Anyone got any extras of the 20 years of busch calendar? My schnucks in Indiana haven't had them yet but app says they do. They're my favorite wall calendar to get
For those of you who don't know how to get around that paywall: a split season, an in-season tournament similar to the NBA cup (whatever that is), and two new expansion franchises to make 32 teams in 8 four-team divisions. And it sounds like the National and American Leagues are going to get turned into something akin to an Eastern and Western Conference.
If I had to read in to it, sounds like things they are putting on the table in front of the MLBPA and then they are things they can 'give up' in negotiations. But who knows.
Expansion is going to come because the owners aren't going to not want to split up several billions amongst themselves as the buy-in fee to the league. The rest of the ideas are pretty terrible for the highest baseball league in the world.
the best and brightest at mlb came up with 3 ideas that just copy the nba and 1 (split season) that's original but absolutely stupid. we're in such good hands jfc
yeah i bet. NHL did it well with their 4-Nations one. It might be coming up now because of the Olympics coming up in LA w/ baseball as an event (and going forward?)
It's annoying to see Pallante get a raise after being one of the worst starting pitchers in baseball, but OTOH, in general it's good to not pinch pennies.
Definitely an overpay. But we just trimmed so much payroll, and Pallante seemed like the only overpay, so I’m fine with it. If I remember correctly, Donovan got taken to arb for like $500k last season and had being a utility man held against him.
Admittedly I am not well versed in the arb process either but I see this as a good thing. Many players that have gone through the arb process in recent years said that it negatively impacted their relationship with the org. It is essentially your own team arguing why they should pay you less. Even if that’s just business, avoiding it should be beneficial for all parties
That was my take, I’ve seen the Pallante pricetag, and yeah, I’d prefer my team be a little smarter with the books, but overall I feel this is a good sign that the direction of the front office is heading in the right direction. Many things have come out in recent years about players not wanting to come play in St. Louis. Hopefully things like this will help.
The LH contact-driven guy that has a chance to actually stick is Torres. He's got a good enough glove to function in a utility role, and even though he has zero pop, he has on-base skills.
I thought it was odd at the time he came back in that trade but also you have to field a team at all levels. Loved that he got a debut and got to play but I can't imagine he sees too much more MLB time.
Those two thoughts are not at all contradictory. 1. DeWallet needs to spend money and his refusal to do so is one of the main reasons the team is in the ditch. 2. It's ridiculous that Andre Pallante gets his salary doubled after turning in a godawful sub-replacement season.
Doing quite a bit of generalizing there, pal. I ain't in the "DeWallet needs to spend money" on major league payroll camp. I'm in the DeWitt needs to/is/has been spending money, rightfully so, to rebuild the organization camp.
I've been in that camp. I don't even think he's likely SP protection at this point, more like long-man RP protection. Having him around is whatever. Giving him a raise that's 17.5% over projection sure is odd, though.
In general I'm pro-player which is why I'm against salary caps. But seeing Pallante getting his salary almost doubled after that crappy season, that's annoying.
I’m fine with it. We need the rotation depth right now to bridge the gap until Matthews, Doyle, etc. get here. And I’m pretty much always in favor of avoiding arbitration on principle; all it does is piss off your players. Pallante was pretty damn good in 2024 and awful in 2025. Maybe he bounces back and gives some value, maybe not. It’s not going to matter much either way, as he’s not part of the long-term plan.
Not shocking when you consider the free agent value of a starting pitcher. If he performs well then he earns a raise if he doesn't then no big whoop to non tender him.
Also, that's why I said it pretty clearly marks "they ain't too worried about him being around beyond this year; if they had they would have wanted to keep his raise lower."
Nah the money is spent so it's essentially just a roster spot you lose by keeping him. I don't expect it, but it's possible he performs well enough to get an ok return at the deadline.
That's what I've come to. He'll likely be broken down again by mid-May, eliminating any hope at deadline movement.
Hopefully, they'll have the stomach to release him once he has one year left on the deal. I'd hoped that the new leadership would use him in a platoon and for defensive purposes if he stays around, but indications are that that won't be the likely case.
I don’t believe the Cardinals will trade him unless they get an offer they can’t refuse. He just signed a $5.8 M second year contract that preempted arbitration. Thats a very good value for a player like him as they still need to field a representative team especially after last year, and they still have him next year before he becomes a free agent.
"The Cardinals are financially prepared to hand their rights to MLB and will broadcast all 162 games next year regardless of their TV partner, a source said."
Doesnt that mean they have opted out of the current deal?
Looks like tomorrow is an off day, too.
(I can keep this joke going).
Happy National Hug a Chicken Day*!
*Hug, not choke. Buncha pervs.
6:45pm used to mean something to me 😔
Anyone got any extras of the 20 years of busch calendar? My schnucks in Indiana haven't had them yet but app says they do. They're my favorite wall calendar to get
Rob Manfred talks about some of the new ways he's going to take giant shits on the game of baseball.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6955858/2026/01/08/rob-manfred-mlb-split-season-in-season-tournament/
For those of you who don't know how to get around that paywall: a split season, an in-season tournament similar to the NBA cup (whatever that is), and two new expansion franchises to make 32 teams in 8 four-team divisions. And it sounds like the National and American Leagues are going to get turned into something akin to an Eastern and Western Conference.
God I hate that man. So, so much.
I hope people at the office hide around corners and scare him when he walks by every day
If I had to read in to it, sounds like things they are putting on the table in front of the MLBPA and then they are things they can 'give up' in negotiations. But who knows.
Expansion is going to come because the owners aren't going to not want to split up several billions amongst themselves as the buy-in fee to the league. The rest of the ideas are pretty terrible for the highest baseball league in the world.
the best and brightest at mlb came up with 3 ideas that just copy the nba and 1 (split season) that's original but absolutely stupid. we're in such good hands jfc
like a mid-season WBC? i could be down for that if there's not a bunch of opt outs (or less than doing it at the beginning).
no the players would still be playing for their franchises
oh then a big no from me then
the tournament they want is here, it's called the post-season lol
The in-season competitions are presented as things talked about but very difficult to do.
yeah i bet. NHL did it well with their 4-Nations one. It might be coming up now because of the Olympics coming up in LA w/ baseball as an event (and going forward?)
4 Nations was pretty sweet.
There's a BBQ joint around the corner from my house. It's open for three days a week for a total of 11 hours.
Has to be a front, right? Money laundering? Meth lab in the back?
or it's the best BBQ around lol
I did have some barbecue from there once and it was goddamned amazing. But still, 11 hours a week?
Probably just a dude with a smoker doing it as a hobby that doesn't actually know how to runa business.
Is what I’m seeing on facebook true? Brendan Donovan just signed a 5.8m 1 year contract with the Cardinals?
They avoided arbitration by settling on a salary beforehand.
The new Cardinal Territory interview with Liberatore is a good and enjoyable one.
Coach Lynn the teddy bear
I want to know what that new pitch is.
He mentioned it being for RHHs. I'm thinking maybe a different offspeed shape.
Lil more sink on the changeup maybe?
Maybe.Â
His change last season was odd. It got good results, but had little separation from his sinker. The expected numbers on it weren't nearly as good.
Per Evan Drellich, all nine MLB teams (including Cards) have terminated their contracts with Main Street Sports, aka FanDuel.
So we jumping on the ESPN train? MLB's? not sure what the options are (other than doing it on their own)
edit: looks like they're going to hand the rights over to MLB to broadcast. this means blackouts are gone, no?
Woah we didn’t take anyone to court over pocket change? This feels weird
the Cards will have no player arbitrations this year? damn, that's awesome and a good sign for this new FO.
It's annoying to see Pallante get a raise after being one of the worst starting pitchers in baseball, but OTOH, in general it's good to not pinch pennies.
We're still talking about a 6 figure difference in projected vs actual. Which really is nothing. SPs are at a premium, even mediocre ones.
Definitely an overpay. But we just trimmed so much payroll, and Pallante seemed like the only overpay, so I’m fine with it. If I remember correctly, Donovan got taken to arb for like $500k last season and had being a utility man held against him.
I don’t know much about the financials, but this is good right? Almost guarantees that the players left the negotiation table relatively happy.
Pallante: "I want $4 million"
Cardinals: "DONE"
Pallante:
You miss 100% of shots you don’t take!
Yeah I saw that after commenting. Definitely an overpay, however I still think this will go a long way with player relations.
It's really not that bad of a deal for either side.
It would be crazier if Pallante has never been good, but he's worth throwing out there again. 2025 was by no means an average year for him.
Simply starting over 30 games last year carried value on a team with pretty much no depth.
Admittedly I am not well versed in the arb process either but I see this as a good thing. Many players that have gone through the arb process in recent years said that it negatively impacted their relationship with the org. It is essentially your own team arguing why they should pay you less. Even if that’s just business, avoiding it should be beneficial for all parties
That was my take, I’ve seen the Pallante pricetag, and yeah, I’d prefer my team be a little smarter with the books, but overall I feel this is a good sign that the direction of the front office is heading in the right direction. Many things have come out in recent years about players not wanting to come play in St. Louis. Hopefully things like this will help.
BA has Skylar Hales as the Cardinals's minor league breakout candidate on the pitching side. I don't see it, but hopefully I'm wrong.
They gone substantively over estimate on Pallante and Donovan, substantively under estimate on Nootbaar, and barely under estimate on Romero thus far.
Still missing Burleson, Gorman, and Liberatore.
Edit: Agreements with those three, too.
Does Cesar Prieto have a chance to stick on the roster or is he a AAA filler?
The LH contact-driven guy that has a chance to actually stick is Torres. He's got a good enough glove to function in a utility role, and even though he has zero pop, he has on-base skills.
Organizational depth
Yep. That's what having no real position/glove and being in the wrong organization does to a man.
I thought it was odd at the time he came back in that trade but also you have to field a team at all levels. Loved that he got a debut and got to play but I can't imagine he sees too much more MLB time.
Not with the Cardinals anyway. He's a part of that weird glut of marginal 40-man position players they have.
Ew.
The Birds agreed to a deal to avoid arbitration with Pallante for 4 million--well above his estimate.
That suggests that they ain't too worried about him being around beyond this year; if they had, they would have wanted to keep his raise lower.
*All of this sub* DeWallet needs to spend money!!111
*This sub after a pitcher gets a raise after we offload a ton of salary* Why does this player I don't like get paid!!111
Those two thoughts are not at all contradictory. 1. DeWallet needs to spend money and his refusal to do so is one of the main reasons the team is in the ditch. 2. It's ridiculous that Andre Pallante gets his salary doubled after turning in a godawful sub-replacement season.
Those two ideas are not contradictory.
Okay lol
LOL indeed.
Doing quite a bit of generalizing there, pal. I ain't in the "DeWallet needs to spend money" on major league payroll camp. I'm in the DeWitt needs to/is/has been spending money, rightfully so, to rebuild the organization camp.
They're not mutually exclusive lol. There's no reason to take any of these players to arbitration when there's no money on the books.
The last time I checked previous arbitration figures influence/accelerate future arbitration figures.
If you want to allow yourself to get upset about it do you lol
What did I do that gave an indication that I was "upset?" I simply said it was ... "ew;" that is, it's somewhat distasteful. lol
True, that's on me.
It's all good.
Gross, I just don't see the point in keeping him around at this point. He regressed so hard last year.
I've been in that camp. I don't even think he's likely SP protection at this point, more like long-man RP protection. Having him around is whatever. Giving him a raise that's 17.5% over projection sure is odd, though.
In general I'm pro-player which is why I'm against salary caps. But seeing Pallante getting his salary almost doubled after that crappy season, that's annoying.
I’m fine with it. We need the rotation depth right now to bridge the gap until Matthews, Doyle, etc. get here. And I’m pretty much always in favor of avoiding arbitration on principle; all it does is piss off your players. Pallante was pretty damn good in 2024 and awful in 2025. Maybe he bounces back and gives some value, maybe not. It’s not going to matter much either way, as he’s not part of the long-term plan.
Not shocking when you consider the free agent value of a starting pitcher. If he performs well then he earns a raise if he doesn't then no big whoop to non tender him.
Well, he isn't a free agent.
Also, that's why I said it pretty clearly marks "they ain't too worried about him being around beyond this year; if they had they would have wanted to keep his raise lower."
He isn't but it's possible he could've asked for way more and got it in arbitration with the way the pitching market is.
Just promote Mathews and pay him $4 million on the side to turn on the sprinklers lol
Definitely an Ew.
I really dont think Arenado is going anywhere. I truly think the Angels were our only hope, ans Heyman doesn't believe either side wants that.Â
Once Willson was traded, I knew we weren't moving Arenado.
This, honestly, was predictable from the beginning. He's close to worthless and hugely overpaid. We're stuck with him.
I can’t wait to go through this next offseason. Bonus points if somehow Bregman is a free agent again
Yes, a 33 year old Alex Bregman is exactly what we need to replace another aging third basemen.
No, I mean bc Bregman being on the market has made Arenado way harder to trade, which happened last offseason as well
I think we just have to eat the money and say goodbye.Â
Nah the money is spent so it's essentially just a roster spot you lose by keeping him. I don't expect it, but it's possible he performs well enough to get an ok return at the deadline.
That's what I've come to. He'll likely be broken down again by mid-May, eliminating any hope at deadline movement.
Hopefully, they'll have the stomach to release him once he has one year left on the deal. I'd hoped that the new leadership would use him in a platoon and for defensive purposes if he stays around, but indications are that that won't be the likely case.
Just sucks to some degree all the way around.
Every day Donovan isn’t traded is an increase in his trade value, right?
I don’t believe the Cardinals will trade him unless they get an offer they can’t refuse. He just signed a $5.8 M second year contract that preempted arbitration. Thats a very good value for a player like him as they still need to field a representative team especially after last year, and they still have him next year before he becomes a free agent.
I'd argue the opposite. You give teams the opportunity to move on and find something different.
Good morning from the former home of the triple A Redbirds from 1978-1981!
Same to you from the former home of the Cardinals’ AA affiliate Travelers from 1966-2000.
Do you mind driving over to Vino's, picking me up a pizza, and mailing it to me?
Has FanDuel Sports gone broke yet?
Not yet, but the Cardinals are expected to opt out. The only MLB team expected to stick with Main Street for time being are the Marlins.
I thought they opted out yesterday. Did I misread that?
No one's officially opted out yet.
"The Cardinals are financially prepared to hand their rights to MLB and will broadcast all 162 games next year regardless of their TV partner, a source said."
Doesnt that mean they have opted out of the current deal?
No. It means they are "prepared to." Further reporting since then says they are "expected to."
Then comes the time when they actually do.
I'd bet on that!
Good morning from the third principle meridian!
Good morning from the Ozark Uplands!