Amaury Marti is currently hitting .424/.509/.633 in 39 games for the Mexican Red Devils of the Mexican League, also known as Liga de Amaury Cazana. Bud Selig ordered the Cardinals to banish him to there, in fear of the major leagues losing competitive balance.
Amaury also refuses to accept the watch curse. He has the power to curse, and the power to bless.
FirstInning.com: St. Louis Cardinals Daily Report
|
I’m bored. AZ and I each have some stuff in the works, but nothing ready to publish yet. I thought if some of you want to ask me a question, fire away. I’ll be away tonight until 10, but between now and around 6 I should be around. And I can always get back to questions later on.
Filed under: Uncategorized
 | yaima morales on Instructional League happ… |
 | Jason Macchiarola on Sleeper: Matt Scherer |
 | St. Louis Cardinals … on Richard Castillo: Internationa… |
| St. Louis Cardinals … on Luhnow on the July 2 sign… |
 | jack on Jermaine Curtis |
erik
azruavatar
fewgoodcards
roarke49
theredbaaron
Where does Freese fit into your list? What about Barton? Neither of your prospect lists has been updated yet, and can you add the community list to the link as well?
USA Today put out a piece about the overall state of the Cards including some minor league stuff. Since you guys are struggling to find things to write about maybe you could discuss it.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/nl/cardinals/2007-12-19-organizational-report_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip
Hugo I’ll have to ask AZ to update the lists, as I’m not as handy with HTML. On my personal list, I’d put Barton at #9 and Freese at #14. We initially weren’t planning on updating our lists, but I think maybe now we should. I’m sorta rethinking some of mine…but I can be a notorious waffler sometimes. thank God i’m not a politician.
Poorcollegeguy–no new info there, just a lot of generic info we already know imo. there is some news worthy of discussion that came out today, however. Freese is ticketed for AA. What does that do for Craig, I wonder? (The news came per Joe Strauss’s chat at stltoday.com)
something that keeps me up at night, can yo tell me what az name means, and how i would pronounce such a word?
Some questions on Barden.
Any idea what Barden’s power just left him in 2007?
Also, what kind of OBP do you think he could put as a UT guy?
Any breakout guys for 2008?
In that link that poorcollegeguy left us it says:
The Cardinals have precious few left-handed relievers like Garcia, which could be a sign that he could end up on the fast track.
The Cardinals don’t plan on moving him to the bullpen do they?
Hugo — I’ve updated the Prospects List with several things.
1) The Readers list
2) erik and I both have links at the top of our list now that go to our detailed top 25
3) after the chart are links to baseball america’s top 10 and Kevin Goldstein’s Top 11 lists
Ricky — it’s pronounced “az - roo - av - uh - tahr” or as-rue-avatar
Sometimes I wish I could just change my moniker to my actual name since I started writing here and at VeB. Part of the reason for that is because the story behind this name makes me sound like as much of a geek/loser as you can think of.
When I was in grade school was when Magic Cards were becoming quite popular. I played those for several years up until about my junior year of High School. I’m also a voracious reader; I read at least a book a week and sometimes 2 or 3. I came across the novels that were written loosely about the Magic Cards characters. The main character in the first dozen novels or so is a wizard named Uzra. Reverse that and you get azru which was my AIM moniker that I had for a while and just kind of rolled over into my screen name for basically every site I visit.
Geeky enough? I’m not sure I could really shake the name at this point and I kinda like it.
What prospects should get invited to big league camp…Garcia, Ottavino, Boggs, Mort, Kozma? i assume colby, anderson, and perez will be there
I read that Joe Mather was put on the 40-man roster to avoid the Rule 5 Draft….
My question is what is your impression of Mather and do you think he has a future with the big club?
cardsfan–i don’t think there will be any shockers. boggs, anderson, perez and the guys on the 40 man. i’d also guess marti. i wouldn’t be totally shocked to see freese, stavinoha, as well as derba (always need an extra catcher) as for a wild card, rauschenberger.
mauredj–i don’t think barden had a lot of power to begin with. el paso is quite a bandbox. but i don’t know why his offense just vanished. i’d guess his obp would be in the .297-.310 range
guys–a question i put to strauss today, but did not get answered:
colon, clement, etc, what are the real extent of their injuries? why are folks jumping on prior (it appears) when it seems his injury issue is one of the more severe ones? i’m not looking for medical stuff, just what role is the extent of their injuries figuring into the cards calculation (baseball comparables so to speak). mo refers to to medical due diligenece, but what does that mean baseball wise?
Thanks AZ. Also I tried Magic for awhile, couldn’t get into it but I am still a geek in many other ways.
Oh, oh questions, yay!
To both:
How can you like Mortensen more than Kozma? The Cardinals just a few months ago spent a higher pick on Kozma and 750k more. Do you think they did that for a reason? (Oh, and not to be picky/annoying but on your lists Clayton’s name is spelt wrong.)
To AZ:
Who should the Cardinals sign that is cheap?
To Erik:
Why is it so hard for people to remember it’s a “k” not a “c”?
sportsman–well, i don’t really wanna wade out into the majors stuff. I do trust mo and co. to do their due diligence. i have no interest in prior whatsoever, the guy is a mechanical disaster. i want to know why they aren’t interested in jennings. ‘
i like mortensen more because i don’t see any apparent
weaknesses. he gets groundballs, misses bats and has good control. and scouts love him. he should fast track his way to the big leagues and work his way into the middle of the rotation. as for kozma, i can see why some would put kozma ahead. he should be the card’s regular SS in the future but i guess i see mortensen as a little more of a sure bet then mort, and he’s closer. and i’ve been sort of influenced by some criticisms of kozma’s swing.
as for the “c” thing, I get it all the time. i guess it’s just the way most people spell it.
Couldn’t you say all the same things about Mortensen about Todd? And Todd does have a more impressive college background. But I guess Mortensen does have the scouts factor on Todd. Maybe I just think you’re putting too much credit into a small sample, I’m not sure.
Oh, another question. Have either of you had a chance to talk to people inside the Cardinal organization?
“Oh, another question. Have either of you had a chance to talk to people inside the Cardinal organization?”
i’ve interviewed p.j. walters and kenny maiques, but i assume you mean scouts or something like that. in that case, then no.
thanks for letting me in on that Az. I have wondered about that since you were referenced in one of the always laughable mo’s’ diary columns over at VEB. even went as far as to look it up in the dictionary, with no luck of course
Erik I get the same thing, my name is the “conventional” spelling Stephen but most Americans now spell it Steven thus it is very rare when someone does spell it correctly without first asking.
In the Craig/Freese comparison you gave the average ISO SLG% for their leagues. Where is this available?
Wondering about Colby. How much has his frame filled out since he’s been in the system? He’s got an awful lot of pop to be so young, just wondering if his power potential might in the end render him with more of a corner outfielder build. Of course, CF is a premium defensive position and keeping him there is pretty critical to his elite status. Seems like he’s handling CF well thus far. Do you see any reason that wouldn’t continue?
Mather improved his plate discipline and his physique, and it led to some pretty big #’s in AA. He didn’t do as well as he did in AA, but still showed some interesting power. My take on him is he’s a platoon OF/backup 1B.
At baseball reference’s new minors pages. here is where i got it. ISO isn’t listed, but it’s simply SLG-AVG, as I’m sure you know already.
Colby put on 20 pounds of muscle (Alert Senator Mitchell!
) between 2006 and 2007. He lost some of the weight when he was suffering from a respiratory infection when he slumped during the middle of the season. I see no reason why he couldn’t handle center, all the reviews of his glove in CF have been very positive.
This may be a bit out of your realm but my cousin was dating a guy this summer that was drafted by the Royals (Sean McCauley) I was wondering if you had heard anything about him, good bad or otherwise. Here is his BR link http://minors.baseball-reference.com/players.cgi?pid=33628 only played with the AZL Royals but is a Catcher and put up a ~.850 OPS. It amused me when she told me because I had just finished following the draft a few days before.
you’d asked for some help with something concerning data yesterday - was wondering if you got that worked out. I just posted a suggestion right before leaving work.
NERDSSSSS!!!!
1. AZ/Erik: Who out of the following players do you think has the best chance at landing on the starting day squad coming out of spring training: Mather, Perez, Hawksworth, Heather, Hoffpauir, Parisi, Motte? (you can put them in order of perceived probability, if you’d be inclined) I’m predicting now that we leave Florida with Mike Parisi in tow as our fifth starter. (not condoning it…just sense it coming)
2. Does Anderson automatically start the year at AA again, or does a strong spring move him up to AAA?
3. Not necessarily a prospect question, but why is Schumaker not getting any mention as a possible CF/leadoff option? Defensively, I like him better then Ankiel and Ludwick. Offensively, I thought he got some big hits at the end of the year and looked like a completely different hitter later in the season vs. his efforts early in the season. Although he isn’t a great player, per se, I’d think his name would at least be mentioned given his production last year (.333/.358/.458) and Team USA performance. I would be pleased as punch if our leadoff had an OBP in that range.
4. Thanks to AZ outing himself with his unfortunate Magic card story, I feel a little less guilty about my Out of the Park (OOTP) Baseball obsession. Fairly entertaining stats-based PC game. Just consider this a geeky FYI for all of the backseat GMs out there…which I belive is 98.5% of the people who read this site. (assuming 1.5% of the visitors here are our wives verifying this isn’t a porn site).
Parisi isn’t a bad guess, my $ would be on Motte. Just as LaRuncan fell in love with Dennis Dove last spring, I could see them doing the same with Motte.
On Anderson, I think after the way he slumped for the 2nd half, he will start in AA again. I think it’s for the best, he needs time to develop, esp. with his catching. He’s got the arm and the accuracy, he needs to get better at mechanics and blocking the plate.
I could see a Schu/Barton platoon for the lead off spot. I am not high on Schu at all, I don’t think he can post the OBP the team needs at the top of the order. D’Angelo Jimenez or maybe even Jarrett Hoffpauir make more sense, both will really have to earn that spot. I think they find some help there outside. Kenny Lofton would make a lot of sense, but he’s got the jerk rep, so it probably won’t happen.
Yeah the name thing ticks me off. My name is William but people spell it Will-I-Am all the time now.
“There was nothing wrong with it… until that no-talent ass clown became famous and started winning Grammys–Why should I change? He’s the one who sucks…”
I have a question about Ryde Rodriguez.
I have seen two completely different reports on him, one is touting him to be a great pick up, and the other says something to the effect that it looks like he is swinging a wet newspaper, and is the king of jam shots. which one is more accurate?
If Garcia’s injury problem goes away, and everything breaks right for him, is his potential like Brandon Webb like I have seen, or is that a pipe dream?
Thanks
Matt — I used your suggestion. It worked quite well. I was also really disappointed to find that they didn’t update the major league statistics through the end of the season. Thanks!
One thing that was in that USA Today piece was that Perez is number one on the depth chart and Boggs is currently number two. They will be the first called up next year unless someone else impresses during ST.
•RHP Chris Perez: Perez was a closer at the University of Miami (Fla.) in 2006. A recent trend has seen college closers such as Chad Cordero reach the majors quickly after being drafted. Perez has fit that trend so far and will begin 2008 as the closer at Class AAA Memphis.
Mozeliak says that Perez, 22, will be one of the first players that the club will look at if it needs another arm in the bullpen during the season.
•RHP Mitchell Boggs: Right-hander Boggs went 11-7 at Springfield with a 3.84 ERA and 117 strikeouts in 152⅓ innings.
In three minor league seasons, the 23-year-old has never had an ERA above 4.00. Mozeliak expects him to be in the rotation at Memphis and be a candidate for a spot start or to help the middle of the bullpen in St. Louis.
Double A - I’m with erik on this. Hawksworth and Parisi haven’t really raised themselves above the chaff of AAA. Unless the club needs a warm body for the rotation (or they have an unexpectedly good swing) they should be back in Memphis. Mather needs to prove he can hit AAA pitching. Hoffpauir, Haerther and Perez all need to refine their game a bit still with at least half a season at AAA. Perez needs to get those walks under control. Motte is ready now becuase he is, for all intensive purposes, a one pitch wonder. He’s got a high-90s fastball with above average command. That’s not going to make him a spectacular reliever but he can be adequate right now. He’ll have to add another pitch in the long term.
I’d like Anderson to spend time in AA again. As devoted as the front office and TLR seem to Molina, there’s no reason to rush Anderson.
Question: Do we want to do a FR meet & greet ala VEB this season? If so, do we want to do it in STL, MEM or Springfield? It would be fun to talk minor leagues over beers and brats at a game.
about Ryde Rodriguez. He hit .273/.319/.432 in the instructs, not bad for starters. I heard he took some balls pretty deep, so the “king of jamshots” thing isn’t totally accurate. i’d believe more of the positive then the negative on him right now. also of note, albert pujols and him have actually become friends, for whatever that’s worth. (probably very little)
as for Garcia, he’s a lefty, I don’t know of a good comp for him off the top of my head. brandon webb may not be that far-fetched, but i wouldn’t get that excited yet. i think he should be a solid #3. scouts worry about his stamina, as he’s sort of smallish.
Nicholas–the easiest place for me to meet is the QC, where the Swing, er..ah..River Bandits play. Outside of that, it would be hard for me to make it. I’m hoping just to get to Busch at some point this season, taking a one year old anywhere more then 4 hours is pretty difficult.
Why does Donovan Solano not get any love around here? The kid’s plate discipline is unreal for a kid as young as he is. Its so much easier to learn how to poke balls the other way than to not strike out. I could see the kid developing into a Polanco type very easily.
Erik,
I understand. I have a 7 month old. Maybe we could put up a poll and see if there is any interest from the community. I just think it would be fun to talk minor leagues with people who know what they are talking about. Then again I imagine I will see most of you at the VEB meet and greet if that happens. BTW, the key to long car rides is to keep them awake for as long as possible to start the trip.
slusher–solano is quite young. he doesn’t strike out much but he doesn’t walk hardly ever. he has zero, i mean zero power. from what i understand he’s a very good defensive IF with some pretty good speed. his ceiling is a starting SS given his tools. but given his performance, i don’t think he’ll make it even as a util IF. not saying he couldn’t blossom, but his highest OPS to date is .653 as a 17 year old in JC. he didn’t even crack .600 last year in QC or PB. Like you said, Polanco didn’t look like much in the minors, either.
I am hoping to get to a River Bandits @ Chiefs game next summer since my in laws live in Peoria. I would like to get to QC sometime though.
I took the families on the QC - Field of Dreams swing through corn-infested Iowa. I recommend it…provided your wife is willing to be miserable (the 96 degrees didn’t help)just to see you and any youngsters enjoying themselves. I’d be up for any ballgame gathering, provided 6 year olds are welcome, as the little man will be in tow.
Thanks for the feedback AZ/Erik. I couldn’t just go with Perez…too easy…had to take the dark horse Parisi.
Speaking of Solano, I think you missed him in your Winter league updates. He is hitting .347/.412/.401 for the Caimanes team (different than the other Cardinals). He is 3rd in the league in hitting. Is this a sign of things to come?
where are those stats located
“Is this a sign of things to come?”
no.
erik - click on your link for the Columbian league Toros, the liga columbiana (top), then equipos (top) and then click on the icon for Caimanes. Then click on edististicas and then on the icon for Bateo.
For the leaders list click on liga columbiana (top) then lideres (top) and then the Bateo icon