Cardinals Make a Big Move

As reported on earlier, the sudden and tragic death of Oscar Taveras hit everyone in the baseball community hard as a young man with loads of talent and promise was taken way too soon...

But after taking time to mourn and grieve this lost, we have to also remember that baseball is also a business, so it wasn't all too surprise that with Taveras gone, a hole was left in the outfield to fill. As someone who checks out rumors and reports almost on the daily, I hadn't heard one word about a possible trade or free agent signing. My initial thoughts were that the Cardinals would do like they normally do, and fill in from within. With the likes of Randal Grichuk, who played in the majors this past year, as well as promising minor league talent Stephen Piscotty waiting for his time at Triple-A, it seemed sure that these two would probably battle it out come spring training to see who would get the spot.

However, Cards GM John Mozeliak quickly quelled that assumption, by going out last week and making a pretty big trade in getting outfielder Jason Heyward and relief pitcher Josh Walden for Shelby Miller and a minor leaguer. Focusing just on Heyward, the Cardinals filled their need for an established starting right fielder who has plenty of upside. As you'll see in the video below, Heyward is masterful defensively in the outfield. Good speed, range, and instincts helped him to lead the league in Defensive Runs Save this past season. His hitting has quite lived up to what people projected him to be at, with his power numbers dwindling the past three seasons, from 27 to 14 to 11 in his homerun numbers, but at just 25 years old, he still hasn't even hit the prime of his career, so the upside here is tremendous. Used primarily as the Braves leadoff hitter last season, Heyward put up a line of .271 BA 11HR, 58RBI and 20 SB.

With Matt Carpenter already have established himself as a solid leadoff hitter for the Cardinals, the question becomes where to bat Heyward in the order. In my opinion, this is how I would have the batting order look come Opening Day 2015

1. Matt Carpenter. 2. Kolten Wong. 3. Matt Holliday. 4. Matt Adams. 5. Yadier Molina. 6. Jason Heyward. 7. Jhonny Peralta. 8. Jon Jay. 9. Pitcher's spot

If you're not familiar with Heyward, be sure to check on the video below. Best of luck to Heyward in the upcoming season.

Wrap Up on the 2014 Season: Post Season Awards

The 2014 Rookie of the Year Award was recently awarded to Jacob DeGrom of the New York Mets, and deserving so. As a rookie pitcher, a 9-6 record with a 2.69 and 144 strike outs in 140 plus innings is pretty great, so hats off to the young man for an exceptional start to his promising career.

Although the fight for 2nd and 3rd place don't mean much in the overall sense, I was surprised to see the amount of space between Billy Hamilton of the Reds (2nd) and Kolten Wong (3rd). In the stats that really matter to me for a hitter, I feel like the two were closer that the 92 vs 14 voting points the two received.

                 
                                     VS.

Hamilton put up some solid numbers for a rookie, with a stat line as such:

152 GP, 72 Runs, 141 Hits, 6 HR, 48 RBI, 56 SB, .250 AVG, .292 OBP, .355 SLG, .648 OPS

Wong, for missing part of the season with an injury, still put up decent numbers:

113 GP, 52 Runs, 100 Hits, 12 HR, 42 RBI, 20 SB, .249 AVG, .292 OBP, .388 SLG, .680 OPS

So when you look at that line, I just feel like the gap between the two should have been a bit less, considering that for most of those stats, Wong was right on pace with Hamilton, if not surpassing. Hamilton being a lead off hitter definitely helped in the Runs and Hits line, while Wong, for most of the year, batted lower in the line up. Again, I don't think Wong should have been ahead of Hamilton, I just think that the two should have been closer in the overall voting. If what I saw out of Wong in this past post season is any indication of what I can expect from him next season, assuming he can sustain it, he'll definitely be a force to reckon with at the plate and on the bases.

Wrap Up on the 2014 Season: Post Season Awards

Although the Cardinals fell short of their ultimate prize of winning the World Series, some members of the team were recently recognized for their efforts during the season. Lets start out with Yadier Molina.

Yadier Molina, the staple of the pitching staff, and lets be honest, probably of the team, was recognized as the best defensive catcher in the National League, winning his 7th consecutive Gold Glove Award. Critics and fans alike have argued that maybe Jonathan Lucroy of the Brewers should have taken home the award, and to a degree I understand why. Lets take a look at their defensive stats numbers in key fields. M denotes Molina, L for Lucroy

     VS.

Games played at primary position: M:107, L:136               Passed Balls: M: 3 L: 5

Innings at primary position: M: 931.2, L: 1182.1                 Stolen Bases Allowed: M: 23 L: 83

Assists: M: 56 L:65                                                                        Caught Stealing: M: 21 L: 29

Errors: M: 2 L: 4                                                                           Caught Stealing %: M: 48% L: 26%

Fielding %: M: .998 L: .996

When it comes to voting in baseball. alot of people put weight into what a player has done in the past, say when it comes to All-Star voting. You can say that Lucroy played in more games, thus he had more of a chance to make more errors and more passed balls. I think the real reason you give the award to Molina in this case, while in part to his great defensive past, but also for the fact that he ultimately shuts down an opponent's running game, while also catching nearly half of those who do try and steal, compared to Lucroy's 26%. The stolen bases allowed numbers alone should attest to this, with Lucroy giving up 60 more stolen bases than Molina.