At this time of year, baseball talk is all about clinching – division championships or wild card berths, primarily. So it is with the St. Louis Cardinals, hoping to clinch on Friday evening in Colorado.
A once-in-a-lifetime event like the National League Triple Crown could not be clinched, but could be lost. About the only shortcoming of Albert Pujols’ fantastic 2009 season has been his apparent failed bid to unseat former Cardinal and Hall of Famer Joe “Ducky” Medwick as the NL’s most recent winner.
Medwick accomplished the feat in 1937 that has been unmatched in the Senior Circuit since – accumulating the most home runs, RBI and posting the highest batting average in a single season.
During comment discussion here on Thursday, it was generally agreed that Pujols’ Triple Crown bid is over. Let’s look at the three components.
Pujols still leads the home run race with 47 though he hasn’t gone deep since hitting a pair on September 9. Mark Reynolds of Arizona is four behind at 43.
The RBI chase may be getting away from Albert. After pulling even with Milwaukee’s Prince Fielder on Monday for the lead at 129, Pujols is now third. Philadelphia’s Ryan Howard is the new co-leader at 132 with Fielder.
The biggest problem is clearly Pujols’ .330 batting average. Though only four points off his career mark, it is currently 20 points south of Florida’s Hanley Ramirez, who is having a tremendous season.
My belief is that Pujols expanded his strike zone prior to the arrival of Matt Holliday and because of it, lost valuable batting average points. Ironically, Pujols’ low point after the first two weeks of the season of .317 came on June 11 as the Cardinals finished a three-game series against Ramirez’ Marlins.
Back to the clinching idea. I thought I would determine if Ramirez has yet clinched the batting championship and in the process would formally eliminate Pujols’ faded Triple Crown hopes.
Unrealistic case – Hanley completely tanks
Like the Cardinals, the Marlins have nine games remaining. On the season, Ramirez has averaged 3.83 at-bats per game, meaning he should accumulate 35 more at-bats. If he goes completely hitless, 0-for-35, his current .350 average would drop to .329.
Obviously, in that case, all Pujols would basically need to do is maintain his season-long .330 average to edge out Hanley.
Albert has averaged 3.54 at-bats per game this season. With nine games remaining, he should accumulate 32 more at-bats. Going 11-for-32 (.344) would keep him just ahead of Ramirez.
An even more unrealistic case – Pujols unstoppable
What if Pujols has a hit in every single at-bat the rest of the way?
Going 32-for-32 would raise his season mark to .3675.
To beat Pujols, Ramirez would then need to go 23-for-35 (.657), which would put him at .3679 to end the year.
Slightly more realistic case – meet me in the middle
In a more possible, yet still negative scenario, let’s assume Ramirez will slump, but will still get seven more hits to reach an even 200 on the season. Hitting 7-for-35 (.200) would put his final mark at .3407.
To reach .3409 and edge out Hanley, Albert would need 17 hits in his 32 at-bats, or a .531 pace over his final nine games.
Will it happen? Will Pujols find a way to catch Hanley in average and edge out Howard and Fielder in RBIs? Most likely not.
But could it happen? Yes, it still could.
In other words, on the evening the Cardinals as a team may clinch, in their individual Triple Crown category battles, Pujols’ opponents have yet to clinch against him.
I believe it was all the walks issued and the pitches offer when someone really had to pitch to Albert do to occupied bases and such that created his hot first half. (4 grannies?) Subsequently, when Holiday arrived and pitching tactics changed, so did Albert’s season. The Dodgers showed immediately that he could be pitched on the hands. All scouts caught on quick. Albert tried to make small adjustments that were ineffective. Along with the emotional trauma of the All Star debacle, he became open to outside influences (Hal). To describe him as unstable at this point is an understatement. Do I have any idea what will happen against playoff competition……….no. He has backed off the plate 4 inches(good), but continues to open to quickly. If Albert goes flat, batting third. First round out. Lets hope that he is aware of the issues and regains his career swing. And lets pray for Hal because he is also a manifestation of the aspirations of God as we all are. ( A bit more like Jumbo than WC, I must admit).
It would be hard to argue that Albert has carried the team since the all star break. His probable MVP is due to what he did the first half. If importance to the team over the whole season is a factor, then maybe Wainy is a contender, or Carp. But to the point, success in post season is not as dependant on Albert as one might think. All the winning that has happened since the break has had more to do with how the rest of the lineup performed. That’s not to say he won’t be his usual awesome self, that could happen, but if he is flat and hits singles at a .280 clip, we could still be o.k.
Westie, I am unpersuaded by many of your explanations.
Mr. Pujols was recently honored as Player of the Decade. Yet according to you, after 10 years of historic performance, the Dodgers found Albert had a hole in his swing that had gone unnoticed by all teams for a decade.
Then you suggest the best hitter of the past decade suffered “emotional trauma”. And began to listen to Mr. McRae (even though you actually have no idea who Albert consults with about batting, it may be his barber or Yadier or Albert’s wife or Mike Aldrete the assistant batting coach). One difference between us is I do not assume a coach should be flogged for every slump encountered by every player over the course of a long season.
According to you, the best hitter in the game is “unstable” owing to emotional trauma. And despite these terrible problems, Albert has still had the best hitting season of his marvelous career. It is mystifying how Albert is able to cope with all the trauma.
Spiritual Crisis is the key word Jumbo. It has nothing to do with a specific religious form or believe system. It represents the evolution of the ego’s interpretation of its existence against the undeniable reality manifest upon the surface of the physical world or God, if you need that most common description. We are all as developing beings, in constant negotiation within this process.
Albert’s sense of self, or his ego’s aspiration for worldly accomplishments set him up for a humbling. He got it………………….. In all fairness, had Albert won the Hr contest, and the most valuable player at the all star game. Where would we be now? Like most people that strive for great performance accomplishments learn………you better have little or no baggage for that moment on stage or playing field.. No self doubt…………………… Albert is rebuilding. I haven’t heard any claims of exclusive dialogs with Christian Icons or maybe God offering him preferential privileges and advice of late. Thats a good sign………………… now if he would just look at his early season films a bit more.
That´s a nice fictional tale you weave Westie. I guess when you talk about some people being unaware of the “truth” and “reality” you were talking about yourself.
Pujols is finishing up Sept with the second best month (OPS) of a career year. His month of August was above his career average. The month he tanked was July and most of that occured long before Holiday appeared on the scene.
I guess they don´t call California “la.la land” for nothing.
Mid 50′s tonight in Denver tonight CC. Care to pick one?
There is no fiction in that description at all CC. Just perspective. Pick one for me.
I´ll pick the Cardinals – not that that has anything to do with your pujols slump fantasy
Solid………… who said anything about a slump. He is hitting poorly. If he were a chicken his eggs would be small, not few. You sound like one of the net work guys reading a script while Albert is at the plate, praising his every move, as the choke on their coffee as he strikes out on a pitch a foot outside the Strike Zone.
You have to like the Cardinals on paper. Obvious tactics:
1……. Rockies will try to see as many pitches as possible knowing that Carp will be on a pitch count with innings considerations. They want that bull pen.
2…… Carp wants the Cy Young. He knows they will be attempting to be patient. He will become very aggressive trying to take advantage of that.
3…. Outcome……. thin air. Tough to control the breaking pitch. He will be throwing fastballs more often, they are likely to be hitting them. He is likely to give up 4 or 5……… will the Cards offense support? I hope so!
4…If Carp can’t reach the 6th, we loose. Most other scenarios work for us.
Yet you refuse to address the fact that the facts contradict your “perception”.
And Jeshua spent allot of time warm weather ice skating. Ask Albert, he will straighten you out.
Step up CC. We played crap for a full month. Tell me how it is. This is your chance. Are you like Jumbo and only read the Box’s, the fantasy break downs. Give me a hundred words on tonights game. Step up, or step down.
Carpenter’s only career game at Coors was on 7/25/06. 7 1/3 shutout innings and a win.
Step up to what? Your expectations? Sorry, those are your problem.
Nice diversion from Albert playing bad (no way to support that) to the team playing bad.
It is commonly acknowledged that we had a weak August schedule CC. Thats what playing crap means. I’m waiting, unless your last statement is your step.
I’m worried about the temp Brian. If its 50 degrees, I bet its a conditional start. Were going to LA anyway.
Breaking balls break less in thin air. Not that it was any less thin in ’06, but unless physics is all a big lie, Carp will have to plumb the depths of his bag of tricks tonight. The wiz-bang odds guys would have that factored in, I’m sure. Yadi will face less wind resistance running to first.
He will need to stop and rest BB. If Carps stiffens in the cold, thats a concern.
AB R H RBI HR BB K SB LOB Season Avg
S. Schumaker 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .304
B. Ryan ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .289
A. Pujols 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .330
M. Holliday lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .356
C. Rasmus cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .258
R. Ludwick rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .271
M. DeRosa 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .238
Y. Molina c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .291
C. Carpenter p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .158
Totals
Is this about Colby banging Bastardo or Ludwick having no clue.
Triple Crown? Eh.
Pujols leads the majors in OBP with a .447 clip (Mauer is second with .442 and Nick Johnson is third with .421). Pujols leads the majors in SLG with an astounding .676 (Mauer is second with .606).
Sure, Ramirez can hit for average, but his eye isn’t as good as Pujols’. Reynolds, Howard, and Fielder can’t get on base like Pujols and can’t catch his third place NL standing in doubles (42).
In the metrics that actually mean something, Pujols is unquestionably the king this season.
There has to be a penalty for getting to 100 K’s first, Luddy was probably expecting a strongly worded letter.
Top of first textbook how not to hit, bottom of first how to hit.
Carp has such a great curve……….he could throw it on the moon. Top 6 and the infield has been fantastic. Two strikeouts. The Rockies color man marvels at how Albert pulls off the ball. Even on his hit, he said” he committed his left side so early and was still able to reach that ball”. “This guy is incredible”.
Our only hope is Obie wan Colby, the unpredictable. Oh well. Contreras will be with us for a few.
Umpire crew flew in from Atlanta.
Though this was interesting.
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AudQ_TOdunCySXFRbN_nkd0RvLYF?slug=jp-mateo092409&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
Good game. The positive is we absolutely don’t want Atlanta involved. I though the hit and run in the first was a good use of Ryan. Carpenter fought hard. Phillies and Dodgers both look to be losing. To bad there.
Other than Carp, I didn’t see much good. Nice throw by Yadi. Ineffective offense.
Re the Mateo kid. Sounds a lot like the Cards decided they needed the $3M for something that’s a better bet than whether a 16 year old will turn out to be a big star. Too bad for the kid.
Re the Mateo kid. The Cards have spent years sucking up and trying to get in with top buscones. They finally get a top talent. This kid is really who he said he is. He is really 16. But he had a vision problem. The Cards probably did the right thing to cut him lose, but the situation is a fiasco and its going to be a lot harder to sign the next big time kid. Next time, they need to do a thorough eye exam before bidding more than $1MM. This is an outcome that makes makes everyone look bad.
Carp was fantastic. Bad news is this was a huge game for Colorado. They will likely loosen up a little tomorrow. Who will make Tony’s lineup tomorrow? Who will back Wainwright? Pujols stunk again tonight, but his greatness still go two hits he is so good. Holiday was a mystery. Colby played as expected. Wish we had a Giambi…………………. Lohse will get Freese and LaRue on Sunday.
I agree Jumbo…….it looks bad. They probably end up paying some penalty.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/E8CDDC6F02E403FF8625763D000B2798?OpenDocument
The first string is in town Brian playing defense. This is going to be interesting. Matt will be going to special meals and more. He seems really distracted at the plate. I would put the odds at 1/10 now and declining as the on field fun slows down. All of Holidays comments are now scripted, thats the tell.
The Rockies splurged on Mike Hampton and Todd Helton. Now their final offer of $72MM over four years to Holliday seems pathetic. Hard to see Holliday signing for less than 7 years, $140MM. Boston will probably be good for $155MM.
Rolen signed before the playoffs began.
The Cards chances to re-sign Holliday are going to hinge on Holliday, not Scottie B.
If only it was so simple, the deal would probably already be done. Instead, the sides will wait until after the season to negotiate. Understandable, but still concerning. Every day lost means more sand falls from the Cardinals’ hourglass…
Too bad Holliday doesn’t have Rolen’s agent, eh?
If one’s objective is to improve the effectiveness of the offense, and one has $100+M to commit, there are probably going to be a lot of things one might do this winter. Signing Holliday is one of those things but not the only one, and it might make sense not to have blinders on, blocking out all other possibilities. Its not a given that Albert will be more productive with Matt behind him, nor is it a given that the offense will b productive. Not that anything is wrong with Matt, his numbers are great. But it hasn’t been the answer so far and half a season is a decent sample. The chemistry may not be right. Other shortcomings may be more important to address with that money.
With that Money? BB………..nothing has changed here. There was a detour. Thats all. You haven’t seen a show until you see “The Tragedy of BD against Market Forces”. “It all seems so unfair”.
DeRo…..gone
Tony/Dave…..gone
Holiday…..gone
Albert……..MLB has got a big stake in this. See if you can guess what it is.
Is that your prediction, WC or another “Ludwick will be released” kind of assertion that should be taken with a grain of salt? Or come to think of it, it may be both…
What is this Ludwick thing? He should have been released. Money should have bought a second baseman. But thats what I would have done. But I didn’t say that. I said they have that play open, and that there was a 1/5 chance they would take that route. They didn’t. Lets enjoy that Homer while we can……………… my above senerio is likely 2/1.
The Albert situation is very provocative. I’m sure everyone would agree that there is a specific set of circumstances that would surely lead Albert away. The number 1 is him being unhappy. The Holiday comments on Albert were surely coached, and they have a reason for being offered. You know what that is. The Boras appeal to the Rockies media and fans makes his situation transparent.
BD is following a business plan. He is still on it. He just hocked a few eggs. No problem.
The real issue is his assessment of the Cardinal fans. There isn’t anything better to do in St. Louis. They will return no matter how bad the luck. BD is just trying to beat the rap or responsibility for following a reasonable business plan. He isn’t going to pay Albert 30 million a year. He is still negotiating. The season is still on.
Once again, the Holiday money this year came from the Lugo contract. Fast and loose.
Lohse against a 15 game winning lefty???????????? The Rockies will be loose tonight figuring they have already won the series. Waino is pulling a tough one. If Chicago wins. That will tighten it up. If they loose. We could win this one.
Westie, Please explain, step by step, how adding Lugo enabled payment to Holliday. This is something you claim, but are never able to articulate and explain. (Since in reality there is no logical defense, you can spare your typing fingers and devoted readers by babbling about traumas, aborginal faith healers, and deep oil.)
Brian, Pujols’ agents are no easy patsies for teams. I refuse to glorify Boras and make him bigger than he is. There are plenty of sharks in the sea. Free agency gives every player and agent leverage. Boras may want to be tight with the players union and the union will always want him to stretch the salary scale. DeWitt has been around the block and knows the situation.
Ultimately, the guy making the final decision is Mr. Holliday. We shall see what he decides.
When you play fast and loose jumbo, and you have confidence that you have resources and methods to adapt to any scenario. Yes, your on a run. Bill DeWitt is supremely confidant at this point, thanks to nice people like yourself, that he is really in a no loose situation. In the end it will seem evident to you that he really had no choices.
I fail to see why comprehending that financial move is so difficult. Here is the math.
You have 0 money. You agree to take a player with a check for his salary with the understanding that you have to pay him from now on. You cash the check for 13.5 million. You pay Lugo 4.5 and you take the extra 9 and pay Holidays salary. Next year you can say anything you want about which powder barrel you used because to cover his salary. You set that president this year. They will owe Boston 2 mill next year and will likely trade Lugo this winter, subsidizing at least 4 million of it. You used the capital, got a fantastic return, and still turned a profit, all on the pretense that the talents of the players is somehow written in stone. And you never lost face amongst you cronies for subsidizing unprofitable business practices. Next year, do to terrible luck and unreasonable market place expectations, Cardinal Payroll will drop another 6 to 7 million. This is a historical document. Print and save. Cubs are winning.
I am glad I asked. I knew if there was an answer, it would be a strange one. Congratulations on not disappointing.
Lugo is not costing the Cards anything. The Red Sox were desparate to jettison him. They would have paid any team to haul him off. The Red Sox are high rollers and are not worried about a few million here or there. When you can turn one month of just Chris Duncan at AAA into $13M of subsidy to cart off Lugo, we can see they are thinking differently about things within Boston, plus not too many teams were keen on adding Lugo, because otherwise Boston would have gotten more than Chris and maybe a PTBNL. Boston makes our liberation of Adam Kennedy and loss of $3.6MM look miserly. It was a great move by Mo.
But we do not control the Red Sox, so it was consensual on their part. They must have been sick of Lugo.
The Cards would have made the Wallace, Morty, and Peterson deal for Holliday regardless of the Lugo deal. The Cards gave up a lot: three future MLers, 18 years of salary control for a half year of Holliday, plus the hope of extending him or two draft picks as compensation for his exit. The reason was to give Pujols backup in the lineup this year and we hope for years to come.
I doubt the Red Sox would give the Cards a check for $13.5MM, your key assumption. The Sox might make salary payments to Lugo, consistent with their commitments to his contract. Or they could transfer money biweekly to the Cards to dole out to Lugo each payday on their behalf. I doubt the Sox gave the Cards a pile of cash to cart Lugo away, because if the deal were so super financially, then a bunch of other teams would have chased Lugo.
It is possible that the Cards could gain something by trading Lugo after this season. Because he is free to an acquiring team, somebody keen on having Lugo might give up a decent prospect or some cash. But Lugo is not a big time talent, so I dont think we could collect a lot.
It was a good deal picking up Lugo. But it is unrelated to the Holliday trade. Nice wish, but unlikely.
Jumbo, I really don’t know what to say. I think you might be over your head a bit on these topics. Try some searches and some reading on contracts. All the best WC
One thing we know about contracts is Lugo will receive all his money for 2009 and 2010. This will be paid by Boston.
Hypothetically, to follow the Westie assumption, if the Sox give the Cards a lump sum settlement up front, it will be the net present value of what he is owed through 2010. If there is a lump sum settlement, it will be about $12.5MM, not $13.5. The Cards would then be on the hook to pay out $13.5MM by the end of the 2010 season. This would be a firm and genuine cost to the Cards, not something to imagine away.
One way the Cards could gain a little money would be to trade Lugo this off season. But what is his current value, if he were a free agent? Probably $1.5MM to $3MM. Next year he will be 34 and has been part-time player for two seasons. His current market value is much lower than the $9MM he is going to be paid next year. So if the Cards ship Lugo elsewhere, they will need to pay out $6MM to $7.5MM next season, to get another team to pick up the remainder of his salary. Maybe the Cards could potentially pocket $1.5MM to $3MM. But this is no big deal for them, in the overall picture.
Bottom line: Boston has not given the Cards a financial windfall. They have passed along an albatross contract that Boston will pay off.
Thats closer Jumbo. Boston is required to pay that money……..up front. Thats how major league contracts work. There is no owing. Thats why we have a PTBNed or cash considerations still to be transacted. Boston will take the cash, or player (unlikely) this winter. Player valuations are your own. Spare me the dry powder accountability. With the playoff revenues and big crowds all year, they made a killer deal. What you believe to be their intentions are your fantasy.
I had forgotten to comment about post #24 where Jumbo said:
In the past, when I was critical over these kinds of medical situations in the US, I was reminded that until amateurs are drafted, there are defined limitations on access to them for medical testing. I do not know if there are any rules in the wild, wild Caribbean however. There everyone is a free agent.
Today’s P-D has as much as the Cards are willing to reveal regarding Mateo. He was seen by eye specialists at Johns Hopkins and Harvard. One eye is 20/200 without corrective lenses and even with them it is 20/30. Surgery to improve the sight does not seem practical. Mo and DeWitt said that they do not want this sort of thing to happen again, so this implies they will check eyesight at an earlier point in future. Many contexts are different outside the US. Mateo visited Jupiter for a few days. Maybe in future, such visits will include an eye exam.
Mateo must have worn contacts during workouts for teams. Its hard to imagine there was not intent by the buscone or the lad to mislead bidding teams. A 15 or 16 year old would be a high school sophmore in the States. There is little amatuer play for scouts to observe. There has to be a lot of projection. To give someone $3.1MM, a team will want confidence in his physical health. Eyesight is a crucial gift for a hitter. Its hard to imagine his buscone or the lad would not know this.
I tried a comment about Mateo. Maybe it went into the comment catcher?
That was it, Jumbo. I don’t know what it is about your posts and WordPress’ spam filter, but it isn’t personal.
And IRT to Westie’s #8 comment…..
This spring you did not understand that when a team agrees to go to arbitration with a player, this means it is committed to paying him a salary for the year ahead. No team is going to enter the arbitration process and then release a player, including one who hit 37 homers the preceding season. If a team does not want to pay a player, then it has had a fair chance to do so by refusing to offer arbitration. Once it decides to offer arbitration, release on financial grounds is not an option for a team. This was why your release Ludwick notion was not only unlikely in baseball terms, it was administratively impossible.
There is equally no fantasy about the onus to honor Lugo’s contract and pay him through 2010. This will cost actual money. There is not some amazing financial windfall for the Cards to be had by paying Lugo a lot more money than he would be worth in the marketplace. This is why the RSox had to give financial relief to the Cards for taking Lugo’s albatross contract.
Lugo helps the performance of the Cardinals. He can platoon with Schumacker at 2B and gives depth at SS; thats a nice combination. A financial benefit of about $5MM, as you imagine, is fantasy. DeWitt would love it if you were right. Sadly not so.
Wong on both counts Jumbo. I trust Brian will step in eventually and explain the release rules. They may loose 20% or something. As I explained at the time.
Second item………..unless they can make another 3or 4 million by turning Lugo over after showing he is a viable player.. What Cardinal management does often has little to do with baseball. There is a relationship though at times. You will see in the end Jumbo.
Stunned to see Bernie given the Tony / Mo love story opportunity. Crafty. That Tony is a player.
On the issue of Craig. Tony’s platoon concept has certain moral and emotional obligation. He doesn’t need pressure from fans to trouble his “special ED unit.” Thats all it is.
The Cards will sometimes try to extract value in cast-offs from high-rolling Boston. For instance Tony Womack gave the Birds a fine season at 2B on a WS team in 2004. On the other hand, Boston castoff Matt Clement cost them more than $1MM and had no salvage value. You win some, you lose some.
For the Cards to gain a little financially on Lugo, he has to rebound and to some extent he has with an OPS around 800 in part-time play, strong for a middle infielder. But a modest gain in unrealized potential monetary value owing to Lugo hitting a little better with the Cards is a different story from a large financial windfall being handed to the Cards by Boston.
Back to Ludwick. Any team has until roughly March 15th by which to release a player under contract for an upcoming season and not have to pay him much more than 20 or 25 percent for settlement of his contract. This can happen for instance if a guy is trying to bounce back from an injury and the outlook does not look promising early in spring training. No team is going to release a slugger who is healthy, because that would be giving away a valuable asset. If DeWitt really were a cheap miser, as some imagine, then the last thing DeWitt would do would be give away Luddy by releasing him.
The Westie idea may have been Schumaker would be ineffective at 2B. So after we wasted $3.6MM by releasing Kennedy, we should have also released Luwick to free up $3MM to sign another 2Bman, at a price of surrendering a cost controlled slugging RF.
What has since happenned? Schumaker has developed into an acceptable 2Bman, as the Cards expected. Kennedy played well for the As, but might have been uninspired had he remained here, as he was the first two years. Ludwick has 92 RBIs, second on the team (not factoring Holliday’s RBIs for the As). We did not waste $3MM on an un-needed 2Bman. We shouldered a massive contract off-loaded by Boston for Lugo, but any financial gain from this would be contingent on Lugo improving his performance and our being able to flip him to a team that wants Lugo. Even if this somes to pass, the prospective gain would be unlikely to make up for the $3.6MM loss from letting Kennedy go. The Cards were not so cheap as to squander cost-controlled Ludwick to buy an unneeded 2Bman, nor do they make lots of money from Boston on the Lugo deal.
Westie – so you think the Cards can get someone to take Lugo w/o having to pass on the full amount of his salary? You give Mo more credit than I do.
Saying we should have released Luddy and got a 2B instead means we could have found a 2B for $3 million that would have produced more than Luddy has this year – who would that have been? (but even if true would have been stupid as Luddy had trade value!)
What base are you using for Cardinal salary this year when you say it wil be approx – $7 million less next year? Are you including the $4 million we owe Rolen next year?
Orlando Hudson was available for one. Thats next year lets watch.
And you are contending that Orlando Hudson will only make $3 million this year? Are you sure he has even out produced Luddy? That is surely debatable but I don´t think it is debatable that on a $ for $ basis Luddy has added more since Hudson will cost twice as much as Luddy — plus would have cost our #1 draft pick. I´ll add GM along side hitting coach to those jobs I´m glad you don´t have Westie.
Hudson signed for $3.4MM base plus $4.6MM in incentives, so up to $8MM. He turned down an offer of $4.6MM base from another team. In addition to paying Hudson up to $8MM, the Dodgers surrendered a first round draft pick, because he was rated an A free agent. The Dodgers can do this, because a high spending team like Boston. The Cards cannot afford to release a right fielder, opening a roster hole there, in order to save $3MM to invest in an $8MM 2Bman and give up first draft pick Shelby Miller, when they have done just fine with Schumaker and Ludwick, plus added Miller.
In 2009, Ludwick cost $3.7MM, Schumaker $430,000, and Shelby Miller IIRC $2.8MM. About $7MM in total.
Westie’s alternative idea of releasing Ludwick might have cost $1MM. Adding Hudson for one year might have cost $8MM, sacrificed a top draft pick, and opened a gap in RF.
The Cards did the smart thing, both short term and long term. They kept Ludwick who has 92 RBIs. They transformed Schumaker into a low cost 2Bman. And invested in an elite amateur.
Westie is a stimulating poster with fresh ideas and a devoted readership. But we fans do not need him trying to help the front office.
Daily…………… I’m telling you exactly whats happening…………..and you guys are talking about 09 pre seasons. Sober up. Neither of you has a clue to what went down preseaon. Write about something you know about.
Albert has no way of bleeding pressure as most players do. This day was very revealing for understanding what he perceives as his problem. Also, how much that insecure frame of mind effects his play in general. With all the denial, I don’t see any easy solutions. If he distorts his stance this much for an effect, what is his though process? Is he injured or not?
Ryan’s over swinging in his first at bat, Colby’s inability to make a reasoned swing for money, Ludwicks mystery demand to be pitched inside or he wasn’t going to play at all, Ankiel’s leering gallows smile, as he finally gets asked to play.
Colorado completely choked that game, and won because we were worse. Its like a miracle.
Westie continues to confuse fairy tales with reality – probably a problem from his infancy.
Westie can´t even keep his stories straight. He brings up his fantasy idea of releasing Ludwick and then when the facts contradict his percieved reality accuses others of talking about the past.
When challenged on his idea that Albert is struggling, he refuses to rebutt the facts and changes the conversation to the team struggling.
Your being benched for the rest of the year CC. This is not Scout. I hope other posters will forgive this necessity.
Being held accountable for your comments really bites doesn´t it Westie?
Albert’s problem isn’t pressure, nor is he messed up psychospiritually, or whatever the terminology is. He is being pitched to differently from what he has seen in a very long time. How long since he’s regularly benn pitched to in clutch/RISP situations with the primary purpose of going after him and getting him out, rather than pitching around him and not getting killed by him. In the past its been more economical to pitch around him, now teams must invest whatever it takes to figure out how to get Albert out. He is trying many things to try and get comfortable and adjust to what they are doing to him. He finds it harder to adjust as a 30 yr old than at 23 (when he was made of rubber as 23 yr olds are) which is about the last time he had to do it. Contrast the many different stances and swings and approaches from Albert, with the sameness seen from a rookie like Colby who has no clue how to adjust and clearly hasn’t gotten any effective help.
Westie is a colorful, high spirited character. He intuits and interprets and philosophies about inner realities. Sometimes what he believes is unlikely. He seems like a Cards fan, but he may be reflexively skeptical of management. He is one of our leading resident anarchists.
Come on Westie, I thought you wanted this to be a historical document – what numbers are we comparing between this year and next year as far as payroll to determine the $7 million reduction in payroll? Starting payroll? End of year payroll? The amount the Cards are responsible for? Clear it up for us so we can see next year how smart you really are.