Post by Matt on Jan 12, 2015 20:50:31 GMT -5
In the wake of the franchise shift after the days of Stan "The Man" Musial, the Cardinals knew they were in for changes. "We knew once Stan and Red we close to the end we were in for some tough times," said GM Matt Carpenter. "Those two mean have meant more to this organization during their time here than any other player who has worn the Birds on the Bat."
"With the retirement of Stan and Red, we decided it was time to do some housekeeping and make some changes. The first of the changes was to shift to some youth." Gone, along with Red and Stan, are veteran outfielders Jim Piersall and Don Mueller (traded to Cubs), veteran pitchers Jackie Collum, Ralph Branca and Carl Schieb (who all walked in FA). Looking into our minor league system, the front office decided it was time to give a shot to some of our youth," remarked Carpenter, "we're not ruling out signing some free agents, but we're trying our best to build the core of the team in house."
Young guys getting the call up from AAA are Don Buford, Ray Sadecki, Darrell Martin, Al Jackson to start the season. "They've all shown what we want to see out of them on their way through the minors. Now it's time for them to prove themselves on the big club." Carpenter also reminded us of one other thing, "We've got a very young rotation. Bob Gibson has had probably his best off season since he's been part of the nucleus. Also guys like Thorpe, McClain and Stigman all have another year of experience to build upon."
Right as the press conference was thought to be ending, Carpenter also made another huge announcement. "We've also decide to try and help our young rotation out by moving the fences. We've had them where they were for a while, and at the time they came to be, it was tailored the the offense we had on hand. With our rebuilding effort centered around pitching and defense, we feel now is the right time to make the change in dimensions."
The new dimensions will be:
LFL: 326
LF: 346
LCF: 380
CF: 400
RCF: 380
RF: 352
RFL: 332
We're paying a small tribute to Stan and Red with some small, nearly unnoticeable parts of our dimensions. Also the fences in LF and down the LF line will be 6 feet tall and the rest of the way around the wall will be 8 feet tall.
"Overall we're hoping the change in dimensions will help out our young pitching staff, while not destroying our young offense. We've got quite a few young players who have an ability to get on base and run, so we're hoping to use that part of the offense and not depend solely on power. We're also hopeful that the construction can start immediately and things will be ready for opening day in 1962."
Only time will tell how this works out for the Birds.
"With the retirement of Stan and Red, we decided it was time to do some housekeeping and make some changes. The first of the changes was to shift to some youth." Gone, along with Red and Stan, are veteran outfielders Jim Piersall and Don Mueller (traded to Cubs), veteran pitchers Jackie Collum, Ralph Branca and Carl Schieb (who all walked in FA). Looking into our minor league system, the front office decided it was time to give a shot to some of our youth," remarked Carpenter, "we're not ruling out signing some free agents, but we're trying our best to build the core of the team in house."
Young guys getting the call up from AAA are Don Buford, Ray Sadecki, Darrell Martin, Al Jackson to start the season. "They've all shown what we want to see out of them on their way through the minors. Now it's time for them to prove themselves on the big club." Carpenter also reminded us of one other thing, "We've got a very young rotation. Bob Gibson has had probably his best off season since he's been part of the nucleus. Also guys like Thorpe, McClain and Stigman all have another year of experience to build upon."
Right as the press conference was thought to be ending, Carpenter also made another huge announcement. "We've also decide to try and help our young rotation out by moving the fences. We've had them where they were for a while, and at the time they came to be, it was tailored the the offense we had on hand. With our rebuilding effort centered around pitching and defense, we feel now is the right time to make the change in dimensions."
The new dimensions will be:
LFL: 326
LF: 346
LCF: 380
CF: 400
RCF: 380
RF: 352
RFL: 332
We're paying a small tribute to Stan and Red with some small, nearly unnoticeable parts of our dimensions. Also the fences in LF and down the LF line will be 6 feet tall and the rest of the way around the wall will be 8 feet tall.
"Overall we're hoping the change in dimensions will help out our young pitching staff, while not destroying our young offense. We've got quite a few young players who have an ability to get on base and run, so we're hoping to use that part of the offense and not depend solely on power. We're also hopeful that the construction can start immediately and things will be ready for opening day in 1962."
Only time will tell how this works out for the Birds.
