Happy Wednesday,
Post-Dispatch sports columnist Ben Frederickson here. This week's question will be answered below. Thanks, and please don't be shy about sending in any questions or comments you want to see tackled. Have a great rest of your week!Â
Got a question? Email me here (bfrederickson@post-dispatch.com) or find me on X (formerly known as Twitter) at and hashtag your question with #BF5.
Where would the Cardinals be without Michael Siani?
File that one under underrated questions.
Planned center-field starter Tommy Edman is still out after his recovery from an offseason wrist operation took longer than he and the team expected.
People are also reading…
Center fielder of the future Victor Scott II showed promise during his 20-game sample size earlier this season, but was determined by the team to need some more minor-league seasoning at the plate and running the bases. Unfortunately, he hasn't forced the Cardinals' hand at Class-AAA Memphis. He's averaging .186 with a .271 on-base percentage and a .302 slugging percentage in 86 at-bats there.
Dylan Carlson, when he has not been out due to a shoulder injury, has averaged .130 with a .231 on-base percentage and a .130 slugging percentage in a small-sample size 23 at-bats. He's also taken some curious routes in center field.
So, I have a hard time worrying too much about Siani's offense. And it seems the more he plays, the better he hits. He's slashing .238/.299/.313 on the season, but since May his line reads .342/.357/.439.
While he's quietly improving his damage done at the plate, his stellar defense has been consistent and game-changing. He is four or five runs above average so far in center, depending on which Defensive Runs Saved metric you prefer.
The Cardinals wanted to be strong up the middle defensively this season. Masyn Winn, as planned, is making it happen at shortstop. Siani wasn't planned. But he's playing a pretty important role and taking advantage of a surprise opportunity. Good for him. Oh, and one more thing. Keep playing him!
So, Matthew Liberatore was the Cardinals' so-called only option to start one day and, after another disappointing performance in a loss, it's back to the drawing board? Doesn't make much sense. When a manager makes it clear on the front end that he likes a pitcher in a certain role, like Oli Marmol did with Liberatore in the bullpen, and all of a sudden that role changes along with the manager's tune, it makes me figure the front office is forcing an audible. This one failed. I still can't get a straight answer on how the Cardinals left spring training determined that Zack Thompson had earned the chance to start but won't give him another try.Â
I sure hope City SC star midfielder Eduard Lowen can feel ºüÀêÊÓƵ sports fans pulling and praying for his wife and family after he announced she is battling brain cancer. On top of being a great player crucial to City SC's success, Lowen has been an enthusiastic embracer of ºüÀêÊÓƵ. Time to return the favor.
It was pointed out to me by a reader that we should pause and shed a tear for Stan Kroenke. The Avalanche and Nuggets have been eliminated from their respective playoffs. Meanwhile Arsenal's two-decade wait for a Premier League title continues. Let me find my tiny violin. I know it's around here somewhere.
I found it interesting that in The Athletic's offseason Blues fan poll, 47.5 percent of responders were cool with the Blues trading Jordan Kyrou as they continue their refresh, rebuild or whatever it is you want to call it. I wonder how many were nudged in that direction after Kyrou's tone-deaf comments following Craig Berube's firing.
Here's a snippet of SportsNet's Luke Fox . . .Â
After building a profile for the ideal head coach to succeed the fired Sheldon Keefe and speaking with upwards of nine candidates, Shanahan and GM Brad Treliving conducted a deep dive into men who worked with and for Berube.
First-liners and fourth-liners. Canadians and Europeans.
They all responded with an identical endorsement: I'd go through a wall for that guy.
Now to your questions . . .Â
Got a question or comment for me? Let me know and I'll answer it here.
This week's spotlight goes to ... Ralph, via email . . .Â
Q: Why are the Cardinals resting Nolan Gorman and Masyn Winn so much? These are young players who are playing well. Play them!
BenFred: I'll play devil's advocate. Gorman's past back issues have been well-documented. We haven't heard much, if anything, about them this season. Something is working in terms of keeping him feeling good, physically. Winn had some back tightness earlier in the season, and the Cardinals seem to be learning something from the way Tommy Edman was ran into the ground at shortstop in the past. Shortstop is a demanding position, especially for a young player who hasn't yet felt the full pull of an entire 162-game major league regular season. I can appreciate the Cardinals trying to learn from a mistake instead of repeating it. Winn and Gorman rank fourth and fifth, in that order, on the team in at-bats. They trail only Brendan Donovan, Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt in ABs.
And John, via email . . .Â
Q: Should Paul Goldschmidt get his eyes checked? Seriously.
BenFred: These requests come from fans every time a hitter is locked in a slump. Many years ago, the suggestion would make a lot more sense. With modern professional athletes, not as much. Team physicals are extensive. Goldschmidt, especially, is one of the more committed players when it comes to finding preventable weaknesses and addressing them. To use a crude analogy, people who race cars at a high level don't usually forget to change the oil or properly inflate tires. Some potentially good news: Over his last 40 at-bats, Goldschmidt has averaged .275 with a .341 on-base percentage and a .450 slugging percentage
And Jeremy, via email . . .Â
Q: Do you think there's any chance that MLB would ever consider enforcing the rules about the batter's box (it's an out if a foot is out of the box) since that's already in the rulebook? It would be a small step to help improve player safety.
BenFred: Considering the uptick in catcher's interference examples and the notable injury to Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras, it would not surprise me to see the 2025 season include an emphasis on keeping hitters in the box — even though the bulk of the problem does seem to be catchers inching as close to the plate as possible to maximize pitch framing. It's always going to be most on catchers to protect themselves, though. The fast-approaching automation of the strike-zone, whether through full automation or a challenge system, like we are seeing in the minors, could negate the framing emphasis soon. It's important to remember standing on the line is, according to the rule, considered as in the batter's box. But you can't be outside of it with either foot. You are out for illegal action only if you, "hit a ball with one or both feet on the ground entirely outside of the batter's box." The word "entirely" is doing a lot of heavy lifting there. And hitters take advantage of it.