Readers select their top stories of the year for the 2010 St. Louis Cardinals.
As suggested by you, the readers of this blog, this is the second in a series of posts in which you can vote for your top St. Louis Cardinals stories of 2010.
We are using the same list of stories that I used in my countdown, but you will set your own priority via a daily vote here. We will go as deep into the list as you would like. For example, we can stop the voting at your top five or ten based on your interest level.
Your #1 story with 57% of the vote: The collapse – favored defending champs miss playoffs
Link to The Cardinal Nation Blog’s top 20 stories of the year countdown
What is the #2 story for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2010?
- Matt Holliday signing – seven or eight years (36%, 8 Votes)
- The Ludwick-Westbrook trade – Jay emergence, Westbrook re-signing (9%, 2 Votes)
- La Russa returns for 2011, Duncan for two or three more years (9%, 2 Votes)
- The Penny/Lohse injuries (9%, 2 Votes)
- Colby Rasmus not traded (9%, 2 Votes)
- Big Mac's return (5%, 1 Votes)
- Problems with the middle infield (5%, 1 Votes)
- Whitey Herzog Halll of Famer, retired number (5%, 1 Votes)
- Jaime Garcia emergence (5%, 1 Votes)
- The fight in Cincinnati (5%, 1 Votes)
- Adam Wainwright, the new ace (5%, 1 Votes)
- Lance Berkman signing (0%, 0 Votes)
- Marty Mason firing (0%, 0 Votes)
- New farm director and minors improvement (0%, 0 Votes)
- The final year of Albert Pujols’ first decade (0%, 0 Votes)
- Zack Cox' major league deal (0%, 0 Votes)
- Young bench, veteran stopgaps (0%, 0 Votes)
- Problems at third base (0%, 0 Votes)
- Stan the Real Man (0%, 0 Votes)
- No opinion/other (0%, 0 Votes)
Total Voters: 22
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Very likely that Pujols not being traded (before his 5/10 rights kicked in) will be a bigger non-trade story than Rasmus not being traded.
If I interpret what you are saying, I don’t know how to accommodate a non-story the year after the fact. I don’t think it will be necessary, anyway, but we will see…
There is no doubt Albert probably should have been offered a fair deal(10 years at 28.5million a year is fair imo)and told that this deal would go away and he would be dealt if he(Albert) and the club didn’t come to an agreement before he reached 10/5. This would have been a better way of dealing with the situation than was losing all leverage. The cardinals, had this happened could have really received a motherload of players and prospects for Albert. And like I have previously stated could receive only 2 players now if Albert bolted.
This is why I believe there is no way that the cardinals can let Albert go at this point and will most likely over pay for him now because the alternative would be to receive the two players and to receive a lot more venom from Cards fans.
How do we know what the two sides did or did not discuss previously? We seem to assume that a lack of a story in the paper means nothing happened.
I agree Brian, its all speculation but in the absence of good information any information will do and thats where we seem to be.
We do know this;
Albert didn’t sign an extension prior to him achieving 10/5 status.
Because of that the Cards lost negotiating leverage.
And the cardinals will now only get two compensation picks if Albert leaves.
So it appears that the entire ordeal was not handled as well as it could have been if you are sitting in the Cardinals FO. Now it may very well work out OK, but today theres got to be a lot of uncertainty running amuck in Cardinal land because of where everything now stands.
RC — If it came to AP leaving, not only would the team have 2 picks, they’d have up to $30M that was budgeted for Albert to spend. With that you could get a couple of impact players or maybe one impact guy and 3-4 good complimentary pieces. I’m thinking win-win. It would be great to keep one of the best players all-time and life doesn’t end if he leaves…
I guarantee you that if it was possible, a number of teams would like up willing to pay up to $30M per year and give up only two draft picks to get Albert. The equation is unequal.
My scenario for 2 draft picks and up to $30M in pocket was based on the scenario where he doesn’t sign and goes via free agency. Agree… two draft picks in trade would never happen.
My point is the Cardinals could have secured more players plus prospects had they handled the situation in a manner that TLR prefers. Businesslike.
It takes two willing parties to negotiate. Until then, nothing gets done.
If I was leading the Pujols camp, I would have had NO, ZERO, NADA, NONE, ZILCH motivation to open negotiations early.
Pujols is under no obligation to do anything until HE is ready. He has had the power all along and will keep it until he signs. The Cardinals have no choice but to follow his lead. That’s the way it was, is and will be.
It is unreasonable to be critical of the front office unless you really believe that Pujols was motivated to sign early. I see no reason he was willing to give up valuable leverage. Not if he is a smart negotiator. As it is, even if he signs now, it is a year earlier than necessary. Waiting until he could not be traded before talking seriously (if that is what happened) was a wise move by Team Pujols.
But do you not agree that the cardinals could have offered Albert a contract with the stipulation that if he refused he would then be dealt prior to Albert becoming a 10/5 guy? And in that case the Cardinals could have very well received quite a few nice players plus prospects in return?
Who in your opinion handled the situation more correctly?
I think the front office believed all along that they could sign Pujols. Giving him an early ultimatum and threatening to trade him would not have made Pujols happy and motivated to sign. Even if they won the battle, they could lose the war. Why risk alienating the franchise? All Team Pujols would have had to do is leak the news that the Cardinals were threatening to trade him and the club would have been screwed in the court of public opinion. From there, the situation would lead nowhere positive.
I am not upset with how either side has handled it to date. I think people get too wound up about this stuff far too early.
I don’t disagree with how you portray it. You are probably right. The front office knew they were going to sign Albert no matter what so there was no need to do any of the things I mentioned.
It becomes irrelevant when Albert signs, and he will.
On that, we agree.
The signing of Holliday got my vote.
Interesting Zips projections.
http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/oracle/discussion/2011_zips_projections_-_st._louis_cardinals/
Projecting Carp at 11 wins, Jaime at 9 and Jake at 6 is laughable. Same thing for his assertion that Tyler Greene is a better SS than Theriot. More bird cage liner….
Well, he clearly expects the latter two starting pitchers to get injured.
Greene is better both offensively and defensively.
I went with problems in the middle infield, if Brendan Ryan and Skippy hit and field better, the Cards win more games and maybe crash the playoffs.
I’d really like to vote for two tho and include the third base problem after Tasty is down and out for the season.
Meaning middle infield and third base problems are the number two story.
I picked the Penny/Lohse injuries. Those events exposed the lack of an adequate #6 starter, led to more dumpster diving (Suppan) and eventually led to the Ludwick trade. I’m going to alternate positive and negative stories, maybe in bunches, from here on down. 20101 wasn’t all bad or good, it was a mixture with the final result being OK… just less than expected.
This from today’s P-D… Cardinals open talks with Pujols BY JOE STRAUSS Posted: Wednesday, January 5, 2011 10:51 am. The Cardinals have wasted little time addressing their most pressing New Year’s resolution: tying up Albert Pujols. Negotiations between the club and Pujols’ agent, Dan Lozano, resumed this week and have taken on a “positive” tone, according to several sources familiar with the process. Those sources wish to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of discussions and a December agreement between [GM] John Mozeliak and Lozano to keep talks confidential… It remains unclear how much momentum talks so far have achieved but multiple sources insist the matter is well beyond any framework discussed during last February’s aborted discussions.
I hear wailing and gnashing of teeth from the WestCoast!!
Albert is not going anywhere. It would be the biggest eff up of all time for a team to let someone like Albert go for two draft picks. I’d bet my life on it. Albert will be in St. Louis for a while.
WC is just chain pulling.
“Those sources wish to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of discussions and a December agreement between general manager John Mozeliak and Lozano to keep talks confidential.”
Two sources?……….in a negotiation that will involve only Lozano/Mo/ BD……….????? Cigars and cherry…………………. Cordial…………… they are trying to be sure that AP shows up for the Tony roast. BD’s program evolves over time…………… I think they have to be sure that he doesn’t take their offer too quickly on a wild hair.
Give him 30 mil for 10 years and be done with it. This is just a positive PR leak leading up to the winter warm up. Its all about herding the sheep through the turnstiles.
They may well offer him 30 million per RC…………..but it won’t be for more than 6 yrs……….it will not exceed 200 million……………………… Don’t forget Lozano has a career and a life….an ego………..
Scotty gets 96 for Beltre…………using the Angels as ballast……………………… BD knows he is just the Ballast in Lozano mind………………….. he will make a power play………he knows the economy and the Union bashing is just getting started………..he has a plan…………he needs Albert to take the field for the season ticket holders……….. he has prepared all to understand his plight. Its all expected….. the real issues surround the Cardinal Partners holding company……….. and how Davis can be holding 10% for 23 million ………….. Oops……………
Dont worry Tex, Westie has both sides of the dots covered in his arguments. He’ll just have to sift through some old ones to find the one that allows him to toot his horn. And if he doesn’t find it, he can always pull out one of the conspiracy theory ones and blame it on that.
Should be interesting to watch… either way!
Forgot to post the link…
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/article_c114dbb4-18ef-11e0-90df-0017a4a78c22.html
RCW-you mean those sheep that enable the team to pay your son much more than he would make in a real life job.
This is real life BW……unless I’m really caught in the matrix and I just think this is real life. Who can tell? The matrix was so life like.
But in all seriousness BW, and I know you are all about being serious, I’m speaking about the convenient positive PR leak by the cardinals just in time to rev up the fan base in order to get a few more people to show up for the Winter Warm Up. A good positive story is a nice thing, and so conveniently released, to garner a few more bucks worth of attendees. Its a feel good story with dollar signs attached.
I’m just picking BW. The placement of the word, sheep, was one of those words strategically placed in a comment to punch a guy like you right in the gut. Have you caught your breath yet?
RCW- playing your games again.Smart business to use the good news .Every business uses positive news to its advantage.I would think that even a bunch of Rebels could figger that there thing out.
It takes us a little longer to figure this stuff out down here in Alabamer BW. You’re learning me how be a smarter Cardinal fan BW. Give me some time. I’s be a tryin..:)
Bert Blyleven and Roberto Alomar gain entrance to the HOF.Congrats to both.About time for Blyleven.
Much agreed. I have a great fondness for Blyleven.
I picked LaRussa returns as my #2. It was the end of all my hopes for the Cardinals.
Dang, I thought it would be #1…
It was close.