Jaffe: Dexter Fowler and the Cardinals’ foul-up
From SABR member Jay Jaffe at FanGraphs on July 5, 2018:
While Matt Carpenter has turned his season around after a dreadful start, and Marcell Ozuna and Kolten Wong made strong showings in June after struggling previously, Dexter Fowler has yet to get going. In fact, the Cardinals’ 32-year-old right fielder ranks among the league’s worst hitters and least valuable players, and lately he’s been losing time to younger alternatives — all of which is surprising given his recent track record. He wound up in the headlines earlier this week when Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak singled him out publicly in a weekly podcast spot with a team broadcaster, questioning Fowler’s level of effort and energy in a manner rarely seen these days, at least from the type of model organization that the Cardinals fancy themselves.
It was bush-league stuff, particularly given its timing, as Fowler was preparing to go on paternity leave for the birth of his second child and thus unavailable to respond directly.
Read the full article here: https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/dexter-fowler-and-the-cardinals-foul-up/
Originally published: July 6, 2018. Last Updated: July 6, 2018.