As I read all the articles building up the World Series Game 1 match up between the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies, I cannot help but think about how smartly the St. Louis Cardinals are run.
On Wednesday night, each league champion is sending their respective ace to the mound in the hopes of establishing an early lead in the 2009 version of the Fall Classic. A pair of former Cy Young Award winners will toe the rubber at the new Yankee Stadium, C.C. Sabathia for the home team and Cliff Lee for the visitors.
The two lefties share one distinction in that they are only the second pair of Cy Young Award winners to ever face off in Game 1, the others having been back in 1995.
For Cardinals fans however, the even more notable common thread that binds the 29-year-old Sabathia and the 31-year-old Lee is a career fate the Cardinals have avoided.
Cleveland fans must watch the pair on the world stage wearing other uniforms, despite the two having experienced their majority of their career success with a mid-market club that could no longer afford them – their own Indians.
The formula followed for each was precisely the same, just one year apart.
Sabathia took the 2007 American League Cy Young Award, but with free agency looming at the end of the 2008 season, the Tribe made Sabathia an offer that they knew would not be good enough. They had little choice but to send him off to Milwaukee for a package of prospects. He then moved to the Yankees over the winter for $161 million over seven years.
During that 2008 season, Lee exceeded his own strong past form, storming to the AL Cy Young Award. A club option for 2010 meant Lee was probably one season away from free agency. The Indians knew they had no better chance of keeping him beyond next year than they did Sabathia, so they swapped Lee to Philadelphia this July. Things had fallen apart quickly as the 97-loss Indians fully committed to a rebuilding process, just two years removed from a 96-win season.
The Cardinals don’t yet have a pair of Cy Young Award winners in their rotation, but they are very close. If Adam Wainwright edges out top contender and 2005 selection Chris Carpenter when the 2009 National League winner is announced next month, they will.
As the 2009 season began, the Cardinals had a payroll in the $88 million range, while the Tribe was at around $81 million, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts. Yet one huge difference between the two is the Cardinals having locked up their co-aces several years back on multi-year deals that will keep them in the Birds on the Bat well into the future.
Carpenter, 34, signed a five-year, $63.5 million deal in December, 2006. Having been injured much of the first two years put the club’s decision into question by some in hindsight, yet those tears evaporated as Carp put together a spectacular comeback campaign in 2009. The Cardinals also hold a 2012 option on Carpenter’s services that will surely be picked up if he remains healthy and productive.
During last year’s spring training, then-new general manager John Mozeliak executed a masterful move, one for which he does not receive nearly enough credit. It followed an approach ironically pioneered in the 1990s by then-Cleveland GM John Hart to lock up budding stars on multi-year deals before their salaries escalate first via arbitration, then free agency. Of course, the player has to be willing.
Wainwright agreed to terms on a deal covering 2008, his three arbitration-eligible seasons, 2009, 2010 and 2011, along with a pair of team options that preclude his first two years of free agency. As a result, the now-28-year-old will likely remain in a Cardinals uniform through his best seasons, concluding with the 2013 campaign. Those six years will cost the club just $36 million in total.
As a result of this wise planning by the Cardinals front office, they can keep their co-aces pitching together for at least three more seasons, something Cleveland fans can only wish had been accomplished with their former mound stars.
So as Cardinals backers watch Wednesday night’s game, say a small thanks for the club having avoided what could have been, but will not be.
Sabathia was so inconsistent at first, do to the radical lifestyle change, Cleveland decided to give him an early raise if he would agree to have his mother live with him. Babysitter. It worked. I’m glade we have MM to babysit Colby and Brendan now.
Westy’s comment calls up images of that movie with Arnold Schwartzenegger, Kindergarten Cop. “I’m da party poopa”.
Q: “How’s your wife?”
A: “Compared to what.”
That’s the attitude!
Info on DeRosa injury, he had wrist surgery today. (from P-D site stltoday.com):
Here is a link to a description that in most ways fits the way the injury has been described to me and reported in our paper:
http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/handwristsurgery/g/ecutendon.htm
It has been likened to the injury David Ortiz had as well.
— Derrick Goold
1:27 pm October 28th, 2009
thanks BB.
This is why I feel Ruben Amaro Jr. should be the Executive of the Year. The Toronto Blue Jays’ GM: J.P. Riccardi (since fired) wanted all of the Phillies top prospects for Roy Halliday. Amaro wisely said no and gave up a bunch of second tier prospects to Cleveland for Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco instead. Lee has been phenonmenal for Philadelphia. Amaro has one of the top pitchers in the game and all of his elite prospects to boot. Francisco solidified the outfield depth and held his own with the bat. That’s the sign of a great General Manager. Plus, he got Pedro without having to give up anything mid-stream. He signed Raul Ibanez, who was a major contributor. Added Joe Blanton, for a # 5 starter he led the team in innings pitched, plus had a 4.05 era. Brett Myers had his moments of effectiveness. Ruben had starting pitchers coming out of his ears! He had 4 players hit more than 30 home-runs. How do you repeat as World Series Champions? Doing what Amaro did is a damn good start.
Just curious, is everyone going to watch the World Series? Why or why not? Personally, I will not watch any WS with the Yankees in it. To me, everything wrong with baseball starts and ends with the team that buys their way into the playoffs every year. I would like to see parity in baseball.
I disagree with Selig that baseball fans want to see the Yankees in the playoffs every year.
Ax, I agree with your assessment of the job Amaro has done. Yes, I will be watching the Series, though less intently and from a different location than I had hoped.
Common AX……………….. turn it on. Its the ultimate Voyeurism. See the pornographic A-Rod, who didn’t inhale, hunt for glory. If nothing more, they will be showing Kate Hudson all the time.
I think I’d rather be like Lewis & Clark and practise Voyageurism. I’m going exploring.
The only thing they ever do on Yankee broadcasts is show shots of Derek Jeter every 5 minutes. While I’m sure they love that in San Francisco, (not that there’s anything wrong with that) it just makes me want to puke. Not that I have anything against Derek because he’s pretty and feminine, I just hate him because he’s a Yankee. He’s the most over-hyped, over-rated player in the game. The fact that he has a gold glove to his name demeans the award. Have you ever seen him dive for a ball on the ground? If he can’t reach it standing up, it’s going through.
As for A-Rod, now that Bonds is retired from cheating, he’s now the biggest phony in pro sports.
Brian, I think we all wish you were covering the WS from another location. Brother we feel your pain!!!
I will dissent on adulation for Amaro. Most of the home grown talent in Philly was attributable to their amateur scouting guy, who quit when he did not get the GM job. Moved to the Royals this season. He built this team.
Cliff Lee is a super pitcher. Its a no brainer to pick him up if you can get him for a reasonable prospect package.
Lots of teams could have signed Pedro. Teams were conservative in their spending this summer. Philly spent some money, so got Pedro. It was more money than smarts.
Blanton was nabbed by the previous GM. Ilbanez was a good signing, probably owed to their pro scouts or the former GM, though maybe Amaro can get some credit for this one.
Philly has made a lot of smart personnel moves over quite a few years now, starting with signing Jimmy Rollins, Scott Rolen, Chase Utley, Howard, from amateur ranks.. This is why they are where they are, with a very strong team.
Speaking of home grown talent, the Yankees are always near the top of the list for %HGT on active roster. They buy the big names but do a great job filling out the roster with their own products. Right now about half are Yankee home growns: Jeter, Posada, Pettitte, Cabrera, Rivera, Chamberlain, Cano, Gardner, Hughes, Coke, Wang is on the DL, they got Aceves from Mexican league. Who has a better crop of home growns on their active roster?
I still hate them of course. If I didn’t watch the WS I’d feel like a commie.
Gotta disagree with you Jumbo, I’m pretty sure Blanton was picked up by Amaro. As for Pedro, it was need, not money. The Phillies can’t just throw money at everyone like the Yankees do. We’re not talking about the vastly over-rated Brian Cashman here, who just has to hand out blank cheques (even to average players). The majority of teams have a budget they have to stick to.
The one thing I will agree on that Amaro may be over-rated is that his advisor is Pat Gillick; one of the brightest baseball minds of all time and a future hall-of-famer. How much Gillick is responsible for these transactions we’ll never know. You can be damn sure Ruben seeks his advice on any player moves.