Covering All The Bases

Charlie Meyer and Travis Green discuss the first half roller coaster ride and assessed where they stand going into the 2nd half. They discussed the players that were the biggest surprises and biggest disappointments in the 2nd half of the season. And why Mike Matheny has his work cut out for him in the 2nd half.They also discussed the notion of baseball "needing a face of the game" and why it is being overstated in a game with so many young stars.

Charlie Meyer and Travis Green discuss the new structure of the Cardinals front office and what does it mean?Aledmys Diaz the latest to go to Memphis and try to "get fixed"...how concerning is that for the Cardinals organization and coaching staff?Cardinals get 2 All-Stars by way of player vote...does the lack of fan vote put where the organization is at in perspective?Juiced ball theory? Are the boys buying it? And does it really matter?

Charlie Meyer and Travis Green discussed if it is time for the Cardinals to make a legitimate shakeup and become legit sellers?Which Cardinals would be appealing to teams looking for an upgrade?Who do the boys consider to be the Cards core group right now?Should this Cardinals down cycle be all that surprising considering they've been competitive for so long?If given one hitter, one pitcher, one GM, and one manager to start your team with who are you taking?

Charlie Meyer and Travis Green talked:NL Central keeping the Cards in it...should they consider being sellers?How do the Cardinals move forward with current roster and trying to get young players playing time?Mike Matheny vs. John Mozeliak - how should the blame be delved out?Young hitting stars all over baseball - why are we still hearing how boring the game is?

-Roller Coaster Ride with the Cardinals continues -Is the messaging with the Cardinals causing some of the issues?-Let's give praise to the starting pitching -Can't make sense of Cardinals home struggles-Mags Sierra going back down shows you baseball is a business -The Cardinals handling of the Jhonny Peralta situation will be interesting to watch -Cardinals farm system continues to churn out young pitching -Do the Cardinals have enough in the system to pull off a big trade?-Bat flipping - too much when you're down 5 runs?-Bunting vs. the shift - are you okay with it?

A different feel around St. Louis with the Cardinals, but how much is because of Cubs struggles?The impact of Mags SierraThe OF conundrum with the CardinalsStephen Piscotty due back soon but should it be a given that he starts right away in RFFun with the Cardinals number history Weekend series success more important for Cards than Cubs

Despite the pessimism the Cardinals still hover around .500The lack of fundamentals and why that leads to the lack of trust with this Cards teamMatt Carpenter and the reason Cardinals fans don't consider him "the guy" in the middle of the orderJedd Gyorko and are the Cardinals fans still underrating him?Sophomore slumps and why they are so prevalent in sports and are we worried about Aledmys DiazAre you okay with guys swing with a 3-0 count?How about leading off an at-bat do you want your player swinging at the first pitch?

-Carlos Martinez start to the season, the continued talk of "maturation," and why some have overbearing expectations with the Cards ace-The continual concern with the Cards defense-Is this a smart baseball team? Why do guys like Grichuk, Wong, and even Matt Carpenter make the same mistakes? -When can John Mozeliak look and properly assess this team? What position would make most sense to try and trade for?-No excuse for Bill DeWitt and the Cardinals not to sign top Cuban prospect Luis Robert

- Has the Cardinals slow start changed our minds at all about this team being a playoff contender?- Offensive struggles has Travis concerned and Charlie tries to talk him off the ledge- Should we be surprised by defensive struggles- When do you worry about slow starts and reward hot starts? Randal Grichuk vs. Jose Martinez

-Cardinals a sleeper for Jose Quintana? What would it take to get him?-Assessing the Kolten Wong situation why his comments wont play well in the locker room? Will he be a Cardinal at the end of the season?-Charlie and Travis discuss the Yadier Molina situation and why theres a big difference between resigning him and other Cardinal stars from the past-A preview of the 2017 Cardinals season why the feel this year coming out of camp should turn into a better season over/under 90 win?-Prediction on Team MVP, Pitcher of the Year, and Bounce back player of the year for the Cardinals

-Yadi's success in the World Baseball Classic-Assessing Bengie Molina's comments on MLB Network Radio - is Bengie speaking as a big brother? Or is he saying what Yadi wants to say?-The World Baseball Classic and why it caught our interest...one word; FUN...stop telling these players to cut down on celebrations, they put a lot of work into their jobs they deserve to celebrate naturally -Why Carlos Martinez is the right guy to start Opening Day and what kind of message it sends in giving him the start-Predicting the NL Division and Wild Card winners-Predicting the AL Division and Wild Card winners-World Series Prediction - WE DIDN'T PICK THOSE STINKIN' CUBS

- What should we pay attention to in Spring Training? What should we note and what should we ignore?- Good first impression on Dexter Fowler - What does Michael Wacha's spring success mean? - What makes Wacha so unhittable when he is on?- How crucial is the Cardinals' pitching success if they can carry over from Spring?- John Mozeliak deserves credit for his wait and see approach with fourth outfield spot - Jose Martinez success - Outfield depth in the Cards system and how it equips Mo with potential chips for trade deadline

Plenty of news from Cardinals Spring TrainingTravis and Charlie give their first reaction to the Alex Reyes injuryHow the Reyes injury affects the Cards this year and does it hurt them more next year than this?Alex Reyes not being penciled into the rotation by Mo. Are we okay with that?The outlook of the Cards bullpenSandy Alcantera and his potential impact on the bullpenTrevor Rosenthal and how important he is for the 2017 CardinalsAssessing the 3rd base competition and why Jhonny Peralta must winMike Matheny's maturity as a manager is showing as he ventures into more fun with the Cardinals

-PECOTA projections have Cardinals at 76 wins. Do we agree?-Initial reaction to the projections and what would have to go wrong for that to come to fruition-Alex Reyes not being penciled into the rotation by Mo; Are we okay with that?-Wacha will need to be a big part of saving Alex Reyes innings-Charlie makes his case for Lance Lynn as most pivotal Cardinal in 2017-Travis makes his case for Carlos Martinez-Charlie makes the case for Randal Grichuk as most pivotal position player-Travis makes the case for Aledmys Diaz-Why is MLB constantly obsessed with the pace of play initiatives?-Reaction to baseball's latest proposals of changing the strike zone and putting a runner at 2nd to start the inning in extra innings

-Assessing the Cardinals penalty with HackGate-Thoughts on what was gained and how it affects the Cards image-Cardinals get 4 players named to MLB.coms Top 100 prospects-Carson Kelly his potential and the potentially awkward situation the Cards could find themselves in with Yadi and Kelly soon-Overall Cards system replenishing which may be silver lining in losing draft picks to Astros-Cardinals relying on OBP in 2017-Does it concern you that Mo called the 4th spot evolutionary-Quick preview of the Cardinals most pivotal player

-Takeaways from the 2017 Hall of Fame class-Alleged PED users - is the stance softening?-Will Pete Rose ever make it?-Next Year's Class and all the Atlanta Braves going in-Adding another LH bat in the Outfield-Kolten Wong - is he one of the biggest keys of 2017?-What are Wong's biggest hurdles to overcome-Yadier Molina - is this the year his playing time decreases? Should there be concern over his playing time? -Carson Kelly named the #1 catching prospect

-Any worry with starting pitcher playing in World Baseball Classic?-Why guys like Alex Reyes and Carlos Martinez pitching in the WBC may be more worrisome than others-The difference between WBC and regular Spring Training workload-Do the Cardinals have a shutdown ace entering 2017? Is Carlos Martinez that guy?-What Martinez has to do to prove he can be an ace?-Plethora of power bats still on free agent market, why?-Does Brandon Moss intrigue us as an option for the Cards to bring back?

-Breaking down the Brian Dozier rumor-Minnesota just trying to drum up extra interest in Dozier-Where would he fit? Lets stop acting like players can just move positions with ease. He's a 2nd baseman not a 3rd baseman-Breaking down the Edwin Encarnancion deal for the Indians and why it makes sense for them-Breaking down the recent ranking of the top 20 Cardinals minor leaguers-Do you like the idea of MLB players being signed early in the careers? Giving players deals before they hit free agency? Will Carlos Martinez be extended?-Charlie Meyer is getting married!

-Breaking down Matt Carpenter's interview with Bernie Miklasz...what Fowler brings to the Cards lineup-On Matt Carpenter as a 3-hole hitter-A potential lineup with Fowler, Diaz, and Carpenter leading off and what that does for a team?-Crushing the narrative that Carpenter can't hit outside the leadoff spot-Charlie and Travis give their three biggest concerns with the Cardinals right now-Top Free Agents available and where they fit-Odds on World Series and a dark horse pick in December

-Cardinals sign Dexter Fowler and we give our thoughts on the deal-What does this do for the lineup?-Fowler's leadership quality and why that can't be overlooked-Are the Cardinals done? Should they be done?-Are they missing a middle of the order bat and could Edwin Encarnancion fill that?-Losers at the Winter Meetings-Winners at the Winter Meetings-Cardinals lose a prospect in the Rule 5 draft, will he stick with the Padres?