Last year, I spent the time immediately after the season examining each player that had made an appearance in St. Louis during the season. This series was well received and so I’m bringing this idea back for the 2013 offseason. More summaries than anything, I imagine the player coming into Mike Matheny‘s office and having a short conference before heading home for the winter. Stats are just the ones accumulated for the Cardinals during the regular season.
This year’s Exit Interview series is brought to you by Bonfyre. A large number of the United Cardinal Bloggers used Bonfyre all season long and found it a great way to interact and discuss things in a limited audience. No need to worry about some pseudo-fan crashing your Facebook conversation or trying to explain fine points in 140 characters on Twitter. Invite who you want to the group and get to talking. Share pictures as well–Bonfyre is a great way to document parties or other events, especially for folks that can’t be there. Sign up today and give it a try.
Name: Randy Choate
Season stats: 2-1, 2.29 ERA, 64 games, 35.1 IP, 26 H, 11 BB, 28 K, 1.05 WHIP
Hero/Goat: Goat 3
Overall grade: B+
Positives: When the Cards sprang for three years of Choate, people were a bit puzzled. While three years still may be a bit of a stretch, year one went off just about the way you’d expect when you sign a classic LOOGY. Choate also was stretched at times, occasionally pitching entire innings instead of just a lefty-on-lefty matchup. After struggling in the spring, Choate quickly got to the point where there was confidence in the fan base when they saw him striding out of the pen.
Negatives: Eleven walks in 35 innings is a little tough to swallow, especially since Choate might have been required to get just that one batter. Seven of his appearances were of the 0.0 IP variety, which can be very frustrating when getting that batter is his one job. Plus, his history against David Ortiz (and his inability to get him out in Game 3) probably shaded that Series a bit as well.
Outlook: While it’s likely Choate will continue to slip during the length of his contract, he’s still an effective member of the bullpen and one of the few that won’t be carded when they go out to dinner. Given the arms that are out there, expect that he’ll have fewer one-inning-or-more outings than the 15 he had in 2013, which will help him keep his effectiveness a bit longer.
