Speaker 42145.16s - 2146.54s

we can attack the Mets ORG bullpen.

Speaker 22147.74s - 2147.96s

Yeah,

Speaker 42148s - 2160.58s

coming up on Saturday, it is Houser, Adrian Houser PERSON, who you're familiar with because he spent some time with the Brewers ORG. He'll be starting.And then our old friend, Jose Quintana PERSON, gets the ball on Sunday.

Speaker 22161.04s - 2163.38s

So it's not like, beat us. Yeah,

Speaker 42163.52s - 2194.48s

and it's not like we're going through, you know, three of the top pitchers in baseball. Like this is a possibility to kind of get right offensively in these next few games against the Mets ORG. Going for the Cardinals ORG, we mentioned that you do have Miles Michaelis on the hill tonight.What do you think he needs to do to kind of turn things around? Because you'll see him for like two or three innings where he looks outstanding. And then it just all comes crashing down around him. What's going on with Miles PERSON in your opinion? He's got to work the edge is better.

Speaker 22194.62s - 2198.34s

I mean, you look at the home run. I don't remember who it was and crushed it off him. It's like an 84

Speaker 42198.34s - 2203.12s

mile per hour slider right in the middle. Yeah. He's got to work the edges better to make it deeper

Speaker 22203.12s - 2205.48s

in the games and not get himself in trouble.

Speaker 42211.18s - 2268.62s

Yeah. Lance Lynn will be on Sunday and then Sunny Gray gets the ball on Saturday. So got to be pleased with everything we've seen from Sunny Gray so far, Lance Lynn PERSON. Other than watching him try to beat Corbyn Carroll to the bag at first base has been fantastic in just about every way, shape, and form, man. Give him as much hell as you want to about what he looks like on the mountain in those crappy uniforms. But Lance Lynn PERSON has been a pleasant surprise. I couldn't have been more wrong about him because I was really nervous about himcoming into the year. And he's proven me wrong so far. So I'll accept that. And I hope he continues it. So it should be a fun weekend in New York GPE. Unfortunately, Friday night game on Apple TV ORG. some people are going to be upset about that.But, you know, we'll be on Twitter X tweeting and talking about it. I'm sure Thomas PERSON will be on there as well. If you want to give him a follow there at Thomas Govain PERSON, G-A-U-V-A-I-N is how he spells it. But you've got all of his articles at Redbirdrance.com. Anything coming up that you're going to be writing about soon that you want to push real quick before we wrap it up?

Speaker 22269.16s - 2281.22s

Yeah, I have one piece talking about the additions over the offseason and the trade deadline and how those were good moves by John Moseilock PERSON. And then I've got another one talking about the fan base as a whole and the feelings around the team.

Speaker 42281.9s - 2325.62s

All right. So get on over to Redbirdrance.com, check out all of his work and the rest of the great writers over at Redwoodrance.com. It's a whole lot of fun to be there. And give him a follow on Twitter X there. Thomas, thank you very much, as always, for joining us here today. And thank you guys for making a lockdown cardinals your first list in every day.If you haven't already, give us a follow on Twitter X ORG at L. I underscore Cardinals and a J.DD Sports Radio. Like and subscribe on YouTube ORG. Help our channel and love for the Cardinals ORG grow. You guys are the best fans in baseball. And we'll see you next time on Locked on Cardinals ORG. Hey, Prime members, you can listen to this Locked On Podcast ad free on Amazon ORG music.

Speaker 12326.12s - 2328.3s

Download the Amazon Music app today.