(Staggers over to the coffee machine and drinks a whole pot of coffee)
(Eyes are now wide open) I THINK I’M AWAKE NOW…
Anyways, good morning, here’s a post to start the week off. It is things to ponder about the Cards and baseball in general while we count, millisecond by millisecond, the days until pitchers and catchers report. I’ve done this quick hit type post before, before, and it may become a regular feature of mine here at the Conclave.
1) What will Carlos Villanueva give us?
Perhaps the better question, is how many starts will we need him for? If the rotation is healthy, and he can stay in that swingman role (provided he makes the team) then we should be ok. Of course, even with an injury, we have other options to fill the spot, like Marco Gonzales, which would allow Carlos V to stay in his swingman role. Only a rash of injuries would make him anything more, and if that happens, we’re in trouble.
2) Is Mo done?
It seems he is, but I never estimate him. He may have a trick or two up his sleeve. Even so it, wouldn’t be a major change, so what you see right now is seemingly what you’re going to get in 2015, and it looks pretty good. We’re pretty deep at most positions. The major concern, really is minor, as in the minor leagues. After one or two more top shelf prospects like Stephen Piscotty, we don’t have any that are ready right away, we’ve either promoted them or traded them. As much as I’d like to see Alex Reyes, he’s a ways off. If we have a rash of injuries, things could become interesting. I don’t see that happening, but it’s certainly possible.
3) Is there such a thing as too many options?
If you look at the Oakland A’s Roster, you’ll see a team with great depth. That depth, though, means quite a few moving parts. If one key multi-position player, say Ben Zobrist, does the whole thing collapse? It’s an interesting experiment, and Bob Melvin has proven himself as a capable manager n the past, and Billy Beane is Billy Beane, so we’ll see what happens, but this is the rare occasion where I’m a tad skeptical about Oakland. I still think their final record, whatever it is, will exceed most of the dreary expectations I’ve seen on the internet.
4) Is Washington as good as it seems? I doubt it. They have a pretty good chance to make the playoffs, but it’s not like Max Scherzer is some World Series winning pitching genius. He’s never won a World Series in his career. This is one of those “I’ll believe it when I see it” teams when it comes to them winning the World Series, as they haven’t even appeared in one yet in their entire history, dating back to their Expos days.
As always, thanks for reading.
