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I really think it's down to Mo vs. Antonetti. I'm not a betting man, but my money would be on Mo.  Nevertheless, DeWitt is doing this HIS way.  I'm interested in which GM you PREDICT will be running the show.  

Personally, I want Antonetti as our GM and it's encouraging that DeWitt has waited to at least interview the guy.  I hope he's seriously considered.  

Here's a great read from 2003 about Chris Antonetti, the Indians' assistant GM and stat-freak.

" Helping to separate head from heart, and gut instinct from statistical reality, is the role of the Indians' confidential computer database, DiamondView. Consider it a kind of truth machine, whose function is to temper, or even override, subjective measurements with objective ones.

Antonetti, the Tribe's best analytical mind, oversees DiamondView's use in team decisions such as the Thome negotiations. The database is believed to be among the most sophisticated in baseball. The Indians are so protective of it, they copyrighted it."

Here's the link to the story.

I don't know if we'll interview this guy, but he would probably get along with Luhnow, don't you think?

Alright, now that Slick Rick is up for the rest of 2007, with my mad math skillz, I count SIX outfielders on the active roster.  Now I know that 75% of VeB would like to trade JuanE for a bag of balls. And I might be with you there, if the other team takes all of his salary.  

But lets just say this doesn't happen and this team continues to play within striking distance in the Central.  Fellow Birdos, answer me this:
-Who do you play where against lefties?  Against righties?  
-Is Edmonds a platoon player now?
-Do you sit Juan against righties?  Why?
-Does Ankiel play every day or platoon?
-Is left field now a Duncan/Ludwick platoon?

Whaddya think?

I have 2 LaRussa plan tix, section 335 row 2.  Let me know if you're interested.  I'm asking $20 or best offer for both.

Not try to solicit on this site, but I cannot go to the game and I really don't want to completely eat these tickets.

You can reply here or email me at b.weissert@gmail.com.

Go Cards!

Larry and everyone else - you do a phenomenal job here of breaking the game down.  The community's consensus about Reyes vs. Duncan, 4 seamer vs. 2 seamer gets lost on many everyday Cardinal fans.  But when guys like Bernie use some of Larry's analysis in a column (he doesn't give credit, however), it makes me realize how cutting-edge this blog is.  Take a look at Bernie's Bits:

"I'm conflicted on the demotion of Anthony Reyes. No. 1, Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan has a proven philosophy (pitch down in the zone, get ground balls) and Reyes stubbornly resists it. On the other hand, not all pitchers are alike. Not all can fit into a particular mold. Reyes makes a lot of hitters swing and miss and appear overmatched when he throws that four-seam fastball up in the zone. Either way, it looks like the Cardinals have a trading chip."

Just thought I'd take a moment to express my appreciation.  

Keep up the good work boys.

Oh, and by the way - if anyone has questions about injuries or rehab, just throw up a diary.  Giving out free information is the least I can do, considering how much I get out of this site every day.

You all know the rest.  I really wish that everyone who is casting stones please take a step back.  All this speculating, conclusion-jumping, and finger-pointing really makes me ill.  I tried reading through the comments after Larry's excellent post - but I couldn't.  

Look, people...  I know that we search for meaning in such times.  But we have to also realize that this Cardinal team is grieving.  Tony is grieving.  Hell, most of US are grieving.  And that's OK.  If Josh Hancock was drinking and driving - well, so what?  It does not take away from anything he did while he was on this earth.  

As Larry stated earlier:

"it's beginning to look as if hancock was driving drunk. should that prove to be the case, there will need to be a reckoning; but that, too, should wait until the man has been buried. there is no hurry to do anything right now --- to play good baseball, to catch the brewers, or to proclaim the moral of the story. just get through the day."

Please.  Give it some time.  

RIP Josh.

Update [2007-4-11 11:47:0 by SilentBob]: Paletta weighs in. Per Matthew Leach: Dr. George Paletta, the Cardinals' head team physician, clarified Chris Carpenter's diagnosis on Tuesday and professed optimism about the right-hander's rehabilitation from a right elbow injury. The Cardinals issued a brief release on Monday describing Carpenter's condition as "moderate arthritis and a mild impingement" in his elbow. Paletta explained that the impingement resulted from bone spurs in Carpenter's elbow, and said that the impingement is a more significant issue than the arthritis. "They are working in tandem," Paletta said by cell phone from St. Louis, "but I think the more significant problem is the spurs -- that's what's really causing impingement in the back of his elbow." Check Liam's links below for details. [end update] Carp's elbow is essentially fine, but this could be a drawn-out process - Rest/rehab/NSAIDs/rehab starts, etc. They aren't just going to go and cut on his elbow because of some arthritis. Surgery will be the last choice.

Free article on BP:

"The panic seems to have passed in St. Louis, as Chris Carpenter was cleared to begin working towards his next start. The Cardinals have juggled their rotation to cover the start he'll miss this weekend, with the plan being to slot him back in on Tuesday. Most of the descriptions of what's going on with Carpenter, including this one from Matthew Leach, have the anti-inflammatories getting the range of motion back in Carpenter's arm. The symptoms match up well with bone chips, so the worst-case scenario is a recurrence of this type of situation that necessitates surgery. Carpenter has had bone chips removed from this elbow before, so a recurrence is almost expected. The team is doing a bit of ostriching on this in not taking an MRI, but in part that could be because they have a solid diagnosis and plan. Other pitchers, such as Kelvim Escobar and Johan Santana, have come back from this type of problem quickly, and Escobar is probably the best comp here."

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=6072

The bone chip analysis does seem to fit in Carp's, in my medical opinion as well.  Bone chips occur when stress on the inside of the elbow causes impaction of top of the ulna (lower arm bone)onto the the bottom of the humerus (upper arm bone) at the joint surface, possibly scraping some bone/cartilage away.  This cartilage/bone stuff can float around in the joint and occasionally get stuck, causing swelling.

As long as its not the UCL (Tommy John ligament), I'm completely unalarmed.  Problem is, Carp could end up needing his elbow scoped out sometime this season, which would likely shelf him for 4-6 weeks.

Carp's bullpen session and next 2 outings will be crucial, IMHO.

What is with the continued drubbing of the ownership?  Most of us who read/post on this site will probably agree with what I have to write, but I know there are many out there who just can't get enough of ripping the Cards, even after we just won it all.

I know our rotation doesn't look good now, but who here doesn't trust Walt's judgement?

I don't think that all these fans projecting gloom and doom in '07 have a long term memory, however, seeing as we have won the NL pennant 2 of 3 years and have also won a World Series title.

Hopefully with our organization making the commitment to youth, we can continue to develop quality young arms and we can make free agent splashes when they are worth the risk!  We did so with Schmidt and it didn't work out. So what?  He didn't want to play in StL.  Fine by me. Have a nice career.  There will be others, next year, and the year after, who will want to play here because it's a great place to play.

This organization has a plan.  And a pretty incredible track record, considering our market/payroll, etc.

What team has won the most games over the past 5 years?  

TEAM    WINS  AVG PAYROLL RANK
NYY     582        1
STL     575        10
ATL     571        8
OAK     571        24
BOS     548        2

This organization knows what they are doing.  The Cards will be fine.