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St. Louis Cardinals: Takeaways From Atlanta Series
Aledmys Diaz Needs to Start
In the three games this series, we saw Aledmys Diaz show exactly why he needs to be in the lineup every day. Diaz went 4-7 with every kind of hit, collecting a pinch-hit homer in Friday’s game, a single and a triple last night, and a two-run double in today’s game.
While Diaz does have two errors on the season, he is the better shortstop of the three options, meaning he is the best possible play as the everyday shortstop. You have seen me advocate for Diaz plenty of times this past offseason, and with no better option available it is time to hand the starting job to Diaz.
Hazelbaker is the Hot Hand
The OF who surprised everyone through Spring Training continues to do so here in the first week of the regular season. In Atlanta, Jeremy Hazelbaker went 4-10 with two RBI, giving Randal Grichuk a breather in two of the three games, also chipping in a pinch-hit homer during Friday’s game.
While I am not sold that this will continue, it is nice to see. I am a proponent of using him in the role Tommy Pham was meant to play (playing in the OF to let Matt Holliday play first).
Next: Matheny not Learning From Mistakes