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— I must declare. I believe Nelson Velazquez is underrated. Since his promotion from Memphis on May 29, the powerful, right-side left fielder has the best wRC+ (170) among Cardinals that have at least 40 plate appearances over that time. Translated that means Velazquez is a robust 70 percent above league average offensively. No other Cardinal is up there with him.
— The “V” is doing exactly what Chaim Bloom signed him to do: smash left-handed pitching. He’s gone 9 for 29 against LHP with three homers, two doubles, four walks and a hit by pitch. This computes to a .310 average, .412 OBP and massive .690 slug. But here’s the thing: Velazquez is 3 or 10 (.300) when seeing righthanders. Yes, I do believe he’s underrated.
— Friday is a day off, so I won’t have any columns or videos on our site on July 3. With that in mind, I’m looking ahead to the next eight games on the Cards schedule: 3 vs. the Cubs at Wrigley Field, then a short hop home for a five-game set vs. the Brewers at Busch Stadium. The Cards and Crew have a doubleheader Tuesday and single games on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.
— The Cubs are as hot as drive-thru coffee without a warning sticker, so this is time for the St. Louis hitters to do their road-warrior routine and go ballistic. Runs a’plenty. Home runs landing on Waveland and soaring across Sheffield. What’s an acceptable weekend for the Redbirds? Given that the Cubs have a best-in-ball 15-4 record over the last 19 games and are averaging 7.5 runs during their binge, the fan in me is just hoping that the Cards can deny the Wrigley crowd’s fever for a Cub sweep.
— The Crew? The Milwaukee men would love to rub the Cardinals’ beaks into the Busch Stadium grass just for laughs. They’ll be looking to sweep. The Cardinals must defend the aviary and find a way to get two wins.
— Dansby Swanson has nine home runs and 29 homers in his last 11 games. DANSBY. SWANSON.
—- Pete Crow-Armstrong is the best show in ball. Unless you’re a Cubs fan, PCA is a charming scoundrel.
— How would an old-timey sportswriter describe PCA? Just for laughs, I asked a writing program to take a hack at it …
"They call him Crow-Armstrong, but the lad plays as if he were possessed of wings rather than arms. To watch this California colt patrol the outer garden of Clark and Addison is to witness a spectacular exhibition of gravity-defiance.
“He roams the turf with the swiftness of a frightened greyhound, robbing honest batsmen of sure hits with a golden glove that operates like a butterfly net in a hurricane.
“Just yesterday, a missile left the bat that looked destined to trouble the bleacherites. Young Pete turned his back to the plate, put his cap to the wind, and made a desperate, diving larceny that left the crowd in a state of utter bedlam. He is a master of the spectacular, a thief in broad daylight.
“And do not think him a one-trick pony, folks. When he steps to the dish, he swings a wicked lumber. He does not merely hit the horsehide; he punishes it. Once he coaxes a base on balls or drops a fine bunt, he becomes a terror on the basepaths. He has wheels of greased lightning, swiping sacks with the brazen audacity of a boardwalk pickpocket. He is a peerless sparkplug, a baseball dynamo, and a true dandy of the diamond."
— My goodness. Now that’s some damn fine sportswriting. I’m envious. The keys to the old-fashioned Underwood typewriter were clacking a staccato beat, fast and furious.
— How would the old-timey sportswriter pound out a motivational message to inspire the Cardinals to defend Busch Stadium from the Brewers’ intrusions. I put in the assignment. Here’s what the old boy came up with, cigar in hand…
"Gather close, ye faithful flock of the Mississippi, and heed a dire warning! Reports from the northern frontier indicate a ruthless band of Teutonic tanners and suds-merchants—known in the ledger as the Milwaukee Brewers—are marching upon our fair city with malicious intent.
“They seek to plunder our beloved aviary, wreck our nests, and leave the Redbird nation in a state of utter desolation! Already this season, these beer-guzzling predators have proven themselves a thorny menace, ambushing our lads on the road and swinging their heavy cudgels with barbaric force.
“But now, the field of battle shifts to our own sacred turf at Busch Stadium, where the high-and-mighty Cardinals must stand as a vanguard against the northern horde.”
— That’s awesome. OK, now I’ll give it a rest. Sorry. Let’s move on.
— Jim Bowden of The Athletic on the Angels’ decision to recruit John Mozeliak as interim general manager, consultant, and to lead the search for a new GM in Anaheim:
“The Angels’ decision to hire an experienced front office leader in John Mozeliak as their interim GM is the best decision they’ve made in a long time. He’s a proven executive who led the St. Louis Cardinals to 10 postseason appearances and a 2011 title. He also oversaw 15 consecutive winning seasons. He’s a leader who knows how to surround himself with more leaders and give them the autonomy to do their jobs.
“Mozeliak is not an evaluator himself; in fact, he never went out to scout amateur players while with the Cardinals, relying on the experts to do that. However, he knew how to hire the brightest minds, utilizing Jeff Luhnow and later bringing on Chaim Bloom as a president of baseball operations in waiting.
“Mozeliak can’t change things overnight but he can set the Angels up for a better future … Mozeliak is a proven winner, and even more important than that, is a true leader and a person of high character and integrity who will be honest and transparent with the fans, media and the entire organization. It was a move that had to be done now so that 2027 and beyond will be much brighter for the Angels organization.”
— Slumping: slugger Joshua Baez, the Cardinals’ No. 3 prospect, has cooled over his last six games at Triple A Memphis. Baez had 1 hit in 24 plate appearances with eight strikeouts and a walk.
— Thumping: No.1 Cards prospect Rainiel Rodrguez is coming on strong at Double A Springfield. He needed time to get a feel for Texas League pitchers after moving up from High A, but the adjustments have been made. In 76 plate appearances since June 10, the 19-year old catcher has a .379 average, .461 on-base rate, and .667 slugging percentage. His wOBA is a scary .477. This heat-up includes five homers and 14 RBIs. Exhibiting his customary plate discipline, Rodriguez has an 11 percent walk rate and low 18.4% strikeout rate in his last 16 games through Wednesday.
Nolan Gorman, on the reconstruction site: the left-handed swinging third baseman is making some progress in his determined quest to rebuild his plate approach, swing and body movement in the box to revive his MLB career with the Cardinals.
Look, Gorman is taking on a major project, and he’s absorbing a lot of instruction and information. He has thrown himself into this with total commitment.
Once he moved from the hitting lab and back into competition at the Triple level, it was rough … very rough … in his first three games Gorman struck out eight times in 14 plate appearances.
However: in his last four games through Wednesday, Gorman had five walks, two hits (double + homer) and struck out four times. The walks are a good sign; he’s drawing them by reducing his chase rate on pitches out of the zone.
According to Statcast data, during his brief time with Memphis, Gorman has shown improvement in other areas, like barrel rate and average exit velocity. In the four games I referenced, his chase rate was an excellent 19% and his contact rate on strikes was a strong 87%. Steps in the process. Small-sample steps. But: early progress.
On the comeback trail: Since being relegated to Memphis to develop his offense, center fielder Victor Scott II is batting .220 with a .309 OBP and .322 slug. He does have four doubles, a triple and four steals, and he’s drawing some walks. But Scott has a strikeout rate of 29% since moving down to Triple A.
Blaze Jordan and the third base position: After his first 16 big-league games, rookie corner infielder Blaze Jordan is 12 for 54 for a .222 batting average. He’s a contact hitter who doesn’t strike out much, but he’s also drawn only two walks, and it’s no surprise to see him with a low .233 onbase percentage.
Jordan’s three doubles, a triple and a homer have generated a .370 slugging percentage, but that slug is gradually dropping. He hasn’t had the best of luck as a hitter; his batting average on balls in play is .220.
Jordan has done a good job in situational-hitting opportunities by producing 13 RBIs including four on sacrifice flies.
It’s been tougher for Blaze lately; in his last seven games Jordan is 2 for 19 (.105) and was charged with three errors over the previous five contests.
Though he bats right-handed Jordan is just 3 for 15 vs. lefties. And after collecting some hits against righties early on, Blaze has one hit in his last 13 at-bats against them. Jordan’s 57 wRC+ since his promotion is 43 percent below league average offensively.
Thanks for reading and please have a safe and happy 4th of July weekend…
–Bernie
Bernie was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2023. During a St. Louis sports-media career that goes back to 1985, he’s won multiple national awards for column writing and sports-talk hosting – and was the lead sports columnist at the Post-Dispatch from 1989 through 2015. Before that Bernie spent a year at the Dallas Morning News, covering the Dallas Cowboys during Tom Landry’s final season (1988) plus the sale of the team to Jerry Jones and the hiring of Jimmy Johnson as coach. Bernie has covered several Baseball Hall of Fame managers during his media career including Tony La Russa, Whitey Herzog, Earl Weaver, Joe Torre and (as an interim) Red Schoendienst. In his career as a beatwriter and columnist, Bernie covered Pro Football Hall of Fame coaches Joe Gibbs, Tom Landry, Jimmy Johnson and Dick Vermeil on a daily basis.
Bernie has covered and written about many great St. Louis sports team athletes including Albert Pujols, Kurt Warner, Brett Hull, Yadier Molina, Adam Wainwright, Jim Edmonds, Marshall Faulk, Scott Rolen, Mark McGwire, Orlando Pace, Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, Al MacInnis, Brian Sutter, Bernie Federko, Chris Pronger, Keith Tkachuk, Dan Dierdorf, Jackie Smith and Aeneas Williams. Bernie covered every baseball Cardinals’ postseason game from 1996 through 2014 and was there to chronicle teams that won four NL pennants and two World Series. He provided extensive coverage on the “Greatest Show” St. Louis Rams and has written extensively on the St. Louis Blues, Saint Louis U, and Mizzou football and basketball. Bernie was/is a longtime voter for the Baseball Hall of Fame, Pro Football Hall of Fame, Heisman Trophy and the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame.
You can access his columns, videos and the podcast version of the videos here on STL Sports Central, catch him regularly on KMOX (AM or FM) as part of the Gashouse Gang, Sports Rush Hour, Sports Open Line or Sports On a Sunday Morning shows. And you can catch weekly “reunion” segments here at STL Sports Central featuring Bernie and his longtime friend Randy Karraker.