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St. Louis Cardinals: Departed Players Are NOT Better

By Dr. Michael D. Miles

Mar 21, 2016; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Jeremy Hazelbaker (91) is congratulated after hitting a two run home run against the Boston Red Sox during the game at Roger Dean Stadium. The Red Sox defeated the Cardinals 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 21, 2016; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Jeremy Hazelbaker (91) is congratulated after hitting a two run home run against the Boston Red Sox during the game at Roger Dean Stadium. The Red Sox defeated the Cardinals 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports /
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October 13, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher John Lackey (41) looks down as he is requested to exchange baseballs during his pitch in the third inning against Chicago Cubs in game four of the NLDS at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
October 13, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher John Lackey (41) looks down as he is requested to exchange baseballs during his pitch in the third inning against Chicago Cubs in game four of the NLDS at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports /

John Lackey- RHP

This walk-away hurt the feelings of some Cardinal faithful.  I was not in this camp.  I liked Lackey, for sure, but was okay with him walking as he is growing older and I felt that the Cardinals got the best out of him possible and that “best” is less and less likely to be repeated.  Let’s look and see how he is doing this spring:

Year Tm Age GS W L W-L% ERA G GS IP H R ER HR BB IBB SO WP BF WHIP OppQual
2016 CHC 37 3 0 2 .000 6.92 3 3 13.0 17 10 10 2 1 0 14 1 54 1.385 8.4

Wow.  Lackey, the workhorse of the 2015 Cardinals, has now allowed seventeen hits in thirteen innings this spring.  In addition, his ten- yes, 10- allowed earned runs has blown his ERA to a massive 6.92.  I, for one, do not want that in the Cardinals rotation.

In Lackey’s absence, the Cardinals’ plan was to replace him with David Price.  We all know how those negotiations ended.  Then came the idea that Marco Gonzales and/or Tim Cooney would hold down the fort which survived until Lance Lynn‘s elbow decided to go AWOL.  Enter, Mike Leake who has been referred to as the younger Lackey.

Let’s look:

Year Tm Age GS W L W-L% ERA G GS IP H R ER HR BB IBB SO HBP BF WHIP OppQual
2016 STL 28 4 0 1 .000 2.81 4 4 16.0 15 5 5 1 2 0 19 1 65 1.063 8.0

Leake, nine years younger than Lackey, has pitched sixteen innings to Lackey’s thirteen innings and has held hitters to half the amount of earned runs and five additional strikeouts recorded compared to Lackey.  All of these better numbers contribute to Leake having an ERA of 2.81– a total of 4.11 points lower than Lackey’s ERA.

I’m going to go out on a limb and predict that Leake will post numbers this season strong enough to have him in Cy Young discussions while Lackey will not.  I’m going to also go out on a limb and predict that Lackey will have a very down year.  Wishful thinking?  Maybe, but I’d take Leake over Lackey as the numbers show now.

Next: Jason Heyward

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