Sometimes when news is a bit quiet, I take a look at the site stats and see how new readers are arriving at the blog and what they have on their minds. Not knowing if they found their answers, I am listing 20 of the search arguments that have led visitors to TheCardinalNationblog.com in the last few days along with a short reply to each.
“did ozzie smith play with the cardinals”
Uh, yes he did. For 15 seasons, from 1982 through 1996, the Wizard of Oz was St. Louis’ shortstop. Ozzie was an all-star in 14 of those years and was a member of two world championship teams. He recently reaffirmed his desire to get into coaching/managing but due to a long-standing feud with Tony La Russa, is staying away from the Cardinals.
“2009 rule 5 draft”
The event is coming up on December 7 at Baseball’s Winter Meetings in Indianapolis. On Saturday, I listed the Cardinals players I believe are eligible to be selected.
“2009 nl cy young award voting”
The controversial results put San Francisco’s Tim Lincecum in first place, ahead of Cardinals Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright, despite the latter having the most first-place votes. It was the only time since 1998 that the pitcher with the most first-place ballots did not win. You can see each voter’s ballot here.
“mike matheny’s brother”
This one beats me, as I don’t recall ever writing about the subject. In fact, I have no idea whether the former Cardinals catcher even has any siblings. My guess is that this was a wayward search “related” to jazz musician Pat Metheny, whose brother is named Mike.
“will holliday sign with the cardinals”
That is the $100 million question this winter, isn’t it?
“cardinals offer holiday 6 years”
Not yet, at least as far as we know. But if you put the last two items together, you get in the right ballpark, I suspect…
“holliday arbitration”
This Tuesday, December 1 is the deadline for MLB clubs to offer arbitration to eligible players. The players have until the 7th to decide whether or not to accept. Among my predictions was the easiest one of all – that the Cardinals will offer Matt Holliday and he will not accept. That would give the organization two picks should Holliday sign elsewhere. TheCardinalNation.com subscribers can read all my predictions here.
“lance lynn in 2010 offseason mlb trade”
This is an interesting one. I wonder if someone has some inside information! Coming off a strong 2009, Lynn seems destined to land among my top five Cardinals prospects this winter.
“braulio hiraldo”
The 21-year-old was placed on the reserve list of the Dominican Summer League Cardinals for the 2009 season and did not play. The right-handed hitter has a career line of .232/.324/.320. The Cardinals’ 2006 signing played in the DSL (2006) and Gulf Coast League (2007-08) in his three prior professional seasons.
“jamie pogue st louis cardinals”
The Canadian catcher signed with the Cardinals in 2000 and reached as high as Double-A New Haven three years later. He then returned to independent ball, playing through 2008.
“cardinals minor league managers”
I have written periodically about the top managers in the Cardinals minor league system over the years and still have three or four additional articles to run this winter when news is slow.
“cardinals lease with jupiter”
The Cardinals’ Florida home since 1998 is Jupiter’s Roger Dean Stadium, owned by Palm Beach County. The facility is operated by Jupiter Stadium Ltd., a partnership between the Cardinals and the Florida Marlins, the other tenant. The Cardinals will be there for a long time as their current lease runs through 2027. That is both good and bad, as I recently wrote about their difficulty in finding someone to play.
“rcwarrior1 colby”
Yep, he’s probably around here somewhere…
“mike marshall pitcher arms”
The former Cy Young Award winner is a controversial pitching coach, working outside of organized ball using a unique training regimen. The Cardinals signed a Marshall disciple, left-hander Joe Williams, and gave him a brief Double-A trial this past summer. I published an open letter from Marshall earlier this year.
“cardinals number 63”
In 2007, Brendan Ryan and Andy Cavazos wore the number briefly as did Chris Perez when he first came up in 2008. Over time, many players were assigned number 63 in spring training only to either be sent down or given a lower number if they made the team. Now-free agent lefty Ian Ostlund wore 63 during 2009 spring camp.
“jim riggleman”
The former Cardinals minor league field coordinator recently had the “interim” tag removed and will remain as the manager of the Washington Nationals in 2010.
“attendance for spring training 2009 cardinals”
The Cardinals averaged 5,652 fans per game and totaled 101,740 in home attendance during spring 2009. Details on their spring attendance history here.
“st. louis cardinals basic fan demographics”
The above article on spring training also offers a general, non-team specific cross-section of information about those who attend spring training.
“vsl matrix”
I am keeping the Cardinals roster matrix updated with all signed players across the entire system listed. You can always find it via the search box at the upper right or via the dropdowns at the top (“Players/Staff” > “Depth Charts/Roster Matrix”).
“’back slippage’ jesus”
I honestly have no idea 1) why someone entered this search and 2) why that brought them here…
Brian, if you do any sort of future Spring Training article that talks about attendance or one that talks about ticket prices it would be interesting to see how Spring Training ticket prices have gone up over the years.
Ruben Gotay…………..Got that covered……. now I watch with interest.
Stupid question, did we sign him to a minor league contract, is he on the 40 man??
As I understand he is a swich hitter who can’t hit lefties, but 479PA 102BB. He was in the PCL so I guess we’ve seen him enough.
bb, you need to check out my free article at TheCardinalNation.com with the specifics. The links to all the current articles there are always on the front page of this blog in the special TCN.com block.
To answer your question, it is a minor league contract with an invitation to major league camp.
Thanks Brian, long day, got lazy.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/0F12B8BF42E85EB58625767F0010D5A5?OpenDocument
The tone in this article is very disturbing. They could have these guys on a one year deal and they act like they would be losers for doing it. The logic is obvious but what is the tone suppose to mean. Don’t forget the cost in DRAFT PICKS already developed for these guys. This organization gives me the creeps.
As CC knows since we have been discussing this for weeks, my prediction all along has been that the Cardinals will not offer Pineiro and DeRosa. It is not what I would do, but what I think they will do. I also documented my explanation for TCN.com subscribers several weeks ago here.
Not only is there the missing out on compensation picks, but the years of player development that cannot be recaptured. The Cards will have lost 14 player-years of professional growth time in the five players dealt away that cannot be made up even with five new picks in the 2010 draft.
The real bottom line here Brian, as funny as it may seem, early round draft picks cost a bundle these days. They might not want them. Good players on a 1 yr deal seems to be just what they want any other time. They are exposing them selfs here because both of those players will sign early and for multiple years.
The Cardinals do not particularly stand out from other organizations in their arbitration offer decisions. The Dodgers made no offers today. Apparently the Yankees didn’t either. Is DeWitt leading them, too?
No, there is a calculated value and settlement (collusion) apparently being predicted here by many. Profit is king. If everyone avoids arbitration, how can the Players Union not win a settlement. How much saved and paid is the game. The Cardinals are the team that has avoided the market with an attitude for at least a few years now. It is a good bet that these players will be signed elsewhere. Why get involved this way.