Three things I wonder about when I’m not playing my latest addiction: OOTP Online Leagues (Two of them no less, a fictional league and a realistic one)
Should the Cards keep Matt Carpenter as their leadoff hitter?
I say yes. I like his OBP skills up top, and I think Heywayd, who has a little more pop, fits in better either as the second hitter or elsewhere in the lineup. As we’ve proven with Carp at top, we don’t need speed up top to win. The stolen base, in fact, is a risky gambit, and I’d rather keep our guy on base than run into an out.
Who should fill our bench?
I think we should either demote or release Pete Kozma, and promote Ty Kelly. I think Kelly has better upside, with the potential of being in the starting lineup. Kozma, who, when we had to rely on him in 2013, hit .217 with a .295 OBP and no pop and very few stolen bases, has reached his potential. He’s a bench player at best, and not a very good one at that. I know it sounds cold, but baseball is a business, and we should thank him for the very few good memories he provided us and move on.
Will Jordan Walden fill Pat Neshek‘s shoes?
I have no idea on this one, simply because Neshek’s season least year, was totally unexpected. It falls along the line of “If he can have a season like *that* anybody can.” simply because nobody knew he had that in him, and if you say you did, you’re lying. That being said, Walden has good stats, and I like his fit with the team. His numbers probably won’t match what Neshek did for us last year, but I think he’ll give us a solid season and be a good setup man.
I hope your monday is a good one and is drier than mine is expected to be. (Nonstop rain predicted until Wednesday) and that your whole week is good.
As always, thanks for reading.
A note: Kozma is out of options, so he can’t be demoted. The Cards seem hesitant to lose his glove, so we’ll see but I expect that’ll be enough to get him on the Opening Day roster.