Comments on: Oblique strain sends Matt Carpenter to disabled list

By: ramsfan1818

ramsfan1818 — Thu, 24 May 2012 16:59:25 +0000

Actually, 6 Cardinals have played 1st base this year:
Adams
Yadi
Matt Carp
Puma
Craig
Descalso

They did bring up Steve Hill to back up Adams. So, there may be a 7th that plays 1st base in the first two months of the year…crazy.

By: forsch31

forsch31 — Thu, 24 May 2012 00:50:16 +0000

@pharmer–actually, as paperlion pointed out, what Aaron wrote was very inaccurate. Carpenter’s the very definition of an aggressively pushed prospect. After being drafted in 2009, he went through three levels of Single A ball the rest of the season, finishing in Palm Beach (St. Louis’s High A club) with 32 games. In 2010, he started in Palm Beach, but was promoted to Double A after just 28 games. He spent most of 2011 in Memphis (Triple A) minus a brief injury-fill-in call-up when Freese went down, and then he made the St. Louis roster out of spring training as the primary back-up at third (where he played in the minors) and a bench player for first and the corner spots in the outfield. Every year, Carpenter moved up at least one level, and he hasn’t “spent his career in the minors”; he’s actually spent a very short time in the minors.

Aaron’s mistake is exactly that–just a bit of miswording that gives the wrong impression. It’s something that a copy editor would have caught, but bloggers don’t have editors. That’s the devil you get.

By: Nick C

Nick C — Wed, 23 May 2012 21:59:28 +0000

pharmer – Thanks for the explanation. As paper indicated I was challenging the word “finally” as if he had spent a long time in the minors. That Carpenter is getting his first chance at age 26 is not a reflection of spending a long time in the minors but rather a reflection of his advanced age when drafted. For most players age 26 would indicate a long stretch in the minors. I am not saying that is a bad or good thing. I was just pointing out that Aaron probably isn’t aware of Carpenter’s background and is assuming a long minor league stint based solely upon his age.

By: paperlions

paperlions — Wed, 23 May 2012 21:06:48 +0000

He spent 3 years in the minors, only 2011 was in AAA. There is nothing “finally” about his chance to play in the majors. “Finally” in that context, implies a long wait. No such wait existed. He moved through the minors at a pretty quick pace for a guy taken in the 13 round.

Words mean thing, and if you are going to earn your living by them (e.g. as a blogger), then you should learn to use them to convey proper meaning. In this case, the author either did a poor job of conveying information or was not aware of the proper information to begin with.

In other news, the final game of the Cardinal-Padre series is FINALLY going to be played tonight.

By: pharmerbrown

pharmerbrown — Wed, 23 May 2012 20:55:05 +0000

I thumbs-downed it because I disagree with your assessment that Aaron’s comment implied that he languished anywhere. What Aaron stated was factual and concise. Lots of ballplayers spend careers in the minors, never getting called up… I don’t see anything wrong with being called up at 26, whether or not injured during college. To be called up, at any age, does not state that the player is lazy, unmotiviated, or unsuitable for the promotion, but rather the opposite. Its like the argument over whether someone is a first-ballot HoF’er… He’s there, does it matter how many times some cranks had to vote about it?

And I thumbs-downed paper, too. That was just for spite

By: pharmerbrown

pharmerbrown — Wed, 23 May 2012 20:54:53 +0000

I thumbs-downed it because I disagree with your assessment that Aaron’s comment implied that he languished anywhere. What Aaron stated was factual and concise. Lots of ballplayers spend careers in the minors, never getting called up… I don’t see anything wrong with being called up at 26, whether or not injured during college. To be called up, at any age, does not state that the player is lazy, unmotiviated, or unsuitable for the promotion, but rather the opposite. Its like the arguement over whether someone is a first-ballot HoF’er… He’s there, does it matter how many times some cranks had to vote about it?

And I thumbs-downed paper, too. That was just for spite

By: Nick C

Nick C — Wed, 23 May 2012 20:32:42 +0000

paper – I’m not worried about it. I’m just curious. I don’t really care “what” people think but I am curious about “how” people think.

By: paperlions

paperlions — Wed, 23 May 2012 20:26:27 +0000

I wouldn’t worry about it Nick. Some jackhole will thumbs down just about anything.

I agree with your observation, it was an inaccurate characterization (this isn’t a LaHair situation). Similarly, saying that Hamels changed his story and said that he didn’t hit Harper on purpose is inaccurate. Hamels said he didn’t do “it” on purpose….the “it” was stirring the pot…not hitting Harper. He meant to hit Harper, he just didn’t think it would have such broad repercussions. He never said hitting Harper was accidental.

By: Nick C

Nick C — Wed, 23 May 2012 20:19:44 +0000

I am just curious about the thumbs down. Is it because I challenged Aaron about his implication? Is it because I concluded that 2-2/3 seasons is a quick path to the majors? I am genuinely curious.

By: WhenMattStairsIsKing

WhenMattStairsIsKing — Wed, 23 May 2012 19:59:42 +0000

I try not to strain for them too much.

By: Nick C

Nick C — Wed, 23 May 2012 19:37:44 +0000

“… finally getting his first extended chance in the majors at age 26.”

Aaron – The implication here is that Carpenter has been languishing in the minors. The reality is that he was drafted in 2009 as a 23 year old. Carpenter redshirted during his college career (TCU) because of Tommy John surgery. Thus he was a 5th year senior when drafted.

The net result is that Carpenter spent about 2 and 2/3 seasons in the minors. That is a relatively quick path from draft to MLB.

By: ajcardsfan

ajcardsfan — Wed, 23 May 2012 19:33:49 +0000

Oh you’re so punny

By: ajcardsfan

ajcardsfan — Wed, 23 May 2012 19:33:02 +0000

At the rate we’re going, Saint Louis is slowly becoming Memphis. I’ll allow this only if we’re allow to call up Beale Street and put it by Soulard

By: thefalcon123

thefalcon123 — Wed, 23 May 2012 19:30:59 +0000

Somehow, improbably, the Cardinals are now playing their 4th(!) option at 1st base. If Matt Adams goes down, I guess Kyle Lohse will have to play there on his off days.

God speed Mr. Adams.

By: WhenMattStairsIsKing

WhenMattStairsIsKing — Wed, 23 May 2012 19:29:04 +0000

Too many hurt players out there. Talk about an o-BLEAK situation.

By: bigleagues

bigleagues — Wed, 23 May 2012 19:27:31 +0000

Well at least Wainwright hasn’t been on the DL yet this year . . .