Comments on: Daily Prospect Report 8/29/07

By: BleacherBum593

BleacherBum593 — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 00:05:25 +0000

Bad news coming out of the QC this morning. Elvis Hernandez left the game last night with a shoulder strain and was placed on the DL this afternoon. Marco Gonzalez comes off the DL.

And Batavia is getting some reinforcements for their last week of the season. Called up from Johnson City today were P Nick Addition, SS Pete Kozma and 2B Mike Folli.

On Lambert, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him pitching back in AA next year for the Tigers. My gut says the Cards rushed him up the ladder in the system too quickly and didn’t allow him to learn how to pitch at the lower levels. The guy has talent, but had very little experience when he was drafted.

By: mateodh

mateodh — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 22:14:56 +0000

You’re right Erik, but history wouldn’t surprise me either. The Cardinals are alive(!) with contributions from Rick Ankiel’s bat and Troy Percival’s arm. Maybe a little carried away, but it would figure he’d turn out to be a good pitcher for them.

By: erik

erik — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 21:01:01 +0000

i would be suprised if he dominates. very, very very surprised. it would have to be one of the greatest turnarounds in the history of baseball for him to one day wake up and be dominant.

By: mateodh

mateodh — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 17:16:09 +0000

It’s kind of funny that Lambert’s last stand in our system was successful. I’m going to be watching him, and I won’t be surprised if he’s the worst pitcher they have, but I also won’t be surprised if he dominates.

By: lopey

lopey — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 17:15:21 +0000

@ alec: i was just coming to post that. hard to believe the kid was a 1st round pick in ‘04.

By: Irishman

Irishman — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 16:27:12 +0000

no tears shed over that one.

By: Alec

Alec — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 15:46:05 +0000

No more Lambert he was announced as PTBNL in Detroit deal.

By: Brock#20

Brock#20 — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 15:11:23 +0000

As someone who negotiates for a living, I don’t see how the Memphis AAA contract doesn’t get done. Both sides have offsetting weaknesses that really prevents them from ending the deal. The Cardinals need a team within a reasonable commuting distance from St. Louis, so they can shuffle players up and down in short notice. Additionally, the Cardinals need franchises in locations that build interest in the parent ball club. Therefore, it doesn’t make sense for them to shuffle off to Buffalo or Las Vegas, or wherever. Plus, another southern team would swoop in and take Memphis, thus changing their sphere of influence. If the timing was right, I could see them jumping back to Louisville which would offer the same amenities as Memphis. The Braves, who are unhappy with their AAA affiliate, would quickly sign with Memphis.
As the article describes though, Memphis has its own problems. Namely, the Cardinals are a draw for the park. I love Autozone Park, and frankly I think it is the best baseball stadium going right now. We make it the linchpin of our annual minor league road trip. But, the vast majority of people who are coming attend because it is a Cardinal affiliated team. The Memphis group doesn’t want to end that.
The Cardinals minor leagues, as we all know, have sucked for a great many years. If I’m the Cardinals, I walk into the room with a presentation on the developments we’ve made in the minors. Or, if the plan is to put Colby at AAA next year, I just wait and let the attendance spike happen. Either way, they ownership group is falling over themselves to renegotiate. I would include an annual appearance, at the Civil Rights Game probably, to give the appearance that they scored a win from us. When in actuality, we want to do that to increase our marketing presence in the Western-Southern states.

By: Shaneo69

Shaneo69 — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 14:51:17 +0000

Why does Jose Ramirez continue to play ahead of DeJesus at QC?

By: Whopperman

Whopperman — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 14:17:54 +0000

I’m glad to hear the Memphis ownership is stalling before they re-sign the contract.

Aside from the Ankiel show this year and the John Rodriguez show a couple of years ago, there hasn’t been a thing worth watching on the field here since 2000. Their records, year-by-year, beginning in 2000: 83-61, 62-81, 71-71, 64-79, 73-71, 71-72, 58-86, and they’re 54-85 this year.

I know the point of a AAA team isn’t really to win, but there’s really no excuse for sending more teams that finish 15 below .500 than teams that finish .500. This team is *31* games behind the Brewers’ first-place team and they have a *16* game cushion for sole possession of last place.

Also, this is two years in a row that we’ve had the worst team in AAA.

Sorry to vent…it’s just absolutely miserable to watch this disaster of a team lately.