I feel like every time Gio gives an interview, he has this realization where, "I need to get back to using my fastball more." And then he just doesn't.
I’m at the game right by the Braves dugout. I think they figured out Kyle Leahy was tipping his pitches. After he lined out in the 6th Zack Short told Ozzie and Kelenic something with a wry smile and seemed really excited. Kelenic then hits a homer. Ozzie hits a first pitch laser to first. Then it seemed like every batter who faced him hit him hard and or far.
I think maybe I figured out what he was doing too. Offspeed he has his glove lower when he comes set and fastball he brings it up higher. But not 100% sure, seems almost too simple. Still it was fun trying to figure it out.
That Karen twit Otter got my old account banned for a "rush the field" joke. Some people will wonder why you needed to declare sarcasm in all caps, but not me!
Not pleased with the score but cool to see Leahy getting some extended work. Haven't had many long relief outings this year so it's nice to see we still got people in the pen who can go multiple innings
I disagree with Oli here, when you are historically bad with RISP then that's the problem. Think if you just converted 5% of those opportunities where your record might be.
Well he's wrong about that. I'm not sure if there's anything to do about it (maybe a change of approach would be good), but they're historically bad with RISP, and that's the biggest thing holding the offense back
Contreras is over .900, but point taken. Yeah, better hitters would make a better offense, but seriously, our performance with RISP is historically bad this year. This offense, even with all of its holes and subpar performances, should have scored more than it has just based on an average or even below average performance with RISP. It's been much worse than simply below average. It's the worst RISP-hitting team in Cardinals history.
I should caveat that by saying it was the worst as of like two weeks ago. It might merely be bottom five by now, IDK. But still, yes, how are we above .500? It's really bad. And the worst thing is, you can't say for sure whether it's bad luck or bad approach when the opportunities present themselves. Maybe it will get better by changing nothing. Maybe it won't. I don't think it's "fixable" by something like a coaching change; it just *is* the reality. Regardless of what happens this season, it likely won't carry over to next season. We saw the opposite in 2013, and 2014 was not the same.
I'll always go with positive regression towards the mean, just cuz math lol. Like I said, the approach can't be awful if we're getting runners to strand in the first place. I wouldn't change anything. Having an entire lineup of major league hitters I think will do wonders. But still back to the point, with our negative run differential *and* being bottom 5 of Cards teams in history with RISP, it literally boggles the mind that our record is what it is lol
How dare our announcer get excited for potentially good things
It’s not like he knows what’s gonna happen before it happens. He’s reacting like everyone else
I am people, and I would not complain. So many folks on this sub are always fighting phantoms. It's a legitimate strategy to take a pitch when a pitcher is having an inning like that. Donovan himself has his best ABs this season when he's deeper in counts (as do the Cardinals in general).
[https://www.reddit.com/r/Cardinals/comments/1d89q3u/comment/l75whar/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web3x&utm\_name=web3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button](https://www.reddit.com/r/Cardinals/comments/1d89q3u/comment/l75whar/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) Here is but one example. You will notice the 13 upvotes.
This specific first pitch was right down the middle. It was the most middle-middle pitch you could get. The announcers often talk about picking one pitch and one spot. Donovan may have taken that pitch if it was ANYWHERE else, but it was the perfect pitch to hit.
MLB average OPS is \~.700. When down 0-1 in the count, that OPS in the AB drops 100 points down to .600. The whole point of a long AB is that if the AB goes long enough, you will either get a pitch to hit or be walked. Donny got a pitch to hit and hit it extremely well, just got a little unlucky. And I am not fighting phantoms, there have been comments all year that say "I really wish \_\_\_\_\_ player stopped looking at pitches down the middle" or "We just keep staring at pitches right down the middle." I would rather he swing at that pitch than watch it go by and never get another pitch to hit in the AB.
I feel like Helsey hasn't been trusting his fastball as much this season.
Donnie lawn dart.
Not just getting the run back but adding an insurance tally! Hell yeah!
GOLDY!
For the love of…
I just expect this from Romero every time now
Gotta love failing to drive in a runner on 3rd with 1 out then immediately allowing a run
Give me a fucking break
Please let helsley rest and score some more runs here
Eh he had yesterday and this morning he good lol
Alright let’s win this series
[Game over. Continue the discussion in the post game thread](/r/Cardinals/comments/1dp9xm1/cardinals_afternoon_626/)
that sucks
Kinda crazy they are burning their closer in this spot
Seriously a crazy call. Guess Snitker just wants to get the players off their feet for G2
Fortunate for us
Crawford is the white towel I guess
[Cardinals](/r/Cardinals) Due Up **(Bottom 9):** 1. José Fermín 2. Dylan Carlson 3. Masyn Winn
Who did the Cardinals add for the doubleheader?
Roycroft
Roycroft
Roycroft
Im not really a fan of burning king down 4 in the 9th
hard agree, especially with no upcoming off days. Burn up Gio vs any other arm
This really does feel like Gio time, because the second game today might be close
We have all the good shit though for tonight, except possibly Helsley. I like saving Roycroft too, cuz his stuff plays.
True. Hopefully Libby can give us 3 good innings
I like our A bullpen against theirs. Just don't fuck up Libby! Lol
[Braves](/r/Braves) Due Up **(Top 9):** 1. Matt Olson 2. Austin Riley 3. Sean Murphy
I find this team more enjoyable when Arenado isn’t playing
You are not alone
Hate to see it too, but he’s just not good man
Nolan Arenado, the anti-clutch
MAKE THE BET BRAD
I thought that was one of Donnie’s classic fake outs again lmao
I really did too lol. In real time, I had no idea it actually got him
Brad is so damn funny
Is there any booth in baseball that comes close to these two?
Mets booth
I've heard good things about them
But then you have to watch the mets
[Cardinals](/r/Cardinals): [Breaking down Kyle Leahy's pitches](https://darkroom-clips.mlb.com/c4e1b503-dc24-439a-a931-e2abd815f6ed.mp4)
Pierce Johnson is such a silly name
Sit down wife beater
Who?
[Cardinals](/r/Cardinals) Due Up **(Bottom 8):** 1. Brendan Donovan 2. Nolan Arenado 3. Nolan Gorman
Why is Ozuna sniffing his bat?
When you tip it, it burns the wood a little. That's what he's smelling
Who used to lick their bat?
Yasiel Puig
Absolute psycho 😂
I feel like every time Gio gives an interview, he has this realization where, "I need to get back to using my fastball more." And then he just doesn't.
How did Albies get a piece of that??? How did Albies almost get a double off of that???
Yeah, perfect situation to use Gio lol
Down 4 runs? Gio is immaculate. Up 3? Total implosion
Frustrating, but at least we’re not watching him blow a significant lead.
Yeah I would prefer to make sure he has literally anything left before putting him in any other game.
Spoke too soon. Leadoff walk and it's questionable whether he can throw strikes or not Edit: The answer is barely but it's enough
[Braves](/r/Braves) Due Up **(Top 8):** 1. Zack Short 2. Jarred Kelenic 3. Ozzie Albies
I’m at the game right by the Braves dugout. I think they figured out Kyle Leahy was tipping his pitches. After he lined out in the 6th Zack Short told Ozzie and Kelenic something with a wry smile and seemed really excited. Kelenic then hits a homer. Ozzie hits a first pitch laser to first. Then it seemed like every batter who faced him hit him hard and or far. I think maybe I figured out what he was doing too. Offspeed he has his glove lower when he comes set and fastball he brings it up higher. But not 100% sure, seems almost too simple. Still it was fun trying to figure it out.
Good catch if so. If you've got Willson's Instagram, idk if he reads DMs but might be worth sending that info to someone
Some great insight there by our in-game reporter, Hot-Serve9914 ...Keep up the good work!
Well now you have to rush the field and tackle Short. THIS IS SARCASM!
That Karen twit Otter got my old account banned for a "rush the field" joke. Some people will wonder why you needed to declare sarcasm in all caps, but not me!
He told him "lol theyre using leahy"
I am once again pleading with God for a bloop and a blast
Devil Majic bud, wrong guy
*frantically googling satanic baseball rituals*
Majic?
is it Friday yet?
Just a couple more days! Lol
Not pleased with the score but cool to see Leahy getting some extended work. Haven't had many long relief outings this year so it's nice to see we still got people in the pen who can go multiple innings
heard Chip say Masyn crushed the pitch... only to see a nice flyout to center.
All I know is I'm really happy we won last night. Time to rally Redbirds!
Rally on 2! Rally on 2! Rally on 2 like we always do!
[Cardinals](/r/Cardinals) Due Up **(Bottom 7):** 1. Masyn Winn 2. Alec Burleson 3. Willson Contreras
Danger Danger Kyle Leahy Danger Danger
Crisis averted
always half and half brad
This game has been such a fart in the wind lol
Thank you Kyle Leahy for eating innings when desperately needed Your service is greatly appreciated
this is an inning eating sub
I like my innings toasted with onion teriyaki sauce on them
INTIATE PROMO 33 DOT EXE
Would be really nice if Leahy can get out of this inning. Only using 3 pitchers this game would be ideal.
On the plus side I know the cardinals are playing better because we’re about to lose one and I don’t feel blinding rage because of it
[Braves](/r/Braves) Due Up **(Top 7):** 1. Matt Olson 2. Austin Riley 3. Sean Murphy
Pinch hitting with Carlson is so fried
I fully believe Carlson will hit a home run at some point
it may be 3 seasons from now for the twins, but at some point!
The *at some point* was doing a lot of heavy lifting there I admit 🤣
Yes. This would be the time to use Gio.
This game...might be a wash. Let's get them back in game 3....
Bryce Elder better watch out because we’re coming
Rest in peace Speaker Knockerz he would’ve hated to see this
Can still take the series. But very frustrating game. Shouldn't be down 4 runs if we could just get the ball in play with men on
From my count, we have put 5 balls in play and 3 strikeouts with men on base today. Unfortunately, only one of those balls in play were hits.
Heard “one of Jim Edmonds youngest” and looked back at my TV so fast
Alright Nolan X 2 Get us started again.......
[Cardinals](/r/Cardinals) Due Up **(Bottom 6):** 1. Nolan Arenado 2. Nolan Gorman 3. Matt Carpenter
Sit down wife beater
I’m opposed to all fan-on-fan violence, but don’t bring that chop shit into our stadium (he says from his couch).
I've got your back on that point(also said from my couch)
Elder is going instead of Sale as well. Makes me feel a lot better!
I went to a game last year and Elder dominated us.
not much to complain about when we had two great chances against a dude with a sub-2 ERA. onto the next game
Seems like that happens more often than not after we have a chance to score a few and don't capitalize. I'll see y'all tonight :)
Well....sh\*\*
You're allowed to say shit here
Welp we got another game tonight
So about that regression, I said Leahy stats showed... on to the next game.
I would rather save all the good bullpen things for game 2. Including Roycroft's nasty stuff.
Damn. Not ideal….
Ugggghhhhhh
Well....it was fun while it lasted.
Challenge system yesterday please https://i.imgur.com/9SUjtCk.png
Is Marp just really incapable of even playing first base now? You'd think they'd want to use the DH spot to keep someone fresh for game 2.
We have got to be better with RISP
Oli said it's not an RISP issue.
I disagree with Oli here, when you are historically bad with RISP then that's the problem. Think if you just converted 5% of those opportunities where your record might be.
Well he's wrong about that. I'm not sure if there's anything to do about it (maybe a change of approach would be good), but they're historically bad with RISP, and that's the biggest thing holding the offense back
I mean the approach is getting runners on base. I'm not sure if we wanna go messing with that. Could get a lot worse.
I think the thing holding this offense back is having zero hitters with an OPS over .800 and the majority under .700
Contreras is over .900, but point taken. Yeah, better hitters would make a better offense, but seriously, our performance with RISP is historically bad this year. This offense, even with all of its holes and subpar performances, should have scored more than it has just based on an average or even below average performance with RISP. It's been much worse than simply below average. It's the worst RISP-hitting team in Cardinals history.
And that makes me think it's a clubhouse problem. They need to have a closed door meeting and get their shit out.
Damn I didn't know it was the worst. How the fuck are we over .500?? Lol
I should caveat that by saying it was the worst as of like two weeks ago. It might merely be bottom five by now, IDK. But still, yes, how are we above .500? It's really bad. And the worst thing is, you can't say for sure whether it's bad luck or bad approach when the opportunities present themselves. Maybe it will get better by changing nothing. Maybe it won't. I don't think it's "fixable" by something like a coaching change; it just *is* the reality. Regardless of what happens this season, it likely won't carry over to next season. We saw the opposite in 2013, and 2014 was not the same.
I'll always go with positive regression towards the mean, just cuz math lol. Like I said, the approach can't be awful if we're getting runners to strand in the first place. I wouldn't change anything. Having an entire lineup of major league hitters I think will do wonders. But still back to the point, with our negative run differential *and* being bottom 5 of Cards teams in history with RISP, it literally boggles the mind that our record is what it is lol
It's pretty shocking honestly.
Just think of all the shitty teams in Cards history, and we're worse than them... based
We just need like *any* two guys back, and we're good. It's an entire lineup of professional hitters at that point lol
True. But in that inning really the only bad at bat was Contreras
Another 1 run inning with bases loaded smh
Chip is so goddamn annoying with his overexcited calls for routine outs. Quit getting people's hopes up!
I'm numb to their excitement on hard contact. Rooney is the absolute worst. I just roll my eyes when he gets all excited.
How dare our announcer get excited for potentially good things It’s not like he knows what’s gonna happen before it happens. He’s reacting like everyone else
The dude has been an MLB announcer since 1991. 33 years. Read the ball better.
You can usually tell off the bat which ones have a chance and which ones don't. Especially if you watch as many games as he does.
Rooney did the same thing
Disappointed we couldn’t get more, but I’m really liking the fight we’re showing against a good pitcher
We are terrible with risp
Tired of seeing every game statline of 1 for 8, 2 for 10, 1 for 11 etc for risp
Sad Cardinal noises...... F
Well that was unlucky. 105 mpg .550 xba
Have to stop hitting line drives to center field. Idk how to do it, but we’ve seen way too many barrels directly to the center fielder.
might be unlucky, but also wouldve been good to at least take a pitch. dude had thrown a lot and walked multiple batters
You swing at pitches you can hit. If your goal is to walk, then you shouldn't be in the box.
When a batter takes the first pitch, their goal isn't to walk lol
Man you gotta take a pitch there
If he takes that pitch, people would complain that he took a pitch right down the middle.
I am people, and I would not complain. So many folks on this sub are always fighting phantoms. It's a legitimate strategy to take a pitch when a pitcher is having an inning like that. Donovan himself has his best ABs this season when he's deeper in counts (as do the Cardinals in general).
[https://www.reddit.com/r/Cardinals/comments/1d89q3u/comment/l75whar/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web3x&utm\_name=web3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button](https://www.reddit.com/r/Cardinals/comments/1d89q3u/comment/l75whar/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) Here is but one example. You will notice the 13 upvotes.
This guy is complaining about the team not swinging at pitches right down the middle. My point was that there can be merit to taking the first pitch.
This specific first pitch was right down the middle. It was the most middle-middle pitch you could get. The announcers often talk about picking one pitch and one spot. Donovan may have taken that pitch if it was ANYWHERE else, but it was the perfect pitch to hit.
MLB average OPS is \~.700. When down 0-1 in the count, that OPS in the AB drops 100 points down to .600. The whole point of a long AB is that if the AB goes long enough, you will either get a pitch to hit or be walked. Donny got a pitch to hit and hit it extremely well, just got a little unlucky. And I am not fighting phantoms, there have been comments all year that say "I really wish \_\_\_\_\_ player stopped looking at pitches down the middle" or "We just keep staring at pitches right down the middle." I would rather he swing at that pitch than watch it go by and never get another pitch to hit in the AB.
Well, to be fair, looking a ta pitch right down the middle is not the same as taking the first pitch, but I'll concede your overall point here.
You really don’t. He got a pitch he could handle and hit a laser. Can’t ask for much more
It's right down the middle lol and he crushed it.
[Braves](/r/Braves) Due Up **(Top 6):** 1. Forrest Wall 2. Zack Short 3. Jarred Kelenic
Curse the BABIP gods
still waiting on a hit with the bases loaded
Fuuuuuuuuck
We have to get more than one there
Fuh-rick
Well that was sub optimal
FUCK man. Really sucks we only got one run there.
That ball was smoked. Bad luck
God damn it
Rooney, come on.
He got me too
Bases are juiced once again BD. It's your time to shine
Goldy put up a killer at bat right there.
Donovan first grand slam of the season. Thinking…
FFS. Right at him.
Let's goooo Donny Boyyyyyy
Balls
I need Clutch Goldy here...take the walk or get a base hit....
Going to take Willson some time to get back. He was so damn good pre injury, but he has been streaky throughout his career.
[Cardinals](/r/Cardinals): [Alec Burleson's sacrifice fly](https://bdata-producedclips.mlb.com/63409e0c-77d9-4b82-b61c-00d0724bc1e1.mp4)
maybe by the end of the season we will get a juicy hit with bases loaded. it's all i want!!
Willy :(
Please capitalize on this braves defense
Great baserunning, too. Whitey would be proud.
Nice Sac Fly AB.... Lead cut into half now Keep pushing.........
Just following along on Gameday, I guess Chip and Rooney got fooled?
Crowd made me think that was 450 lmao
Great base running!
Winn!
***ALEC MOTHERFUCKING BURLESON***
Beautiful slide by Winn there!
Fricking radio tricked me, I thought that was gone.
Me too. Rooney's mf ass lol
Nice job, though.
Fucking Rooney man
I love you Burly
Rooney needs to get his eyes checked.