Earlier, in the first article of this series, I broke down the 11 first-year players that debuted with the 2008 St. Louis Cardinals. In part two, I reviewed past first-year players and rookies each season during the La Russa years, designating whether or not the player exhausted his rookie qualification that season.
Here in part three, I look forward to 2009, considering which St. Louis Cardinals minor league players may debut along with the subset that may stay up long enough to exhaust their rookie qualification.
In contrast to parts one and two, which reported fact – what happened in the past – this article is based on my personal assessments. By definition, some of you are going to see it differently. That’s ok; just sound off below.
Just remember that the scope of this article is the entire 2009 season, not the opening day roster. My annual forecast of how I see that shaking out will be a separate piece.
As another reminder, here are the rookie qualification guidelines: More than 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched in the Major Leagues, or more than 45 days on the Major League active roster during April-August, excluding time on the disabled list.
The other first-year players that are projected to fall short of rookie qualification are noted as such, “Cup of java”.
There is another set of important considerations – those players that must be protected by November by being added to the 40-man roster or risk being lost in the December Rule 5 Draft.
As a refresher, here are the 11 first-year players and rookie qualifiers from 2008.
| Pitchers | Tot | # | Met rookie | # | Cup of java | Hitters | Tot | # | Met rookie | # | Cup of java | |
| 2008 | 7 | 2 | Chris Perez | 5 | Mike Parisi | 2008 | 4 | 2 | Brian Barton | 2 | Nick Stavinoha | |
| Kyle McClellan | Mark Worrell | Joe Mather | Rico Washington | |||||||||
| Mitchell Boggs | ||||||||||||
| Jaime Garcia | ||||||||||||
| Jason Motte |
Let’s go around the diamond by position as we consider 2009.
Catcher
Bryan Anderson should make his major league debut during the 2009 season, but unless either Yadier Molina or backup Jason LaRue spend time on the disabled list, Anderson’s call up may not occur until September when rosters expand. Anderson would become Rule 5 eligible if not protected.
| Catcher | # | Meet rookie qual | Cup of java |
| 1 | none | Bryan Anderson |
* already on 40-man
italics: not on 40-man
First base
Not only is there not a first baseman high in the system threatening to break into the bigs, the Cardinals already have two qualified reserve first basemen on the roster in Joe Mather and Chris Duncan. Nothing to see here. Move along, folks…
Second base
Minor league non-roster invitee Joe Thurston has a chance to make the Cardinals coming out of spring camp and if not, still could see 150 at-bats at some point this season as an interim fix if injury strikes one of the players in St. Louis. Assuming a major DL stint somewhere seems most reasonable and I am guessing that up the middle will be such a place.
Not having ever seen Thurston play, I am basing my push of him to the front of the line primarily due to Jose Oquendo’s support and the shakiness of the current Adam Kennedy – Brendan Ryan combo.
Still, I would be far more optimistic about Thurston if he only batted right-handed, as we all know how well La Russa likes his match ups. Neither Kennedy (.596 OPS vs. LHP in 2008) nor Schumaker (.423 OPS vs. LHP in 2008 – not a typo!) can hit lefties worth a lick.
Thurston backers point out that at least in the minors last season, his OPS against lefties and righties were basically the same (.831 vs. .832) solid nums. While that is true, his 2008 seems an outlier, as the 29-year-old hasn’t been nearly as good against left-handed pitching in past years.
Thurston’s Triple-A splits
| OPS | vs. LHP | vs. RHP |
| 2008 | 0.831 | 0.832 |
| 2007 | 0.706 | 0.841 |
| 2006 | 0.675 | 0.831 |
| 2005 | 0.648 | 0.732 |
I don’t see Thurston as a long-term answer, but may serve as an ok 2009 fill-in if needed. It is worth noting that if necessary, Thurston can be removed from the 40-man at the conclusion of the season to make room for a prospect needing protection. (Update: As DD17, reminded me below, though Thurston would make his Cards debut in 2009, he has had several cups of coffee in the past with the Dodgers, Phillies and Red Sox.)
Jarrett Hoffpauir has been on the 40-man roster for over a year now, but hasn’t sniffed the majors. He seems closer to being removed from the roster than making his MLB debut.
Until proven otherwise, I will also continue to question the successful conclusion of Skip Schumaker’s attempt to execute a mid-career transition to second base. He played a little shortstop in a college career that ended eight years ago and has never been at second – until now.
Shortstop
What Brian Barden needs is an injury to starter Khalil Greene or to beat out current reserve Brendan Ryan to get a chance beyond a third straight September call-up. This seems another place to expect some DL time, though it is hoped Khalil won’t be punching any more storage cabinets in frustration.
Since Barden is not a first-year player, he isn’t the focus of his piece, yet he and Ryan have a direct an impact on the others. There is another factor to consider in that Ryan is out of minor league options, but Barden still has one remaining. If for some reason, the Cardinals wanted to open 40-man space by dropping Barden instead of optioning him out, I suspect he could clear waivers if necessary.
I will forecast a September call up for former first-rounder Tyler Greene, as dependent as anything on his ability to put together a solid season with the bat as well as continue to work defensively at third, short and second. Greene seems aligned to replace Ryan when ready and like Barden, is already on the 40-man.
| SS | # | Meet rookie qual | Cup of java |
| 1 | none | Tyler Greene* |
Third base
Much has been written about this position already. With Troy Glaus’ season-opening injury, David Freese seems poised to become the interim starter. If he wins the competition, he could reach his 150 at-bats relatively quickly. Joe Mather should be a reserve only.
I do see Brett Wallace most capable of playing well enough this season to warrant at least a September call-up. However as I noted in the Rule 5 article, there are also valid roster reasons to delay Wallace’s arrival in St. Louis until 2010. To beat that, he will not only have to play well, but will need a break or two as he got in 2008. If Freese stubs his toe, an earlier arrival in St. Louis by Wallace is not as unlikely as it once seemed.
| 3B | # | Meet rookie qual | Cup of java |
| 2 | David Freese | Brett Wallace |
Outfield
I imagine that by now, we all know the current roster configuration makes finding room for top prospect Colby Rasmus (pictured) difficult, but not impossible. Without a trade or injury, his chances of making the team out of spring training still seem less than 50%, in my opinion here today on February 9.
Yet the players have not even taken the field in camp and a lot could change very quickly. Something will happen soon enough such that we should see Rasmus in St. Louis long before the summer is out. It could be a trade, it could be an injury to another, but I just do not see the door for Rasmus remaining closed all season.
I wanted to put Jon Jay on the cup of coffee list because I have a feeling that he is going to emerge this coming season. He has already been invited to big league camp and with a solid, injury-free season in Memphis, could at least receive a courtesy call-up for the final month. One small downside is that seemingly like every other outfielder, Jay hits left-handed. Like Rasmus, Jay will require Rule 5 protection by November, helping his case. A trade involving outfielders up the pecking order could further improve Jay’s chances, or maybe he is one sent packing.
| OF | # | Meet rookie qual | Cup of java |
| 2 | Colby Rasmus | Jon Jay |
Starting pitcher
As odd as it may seem, for now I am forecasting no new first-year starting pitcher debuts during 2009, despite 2008 call-ups Mike Parisi and Jaime Garcia being sidelined effectively all year.
If the club does bring in an experienced starting pitcher this spring, this already-tight position will get even tighter. Sorry to P.J. Walters and the others chomping at the bit, but I see some combination of Mitchell Boggs and Kyle McClellan as being the most obvious starters in reserve. Obviously, neither of them are roster first-timers.
Then we have Brad Thompson, Joel Pineiro and “the new guy”, who will all need homes, but all can’t fit on the current roster. I can’t bring myself to actually forecast another extended outage for Chris Carpenter, as much as I fear it.
Check the earlier Rule 5 article for a detailed explanation why I think top prospects Jess Todd and Clayton Mortensen making their 2009 debuts is a long shot no matter how well they pitch in Memphis. Yes, there is always a chance one could force his way up with a spectacular season, but I feel it would either take that or a devastating run of injuries in St. Louis or more likely, both.
Relief pitcher
Here is another position that is clearly stacked with different piece-part options. However, Josh Kinney remains an injury risk and Jason Motte and even Chris Perez could find themselves heading back down I-55 to Memphis if they struggle with their secondary pitches.
Fernando Salas and Francisco Samuel represent a pair of emerging right-handed alternatives. Salas is currently ahead on paper, having been the 2008 Springfield closer, while Samuel was the ninth-inning man for Palm Beach but is considered the better prospect. Each scored a spring training non-roster invite, but Samuel is heading toward Rule 5 exposure this winter. Since both have such a long way to go, neither should be a factor to start the season. Still I can see Samuel at least getting a late-season look.
An unheralded candidate that may make his debut in 2009 is Memphis’ Matt Scherer, already added to the 40-man roster last fall. I think Scherer could come up sooner, with Samuel as a September possibility. I also think at some point during the summer, Mike Sillman may get at least a short look-see, especially if injuries strike.
From the left side, free agent signee Ian Ostlund has a shot, even in spring training. With three lefties already on the 40-man roster though, Ostlund will need help even if he pitches well in March. I can see him getting to St. Louis during the summer but fall short of 50 innings and 45 days like the other first-time relievers.
| RP | # | Meet rookie qual | Cup of java |
| 4 | none | Matt Scherer* | |
| Francisco Samuel | |||
| Mike Sillman | |||
| Ian Ostlund | |||
| total | 10 | 2 | 8 |
Summary
Though I honestly did not plan it this way, note that my expected total of 10 first-year players is very close to what actually ensued during the 2008 season. My forecast of two being up long enough to exhaust their rookie eligibility is two off last year’s La Russa-era high-water mark.
While this is an aggressive number of players, my biggest concern is represented by the eight names noted in italics. Of the 10, only Scherer and Greene are on the 40-man today. For this scenario to play out, the Cardinals would need to add the other eight new players to the 40-man roster, which currently sits at 35.
Some space can be made by transferring players in-season to the 60-day disabled list, which does not count against the 40-man limit. Even if so, other players may find themselves removed from the roster during the season. Candidate names that immediately come to mind are Blake Hawksworth, Hoffpauir and Nick Stavinoha.
In the meantime, I will be closely watching spring training battles and regular season action to assess how accurate this forecast might actually become.
Brian,
You’ve presented yet another well thought out piece and I cannot disagree with anything you’ve written. I do wonder, though, how Joe Thurston slipped into this conversation. He has played in the majors for parts of five different seasons so he is not debuting.
Valid point, DD. Thurston does have a grand total of 66 MLB ABs over those five seasons with three different clubs, so he should not be considered a debut player in any other context than with St. Louis. Considering the number of days he spent in the bigs during those five stints, he may or may not have hit the 45 non-September days needed to exhaust his rookie qualification. However, the focus of this article is debuts and as such, Thurston does not meet the criteria. His presence in the article itself is still relevant as it affects the potential debuts of others, such as Hoffpauir and Tyler Greene. The post has been updated. Thanks for calling it out.
Barden and Ryan have the asset of being able to handle the demanding defensive position of SS, a possible disadvantage for Hoffpauir who has played 2B in the minors. Teams must carry a backup SS, as they must a backup catcher, so this necessity gives one of Barden or Ryan a roster niche.
TLR may have made minor league 2Bman Miles into a SS, so perhaps this can be done upon occasion, but a guy who has played SS in the minors has to benefit in terms of roster candidacy.
Great point Jumbo. All along, my opening day roster has assumed Ryan will make the club. He has more experience than Barden and the latter has an option remaining that Ryan does not. As you note, someone has to be the backup SS, and it isn’t going to be Hoffpauir, Joe Mather – or Joe Thurston, for that matter.
I looked at Thurston’s minor league record. While he has 38 career games at short, only three have been in the last five years. And in those limited career chances at the position, he was charged with nine errors. So, short looks to have been a challenge for Joe in the past. Then again, with all the craziness with position changes this spring*, seeing Thurston at short should hardly be considered out of the question.
As I noted above, the multi-positional skills may also help Tyler Greene make his debut sooner. He needs more seasoning at Memphis, but surely could play himself into the reserve picture this season.
* In case you missed it, Joe Strauss broke the news this morning that Nick Stavinoha is now a catcher! Here’s hoping he doesn’t block Bryan Anderson’s playing time with Memphis, though. It also raises an interesting question as to the identity of the emergency catcher now that Aaron Miles is gone. Probably Joe Mather will be first in line to volunteer, but of course, he isn’t a lock to make the team.
Stavi as catcher…hmm he always looked the part…and all state in HS huh? ya never know right? backup at Memphis? knoedler probably is probably a little curious about his place, unless there is another position change coming if i read the end of that Strauss article correctly..Anderson move??? 2b?)
also,
I know Hawksworth seems to never get mentioned as havign much of a chance to make this years team at any point, but i really think he still has all the same stuff he did before but has went through some nagging injuries…h e ended last season pretty strong, andi think he coudl surprise some people in Jupiter…we arent that removed from a ST where he was more impressive than Carp…he might make for a nice dark horse for a callup spot starter or potential RHRP help…i think he coudl make himself a nice career in the pen still…i’d love to see him get some looks…him being on the 40man this year might be his last “in” to making a mark on this organization…
Knoedler should be happy to have a paycheck. There is no assurance that Stavi can handle the job. Heck, why not try Anderson at second base? Everyone else is getting a shot!
Hawksworth had a few nice outings to end the season, but he is still giving up too many hits and walks. In August, he allowed four home runs and walked 12 in 31 2/3 innings. He did fan 27, but opposing hitters batted .293 against him. I guess you could point to his awful August WHIP of 1.52 and note it was his best month all season, but that is faint praise indeed.
You may be onto something with them trying him in the pen. In that role, I would have given him a chance for a callup. As a starter though, he still seems light years away despite turning 26 next month. As you note, he is about out of chances and there are going to be more Todds and Mortensens coming up trying to take his rotation spot away, not to mention his tenuous hold on a place on the 40-man roster.
Ryan is almost a lock to make the roster, as he is probably the best SS on the whole team, Khalil Greene included. I think Freese will get the nod at third, though if Barden hits well this spring and Freese slumps, he could be up as he is the superior glove man. Mather gets the nod also because of his handedness and ability to play first. The big wild card, IMO, is Chris Duncan. He could be traded or compel Skip Schumaker to be. I really don’t see both Duncan and Schumaker keeping their apartments in St. Louis this summer unless Rasmus is left behind. I put the odds of Rasmus not being on the club in June at 20 percent.
I like stretching McClellan out but I don’t really understand what the team is doing with Brad Thompson. Do they honestly have a slot for him in the bullpen? He’s out of options, so he can’t wear out the tires driving back and forth to Memphis anymore (a relief to him, I’m sure…).
Bullpen
Closer – Perez
Set-up – Motte
Set-up – Franklin
Middle – Kinney
Middle – Thompson/Todd/Boggs/Walters
LOOGy – Miller
LOOGy – Ring/Ostlund/Manning
Starters
1. Wainwright
2. Carpenter
3. Wellemeyer
4. McClellan/PTBNL
5. Pinata
Hard to believe the overall staff has actually improved, given how little has been done. But I think it has been, quite dramatically in terms of the bullpen. The rotation obviously depends almost 100 percent on Carpenter’s health. It would be great to be able to cut Pineiro midseason. There have to be at least two pitchers in Memphis right now who can offer a half-season of 5.3 FIP.
RedC, this article wasn’t yet focused on predicting the opening day roster, but I did notice that Lohse is missing from your projected staff.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/32EA0199DADBAD4E86257558006575D7?OpenDocument
Dont know if anyone seen this cards released kennedy
Thanks, bubby. I was so busy writing the article that I posted on Scout earlier this afternoon, I forgot to link to it here.
“Cardinals Release Adam Kennedy”.
Oops! Knew I was forgetting someone… Looks pretty good if you get rid of Pineiro, doesn’t it?
In 2006, the Cards made no efforts to re-position Roth or Stavinoha, though they did not project well at 1B or OF. Whereas by 2008, the Cards have become more assertive about moving guys as with Steven Hill and Tony Cruz.
Stavinoha was a catcher in high school and junior college. Hill and Cruz did some catching in college. All these guys can hit somewhat, thus defense at catcher should control their ceiling.
I find it interesting that the Cardinals could potentially roster a different outfielder as the primary backup at C, 1B, 2B, and 3B. Ryan could end up being the only non-OF on the bench!
I also find it odd that given their lack of options in the middle infield that the Cardinals have now parted ways with Izturis, Kennedy, Miles, and Lopez. I’m not a big fan of buying out contracts to let a player sit around at home, but I guess the Cards felt that they had no other choice with Kennedy.
Jumbo, Roth played at third base most of 2005, but there must have been a reason to move him predominantly to 1B in 2006. Despite all the talk, Hill had a grand total of 32 at bats at C last year. That was it. Cruz spent more time than Hill behind the plate, but even he had more ABs at other positions in 2008.
Nutlaw, that would be one crazy roster. Kennedy won’t sit home long as there will be plenty of teams that would be happy to have him for $400K. $4M would be another matter, though…
I wonder if the Cards would have handled Lopez and Miles in the same way if they had known how Kennedy was going to play out. Quite a lot has changed since last fall.
Tony got his way, and now he’s on the spot
We all know that Tony La Russa had no use for second baseman Adam Kennedy.
La Russa will view his exit as addition by subtraction.
La Russa is on the spot, since he just cleared out an established veteran at a cost of $4 million. Now he must replace that guy, probably on the cheap.
La Russa got his way, but we wonder if should have been more careful with what he wished for.
The move, apparently made at the strong urging of manager Tony La Russa
Even after general manager John Mozeliak designated Kennedy as this year’s starter, La Russa found it difficult to embrace the arrangement.
La Russa, however, saw an ongoing potential for a camp distraction.
Has anyone heard from Tony? Is this how it starts? I know he was actively campaigning for Miles, by saying Kennedy wasn’t his man, but all the blaming Tony only adds up to an excuse to not sign a player. I read your article Brian. Tony hasn’t got anything he wanted, but he gets this?
Tell me you heard a Tony comment. He is in Jupiter, with press guys.
Waiving Kennedy was easier than getting a shutdown closer or a power hitter to protect Albert. I imagine the words Strauss used came from Tony and that it was reported accurately. Personally I am not blaming anyone. The Cardinals felt they needed to cut their losses on an unhappy player delivering below average results. That is their right.
Maybe. Somethings is funny here though. Hasn’t Tony been interviewed as being ok with Kennedy in the last few months? At least to see how he is playing in spring training.
How is that funny? Had Tony come right out and said Adam was a bum and complained too much and that we didn’t want him, it would effectively kill what miniscule chance we had of trading him.
It is clearly second-guessing now, but as far as I know the only team that showed enough interest in Kennedy to make it into the press was Arizona. That was very early in the off-season. I wonder how much of Kennedy’s salary the D’backs wanted the Cards to cover? Couldn’t have been more than $3.6 million, one would think. Surely if the Cards had it to do over, they would have taken anything in return, it would seem.
Had that deal worked out, maybe Boras and Lopez would have seen enough playing time opportunity in St. Louis to return. Lopez got less in AZ, $3.5 million for next season, than the Cards are on the hook to pay Kennedy.
Kennedy will be signed pronto, for the minimum by someone. If Tony in fact set all this in motion, the game is at hand. Current events validates the growing turbulence over his tenure. If you think Tony isn’t trying to draw public attention here, you would be wrong. His final statement about the Cards not having a top echelon team is a grenade thrown in the MO/BD bunker. It pretty much undid all the soft shoe that came before. Thats funny.
TLR’s exact quote: “We’re not a contender yet, but we’re also not a second-division club with no chance.”
I am really curious how many people disagree with that assessment. Seems pretty realistic to me, especially one day before Chris Carpenter takes the mound for the very first time. WC, you strike me as a glass half-empty guy sometimes…
Who are the contenders? What do they have and why do they have it. What he is looking at right now is….. the best case scenario, before the possible realization that Carp won’t make it or his second basemen suck. Now with no one left to sign, what moves could they make, if they had an inclination, which like last year, they don’t. If we signed Hudson, Manny, what else would make us a contender in Tony’s eyes.
We’re not a contender yet, huh………. at what point might we be more. Who are the second division clubs? Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Padres, SF, Who? With no chance. Thats a hand grenade.
KC swept us. At home. This is getting worse, and at some point you will recognize that BD has another problem on his mind. He isn’t losing sleep over the Cards win/loss record.
In TLR’s quote, the “yet” is important. He may be saying he does not know if Perez or Motte can be reliable closers. Or whether Freese can play. It is reasonable of him to say this. But he is not ruling out that the Cards could become a contender, if some younger players step up and deliver.
Brian, IIRC, Roth played some 3B in 2006 at QC, before the Cards shifted him to 1B. After that season, Luhnow said Roth would come to spring training in 07 with a catcher’s mitt. But Roth pouted when assigned to Palm Beach and quit. Roth did not have the determination to stick with the game or try catcher, even though we can infer Luhnow wanted him to give it a try.
Yes, Hill did not play a lot of catcher in 08, but Cruz did. By 2008, the Cards seem to be doing a firmer job of steering guys toward catcher, if they do not fit other positions well. Stavinoha seems more willing than Roth to give it his best shot.
Jumbo on point #1, I am with you. TLR has a lot of kids, a lot of question marks and camp has yet to begin. To pronounce them as a contender with the Cubs this soon would rightfully bring out all the Kool-Aid accusers. I don’t read any more into it than that.
On point #2, I am not trying to be a smart aleck, but how could you know anything about Stavinoha’s willingness or lack of willingness to catch? As far as I know, he hasn’t even reported to camp or been quoted anywhere yet. You often word your points as if you are in the players pockets or something. Whether unintentional or not, I think you can be prone to misrepresent your ever-present hopefulness at times such as this.
If there was an article about this that I missed, I will apologize but please link to it so I can catch up (bad pun intended).
Sometime qrecently I read a quote from Stavinoha, but do not recall where. Nor can I recall the quote precisely, because it did not seem important. All I can say is the fuzzy memory left in my mind….Nick said something philosphical, along the lines of he owed it to himself to go all out. So when I then read he would try catcher, the two statements seemed logically related.
Last year, Stavinoha explained he had slimmed down to cover more ground in the OF in 2007, but weight-lifted for more power in 2008 and this explained his offensive surge. If so, he seems not a good fit at corner OF on a TLR team, too big to be nifty with the glove. I had assumed the Cards would move him to 1B at Memphis in 09, but he could try some catcher en route. He spent 2 years catching at San Jacinto, IIRC. Hit some huge number of dingers one year, maybe 38.
Hill spent some time at catcher at a juco or Steven Austin. Roth played 5+ positions in colleges. Cruz played some catcher in college, but this memory is real fuzzy. All these guys: Stavinoha, Hill, Cruz, and Roth must have been fringy defensively at catcher, good with the stick. Roth hit 95 mph on the gun, so had the arm for catcher, if nothing else. My impression is the development people seem to be more determined about encouraging guys to try their best position or multiple positions. It used to be the Cards were more inclined to winnow their draftees and find reasons to give up on them at low rungs.
Don’t get me wrong, I hope Stavinoha embraces the change. On the other hand, the guy turns 27 in about 90 days. He has been working to reach the bigs and before he has a second chance, he has to move defensively to one of the more demanding positions on the diamond. With two catchers under contract and a top prospect ahead of him, he has almost zero chance of seeing any MLB time this season. It would be most natural to be disappointed when taking a step backward. Any optimistic quotes you may remember had to be from back when he was an outfielder. Things have changed.
I will look for the Stavinoha quote, but my inference is logical. The Cards are not going to announce Stavinoha will try catcher, unless he is willing or himself volunteered to do this. Before 2007, Roth sounded positive about finding his catching glove, but when it came time to assemble rosters, his promotion expectations must have been high. Anderson and Rasmus were going to AA, so Roth must have felt mad to have the kids leave him at Palm Beach.
Fans periodically wonder about Shane Robinson at 2B. Teams do not want to make guys unhappy by moving them, if they do not want to change position. If Stavinoha is going to try catcher, its because he wants too.
Brian, I understand, perhaps better than you, Stavinoha’s chances at catcher are slim to none.
But the odds are long for most guys. So what is Stavinoha supposed to do? Give up? Many players are very determined and will make lemonade out of lemons. Its not a surprise to me that a determined man will give it his best shot, even at a position he could not win at LSU. Then 10 years from now, there will be no regrets in the rear view mirror.
Do you honestly think Nick rang up Mo and said, “I’ve been thinking. I’d like to get back to catching. Will you give me a chance?”
I would give you 10:1 odds it went like this instead. “Nick, this is Mo. As you know, we are jammed in the OF. We’d like you to switch to catcher.” (long pause) “Ok, if that is what the organization wants, then I will give it a try,” replied the surprised player.
After all, what is he going to say? This isn’t a kid like Roth trying to get out of A ball. Stavinoha probably considers himself a major leaguer. I can’t imagine my hypothetical conversation, if anywhere near accurate, would have made him feel all that good.
Consider Skip. Prior to being asked (told) to move, his comments about second base were made like it was a joke. I am pretty confident that if he could be open and honest, which he cannot unless he’d like to risk joining Kennedy among the ranks of the unemployed, Skip would say he would prefer to fight it out as an outfielder, the position at which he has been training for the last eight years.
Jumbo, we posted at the same time. I am with you on your last post.
Our friend, Sport, who interviewed Nick for Scout.com, during the Caravan, dateline 1/19/09.
Nick says: “Did I give my best today?” That is his philosophy of life to tell younger players.
http=//mets.scout.com/a.z?s=228&p=2&c=831719
The Cards are not going to release Skip and if they do, he can land another gig. So he can say something.
Though the idea of Skip at 2B is a surprise, it has this going for it: he is a great OF. If any OF could move to 2B, would it not be a guy who can handle the glove? If Shannon can move to 3B and Zeile and Torre to 3B, why can’t Skip handle 2B?
With these position changes at the ML level — Skip at 2b, Mather at 3B — maybe Walt is feeling ever more comfy in Cinci.
There is some consistency in steering Stavinoha toward catcher. One feels in recent years the Cards have put emphasis on development of up the middle positions (CF, SS, C, 2B). Since hard to find catchers who can hit, an alternative is to try to make hitters into functional catchers. This is being tried with Cruz, perhaps with Hill, and now Stavinoha.