Cardinals News and Notes: Carrasco, Martinez, Heyward, Lackey

Another day came and went in peak hot stove season without the Cardinals making a single move.  That did not prevent them from making the news or being a significant part of the speculation going around Nashville at the Winter Meetings.  And there was a fake Jason Heyward to the Cardinals signing from a fake Ken Rosenthal Twitter account which is always a good indicator that the trade and signing season is nearing its peak.

Hot Stove

• Other than Johnny Cueto (remember him?), the elite pitchers have pretty much signed elsewhere.  For the Cardinals to add another big arm they might have to get creative and making a trade for Carlos Carrasco would be damn creative.  What do you think, should the Cardinals be willing to part ways with a couple of players, including Kolten Wong, for a pitcher like Carrasco?  (I am a big Kolten Wong guy but I voted yes.)
• Craig Edwards notes that Jason Heyward is still the Cardinals' main focus at the Winter Meetings, and that they're hoping by Thursday to have a better understanding of their chances of signing him.

Remembering John Lackey

• Lil Scooter wrote a sweet and touching tribute to the dearly departed John Lackey, who was never that sweet and anyone who touched him was probably reprimanded.  But be that as it may, I'll miss salty John and I think the Cardinals will, too.  There are positives though.  For instance, I can't wait for the first time Kyle Schwarber boots a ball in left field while Lackey is on the mound.  I'm sure he'll handle it calmly.

Cardinals in 2016

• Using Steamer projections, Nick Lampe observed where the Cardinals are projected to finish in 2016 with the current roster and how signing Jason Heyward will greatly improve their playoff odds.  Last I looked there were 800+ comments so it sounds like there are some opinions on the matter.

El Gallo's 2015 Season

• In my inaugural post at VEB, I took a look at Carlos Martinez's 2015 season and how stacks up with recent history.  More importantly, this was the first comment and it was wonderful:

A Tweet I Liked

• While Craig's post made me feel better on the Heyward front, I still very much enjoyed this tweet I found outside the boundaries of VEB:

@Cardinals This thing on?

— Drew Silva (@drewsilv) December 7, 2015

I love the Winter Meetings.