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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One such occurrence was in the Cardinals system. On Friday night, Springfield manager Mike Shildt sent his struggling Double-A club onto the field at Northwest Arkansas in an attempt to break a nine-game road losing streak. It didn’t go well for the team or its skipper.

Following the ejection of the Cards’ first-year manager as the result of a balls-and-strikes argument with Texas League umpire Matt Benham, Shildt began to walk away. Then he chose to put an explanation point on the matter when he threw aside his protective helmet, worn when coaching third base.

Unfortunately, the airborne helmet hit the umpire in the head. The video tends to indicate that the result was unintended.

An embarrassed Shildt did not appeal his three-game suspension and began serving it immediately. In his first game away on Saturday night, the Cardinals broke their unenviable franchise-record road losing streak, which had grown to 10 games.

On Tuesday, Brett Lawrie of the Toronto Blue Jays had a comparable event set off by frustration over a pair of questionable calls in the ninth inning of his team’s loss to Tampa Bay.

After striking out on back-to-back pitches that appeared to be out of the strike zone, Toronto’s second-year third baseman reacted by screaming into the face of home-plate umpire Bill Miller. That was not surprising.

Lawrie didn’t stop there, though. When he slammed his helmet into the ground, it bounced up and hit Miller in the hip, which certainly will result in a suspension from Major League Baseball. The only question is how many games he will sit.

ESPN’s Keith Law, coincidentally a former Blue Jays employee, tweeted this reaction:

“The solution is not to suspend Brett Lawrie for ten or twenty games. The solution is to get the damn calls right.”

In an ideal world, that is of course the optimal solution. Here in the real world, however, that is entirely unrealistic. Improving umpiring quality is a worthy goal, but eliminating disagreements is impossible.

Frustration with umpiring is a long-standing part of the game, but so is the “hands-off” policy. No matter how “right” they might be, coaches and players, young and old, need to remain on the other side of that line at all times.

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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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The future Hall of Famer had been left out of manager Fred Hutchinson’s lineup so he could achieve the milestone at home in the next series. However, with the Cubs up 3-1 in the sixth inning and a runner in scoring position, Hutch sent Musial up to pinch hit. “The Man” launched an RBI double off Moe Drabowsky to help power the Cards to a comeback 5-3 win.

The umpires stopped the game and presented the ball to Musial. After a pre-game ceremony the next day at Busch Stadium, Musial homered in the first inning. He ended that season with a .337 average.

The bat used by the left-handed hitter for his 3,000^th hit is part of the collection of the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian.

The pictured card is part of the Topps 1959 set.

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The Hall of Famer is simply one of the best players to ever don a St. Louis Cardinals uniform as he did with the club from 1982 through 1996 and is doing again as a special instructor. In fact, back in 2007, we ranked “The Wizard” as the fifth-greatest Redbirds player of all time, after only Stan Musial, Bob Gibson, Lou Brock and Rogers Hornsby. (Many more details about Smith’s career can be found in this article.)

As I wrote at the time, “Simply put, pound for pound, the Cardinals’ 150-pound shortstop was the best player of his era and under that criterion might have been the best to ever play the game.”

I had the opportunity to speak with Smith via phone on Tuesday afternoon. In the following interview, we touch on a number of topics. They include his return to active involvement with the Cardinals, his view of the 2012 major league club, young infield prospects in the system and specifically Tyler Greene, what his close friend Willie McGee has been up to, how PGA golf now stokes his competitive fires, his view of Whitey Herzog’s career recognition and his perspective on his frosty relationship with Tony La Russa.

Listen to audio: Ozzie Smith with Brian Walton (10:50)

The former Cardinals star has been seen regularly on national television as one of the stars of the Pepsi Max “Clubhouse in the Corn” commercials along with other Hall of Famers and current MLB stars. Smith has been participating in interviews to help draw attention to the second year of the Pepsi MAX Field of Dreams promotion.

We wrapped up the interview with me trying to get the now-57-year-old to disclose how his patented backflip was incorporated into the popular commercials. Ozzie remained a bit coy on that matter, however.

You can create an All-Star roster of your own with a salute to the living legends of the game, including Smith, of course. Now through June 30 at MLB.com/PepsiMAX, you can vote up to 25 times per day for your favorite players at each position, including starting pitchers and relievers.

Gibson, Musial and Bruce Sutter are among the 27 retired greats on this year’s NL ballot. There is separate AL voting available as well.

For each ballot cast, you will be entered to win the chance to play with the American and National League Pepsi MAX Field of Dreams Teams on your home turf next spring. The 2012 game will be held at Columbus, Ohio’s Huntington Park this coming Saturday, May 12.

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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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It is justified. The 21-year-old has flashed upper-90’s heat, good secondary offerings, a humble attitude, willingness to learn and a feel for the game. The compliments, especially from those already wearing major league uniforms, have a segment of the fan base drooling.

After leaving MLB camp and making one strong minor league outing, Rosenthal was called upon to take the ball for St. Louis against his new Springfield teammates in the Monday exhibition at Hammons Field. The right-hander was again sharp, with four scoreless innings.

In contrast, the relative struggles of the organization’s top prospect Shelby Miller this spring have led some to already start comparing the two. This despite the fact that one pitcher is one full level of play above the other. Over the winter, Miller was The Cardinal Nation’s top prospect for the second year in a row, while Rosenthal clocked in for his debut at number 12.

Miller, 21, has a track record as the organization’s Pitcher of the Year in both 2010 and 2011, reaching Double-A Springfield. Rosenthal, five months older than Miller, spent all of last season at Class-A Quad Cities, where he was the named the top pitcher in the Midwest League playoffs.

This spring, it was the less-experienced Rosenthal who was the last non-roster starting pitcher in big league camp. He remained six days after Miller had been sent out amid concerns that the Texan’s off-season regimen had not pleased the Cardinals.

Rosenthal will open 2012 with Double-A Springfield, while Miller will headline the rotation for Triple-A Memphis. Leaping over A-Advanced Palm Beach entirely is in itself a huge test for Rosenthal, but the organization apparently has the confidence he is ready. Rosenthal currently seems to have the momentum on his side that Miller needs to regain.

Still, Rosenthal remains unproven above Class–A – until he shows his mettle on the mound in games that count this season. Miller’s Triple-A record is also completely blank.

Some Rosenthal supporters are already wondering out loud if the Missouri native will pass Miller and make his major league debut this season. They are apparently making some bold assumptions how Rosenthal will fare in the Texas League, ignoring 40-man roster considerations as well as a number of other solid starting and relief pitchers already proven at the Double-A and Triple-A levels.

The discussions have evolved to wondering aloud about changes in the Cardinals prospect rankings. This week, I had a personal message exchange with a cynical Rosenthal backer – folks I have labeled the “Rosenthralled” (TM). This individual assured me that a 21^st-rounder would never be ranked ahead of a first-round draft pick because people like me who rate prospects are inherently biased.

When I suggested he go all the way back to our 2010 rankings, in which we did just that – placing a 22nd-rounder at the head of our top 40 ahead of the heralded first-rounder – the conversation ended abruptly. I haven’t heard from him since.

One key difference is that earlier 22^nd rounder, Jaime Garcia, earned his prospect placement by his results on the mound at the upper levels of the system. Rosenthal has his opportunity to take that kind of step forward in 2012.

I like Rosenthal’s potential as well as many, but I wish folks would hold off on the wilder speculation until he demonstrates some success above Class-A. At Memphis in 2012, Miller must prove he is ready for the majors – in all aspects of his preparation.

By their actions on the mound this season, the pitchers will show us whether or not any comparisons between the two will be relevant. In the meantime, “Let’s play ball!”

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If you are new to the blog and not familiar with the Cardinals organization roster matrix, here is quick summary:

At the time of this posting, the St. Louis Cardinals had 253 players under contract from top to bottom, including 39 players on the 40-man roster. The matrix places each one at his assigned level in the system by position and is updated daily or whenever transactions occur.

There is a group of 16 players listed under Injured/Rehab. They are not active on any of the rosters at this time.

Extended spring training camp invitees are shown in separate groups. The first is those initially invited to major league camp as NRIs and the early minor league camp invitees. The second group is the holdovers from regular minor league spring training while the third group is those who arrived for EST at the start of April.

Nowhere else will you find this current and comprehensive single-page view of the entire Cardinals organization.

Don’t be concerned about the order of the players’ names within a team. It doesn’t signify anything.

The players on the 40-man roster are designated in bold.

Full team rosters and player profiles at The Cardinal Nation

Remember that to get detailed profile information on every single one of these 253 Cardinals players, simply check out their free player profiles updated at The Cardinal Nation.com / Scout.com. You can see bios, photos, videos, articles, news items, links to current season and career stats and much more – everything you need to know about a player in one place.

Click on the following links to be taken to one of the nine team pages at The Cardinal Nation. You can also see rosters and player profiles back to 2004:

Full-season clubs

St. Louis Cardinals
Memphis Redbirds
Springfield Cardinals
Palm Beach Cardinals
Quad Cities River Bandits

Short-season clubs

Batavia Muckdogs
Johnson City Cardinals
Gulf Coast League Cardinals
Dominican Summer League Cardinals

Once on a team page, just click on a player’s name to be taken to his individual profile page for that year. For example, here is Shelby Miller’s 2012 Memphis profile.

Looking ahead and back

Now that you’ve found this page once, remember one of three ways to get back here. Bookmark the page, type “Roster Matrix” in the dark blue search box at the upper right or use the dropdown menu at the top of the page: “Players/Staff” > “Depth Charts/Roster Matrix”.

For details behind past rosters and transactions, check out the earlier versions of the Cardinals organization roster matrix as follows.

Link to previous matrices: Jan–March 2009, April 2009, May 2009, June 2009, July 2009-February 2010, Spring camp 2010, Opening season 2010, First half 2010, Short-season 2010, 2010-11 Off-season, 2011 spring training, 2011 regular season, 2011 short-season, 2011-2012 off-season, 2012 spring training

Transactions

04/02: New matrix. Organization total: 253 players.

04/02: C Kleininger Teran onto Spr DL.

04/03: RHR Adam Ottavino lost via outright waivers to Colorado. New organization total: 252 players.

04/04: C Adam Lewis placed on QC DL. RHP Deryk Hooker to Spr DL. LHR Nick Greenwood from Spr to Mem. RPs Justin Wright and Jesse Simpson from PB to Spr. OF Cedric Hunter acquired from Oakland, assigned to Mem. New org total: 253 players.

04/05: RHR Ricky Martinez from EST to PB. C Travis Tartamella onto PB DL. C Roberto Espinoza onto Mem DL.

04/06: RHR Scott Linebrink onto StL DL. RHR Victor Marte onto 40-man, moves from Mem to StL.

04/09: C Casey Rasmus from EST to PB. C Luis De La Cruz from PB to Mem. C Steven Hill onto Mem DL.

04/12: RHS Seth Blair onto PB DL. RHR Logan Billbrough from QC to PB. RHR Kevin Jacob from EST to QC. IF Roberto De La Cruz to QC DL. IF Jeremy Patton from EST to QC.

04/13: C Luis De La Cruz from Mem to PB. C Casey Rasmus from PB to EST. C Mitch Canham signed, assigned to Mem. New organization total: 254 players.

04/15: OF Michael Swinson onto PB DL. OF Kyle Conley from Spr DL to PB.

04/20: 1B Lance Berkman onto StL 15-day DL. IF/OF Skip Schumaker off 15-day DL. IF Tyler Rahmatulla onto QC DL. C Adam Lewis off QC DL.

04/21: OF Tommy Pham onto Spr DL. OF Kyle Conley from PB to Spr. OF Michael Swinson off PB DL.

04/26: 2B Starlin Rodriguez onto PB DL. C Travis Tartamella off PB DL. OF Roberto Reyes, C Adam Lewis onto QC DL. OF Virgil Hill from EST to QC. IF Roberto De La Cruz off QC DL.

04/28: IF Packy Elkins to PB DL. IF Neal Pritchard from EST to PB.

05/01: IF Tyler Rahmatulla off QC DL. IF Jeremy Patton from QC to EST. OF/IF Allen Craig off StL DL. OF Erik Komatsu DFAed. New organization total: 253 players.

05/03: C Steven Hill off Mem DL. OF Chris Swauger from Mem to Spr. OF Rainel Rosario from Spr to PB.

05/04: OF Erik Komatsu claimed off waivers by Twins. OF Michael Swinson onto PB DL. RHP Todd McInnis to QC DL. C Adam Lewis off QC DL. OF Mark Hamilton off Mem DL. IF Jermaine Curtis from Mem to Spr. IF Niko Vasquez from Spr to PB. C Audry Perez to Spr TI list. C Kleininger Teran off Spr DL.

05/05: IF Neal Pritchard from PB to EST. C Casey Rasmus from EST to QC. C Jesus Montero from QC to EST.

05/06: C Travis Tartamella, RHR Ricky Martinez onto PB DL. 2B Starlin Rodriguez and LHS Kevin Siegrist off PB DL.

05/07: IF Tyler Rahmatulla to QC DL. OF Roberto Reyes off QC DL. C Audry Perez off Spr TI list. C Kleininger Teran, RHR Jesse Simpson to Spr DL. IF Neal Pritchard from EST to Spr.

05/08: LHS Jonathan Cornelius from EST to QC. C Adam Lewis to QC DL. Ps Fermin Montanez, Jeff Nadeau released. New organization total: 251 players.

05/13: 1B Lance Berkman off StL DL. OF Shane Robinson from StL to Mem.

05/14: LHR J.C. Romero released by StL. RHR Eduardo Sanchez from Mem to StL. Mem OF Amaury Cazana released. LHR Sam Freeman from Spr to Mem. RHR Jesse Simpson off Spr DL. IF Neal Pritchard from Spr to EST. RHS Richard Castillo from PB to Spr. RHS Todd McInnis from QC DL to PB. IF Tyler Rahmatulla off QC DL. OF Virgil Hill onto QC DL. New organization total: 249 players.

05/15: OF Jon Jay onto StL DL. OF Shane Robinson from Mem to StL.

05/17: LHR Clay Zavada, UT Jamie Romak signed to Mem. Mem LHR R.J. Swindle released. PB 3B Niko Vasquez released. C Travis Tartamella off PB DL. OF Anthony Garcia onto QC DL. OF Virgil Hill onto QC DL.

05/18: OF Allen Craig, RHR Kyle McClellan onto StL DL. OF Adron Chambers, RHP Brandon Dickson from Mem to StL. LHS John Gast from Spr to Mem. RHP Deryk Hooker off Spr DL.

05/19: IF Neal Pritchard, LHP Bob Revesz, RHP Travis Miller from EST to QC. IF Garrett Wittels, RHPs Brandon Creath, Kevin Jacob from QC to EST. RHS Carlos Martinez, UT Alan Ahmady to PB DL. LHP Ryan Sherriff and 3B Jeremy Patton from EST to PB.

05/20: StL 1B Lance Berkman to DL. 1B Matt Adams onto 40-man roster, from Mem to StL.

05/21: OF Lou Montanez signed, assigned to Mem. RHPs Seth Maness, Chris Corrigan from PB to Spr. RHP Scott Schneider from Spr to PB. RHP Jorge Rondon to Spr DL. OF Michael Swinson off PB DL.  New organization total: 250 players.

05/22: 1B Aaron Bates signed, assigned to Mem. New organization total: 251 players.

05/23: UT Matt Carpenter onto StL DL. C Steven Hill added to 40-man, from Mem to StL.

The St. Louis Cardinals Organization Roster Matrix (effective 05/23/12)

Codes
(I): injured
(TI): temporary inactive list
(SL): suspended list
(RL): restricted list
(MIL): military list
(TO): tryout player not under contract
(L) left-handed pitcher
bold: on the Cardinals’ 40-man roster
(#+#) number of active players on the roster plus number of inactive/not under contract (DL+TI+SL+RL+MIL+TO) players

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The action against Stanley, our 26^th-ranked Cardinals prospect, is the organization’s third suspension since the conclusion of last season. It is at least the 24^th affecting a St. Louis farmhand since 2005, the early days of what is now the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

17-year-old Dominican pitcher Erick Hurtado was considered to be the second-best player in this year’s international class for the organization. However, the left-hander’s agreement with the Cardinals was voided earlier this month when he tested positive for Stanozolol as part of his background checks.

In November, Batavia outfielder Reggie Williams was suspended for the first 50 games of the 2012 season. His banned substance was one of the same ones detected in Stanley, Methylhexaneamine. Williams is currently participating in minor league camp, but is prohibited from playing in regular season contests until his time is served. Now, Stanley will be joining him.

Of the 24 Cardinals players suspended under the program to date, seven are currently in the system, including Stanley and Williams (see names below designated with #). None have yet reached the major leagues.

St. Louis Cardinals minor league drug suspensions (2005-present)

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We may have received the answer on Wednesday evening when several media outlets identified what La Russa’s next job may be. It would be quite a step up as he may be the president-in-waiting of the Los Angeles Dodgers – if hedge-fund billionaire Steve Cohen is selected as the winning bidder.

The LA Times has a different view, noting that La Russa and Cohen met last week in Arizona, but suggesting that agent Arn Tellem would be team president with La Russa potentially in charge of baseball operations.

Among the many additional details mentioned in this USA Today article by Bob Nightengale is a belief that La Russa has no interest in becoming a general manager. The Nightengale piece is one of the sources suggesting team president would be TLR’s new gig. After all, isn’t being in charge of baseball operations just is a fancy term for GM?

Speculation earlier in the winter was that La Russa was Selig’s preference to replace Major League Baseball vice president Joe Torre, but later La Russa apparently passed. Ironically, ex-Dodgers manager Torre resigned from MLB to participate in another group bidding to purchase the team, one that has since been eliminated from consideration.

In fact, the original 23 bidders for the Dodgers have been narrowed down to just four. Along with Cohen, Rams owner Stan Kroenke is one of them.

Outgoing owner Frank McCourt will select the winner next month once MLB owners approve the finalists next week.

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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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Among panelists analyzing the top five trades in New York history are none other than agent Scott Boras and retired St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa.  The moderator is former Mets catcher Fran Healy and author Dave Kaplan also participates.

No word on whether Boras and La Russa will be packing information binders. The agent is known for thick dossiers selling the virtues of his free agents, while La Russa relied on Dave Duncan and his binders stuffed with pitching and hitting information for over three decades.

Sadly, one of the featured trades during the special involved the Cardinals, that being Keith Hernandez’ acquisition by the Mets in 1983. Back in 2006, I ranked the trade, in which the Cardinals received pitchers Neil Allen and Rick Ownbey, as the second-worst deal made by St. Louis in the last 40 years.

The series continues for seven additional nights through Sunday, March 18 with these subjects: “Mets Best Trades, “Yankees Best Trades,” “Worst Trades – Yankees and Mets,” “Yankees Best Free Agent,” “Mets Best Free Agent,” Yankees Worst Free Agent,” and “Mets Worst Free Agent.” The final episode will feature the panel discussing the current state of the game.

Full schedule details (all times Eastern).

* Sunday, March 11: “Mets Best Trades” (10:00 p.m.)
* Monday, March 12: “Yankees Best Trades” (11:00 p.m.)
* Tuesday, March 13: “Worst Trades – Mets & Yankees (10:30 p.m.)
* Wednesday, March 14: “Yankees Best Free Agent” (10:30 p.m.)
* Thursday, March 15: “Mets Best Free Agent” (10:00 p.m.)
* Friday, March 16: “Yankees Worst Free Agent” (10:30 p.m.)
* Saturday, March 17: “Mets Worst Free Agent” (10:00 p.m.)
* Sunday, March 18: “The State of Baseball” (9:30 p.m.)

Check out the following preview of the first episode.

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On the other hand, the 23-year-old is not going to continue to produce as he has over the first four games of spring. Sure, let’s give him credit for the grand slam against the Mets and the bases-clearing triple to help sink the Red Sox on Thursday. Then again, no one should be mistaking the big first baseman for Ted Williams, so that .417 batting average is just not sustainable.

Still, the internet is exploding over Adams’s feats, with some already penciling his name onto their projected opening day roster for St. Louis. Calm down, please. I never say “never,” but I give it less than five percent odds of actually happening. Even that would seemingly require an avalanche of injuries to others that would mean significant problems for the 2012 Cardinals.

Some folks seem to have short memories.

Just one year ago, there was another reigning organizational Player of the Year in major-league camp garnering similar attention for unexpected standout play. Further, the infielder had excelled at Double-A Springfield the prior season and had yet to play even one game in Triple-A.

Along with all the other similarities, his name is also Matt – Matt Carpenter.

Until the final week of 2011 camp, it seemed both by playing time given and results delivered that Carpenter might make the season-opening major-league roster. Then, reality set in. He couldn’t sustain his hot play and began the season with Memphis.

Though Carpenter was added to the 40-man roster just before he made his MLB debut last June, he struggled with St. Louis. Despite a good Pacific Coast League campaign, including a .417 OBP, Carpenter did not even receive a September call up. It serves as yet another reminder not to get too high or too low over spring training performances.

A year later, Carpenter is back in big league camp, more prepared to compete for a  job as a utilityman. He remains a decent prospect, number 11 in our 2012 system-wide rankings, but seems destined for a reserve role – in this organization, at least.

Like Carpenter last spring, Adams is also not yet on the 40-man. A more realistic goal than opening the season with St. Louis would be for him to follow Carpenter’s 2011 trail of solid play in Memphis, snag a 40-man roster spot and make a major-league cameo mid-season. Adams could then more realistically compete for a major-league spot next spring.

In summary, no matter what happens this month, the best move for Adams’ long-term development would be for him to don a Memphis Redbirds uniform to start the regular season and play first base each and every day.

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Schoendienst led the 1967 Cardinals to the title and he was inducted into the Hall in 1989. Herzog’s 1982 club won the World Series while he joined the Hall in 2010. La Russa’s St. Louis teams took it all in 2006 and 2011. Along with the three legends, the World Series trophy will be on hand.

The Hall of Fame Awards Presentation honors the recipients of the Museum’s broadcasting and baseball writing awards. Tim McCarver is the 2012 Ford C. Frick Award winner for excellence in baseball broadcasting, and Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun will be given the 2012 J.G. Taylor Spink Award from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

When Cardinals fans visit Cooperstown this year, there is also a special exhibit to catch. Several items from the Cardinals’ seven-game Series victory are included in the Autumn Glory World Series-focused exhibit. They include the bat used by David Freese to hit the Game Six walk-off home run and his jersey shredded by his teammates; a jersey worn by Chris Carpenter in the Series, spikes worn by Albert Pujols in Game Three of the World Series; and other objects paying tribute to the Fall Classic. The Cardinals exhibit will be on display through the 2012 postseason.

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It feels like a hot stove event that would be more suitable in January, but then again, this comes from the perspective of a baseball writer. The Conference, while perhaps baseball-centric, includes speakers and topics from all the major sports.

I caught a few stray tweets from event participants this past weekend, though most seemed to originate from admirers of Bill James, quoting the gospel from the sabermetric guru now employed by the Boston Red Sox.

Looking for a more comprehensive review of the proceedings, I ran across an excellent recap from a writer named Evan Brunell at opposingviews.com. For those interested in the business side of baseball, I recommend you give it a read.

Highlights include agent Scott Boras explaining how he and the clubs with which he negotiates use metrics. Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow discusses his deployment of analytics while with St. Louis and his plans to move Houston ahead in that area.

New studies on predicting next pitches to be thrown, what is following the groundbreaking PITCHf/x system and a look at natural alternatives to steroids through identifying deficiencies via blood testing are also reviewed.

The article concludes with Boras (and James) predictably blasting the new restrictions on spending for both amateur talent and international free agents.

Just maybe I will make time to attend next year…

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Friday also brought a new career honor for the former outfielder as he was one of seven players and coaches elected to the National College Baseball Hall of Fame’s class of 2012. The announcement was made by the College Baseball Foundation with selection criteria based only on nominees’ collegiate careers.

Brock starred for Southern University in Baton Rouge from 1958-1960. He earned a scholarship in his sophomore year and was named All-Southwestern Athletic Conference. In 1959, Brock led Southern to the NAIA championship with a .536 average and then competed for the United States team in the Pan-Am Games. In 1960, he hit .351 and stole 18 bases before receiving a $30,000 bonus for signing with the Chicago Cubs.

27 years after becoming just the 15^th player to be named to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, Brock will now join the College Hall as well. He was previously named to at least three state-oriented sports Halls in Louisiana (1983), Missouri (1992) and Arkansas (1995).

Other 2012 College Baseball Hall inductees include ex-players Nomar Garciaparra (Georgia Tech), Brad Wilkerson (Florida) and Tim Jorgensen (Wisconsin-Oshkosh) plus three coaches: Ed Cheff (Lewis-Clark State), Frank Sancet (Arizona) and Wayne Graham (Rice).

Current members of the Hall include these individuals who later went on to become St. Louis Cardinals players, managers or executives: Dick Groat, Branch Rickey, Will Clark and Bob Horner.

This year’s group of inductees will be honored during a weekend of festivities June 29-30 at the College Baseball Hall of Fame in Lubbock, Tex.

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The opening ceremony for the display of Cardinals artifacts was held Friday night at the Little Rock, Arkansas facility. Hall of Famer and Arkansas native Lou Brock presided. (Brock had been serving as a special assistant coach during the early days of 2012 spring training camp in Jupiter, Fla., from where the enclosed photo was taken last week.)

The following two-minute segment from KATV Channel 7 includes a quick view of some of the items being displayed as well as a clip of Brock’s remarks.

The Arkansas News also covered the Friday event and filed this article.

The Cardinals exhibit, which had been in the planning stages for over six months, runs through September 16 and is included with general admission to the library. I will be checking it out in June and will of course report back.

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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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After being acquired from the New York Mets while still just 21 years of age in 1985, the “Secret Weapon” became a fixture over ten seasons of play with St. Louis, including two pennant-winning campaigns. Upon retiring from his middle infield duties at the tender age of 32, Oquendo remained with the organization. He seamlessly moved into coaching in the minor leagues, culminating with one year as a manager. That was in 1998 in the New York-Penn League.

1999 marked Oquendo’s first coaching job in St. Louis as he became the bench coach under manager Tony La Russa. The bench coach job is often thought of as the unofficial assistant manager and a logical launching pad into consideration for the top uniformed job with one of the 30 MLB clubs. At the time, Oquendo was only 35 years of age and his star seemed on the rise.

Instead, after just one season in the role, Oquendo moved into the third base coaching box, where he remains today, 13 years later. He was replaced as bench coach by Mark DeJohn. I had always wondered why. Not that third base is a bad job, but it seemed a sideways move at best.

As relayed through a recent article penned by Rick Hummel of the Post-Dispatch, Oquendo answered my long-standing question.

Oquendo admitted that being La Russa’s bench coach was too stressful for him.

“That’s why I moved,” to third base, Oquendo told Hummel. “When I first got here and he had me as his bench coach, he started screaming and yelling and I said, ‘I can’t take this. I’m going to pop a (blood) vessel. I’ve got to move away so I can relax.”’

Oquendo’s candor is refreshing as well as a bit surprising. Granted, 1999 was a long time ago. He has had time to grow since. In fact, before being among those interviewed to replace La Russa last fall, he had been in the running for the top job with San Diego, Seattle and the Mets in recent years as well as managing Team Puerto Rico in several international competitions.

Still, Oquendo acknowledging that he was once uncomfortable with the pressures of being a bench coach does not feel like a positive in terms of evaluating his competitiveness as a potential manager.

The man who had been Cardinals bench coach over the last decade, Joe Pettini, was recently quoted about his time in the role in an article from Houston’s MLB.com beatwriter Brian McTaggart. For Pettini, being La Russa’s deputy often felt like traveling down a one-way street.

“Tony is a Hall of Fame manager and he was great to work for, but as the bench coach for Tony, sometimes you’re limited in what you have to do,” Pettini said. “It’s not like you can ask questions or ask for his input throughout the game…”

Just as he did for 10 years as St. Louis’ bench coach, Pettini is managing the Astros spring training camp.

“I’m going to be in charge of outlining the schedule,” Pettini said recently. “It’s still Brad’s program (Houston manager Brad Mills) and his way he wants things to be done, and my job will be to help outline it and make sure the schedules go up and the meetings run smoothly and everybody knows what’s going on and everybody is on the same page.”

Though Oquendo was one of the six finalists interviewed to replace La Russa, Mike Matheny received the assignment instead. Former assistant hitting coach Mike Aldrete was elevated to replace Pettini and serve as Matheny’s bench coach.

Oquendo made it clear to Hummel that he is very happy remaining in his familiar role at third base with St. Louis, providing a low-stress, on-field bridge from the Whitey Herzog era, through La Russa’s days and now into the Matheny years.

All things considered, it seems the best option for both the coach and his team.

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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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Though the topic had been on my action list for some time, numerous inquiries from readers, both fans and fantasy baseball players alike, moved this up in priority.

For those who are interested in expressing your own opinion on the matter, check out the following poll. First consider when Miller makes his debut and how long he might remain. Then decide how you believe the Cardinals will initially deploy him.

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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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