Those two runs batted in are Beltran’s 25^th and 26^th of the month. That is most impressive, especially considering the right-fielder has been slowed by knee and foot ailments, which have limited him to 16 May starts and 21 games total.

With the help of researcher Tom Orf, we can put Beltran’s 26 RBI into Cardinals full-month May context.

The list that follows indicates 11 prior occurrences of more than 26 May RBI, led by none other than Stan Musial, who plated 40 in May 1954. Beltran’s current hitting coach, Mark McGwire, appears on the list the most times, three. The man’s whose offense Beltran was signed to help replace, Albert Pujols, was the most recent to exceed 26 in May, with 33 in 2006.

May RBI, St. Louis Cardinals, 1950-present

Reaching the top of this list isn’t entirely out of question for Beltran, as he still has seven games remaining to collect 14 additional RBI. That is an average of two per game, a pace not much greater than he is currently tracking.

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I thought the Cardinals did a good job in organizing and executing the pre-game festivities. Still, I have carried this nagging question about the timing of the event itself.

There is a reason the National Baseball Hall of Fame and other comparable career-honoring entities have a five-year waiting period before individuals can be considered for inclusion. That allows ample time for reflection and avoids the risk of emotional decisions that are later regretted. Of course, number retirement decisions are solely under team ownership control.

In an editorial this weekend, writer and friend Rob Rains reminded readers of the Ken Boyer case. The former team captain with the undistinguished and short managerial record passed away at the too-young age of 51 in 1982. The club moved swiftly to retire the Missouri native’s number 14, a decision that does not feel like it is standing the test of time.

In my view, that was the worst of both worlds, a quick move that was not clearly warranted, done after the individual had already passed away.

In La Russa’s case, there seems no doubt that his Cardinals legacy will remain strong. Perhaps holding the ceremony just one month into the next season following his retirement was considered a way to gain closure from a long, but sometimes complicated relationship.

La Russa’s on-field successes with St. Louis were many. Even so, there seemed no willingness on either side to continue the partnership in the front-office role that La Russa appears to be seeking for his post-managerial employment.

Other than a recent scare with shingles, La Russa seems healthy and strong. Yet he is now 67 years of age and says his managing days are done. Perhaps holding this celebration when it could be fully enjoyed by all was the right thing to do.

I was set to leave it at that… until I read and fully considered the ramifications of the close of Rains’ article.

The writer calls for a companion move to La Russa’s number retirement, specifically to:

“… put “Pujols 5” next to him in the not-too-distant future.”

I see and understand how and why some rail at the negative backlash directed toward Albert Pujols in recent months over his departure from St. Louis and his early struggles with the Angels. I find heaping portions of the criticism distasteful and uncalled for.

Further, there is no doubt that the Cardinals legacies of the manager and the man he calls “the best player I’ve ever managed” are forever intertwined.

On the other hand, even thinking about retiring Pujols’ number at this point – midway through his time as an active player – seems an over-reactionary swing in the opposite direction from the current negativism. It could be just as out-of-place as the Boyer decision we both seriously question, albeit for different reasons.

In his defense, Rob does not define “not-too-distant,” which puts this in a gray area. Still, I don’t agree, no matter how liberally one interprets the term. My view of the right time for such a discussion is five years after Pujols retires, same as his Hall of Fame qualification.

Assuming the first baseman fulfills his current contract, the date would be no sooner than following the 2026 season. Many, many years should still remain to look back and celebrate Pujols’ many accomplishments while wearing the Cardinals uniform. He would still be in his mid 40’s and only part-way through his Angels personal services contract.

In my book, a minimum of 15 years into the future is clearly “distant”, not “not-too-distant,” a very important differentiation. To help emphasize 15 years in Albert Pujols context, consider this. 15 years ago, Pujols was just 17 years of age, playing high school ball in the Kansas City area.

Over the next decade and a half, Pujols and the Cardinals will be in direct conflict, each trying to win the World Series. It certainly isn’t inconceivable to envision them meeting on the field over the ultimate prize at some point in the upcoming years.

In conclusion, there seemed good reasons for a rapid closure of the La Russa era, but there should be no comparable sense of urgency to make such move to honor Pujols.

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Two batters later, however, both Pittsburgh pitcher Erik Bedard and catcher Mike McKenry had to be stunned with Cardinals hurler Jake Westbrook took second base for a stolen base of his own.

It was the 34-year-old Westbrook’s first career steal. It wasn’t all that unusual as the pitcher has spent most of his 12 MLB seasons in the American League. Westbrook had only 117 career plate appearances prior to Thursday.

Westbrook logged the Cardinals first stolen base by a pitcher in over three seasons – since Joel Pineiro did it back on April 15, 2009.

With the help of researcher Tom Orf, we learn that since at least 1930, the Cardinals have a total of just 64 stolen bases by pitchers, with never more than one in a game.

Not surprisingly, arguably the best athlete to play the position for St. Louis is both the club’s single-season and career stolen base leader – Bob Gibson.

Gibby also has two of the top three seasons and three of the best eight. 1968 may have been known as the “Year of the Pitcher,” but the next season was Gibson’s “Year of the Stolen Base.” He logged five of his career 13 that year.

Stolen bases by a pitcher, St. Louis Cardinals, single season since 1930

Stolen bases by a pitcher, St. Louis Cardinals, career since 1930

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With the emergence of popular social media venues such as Facebook and Twitter, the player and fan can interact directly. The outcomes aren’t always pretty.

During the off-season, when St. Louis Cardinals closer Jason Motte created and publicized his Twitter presence, I winced. Every player has bad days, but there is no single position that matches the volatility of closing, with its immediate highs and lows.

It is one thing to interact with fans when there are no games, but even the best closers are going to blow saves. When the lows come, they will be fast, hard and painful.

At those points in time, interaction between the angry fan and the athlete would best be insulated. Twitter has no such buffer, however.

In all fairness, after Monday’s surprising loss in Chicago absorbed by Motte, the vast majority of fans that expressed opinions were supportive of him, sending tweets of encouragement. After all, the closer has built up considerable goodwill given his and his team’s 2011 finish.

Following the loss, Motte made a single, somewhat generic, tweet:

“Whatever it is…it’s not outside Gods control. He may not get you out but He’ll get you through. #blessed”

The best closers are known for being able to quickly erase the result of the previous game. Yet the dozens of fan comments throughout the day on Tuesday encouraging Motte prolonged the memory of Monday’s missed opportunity.

Of course, Motte could decide to just stay away from social media until the storm passes. But then why use it in the first place? To deploy only when times are good?

Another blown save or two in the next week and the current supportive climate would likely change. Then what?

Former Cardinals closer Ryan Franklin once had a Twitter account, too. He had regular conversations with the masses, but after some bumps in the road, the account was canceled. Fan discord wasn’t directly the explanation offered, but my suspicion was that it contributed.

Motte certainly isn’t the first to muff a save opportunity. Just the other day, Minnesota closer Matt Capps was repeatedly insulted by a “fan” on Twitter after blowing a save. Twins blogger “Jesse” wrote about it here, rightly pointing out the inappropriateness and cowardice of the “fan” in making the criticism personal while complimenting the player for his professionalism.

I certainly agree with that assessment, but I also have to wonder about creating the environment in the first place. How wise is it for athletes to be that accessible?

Let’s face it; no matter how much we sermonize, those who need the lessons the most will not heed them. The lunatic fringe will remain. The only question is at what frequency and intensity they will surface. So, why enable them?

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Following is a look at what the two have done through April 22, as they have the lowest ERAs among the five starters.

Sure, the season is early, but with Lance Lynn needed in the rotation for Chris Carpenter, where might the Cardinals have been without the aforementioned veteran arms? Both are in the final year of their respective contracts.

St. Louis Cardinals, starting pitchers through 2012 game 16

The Cardinals starters aggregate ERA of 2.75 is third in the National League, after Washington and Philadelphia. Atlanta, with eight wins from starters, is second to St. Louis’ 10.

Several other observations:

While there is no doubt that Adam Wainwright has struggled, his teammates could help remove pressure with some offensive support. Lohse has excelled despite little run backing while Jaime Garcia has been the beneficiary of much support. Of course, as in the case of all of this data, it tends to balance out over time.

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Humber’s success came slowly. This is the 29-year-old’s ninth professional season. The right-hander was originally was taken by the New York Mets as the third overall pick of the 2004 draft from Rice University but has bounced around baseball since.

What really made me think was one of the many side stories told about Humber after his gem.

Like so many other pitchers, Humber is a Tommy John survivor. However, he serves as reminder that the procedure is not automatic. Humber is one of the minority that did not return to his prior level of performance afterward, as measured by fastball velocity.

Then considered a top 100 prospect across baseball, Humber’s career took a detour in July 2005 when he required the elbow ligament replacement surgery. He was still a minor leaguer at the time. That season, Humber began in the Florida State League and had moved up to Double-A at the time of the injury.

In the New York Times, Tyler Kepner recalls how the after-affects of the surgery altered Humber’s career trajectory.

“When Humber returned, he struggled to sustain his old velocity. He said last year that he tried too hard to manufacture it, and it was not until late in 2010 that the ball came out of his hand with ease,” Kepner wrote.

Also from that article: “Everybody talks about, when you get Tommy John surgery, you come back the same or better, and he’s one of those examples that, hey, you don’t always get that fastball velocity back,” Jim Duquette, the Mets’ GM when Humber was drafted, told Kepner. “It doesn’t always happen that way.”

Humber was sent to the Minnesota as part of the 2008 trade in which the Mets acquired Johan Santana. He moved on to Kansas City and Oakland before landing in the Windy City.

Now throwing in the low 90’s with movement on his offerings, Humber logged the very first complete game of his career on Saturday. And what a game it was!

By now, you probably know that I am thinking about Humber’s story in the context of Adam Wainwright’s current difficulties. I am not suggesting I know why Waino’s velocity is down or that it won’t return. (His four-seam averaged 89.50 MPH in his most recent start, according to data presented by Brooks Baseball.)

It is far too early to draw any conclusions or worry excessively.

It is good to know, as Humber has shown us, that there are multiple ways to get the job done. Still, one just has to hope this is a short-term diversion for Wainwright and not the start of a five-year journey.

Of course, every person is different plus Wainwright has the benefit of years of knowledge and sustained success upon which to draw, experiences that Humber lacked back in 2005.

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Already down one man due to a recurrence of Lance Berkman’s calf injury, the club appears to be ready to bring Skip Schumaker off rehab early for the second consecutive year. That is clearly a performance downgrade. As good as fill-in first baseman Matt Carpenter has been in the early going, he isn’t Berkman.

Of course, Schumaker is more relevant in the context of Jay’s potential replacement. Skip can step in if needed, but what about the Cardinals bench? The immediate options in Memphis to backfill Jay’s roster spot, infielder Pete Kozma (.261) and outfielder Adron Chambers (.229) haven’t started 2012 particularly well with the bat. Neither have third baseman Zack Cox (.137) and catcher Bryan Anderson (.045), other slow-starting Memphians. Like Kozma and Chambers, they are on the 40-man roster, but don’t fit well with the current needs from a defensive position perspective.

Some of the anxious and excited, especially those who don’t understand or care how rosters work, want to see hard-hitting first baseman Matt Adams head up I-55 from Memphis to St. Louis today. They apparently believe one Matt – Adams – would be a substantial upgrade starting at first base over the “other” Matt – Carpenter.

However, the Cardinals’ 40-man roster is full. Some suggest moving the “main” Carpenter, Chris, to the 60-day disabled list to create roster space for Adams.

The situation is more complex than that.

If the Cardinals truly believe that Chris Carpenter won’t be ready until June, then there is little immediate risk in putting him on the 60-day DL retroactive to the start of the season.

One problem is that no one knows. What if Carp improves next week? Is it worth the risk of not being able to use Carp for several weeks compared to the difference between your 25th man being a player already on the roster and one that is not?

Further, taking such a step now would force making a tough roster decision as soon as Carp is ready to come off the 60-day. Whenever it would be, another player will have to be dropped. One has to assess the risk of long-term loss for potential of some short-term gain.

The last two players the Cards removed from the 40-man were both snapped up off the waiver wire. One could argue that both reliever Adam Ottavino and especially outfielder Andrew Brown could be of value to the Cardinals right now had they remained.

Some of the many interrelated factors that must be considered by general manager John Mozeliak include the following:

• How long will Berkman and Jay be out?
• How long until Allen Craig will be ready?
• Is Mark Hamilton getting closer from returning from his spring injury?
• How much would the new player to be added to the 40-man and 25-man, Adams, actually play?
• How much of an improvement would that be over what Matt Carpenter is providing?
• How would this affect Adams’ contract status and potential free agency down the road?
• Who would the Cardinals drop from the 40-man when Chris Carpenter is healthy?

Bottom line, I am not among those clamoring for Adams – based on what we know right now. If the variables change significantly, so might my point of view.

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The left-hander with the long name relieved Fernando Salas with two out in the eighth after first base umpire Angel Hernandez missed an clear double play call at first base that should have ended the inning. “Scrabble” fanned right-handed pinch-hitter Austin Kearns for the third out, earning a hold in the process.

Inspired by Rzepczynski and those who preceded him, this article is the final installment of what evolved into a four-part series celebrating the top Scrabble-scoring Cardinals surnames by decade. The current and 12 previous ten-year periods are represented by a dozen players. Pitcher Pete Vuckovich is the only repeater as the leader in two decades – the 1970’s and 80’s.

All-Time Scrabble leaders by decade, St. Louis Cardinals

We see many names here from the Cardinals all-time All-Scrabble team, but a handful of new names as well, especially in the first three decades of the previous century.

Right-hander Irv Higginbotham pitched in 29 games in 1906, 1908 and 1909. First baseman Fritz Mollwitz, born in Germany, concluded his seven-year major league career with 25 games with the 1919 Cards.  Right-hander Walt Huntzinger was winless over 34 innings pitched for the 1926 Cardinals.

The other new name in the all-decade team is Jose Jimenez. The right-handed pitcher is most known for one very eventful game during which the then-25-year-old accomplished a feat that Kyle Lohse chased into the seventh inning on Wednesday in Miami.

On Friday, June 25, 1999 in Phoenix’ Bank One Ballpark, the rookie Jimenez threw a no-hitter against the Arizona Diamondbacks. In the process, he bested soon-to-be 1999 Cy Young Award winner Randy Johnson. The Big Unit also spun a complete game, allowing just one run on five hits.

Though Jimenez would win just 24 games in parts of seven Major League seasons, he will always top the career 303 game-winner and future Hall of Famer Johnson in one very important stat – 25 Scrabble points to just 17.

Earlier posts in this series:
Scoring the Cardinals Scrabble (current major and minor league players)
Before Rzepczynski came Mierkowicz (all-time Cardinals)
Cardinals all-time All-Scrabble team (by position)

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Some overly excited fans have actually suggested Adams could become the next Pujols, the Cardinals’ franchise player. Since Adams has yet to play a game above Double-A, I said I would reserve my judgment about that.

Then, I got to thinking. Adams has appeared in another forum in which he could be compared to Pujols. Both players competed in the Arizona Fall League, considered baseball’s top prospect showcase, at a time when each had been selected the Cardinals organization’s Player of the Year.

In 2000, during his whirlwind first year as a professional, Pujols played at three levels during the regular season. He started in Class-A Peoria, flew through A-Advanced Potomac and finished with Triple-A Memphis, where he was named Most Valuable Player of the Pacific Coast League playoffs.

Following the Redbirds’ title, Pujols did not rest. The Cards’ 13^th rounder from the 1999 draft was assigned to the Scottsdale Scorpions of the AFL, where he hit .323 with four home runs and a team-high 21 RBI in 26 games. Pujols was named to the AFL Hall of Fame in 2004 and his Scottsdale number 36 was retired by the league in 2007.

Adams was also not an early draft pick, having been taken in the 23^rd round in 2009. He had a standout 2011, being named the Texas League Player of the Year after batting .300, hitting a Springfield-record 32 home runs and driving in 101. Like Pujols and many others before him, he competed in the AFL this past fall, for the Peoria Javelinas.

Adams’ hitting in the offense-first environment of the desert was ordinary. On the positive side, he collected 19 RBI in 20 AFL games, but walked only three times to go with 28 strikeouts in 80 at-bats.  The power hitter’s line was just .250/.258/.475.  To put that into perspective, every single team in the league had an OPS as good or better than Adams’ .733 mark.

Adams was named to the league’s all-star/prospect showcase game, the Rising Stars Showcase, though participants are selected as much on reputation as league performance. Adams was unable to play due to a minor knee injury that caused the Cardinals to hold him out of the final two weeks of AFL action in a precautionary move.

Is it reasonable to put any stock in a comparison of Pujols’ and Adams’ Arizona Fall League results over six weeks of play? Of course not.

Then again, at this point, what comparisons between the two are appropriate? Perhaps I will come back to this topic at the end of the month. Like Pujols in 2001, this is Adams’ first major league spring training camp.

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The reason is the bulging cervical disc in the neck of Chris Carpenter. The veteran ace has been sidelined indefinitely, his projected opening day start in considerable doubt.

My only question is this: Why did the Cardinals wait until March 12 to name their sixth starter?

Even if Carpenter was healthy now, odds are that someone else will be injured in good time. Even if Carpenter has a miraculous recovery and can take the ball in Miami on April 4, the sixth starter will be needed soon enough.

It isn’t as if their rotation hasn’t shown considerable signs of wear. Six weeks away from his 37th birthday, Carpenter just finished his first-ever stretch of three consecutive years without serious injury. Adam Wainwright is just returning from Tommy John surgery. Kyle Lohse has battled injuries the past few years.

Lynn is and has been the most obvious choice as sixth starter.

A very good starting pitcher throughout his minor league years, the right-hander was named the organizational Pitcher of the Year in 2009 after jumping three levels in one season. He is tested at Triple-A, including logging 13 wins in 2010, and is proven at the major league level as well, stepping into a key relief role last season. In our 2012 Cardinals top 40 prospect list, Lynn is the top-ranked starting pitcher other than Shelby Miller and Carlos Martinez.

Other candidates don’t stack up.

Sure, top prospect Miller has made two spring starts, but he has yet to throw an inning at the Triple-A level and could use more time to prepare for what should be a long major league career. Why rush Miller when Lynn is truly ready?

Kyle McClellan went down this path in 2011, filling in Wainwright’s spot to start the season. After a spring ERA of 0.78, McClellan was effective early before running out of gas. Having gone over two months without a win due to injury and ineffectiveness, he was returned to the pen when Edwin Jackson was acquired.

Like Lynn, Brandon Dickson is a proven Triple-A starter whose stuff is not of the same caliber as his former rotation mate. At Cardinals prospect #32 overall, Dickson is just the ninth-ranked starter in the system.

Maikel Cleto is a fireballer who began 2011 in Palm Beach but was forced by injuries to others to make his MLB debut as a reliever. The 22-year-old needs more repetition to refine his pitches and prove he can do more than just throw hard.

While Lynn should have enough time in Florida to prepare to step into St. Louis’ rotation, why didn’t they plan for this from day one? Even if Lynn has to return to Memphis for awhile, I contend the 2012 Cardinals will ultimately be a better team with him continuing to start, and being ready to step into the rotation at a moment’s notice whenever needed.

Yes, Lynn was a valuable member of the 2011 St. Louis bullpen, but there are already more good relievers in camp than jobs available. In a dire situation, Lynn could return to relieving much more quickly than he could execute the reverse move.

I might even go a step further and suggest the 2013 and beyond teams may benefit as well. Lohse and Jake Westbrook will be free agents after this season. The Cardinals need to know if Lynn will be part of their rotation out into the future.

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An extraordinary number of national sites seemed to have just run with the standard AP story. Several other local papers put the deal into the context of their own team’s catcher close to hitting the open market.

Here are a few of the summary comments, with links to the full articles. More to be added as I find them.

Ken Rosenthal, FOX Sports

These deals are easy to rationalize — and easy to criticize, too. I understand why some rival clubs are annoyed with the Cardinals. I would not be shocked if the team regrets paying Molina $15 million per season, particularly in the latter part of the deal.

But again, what was the alternative?

If I were the Cardinals and needed to pay Molina a few extra million per season to keep him off the open market, I’m not sure I would have done much differently.

David Schoenfield, ESPN

So if he produces like he did in 2011, Molina should justify the contract when you also consider his popularity in St. Louis (he received the loudest ovations of any Cardinals player during the World Series) and what he means to the franchise in the absence of Albert Pujols. If he reverts back to being a durable .290/.350/.390 hitter with superb defense, the Cardinals will have slightly overpaid but not drastically so.

Dave Cameron, Fangraphs

I understand the desire to show the fan base that Molina wouldn’t be the next Pujols, and that the team was still intent on keeping the team’s best players from walking away via free agency, but at this price, perhaps the Cardinals could have just waited another 12 months before committing top dollar to a defensive specialist. Molina may very well be worth the money, but the Cardinals had to pay a premium price to lock up their star catcher, and if his bat regresses in 2012, they may regret not waiting for his value to drop slightly before committing to him long term.

Still, this deal looks better upon closer examination than I initially thought it would. My expectation of $40 million over four years looks like it would have been far too team friendly given what Molina should be able to produce going forward. This contract keeps a premium player in St. Louis, and sometimes, premium players just cost premium money. Like with the Ryan Zimmerman extension in Washington, this isn’t any kind of bargain, but it ensures that St. Louis will have a high quality backstop going forward. That has real value, especially for a team attempting to defend a World Championship.

The Arizona Diamondbacks and their catcher Miguel Montero broke off contract discussions on Wednesday, the day before Molina’s official announcement.

Nick Piecoro, Arizona Republic

Two days ago, word broke that the St. Louis Cardinals had agreed to terms with their All-Star catcher, Yadier Molina, on a five-year deal worth $75 million. Molina is one year older than Montero and more established, having been the Cardinals’ starter since 2005, but the length and dollars of that deal are indicative of the dearth of good catching available in the majors.

And Montero has been the superior offensive player throughout his career. Given that another offensive-minded catcher, Victor Martinez, received a four-year, $50 million deal as a free agent two off-seasons ago, it could wind up taking a record commitment by the Diamondbacks in order to retain Montero after the season.

The Rangers’ Mike Napoli seems very aware that he has become the highest-visibility impending free agent catcher this fall.

Jeff Wilson, Fort Worth Star Telegram

Mike Napoli saw the St. Louis Cardinals signed catcher Yadier Molina to a five-year deal worth a reported $75 million, but didn’t read too much into the numbers. He doesn’t know what his value will be when he becomes a free agent after this season.

Napoli had discussions with the Texas Rangers this winter about a long-term deal, but those talks stalled. Instead, Napoli and the Rangers reached a one-year, $9.4 million in his final year of arbitration.

Napoli said talks of a deal have been “squashed,” and he’s focused on the season rather than free agency.

“I’d love to be here, but I’ll test the market,” Napoli said. “Every player plays to get to free agency. But it’s not something I’m going to worry about. That’s why I have my agent.”

The Yankees’ Russell Martin is also slated to reach free agency following the 2012 season. The deep-pocketed Yankees are fearful of the new salary cap penalties and that impacts their plans with Martin.

Joel Sherman, New York Post

Now the chances of Martin re-signing become much, much slimmer. Martin is kind of Molina Lite. Martin is a very good defensive catcher (the Yankees love him), but Molina is viewed as clearly the best in the game. Also, Molina went from a career of ordinary or below-average offense to a breakout last year when he hit .305 with a .465 slugging percentage. However, his career slash line of .274/.331/.377 is quite similar to that of Martin: .267/.359/.398. They are both 29.

So it stands to reason that Martin will be able to use Molina’s contract, which will have an average value of $14 million to $15 million, as a gauge. Martin will not get that much, but he now is probably looking at something in the four-year, $40 million range; especially if he has a good year and gets out on the free-agent market. There is a dearth of quality catching in the sport. And there certainly is a dearth of those in or near their prime years who are two-way catchers like Martin. In other words, in free agency, supply and demand would take over, Martin will probably receive bids from multiple teams and the price will rise.

With the Atlanta Braves and Brian McCann having a 2013 option, the catcher may not reach the market this coming winter. As such, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution isn’t yet talking about any potential Molina impact. Like many others, they ran the AP story about Molina.

Steve Hummer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

On Wednesday, they had a long feature piece on McCann (see link above), but the contract was never mentioned. The focus was on his second-half 2011 slide.

Update: Sporting News’ Stan McNeal writes that the Braves now have to hope McCann will take a $5 million per year hometown discount. He blames it on the Molina deal, despite his belief that McCann’s abilities are more comparable to Joe Mauer rather than Molina.

David Murphy, Philadelphia Daily News

In the wake of Yadier Molina’s five-year, $75 million contract extension with the Cardinals, several emailers wondered whether Carlos Ruiz will be in line for a big pay-day once his current contract expires. As valuable as Ruiz has been for the Phillies, the comparison isn’t a fair one.

For starters, Ruiz will be 33 years old this season and he still has a $5 million option for 2013. So he won’t be hitting free agency until he is entering his 35-year-old season. To put that in perspective, when Molina’s new deal expires, he will be entering his 34-year-old season. The age difference alone — Molina will be 29 this season — is enough to render any comparison moot.

Finally, we close with an interesting perspective from a site associated with one of the Cubs’ rightsholders. No analysis is offered – just a warning. After all, that team’s followers are all too familiar with the problem of a roster clogged with overpaid and underperforming players.

Tony Andracki, CSN Chicago

This actually may help the Cubs and the NL Central in the future. Molina’s contract was set to expire at the end of this 2012 season. He will turn 30 in July, which means he will be 35 by the time this new deal is complete.

Who wants to pay a 35-year-old catcher $15 mil? That could severely hamper the Cardinals’ funds. Especially when they will pay a 36-year-old Matt Holliday $17 million in 2016, the year before Molina’s deal expires.

The Cardinals could be a very cash-strapped organization come 2016-17.

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In a “you be the general manager” poll last month here at The Cardinal Nation Blog, the limit in terms of years that readers would have given Molina was five. However, the maximum money you would have paid the catcher was much less – $10 million less over the five years.

Though not yet officially announced, let’s assume that the Heyman report is accurate. How do you feel about these terms? Do you agree or would you have handled it differently if you were running the Cardinals? Please vote below.

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It is time to stand down, step back and let the process take its course.

There is no doubt in my mind that the wounds inflicted by the Albert Pujols loss via free agency have not healed for many across the Cardinal Nation. That has created a heightened level of sensitivity, or in some cases paranoia, that Pujols’ friend, Molina, is destined to follow the same messy path out of town.

Of course, that could prove to pass, and has been discussed here and elsewhere, it could end up being the best outcome for both sides. After one more season of service, Molina will have earned the right to enter the market if he so chooses, as the Cardinals have the right to decide how much money over how many years to offer and when.

Or, just as easily, the agonizing would be immediately forgotten if the two sides come to terms on a new contract.

This week alone, the needle has swung wildly from one extreme to the other, then right back in the opposite direction again.

First, the word was that Molina and the Cardinals were talking and would continue to do so throughout the regular season if need be. That seemed a reasonable approach to most.

Then, the sky fell as Molina mentioned that discussions had broken off, implied there would be no hometown discount and finally gave the impression that there be no talks during the regular season. The fact that the catcher had only said the discussions had ceased “for now” seemed to be lost in the resulting tempest.

Many took the news to mean the worst, that Molina had adopted a Pujolsian stance in architecting his eventual departure via free agency.

So what did we learn just a day or two later? The two sides are still talking, after all. Not only are they talking, but the discussions are moving in “a positive direction.” Molina’s agent Melvin Roman reportedly relayed to the club a “preference” to get a deal done and not negotiate in-season. Note that the word is “preference,” not an absolute.

If one wants to interpret it this way, the two sides could be viewed as “stopping” talks every time a meeting or phone conversation on the subject ends and “re-starting” negotiations as soon as a new exchange is scheduled.

My bottom line is that many, if not most, contract negotiations have their ups and downs. As outside observers, we learn what the two sides at the table want us to learn when they want. What is happening here is standard operating procedure in a very high stakes give-and-take situation.

From our distance, wouldn’t it be better to turn down the hyper-sensitivity to what is in reality a business-as-usual process?

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“Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical.”

Despite the benefits derived from physical preparation, scouting and even stats, there can be no dispute that motivation and state of mind also play an important part in athletic performance. Yet their inherent inability to be identified, let alone quantified, can be challenging to the writer, or viewer or fan, let alone coaches and managers.

It is only natural that here in the early days of the St. Louis Cardinals spring training camp that the focus of many outsiders looking in, especially nationally, is on trying to assess the reaction to what has been lost.

The questions are not without merit. After all, 2012 marks the first time since 1995 that Cardinals camp does not include Tony La Russa and Dave Duncan and the first since 2000 in which Albert Pujols is not present. All three are potential future Hall of Famers.

The new manager has no experience in his job, the pitching coach is relatively unproven and the players signed to replace Pujols carry age and injury-related questions. They all have to step in and meld with the returnees to try to equal the World Championship journey of 2011.

Mike Matheny is still enjoying his managerial honeymoon period with his career 0-0 record. He has received high marks from many corners for his personality and approach.

One such example is his motivational “Quote of the Day,” shared each morning of spring camp. Whether it is resonating with his team remains to be seen, but a segment of the press and fans appear to have bought in wholeheartedly.

Matheny is also showing restraint with the media. Closing a national television interview aired Tuesday, the skipper was asked, “Are you going to try to win without Albert?” I immediately cringed, instinctively bracing for a patented La Russa reaction.

Instead, Matheny simply replied with long and well-articulated praise for what Pujols meant to him personally, to the team and the city. He closed with a reminder that the 2012 Cardinals will be ready.

Earlier that morning, I read an even more encouraging Matheny quote, this one about what he is seeing in his players. Whereas one might have expected at least a bit of complacency in the troops coming off the successful 2011 campaign, the new manager is viewing just the opposite.

The strong impression is that those remaining behind after the well-publicized departures feel they have something to show the baseball world themselves. The following was reported by CBS’ Danny Knobler.

“I see a lot of chips on shoulders that I didn’t think I’d see,” new manager Mike Matheny said. “And that’s a beautiful thing.”

The owner of one of the shoulders to which the skipper may be referring is Adam Wainwright, already emerging as one of the next generation of team leaders. With the same TV crew as Matheny, the right-hander passed up an on-camera opportunity to express regret about not being able to contribute to the 2011 title on the field. The next question was similar to the one fielded by his manager regarding his club’s 2012 chances without the big three.

The pitcher’s reply was most telling. After explicitly saying he was speaking only for himself, Wainwright made it very clear he wasn’t.

“We’d kind of like to prove that we can win without those guys – and I think we can,” Wainwright concluded to his national television audience.

It can never be known how much and how long that kind of resolve will fuel the 2012 Cardinals, but at this early date, how can one not find plenty about which to be encouraged?

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As everyone who might care already knows, part of the family-friendly package used to lure Pujols to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and keep him there is a 10-year personal services contract at $1 million per year that picks up when his playing career ends.

While that idea is not new, I didn’t realize how old it really is.

Another data point is that the Cardinals largest reported offer included $30 million of deferred money, while the Angels’ winning bid had none.

This winter, I have been reading and re-reading various Musial-related books. My most recent subject was James Giglio’s 2001 bio, “Musial: From Stash to Stan the Man.” The book, meticulously researched and footnoted, revealed some very interesting facts.

I will say right up front that comparing compensation across very different eras, especially one without free agency to one with free agency, is a dicey proposition from the very start. In a partial recognition of that, I will be using percentages here, but this should not be considered an exhaustive financial analysis by any stretch of the imagination.

In the early 1960′s, future Hall of Fame executive Branch Rickey had re-joined the Cardinals as a special consultant to owner Gussie Busch. This caused considerable organizational friction with general manager Bing Devine. The 81-year-old Rickey wanted Musial to retire prior to what would become The Man’s final season in 1963. When that failed, he pushed to dispose of Musial and his contract instead.

From Giglio:

“…Accustomed to dispatching aging stars who still had market value, he (Rickey) now recommended selling Musial’s sixty-five-thousand-dollar contract. Aside from Musial’s enormous popularity with hometown fans, Devine explained that his unique contract, in which the Cardinals owed him approximately two hundred thousand dollars in deferred income, made that difficult to do. That “arrangement,” approved by the commissioner of baseball and the Internal Revenue Service, explained Devine, tied Musial to the Cardinals.”

So we know that for a superstar, even in 1963, significant deferred money could be involved. It was unclear over how many years that $200,000 had been deferred, but we do know this. That deferral amount represented over three times Musial’s then-current annual salary. (Note: Musial had earned a peak of $100,000 in the late 1950’s, but made $65,000 in each of his final three seasons.)

In Pujolsian terms, deferring just over three times his annual one-year salary in his proposed Cardinals contract of ten years, $210 million, would have represented almost $65 million. The Cards’ deal reportedly actually included “only” $30 million deferred.

From the now-closed Cardinals Museum, Giglio had studied Musial’s 1963 contract. It indicated the organization, likely Busch specifically, realized the importance of retaining Musial as a Cardinals ambassador after his playing days ended and put a value on it.

Again, from Giglio:

“Even before playing his last game, Musial attended the Cardinals’ organizational meetings as a vice president, starting on September 26, 1963, to discuss plans for the next season and review player evaluation reports… While Musial’s salary as vice president is unrecorded, his 1963 contract contained a clause requiring the ball club to pay him $16,770 yearly plus expenses for thirteen years for at least ten annual public appearances.”

To help compare that to Pujols, I first put the personal services (PS) deal alongside the salary of each during his final season as a player. I then determined the annual value of Musial’s personal services contract in comparison to today’s value of Pujols’ personal services clause.

At first blush, this indicates Musial’s personal service contract, at over 25 percent of his player salary, might be comparatively more lucrative than Pujols’. Of course, the salary base of any player in 1963 was artificially restricted while I believe Pujols’ 2021 base is the largest single-year salary in baseball history committed to-date.

When considering the purchasing power of Musial’s $16,770 today, it only translates to $119,000, making the Pujols personal services deal far superior. Of course, there are still 10 years of inflation ahead to devalue today’s $1,000,000 before Pujols begins to collect.  He shouldn’t be hurting financially, though. By 2022, Pujols will have earned more than $350,000,000 during his playing career.

Not a surprising conclusion at all, but I still hope you found this diversion interesting.

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That is hardly news in itself. After all, since Halos owner Arte Moreno committed $270 million of his money to bring the first baseman to Anaheim for the next two decades, it only makes sense his organization wants to sell more tickets as a result, especially to the large Hispanic population in Southern California.

The rub is that the focus of the campaign is a phrase considered sacred in St. Louis. Angels billboards feature the name and number on the back of Pujols’ jersey, accompanied by the words, “El Hombre,” which is Spanish for “The Man.”

When the Spanish variation of this nickname first emerged several years back, Pujols made it clear he did not want it used because he considers Hall of Famer Stan Musial to be The Man in St. Louis.

Well, Pujols is not in St. Louis anymore. Further, the indignation I have seen expressed by some in blog posts and reader comments aimed at Pujols personally because of the Angels’ marketing move feels misplaced.

My guess is that the Angels did not seek Pujols’ approval to use his name and image on their billboards, nor would they have asked him to review design and copy. So why blame him?

I get that many are still angry over the circumstances surrounding Pujols’ departure from St. Louis and may always be, but I can’t see hanging this one on the player personally.

If anyone’s motives are to be questioned, it should be the Angels marketing staff and their approving executives. Unless they are terribly uninformed, they should be aware of the circumstances surrounding the use of “The Man.”

Perhaps they don’t care. Perhaps they know exactly what they are doing, hoping to take advantage of any extra publicity that might emerge as a result of their actions. If so, it is working.

Considering the Angels’ target market, there is almost no risk. After all, how many Southern Californians will be concerned over a perceived slight to Musial, who retired as a player half a century ago? Who cares what they think in St. Louis?

Once Pujols becomes aware of this, if he is not already, it would be interesting to learn how he feels. Perhaps one of the Angels press corps will be willing to risk souring his/her new relationship with the sometimes-surly slugger by asking him.

Even so, securing a sincere answer may prove impossible. Even if he is concerned, Pujols may not want to risk making waves with Moreno, his new “partner” for the next 20 years, before even one game is played.

The only real indication will be if the campaign continues this season and into the subsequent years of Pujols’ commitment to the Angels or quietly fades away.

Really, why should anyone east of Moreno Valley care what the Angels do, anyway?

Feb. 22 update:  Someone in LA did ask and Pujols objects. Whether or not anything happens as a result is unclear.

Feb. 27 update: After the current billboards go down late in March, the Angels will no longer use “El Hombre” in their marketing, team officials told the LA Times. In apparent face-saving mode, they state that was their plan all along.

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Since that article appeared, Molina ducked the Cardinals Winter Warm-Up fan festival for the second consecutive year amid speculation that he was upset over the departure of his friend Albert Pujols via free agency.

Said to be looking trim and fit, Molina reported to Cardinals spring training camp in Jupiter, Fla. a week early. The Post-Dispatch’s Joe Strauss was there to ask the contract questions I and probably every other reporter at Winter Warm-Up wanted to pose; questions whose answers so many have been yearning to hear.

Readers could find both the positive and the negative in the catcher’s response. For me, the entire situation was summed up in two consecutive paragraphs.

“I’m open to staying here. I love the city. I love the fans. I love the ballpark. But it’s out of my hands,” Molina said. “Whatever they like to do is how it is. They let Albert go. It’s business for the team, too. It’s out of my hands.”

The Cardinals have engaged Molina’s agent, Melvin Roman, in preliminary talks about an extension. Though Molina would prefer the matter be resolved before opening day, he won’t enforce Pujols’ mandate that negotiations be resolved before his official report date to camp.

Those already worried that Molina will follow his friend Albert’s free-agent path out of St. Louis this fall immediately lodged onto the dually-emphasized phrase, “It’s out of my hands,” words very similar to ones Pujols uttered more than once in recent years.

Even before this latest news, almost one in every five Cardinals fans were worried enough to consider trading Molina, according to a January 20 poll here. I expect that polarized minority will grow in size and volume as 2012 unfolds.

On the positive side, Molina’s agent and the Cardinals will apparently continue to talk about a new deal throughout the season if necessary. That is very important and should not be under-emphasized.

On one level, Molina saying his future is out of hands is laughable, on another, it is completely understandable.

It is out of his hands until the Cardinals make a fair offer for his continued services – though there are certainly actions he and his agent can take to facilitate the process both before and after an offer is on the table.

The Cardinals have to be careful, too, as they try to assess whether Molina’s asking price resides within their comfort zone. At this stage of the game, making an offer perceived as insulting can be more damaging than not making one at all. Those who think the Cardinals are in control of the situation – willing to snap their fingers and close the deal – are incredibly naive.

There is plenty of time remaining for both sides to talk. The fact that Molina is in spring camp early, seemingly in good shape and ready to play baseball is a positive sign.

The fact that he is apparently willing to let his agent and the Cardinals work on his contract while he focuses on his job is another good thing, as far as I am concerned.

It is most unlikely that either side will be providing regular updates on the progress of their negotiations, so the impatient need to deal with that. Still, at some point this year, it would not be surprising to me for a press conference to be announced out of the blue during which a new deal is announced.

Yet if that doesn’t happen and Molina ultimately decides to test free agency this fall – as did Pujols and Matt Holliday among others before him – that is his right; just as it is the right of the Cardinals to set a limit as to how much they will offer their catcher and to determine the best time to make their move(s). (Through a recent set of polls here, a five-year, $65 million offer won out as the fans’ best offer to Molina.)

In the meantime, I would find it hard to believe that anyone worth listening to does not believe the 2012 Cardinals will be a better team with Molina than without. Right now, isn’t that what it is all about – fielding the 25 players that give the team the best chance of repeating as World Champions?

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The card is labeled as Schumaker’s, but only a small part of the player’s right leg and foot are visible, as the squirrel is the featured performer. This drew mounds of attention on the internet over the past few days, with some people having expressed amusement while others exhibited anger over a perceived slight to the Cardinals’ 2011 second baseman.

One thing is for sure; it led to an avalanche of publicity the trading card company could not buy. As noted by a pleased Topps spokesman I reached on Tuesday, “This thing has really blown up.”

Concerned members of the public can stand down now, as contrary to a number of news stories, the Rally Squirrel card is an extra and does not replace Schumaker’s regular 2012 baseball card.

“Schumaker has a standard base card where he’s sliding into home plate,” the Topps representative affirmed. “The squirrel is a short printed fun card.”

As a reassurance to Cardinals fans and collectors alike, the Topps spokeman closed with the following. “There will be way, way more of his standard card available though for all the St. Louis Cardinals fans.”

Update: Enterprising private business people are already listing the Rally Squirrel card for sale in the secondary market. For example, through the online auction website ebay.com, starting prices for the special card are $200 or more.

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To keep that survey manageable, the dollar amounts and years were split into separate questions. That made it difficult to bring the two together into one clear conclusion, so that is the purpose of this post.

Almost 70 percent of the earlier voters selected either a four- or five-year deal. Over 60 percent of those voting would offer Molina a contract with an average annual value (AAV) somewhere between $9 million and $13 million per year.

Assuming we round to the nearest million, that creates a possible ten answers. From them, you can choose your definitive best offer to the catcher for his four or five seasons starting in 2013 at age 30-31.

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Now we hear it from the angle of the Angels, primarily general manager Jerry Dipoto. That story is entitled “How to Land the Big One, the Inside Story of Signing Albert Pujols.” It will appear in print in the Feb. 6, 2012 “Recruiting Issue” of ESPN The Magazine, but is already posted online for ESPN subscribers. (Cover photo shoot video is also included.)

Written by Sam Miller, who covers the Angels for the Orange County Register, the piece describes the interrelation of the club’s successful quest to sign left-handed pitcher C.J. Wilson with their pursuit of Pujols.

The article includes many already-known details about the telephone bonding between Halos owner Arte Moreno and Pujols along with a few mild surprises.

Pujols defended the short courtship.

“I only spend five minutes talking to or meeting a guy and I know pretty much,” Pujols said after he signed. “God has given me that wisdom. I don’t even know [Moreno], and he called me one of his partners. That means a lot.”

Very little was written about the Cardinals position but what was said, I found most interesting.

“The Cardinals had made Pujols and his wife, Deidre, feel almost unwanted with their offers, the first of which was for just five years… It was as though the Cardinals could see only the downside to signing a 31-year-old Albert Pujols while the Angels saw opportunity,” Miller states.

I guess St. Louis’ rumored first offer this past fall is what was meant, which was reportedly for just five years. Though it was not mentioned that proposal was for a salary of $26 million per year, a higher average annual value than the 10-year, $240 million deal Pujols and the Angels later agreed upon. Also not referenced were earlier or later bids made by the Cardinals, which reportedly went up to as much as ten years, though at a lower AAV and with deferred money. Since the ESPN story was admittedly written from the Angels’ perspective, it should not be too surprising those details are missing.

Last week, Cardinals president Bill DeWitt III had the following to say about the Pujols situation.

“Our fan base is so knowledgeable that there were some things that we were tempted to say about how things went down. Not so much negative against Pujols or anything like that, but just defending the way we approached it, going back over time – having given it a good shot two years ago, one year ago, then in this off-season.  I think there were some accusations about if we should have done it earlier and things of that nature.

“You can go back in time and I think the instinct we had was to lay it all out there. But then, we saw the reaction. And the reaction was overwhelmingly, I think, sympathetic to the way we handled it. And given that reaction, we just decided to let it go. Let the last word be theirs. I think that was probably a good move because any time you just get into a ‘he said, she said’ pissing match, it doesn’t leave a good taste,” DeWitt III said.

It will be interesting to see how this story evolves over time as to which offers are remembered and in what sequence. The ESPN-Angels version clearly hits hard the damage caused by the perceived lack of respect shown Pujols by the Cardinals.

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Carmona is now/back-to-being Roberto Hernandez Heredia, age 31 instead of 28. He is certainly neither the first nor probably the last player to be outed this way. Carmona/Heredia was arrested when trying to secure a visa to re-enter the United States.

This news has intensified ongoing questions about former St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols, long suspected by some to be older than his reported age of 32. Where Pujols clearly differs from Heredia is that he became a US citizen and can more easily travel between the two nations as a result. In fact, Pujols was back in his homeland this past weekend, along with former teammates Yadier Molina and Rafael Furcal.

A member of The Cardinal Nation message board community speculated that if one day Pujols was caught like Carmona/Heredia, it might keep him out of Baseball’s Hall of Fame.

In my book, it gets down to whether or not all varieties of cheating are worthy of the same punishment.

At one end of the spectrum, we have gambling on one’s team. That lifetime ban is clearly spelled out in baseball’s rules. No debate is needed. Sorry, Pete Rose.

Then, we have another area which also led to concerns about the integrity of the game itself, steroid usage. Though we will know more next year with a new class of eligible players, Mark McGwire’s roughly 20 percent showing year after year in the Hall voting indicates how the writers seem to feel about this matter.

Near the other end, we have the admitted spitballer Gaylord Perry. There was so little concern about his transgressions that he was honored with a plaque in Cooperstown.

Lying about one’s identity and age is illegal. There can be no doubt about that. On the other hand, a player’s reported age is irrelevant to his hitting, pitching, playing defense or baserunning. I submit that Pujols’ numbers would have been the same no matter what date of birth was printed in game programs for the last 11 years.

I am not condoning age falsification, but I also don’t see it as being worthy of the death penalty, either. If Pujols’ age/identity were proven to be false, I could see the sportswriters penalizing him by not voting him into the Hall on the first ballot. Yet I would be very surprised if they would keep Pujols out indefinitely – even if he never played another game.

In my book, the only person who would have a clear right to take action following a Pujols disclosure is Angels owner Arte Moreno. More than one jilted Cardinals fan would relish seeing that still-hypothetical scenario play out.

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The New York chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) bestowed The Babe Ruth Award upon Freese. The award is given annually to the Major League Baseball player with the best performance in the postseason. It was created in honor of New York Yankees Hall of Famer Babe Ruth in 1949.

In the following clip, posted by MLB.com, Freese accepts his newest award after having been introduced by Yankees general manager Brian Cashman.

(Some of Freese’s television appearances earlier this off-season can be viewed here.)

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This weekend, Molina is out and about, joining current teammate Rafael Furcal and good friend and ex-teammate Albert Pujols in the Dominican Republic. Molina lives in Puerto Rico, while Furcal and Pujols are native Dominicans.

The three Major Leaguers are scheduled to play in a softball game on Saturday in Loma de Cabrera, near the frontier of the Dominican Republic and Haiti, reports ESPN Deportes’ Enrique Rojas.

Pujols left the Cardinals last month, making a 20-year commitment to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Likely re-deploying some of the cash earmarked for the first baseman, St. Louis quickly signed shortstop Furcal to a two-year extension. Molina is on schedule to become a free agent himself following the 2012 season.

The Pujols Family Foundation explains more about why Pujols is in the area in a Saturday post on their Facebook page. The other players are not mentioned as being a part of the relief mission.

“Albert and Deidre Pujols are currently on the ground in the Dominican Republic providing beds for families who have no place to sleep. ‘Project Sound Asleep III’ rolls out today, delivering beds to over 70 families over the course of three days…”

“They are concentrating this trip on the Bateys around Consuelo, San Pedro de Macoris.”

A member of the Pujols traveling party, Ramon D. Carmona, has been posting photos of the players’ travels.

(My interpretation of Carmona’s captions: Pujols, Furcal, Fernando Villalona and Molina; The group posing by a river; Furcal driving with Pujols as passenger and Molina in the back; Furcal at the wheel; Pujols and Molina playing dominoes.)

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The logical follow-on question to those voters is to ask where they would draw the line in terms of dollars and years. That is the purpose of this post.

Here are a few data points to consider.

Molina currently makes $7 million in the fifth and final year of his contract signed with the Cardinals prior to the 2008 season. He will celebrate his 30^th birthday in July.

Minnesota’s Joe Mauer has the largest contract in MLB history for a catcher, eight years, $184 million. It started in 2011, his age 28 year, and pays him an even $23 million per season.

Detroit’s Victor Martinez, who recently suffered a season-ending injury, signed a four-year, $50 million free agent deal one year ago. The average annual value (AAV) of his deal, covering his age 32-35 seasons, works out to $12.5 million, just over half of Mauer’s annual take.

A number of front-line catchers could hit the market next fall, including Russell Martin, Miguel Montero and Mike Napoli. Others with 2013 club options include Brian McCann ($12 million) and Carlos Ruiz ($5 million).

Against that backdrop, what are your limits? Please vote and explain below.

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Articles are popping up, in which the merits of trading away the catcher before he “does a Pujols” to the Gateway City are being weighed. Speculation about what was behind his decision to skip the Cardinals Winter Warm-Up for the second consecutive year continues.

In terms of value, Molina seems to be a player at the peak of his game. He is coming off his best offensive year in addition to already being the game’s best defensive backstop. As he moves into his age 29-30 season, the time to act would seem to be now. But, what should the act be?

Re-signing Molina would please many, but is that likely? Is it the best business decision for the franchise? Is a trade any more feasible? Would any other club be willing to acquire the four-time Gold Glover without first securing a commitment to an extension?

Waiting until mid-season to trade Molina no longer seems an attractive option. The new collective bargaining agreement specifies that a club acquiring an impending free agent during his final season will not receive draft pick compensation if the player signs elsewhere.

More importantly, knowing what he could potentially make in the open market next fall, at this time why would Molina commit long-term to a new team, let alone the Cardinals?

Just like Pujols and Matt Holliday before him, Molina has earned the right to gauge his worth across the game. He gave the Cardinals two of his potential free agent years when signing his last contract, but no longer has that motivation. With financial security and being at his optimal age, this is his time.

I would not fault Molina one bit for taking that path. Free agency is the model defined by the game.

Still, just as in the case of Pujols, I suspect the Cardinals will not trade Molina in the interim. He is a very popular player and a crucial one, called “our captain on the field” by Skip Schumaker this past weekend. Via trade, Molina would not fetch a replacement of the same level of skill. There would be quantity and potential quality, but likely no single player currently as good as him.

Nor is there an heir apparent in the minor league system ready to step in. I think the Cardinals will be focused on keeping the best possible team together in hopes of a repeat title in 2012. That would seem to include Molina wearing the Birds on the Bat.

Though I did not deeply consider the Pujols situation in this context earlier on, I do now. With the benefit of hindsight, winning the 2011 World Championship made the gamble of keeping Pujols until the end pay off, in my opinion.

That was a very long opening for the real motivation I had for writing this post.

This winter, I have been reading/re-reading various Stan Musial-related books, having started with the recent George Vescey-authored, “Stan Musial: An American Life.”

Next up will be The Man’s own biography, written with/by legendary sportswriter Bob Broeg back in 1964, “Stan Musial: The Man’s Own Story.”

In between is my current subject, James Giglio’s 2001 book, “Musial: From Stash to Stan the Man.”

In the latter, just last night, I read a passage that, while from another era, reminded me of what the loss of a true game-changing catcher could mean to the franchise.

On page 124, as he discussed the post-World War II make up of the Cardinals, Giglio wrote this.

“The greatest Cardinal loss remained Walker Cooper, however, who went to the New York Giants in January 1946 for $175,000. The right-handed Cooper, the best catcher in the National League, had excellent seasons with the Giants and the Cincinnati Reds in the late 1940’s. Both Musial and (Enos) Slaughter contended than the loss of Cooper cost the Redbirds several pennants, for neither (Joe) Garagiola, Ken O’Dea or Del Rice came close to equaling Cooper’s offensive production or matching his leadership on the field. Cooper’s departure cost the Cardinals not only a long-ball threat but also balance at the plate, enabling opponents to challenge Musial’s and Slaughter’s left-handed power with southpaw pitching.

“(Owner Sam) Breadon used Cooper’s dislike of (new manager Eddie) Dyer, who managed him in the minors, as a pretext for selling him despite Dyer’s plea that he would work things out. Money remained the main motive; Breadon, tired of Cooper’s constant haggling over salary, also wanted to ensure that he came out financially ahead in 1946 in the face of higher salaries.”

The Cardinals did win the Series in 1946, but clearly hurt themselves in the long haul by disposing of Cooper. Though there were certainly other contributing factors, it would be the club’s last pennant for 18 long years, including Musial’s final 17 seasons.

Cooper was sent away three days before his 30^th birthday, the same age as Molina will be this coming winter. Just like Molina, he played in three World Series with St. Louis, with his club winning twice. At the time, Cooper was a three-time NL All-Star, same as Molina today. After leaving St. Louis, Cooper went on to play another dozen years, including his final two back with the Cardinals as a reserve in 1956 and 1957. He added five more All-Star selections for a career total of eight.

Yes, this is a different time; yet the issue, then and now, is money. There is no way of knowing if the Cardinals will offer enough of it to Molina to satisfy him. Without Pujols, they may have the budget, but do they want to pay? If not, Molina will leave, perhaps of his own volition. All things considered, is trying for another title in 2012 better than the alternative?

At this point, I can only wonder how the books of the future will treat this time in Cardinals history and in Yadier Molina’s career.

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Another one rides the bus (not)

After interviewing about 30 players and executives over the course of the weekend, it got to be kind of funny as the same media members tended to ask the same questions over and over. One of them was if the player had the opportunity to talk with new manager Mike Matheny yet.

Mitchell Boggs replied that he and Mike were on one of the Caravans together so they chatted a bit. One writer followed up by asking if they had a lot of extra time to talk on the bus. Boggs turned very serious and said, “The manager of the St. Louis Cardinals does not ride the bus!” Of course, we all laughed.

How can I find… ?

Each of the interviews from WWU is posted at TheCardinalNation.com in its entirety for subscribers interested in hearing what everyone said in detail. Bits and pieces are elsewhere around the net, but I worked very hard to get everything in one place. I also have some special articles ahead this week. In addition, a group of player photos is coming that is far superior to anything I could have taken.

I was amazed that several hundred people were lined up in the hotel lobby for multiple hours ahead of WWU opening each day. Team officials did not release a count but seemed happy with attendance. The only blemish was Yadier Molina‘s no-show.

The end for TLR

Tony La Russa, likely in his Cardinals swan song, signed autographs for at least an extra hour and perhaps even longer on Monday, but decided to skip talking with the media. He did make a nice speech at the end of Sunday night’s Baseball Writers Dinner.

After a number of jokes at the expense of Albert Pujols were thrown out by presenters, two dinner speakers came out loud and strong in telling fans to respect what the new Angel had accomplished during his 11 years with St. Louis. The two were La Russa and his successor.

La Russa was among those who skipped Tuesday’s White House visit. 21 members of the 2011 Champions were scheduled to attend. I did not count them all in the White House video.

The Writers’ Dinner went extra innings

Held Sunday evening, The Baseball Writers’ Association of America 54^th Annual Dinner is one of the last three of its type in the country that remains. The proceeds go to scholarships, a worthy cause, and with a reported 1,400 in attendance, it should have been a financial success. With so much to celebrate, this year’s program ran 3 ½ hours, considerably past what organizers had planned.

When asked the next day for his impression of the evening, Kyle McClellan’s reply was initially blunt, but he quickly tempered his comments.

“Long. It was very lengthy,” the local product said. “It was good though to see everybody again… that is one of the cool things about St. Louis, the history. To have guys like Ozzie and Lou Brock there, you don’t have that with a lot of organizations.”

The audio of the entire dinner program can he heard at KMOX.com.

Pujols: Wash, rinse, repeat

On Monday, team president Bill DeWitt III mentioned his father, club chairman Bill DeWitt, Jr., was caught a little off guard by the large turnout of reporters awaiting him on Sunday. To his credit, the chairman patiently answered questions for almost 20 minutes. Most of the time was spent rehashing the Pujols situation rather than looking forward. It seemed every time a question was asked in a new direction, the next ones returned to number 5. At least that is what I remember thinking at the time.

You can read stories about that all over the web and I have the complete audio of Bill DeWitt Jr’s remarks posted on the main site (audio is subscriber-only).

The next day, DeWitt III perhaps correctly noted the fans seem to have accepted the Pujols situation better than the media, in fact more positively than the club executives expected.

“8 out of 10 of the questions were about the Pujols situation,” DeWitt III recalled. “It is a subject of endless fascination, I think, mostly with the media. Because I think what is amazing about it is that our fans get it. The reaction that I saw following the decision kind of surprised me in a way – that it was really so understanding. Usually you kind of get beat up for whatever decision you make one way or the other. There are two camps. These are decisions that are not easy and I think people understood that we gave it our best shot.

“As Tony (La Russa) said last night at the Writers’ Dinner, it is just a tough system that is created that would allow a player to end up somewhere else after he made such a great contribution to one club. He was saying, ‘Don’t blame the Cardinals. Don’t blame Albert.’ I think there is something to that,” DeWitt III said.

At this point, the team president went into what the Cardinals considered doing, but did not.

“Our fan base is so knowledgeable that there were some things that we were tempted to say about how things went down. Not so much negative against Pujols or anything like that, but just defending the way we approached it, going back over time – having given it a good shot two years ago, one year ago, then in this off-season.  I think there were some accusations about if we should have done it earlier and things of that nature.

“You can go back in time and I think the instinct we had was to lay it all out there. But then, we saw the reaction. And the reaction was overwhelmingly, I think, sympathetic to the way we handled it. And given that reaction, we just decided to let it go. Let the last word be theirs. I think that was probably a good move because any time you just get into a ‘he said, she said’ pissing match, it doesn’t leave a good taste,” DeWitt III said.

The team president suspects time will heal some of the wounds.

“I still think in my heart of hearts – even though he signed a personal services agreement with Anaheim which commits him to wearing an Angels cap forever, it seems – something about it makes me wonder or just think if he will have a reception back here at some point some day that will be better than the way it left. So, we will see. We wish him well,” DeWitt III concluded.

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Included in row order below are Allen Craig, Kyle McClellan, Kyle Lohse, David Freese, Carlos Beltran and Skip Schumaker.

The Cardinal Nation subscribers should check out on the main site where I loaded the comments from each of the above speakers. I did the same Saturday and Sunday as well. Over two dozen interviews are posted.

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Pictured in order by rows: John Mozeliak, John Vuch, Lance Lynn, Matt Carpenter, Tyler Greene, Zack Cox, Rafael Furcal, Adam Wainwright.

The Cardinal Nation subscribers should check out my article on the main site where I posted audio from each of the above and others. I expect to do the same for Sunday and Monday as well.

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So it is in baseball and the subject of performance enhancing drugs. Years of seeing gargantuan sluggers, reading the Mitchell Report and more have made us cynical. Just ask Jeff Bagwell, who despite Hall of Fame-type numbers has received less than 50 percent of the Hall vote. The reason stated by many writers is the mere suspicion that the former Houston first baseman was a steroid user.

In the long-running PED case of J.C. Romero, there is news, in fact closure. Yet one cannot determine the specifics of its resolution. What we do know is that the pitcher has settled his lawsuit over a tainted, legal supplement that had led to his suspension by Major League Baseball.

In late 2008, Romero, then of the Philadelphia Phillies, tested positive for the presence of a banned substance. He received a 50-game suspension that was served at the start of the 2009 season. In between, he pitched for the Phils as they won the World Series.

The left-hander blamed the problem on a tainted supplement. Tests ordered by the Players Union confirmed his charge, yet the suspension stood. In April 2009, Romero sued the drug’s suppliers. Among them were companies once owned by a chemist from Illinois who served time in federal prison as part of the BALCO case.

Before the case went to trial, the parties settled last month, Romero’s lawyer explained to the New York Daily News.

Romero told the Daily News he believes that “justice is served” and that the resolution “gives closure to the fans in (Philadelphia).” Some angry fans in the City of Brotherly Love considered the Phillies’ 2008 title to have been tainted by Romero’s participation.

However, with no specifics of the legal settlement having been released, including responsibility accepted and financial terms, it seems any of the parties could celebrate victory. Perhaps Romero is just weary after spending the better part of three years trying to clear his name.

The 35-year-old, a native of Puerto Rico, signed a one-year contract with St. Louis on December 15.

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I put a lot of thought into those selections and take them very seriously. As a result, they end up being solid choices, but conservative in nature, by definition hardly bold. In conjunction, I have been encouraged to take another run at the subject – from a much different perspective.

I would not call the following “predictions” as much as I might label them longer-shot, lower-importance (non-top five), but still interesting potential stories of 2012. I have no idea if none or all seven of the ideas detailed below will actually come to pass, but they each represent ideas that have been bouncing around my head.

Cox passes Adams

Coming off his superb 2011, during which he was named Texas League Player of the Year, Matt Adams is being viewed by some as the heir apparent to Lance Berkman at first base for 2013. While that may happen, I have an alternative thought.

What if Cox continues to hit in Triple-A and Adams slows down? David Freese seems locked at third for St. Louis and Daniel Descalso can cover as a reserve. Matt Carpenter may be a secondary competitor for a bench spot down the line as a third baseman or maybe even a corner outfielder.

So, where would Cox fit in St. Louis? How about a move to first base, where he, not Adams, could become the starter in 2013? An alternate scenario would be for Freese to take his questionable ankles over to first, but I remain skeptical that Cox’ defense at third will be satisfactory at the major league level.

The possibility also exists for either Cox or Adams to be traded, but if the race is close, Cox has a major league contract and a spot already on the 40-man roster. For that reason, under the right conditions, I could see him making his MLB debut ahead of the more-heralded Adams.

Miller forces his way into the bigs in 2012

Many observers see top prospect Shelby Miller’s name penciled into the Cardinals 2013 rotation as a replacement for either Kyle Lohse or Jake Westbrook. Here is how it might happen even sooner.

The identity of the team’s current unofficial sixth starter is unclear. Lance Lynn would perhaps be the most likely candidate, but it appears that he will go to camp with a good shot at holding down a relief spot in St. Louis.

My current projected Memphis rotation is uninspiring – Brandon Dickson, Nick Additon, Brian Broderick, Michael Blazek and Maikel Cleto. Then, there is Miller.

I can envision a scenario in which Miller pitches well in the first half for Memphis and if/when a second-half opening appears in St. Louis’ rotation, the 22-year-old receives the call. Would it be aggressive? Yes. Would I recommend it? Maybe not, but I could see it happening.

In recent years, the Cardinals have typically let young starters acclimate to the majors in a relief role before subjecting them to the pressures of starting. Then again, Miller isn’t a typical pitcher.

Motte becomes team’s oldest reliever

That title seemed more eye-catching and exciting than the original title, “Romero sleeps with the fishes.” The Cardinals’ second bullpen left-hander was with four organizations last summer and couldn’t make the major league roster of two of them.

I don’t have to go too far out on a limb to suggest a Brian Tallet-like year is ahead for the 35-year-old, one in which he is gone no later than mid-season. It could be sooner.

Where I might be reaching a bit more is to suggest the Cards may go with an in-house right-hander to replace Romero. This would depend on a bit of a rebound from Kyle McClellan, especially recovering his past ability to retire left-handed hitters.

As the opening day roster currently looks, there is not enough room for all the experienced relievers. One pitcher from the group of Eduardo Sanchez, Lance Lynn and Mitchell Boggs may have to go back down to Memphis – at least until there is an opening.

None of the non-Romero relievers on the roster have yet reached 30 years of age, but Motte is closest. A Romero departure would make Motte the grand old man of the pen – not counting 65-year-old bullpen coach Dyar Miller, that is.

Speaking of Motte…

Sanchez becomes closer

Anyone who has read my minor league writings over the past few years knows that I have been a big backer of Venezuelan right-hander Eduardo Sanchez. Unlike almost every other reliever who has come up in recent years, the 22-year-old was not shuttled back and forth between St. Louis and Memphis in 2011. When he arrived, he was ready.

Only a shoulder injury kept Sanchez out of the second-half relief picture. He came back to pitch briefly at the end of the season and also threw a few innings in winter ball to ensure he is sound.

Jason Motte did a spectacular job in a set up role last summer before taking over the ninth inning role for the final month of the season and the playoffs. He comes into 2012 camp as the incumbent closer and should leave Florida with the job.

I just have the funny feeling that when Motte’s inevitable bump in the road is encountered, Sanchez will be ready, and this time, won’t relinquish the job.

Komatsu lasts longer than expected

As of right now, the Cardinals bench is sorely lacking in veteran presence. With Allen Craig slated to start the season on the disabled list, the five position player reserves will look something like this:

C Tony Cruz or Bryan Anderson
MIF Tyler Greene
IF/OF Skip Schumaker
1B/OF Mark Hamilton
OF Erik Komatsu

The only other player close would seem to be outfielder Adron Chambers. When the Cards selected Komatsu in the Rule 5 Draft, they said they would prefer to keep Chambers in Memphis playing every day.

I do think the Cardinals will end up inviting a few on-the-way-down major leaguers to camp on minor league contracts to compete for bench jobs, but I have no idea who they might be. So here, I am going with the guys we know.

In this scenario, Komatsu would get to hang around at least until Craig comes off the disabled list. He might even last longer if he hits and Hamilton doesn’t. An injury or two to others would improve his chances even more. Hamilton has the advantage of long-ball potential, though that was strangely missing in 2011. (A variation on the theme would have Matt Carpenter making the team instead of Hamilton, but it wouldn’t change Komatsu’s standing.)

Komatsu has no career at-bats above Double-A, so is hardly a lock for anything. Yet, if he plays well enough, he may log more major league service time than anyone might expect. Remember Brian Barton?

Dry powder used on second base

As folks know, the 2011 mid-season adjustment approach taken was to sacrifice offense (Colby Rasmus) to strengthen both the rotation (Edwin Jackson) and bullpen (Octavio Dotel and Marc Rzepczynski). While that remains a possible scenario in 2012 as well, my gut tells me there will be a higher priority elsewhere.

I suspect that second base will become the Cardinals 2012 trade deadline target for improvement. While I recognize Daniel Descalso’s 2011 contributions, especially in filling the David Freese injury gap at third base, I am less convinced the steady but unspectacular Descalso will hit enough to be an above-average MLB second baseman.

The other in-house options are not necessarily better. Schumaker has given the job his all, but would be better deployed as a reserve outfielder and utilityman than a starting second baseman. Greene has the potential, but we’ve been saying that ever since he was drafted number 30 overall in 2005, just two picks after Rasmus.

Kolten Wong is the best second baseman in the system. Since the 2011 first-rounder is still a few years away, following the Rafael Furcal model again would not be out of the question. In other words, take a chance on a veteran, perhaps in the final months of his current contract, and if he works out, try to convince him to hang around for a year or two more.

Skip logs most starts in center

How this one might come to pass is actually pretty easy to envision. Carlos Beltran’s body, specifically his aged knees, overrules his head. As a result, the hopes of him playing centerfield on a semi-regular basis, at least against left-handed pitching, are scuttled.

While some will call for Allen Craig to play there, think about how Chris Carpenter and the other pitchers would feel about an outfield behind them that consists from left to right of Matt Holliday, Craig and a hobbled Beltran? Trying the Musial statue out there might be comparable.

The centerfield incumbent, Jon Jay, has shown the ability to handle the position defensively, but goes through long stretches where his offense is sub-par.

My thought is that when all is said and done, given the current roster, Schumaker ends up making the most starts of any Cardinal in center in 2012. We don’t yet know the managerial tendencies of Mike Matheny, so I readily admit that I would feel more strongly about this idea had Tony La Russa remained at the helm.

It would take much of the second half for this to play out, and require the club to remain in playoff contention to unfold. (Otherwise, we might see Adron Chambers receive more time.)

OK, so there they are. Seven ideas of potential 2012 stories that should generate some discussion, if nothing else. Vote for your most likely and least likely from this list and comment below.

Link to The Cardinal Nation Blog’s top 20 stories of 2011 countdown

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