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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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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That officially changed on October 31, following the club’s World Series celebration parade. Tony La Russa, the 16-year skipper of the Cardinals, stunned supporters of the team and the baseball world as a whole when he announced his retirement.

Mozeliak was not afforded a moment’s rest to smell the roses. Once the news was released externally, the decision, known by club executives since August, led to a two-week public search for the right man to try to fill La Russa’s shoes.

Many were likely considered for the managerial opening, though only six apparently received formal interviews. They were eventual winner Mike Matheny, third base coach Jose Oquendo, Triple-A Memphis manager Chris Maloney, Phillies Triple-A manager Ryne Sandberg, White Sox third base coach Joe McEwing and former Boston and Philadelphia manager Terry Francona. Of the six, only Francona had managed in the majors previously.

Matheny, 41, was a surprising choice to many. He had been a special assistant to  Mozeliak and an organizational catching instructor, but had no prior professional managerial experience.

Then again, was it really that surprising? After years of dealing with the strong-willed La Russa, who could cause headaches at times with his fiery demeanor, perhaps the Cardinals were looking for a different kind of personality.

Matheny had seemed like a longshot from a personal perspective as well as from the lack of experience angle. He previously expressed disinterest in taking a traditional coaching assignment that would keep him away from home and family. However, with his oldest children approaching college and perhaps with some personal financial setbacks contributing to his decision-making process, Matheny agreed to take the on-field reins of the Cardinals.

A 13-year major league veteran and four-time Gold Glove Award winner, Matheny was a strong leader and a very popular player with St. Louis from 2000-04. With Yadier Molina then ready to take over behind the plate, Matheny moved to San Francisco as a free agent. He was forced into early retirement in 2006 due to the effects of post-concussion syndrome.

To manage the Cardinals, Matheny received a two-year contract with a club option for 2014. A number of familiar faces will be among his coaches. Incumbent pitching guru Dave Duncan will remain for the final year of his own two-year contract.

Two of the men that competed against Matheny for the top job were announced as members of his staff. Oquendo will stay as third base coach while Maloney is the new first base coach. The latter replaces long-time La Russa staffer Dave McKay, since named to the same job for the Chicago Cubs.

Hitting coach Mark McGwire remains in his same role in 2012. Assistant hitting coach Mike Aldrete was promoted to bench coach, Joe Pettini’s former assignment. Former Cardinals first baseman John Mabry takes Aldrete’s old job.

Bullpen coach Derek Lilliquist returns for his second season in the role. He will be joined by a new bullpen catcher in Jamie Pogue. Previous bullpen catcher Jeff Murphy was not retained.

For so many reasons, the choice of Matheny and his staff has signaled the beginning of a new era in Cardinals baseball. Where it will lead remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure. The epicenter of organizational power has shifted from La Russa to Mozeliak, the man who engineered these changes. As such, Matheny’s job performance may become a major element of his boss’ career legacy as well.

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

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For as much as St. Louis has enjoyed consistent success under the current ownership group, it has not been a springboard from which future big league leaders made their final external leap.

That changed on December 8 when Cardinals Vice President of Scouting and Player Development Jeff Luhnow was named as the new general manager of the Houston Astros.

Funny, but I haven’t read the “Harry Potter” digs about Luhnow in print for some time now. The 45-year-old is getting the last laugh at those who derided him over his last eight years leading player development for the St. Louis Cardinals and building the necessary base of experiences to take over his own organization.

As a result of Houston’s move, the Cardinals need to make a crucial appointment (or series of them) to replace him. Luhnow was the head of their amateur scouting and international functions as well as the First-Year Player Draft. He stepped out of his day-to-day supervisory role of the farm system last September, turning that over to his lieutenant, John Vuch.

Luhnow first joined the Cardinals in late 2003 and began his efforts in the establishment of player evaluation methods at both the amateur and professional levels. From the start, he clashed with traditionalists in the organization. This undercurrent of discord eventually led to the ouster of general manager Walt Jocketty following the 2007 season.

Born and raised in Mexico City and fluent in Spanish, Luhnow was an ideal choice to revitalize the club’s stagnant Latin American program, which he picked up in 2004. Scouting and development successes include Eduardo Sanchez, Carlos Martinez and Oscar Taveras with more in the pipeline.

Beginning in 2005, Luhnow directed the Cardinals drafts, during which time his classes were often recognized as among the better in the game. The players also later delivered at the big league level. For example, eight major leaguers drafted and developed during his tenure were active for the Cardinals in the 2011 post-season. They included key contributors Jaime Garcia, Allen Craig, Jon Jay and Lance Lynn.

Luhnow added player development responsibilities in 2006. He had a key role in the system’s successes in the minor leagues. Results include the best system-wide record across the minors in 2010 and five minor league team championships, all the way from rookie ball to Triple-A.

A few have suggested the Luhnow loss might be felt more acutely by the Cardinals than that of Albert Pujols. I would not go that far, but Luhnow clearly proved his detractors wrong while leaving some big shoes to fill.

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Here are some of his key points.

General team finances

St. Louis is 24^th of 30 MLB markets, using Nielsen DMA as the measure. This does not include “outer markets.”

The Cardinals are 20^th in MLB in revenue due to the size of the market and the resulting cable television deal, which runs for seven more years.

In local revenue (tickets, food, beverage), the Cardinals rank in the top five in MLB. No team has a bigger gap so greater local dependence on local revenue.

The club receives 1/30^th of all MLB revenue. For example, MLB Properties for central licensing and MLB Advanced Media. This allows clubs more consistent revenue through team up and down years.

(According to a recent report from BizofBaseball.com, MLBAM alone generates a half-billion dollars in revenue annually.)

Considering all sources, St. Louis is 10^th in revenue across MLB, which is the same spot as player payroll spending. They consider themselves a “top 1/3 club” along with the big market teams, but have greater dependency on ticket sales.

They are looking at changing season ticket reporting to a more consistent method across MLB. For example, eight ten-packs could equal one season ticket.

The Cardinals are implementing customer relationship management (CRM) to better understand preferences and past history.

Ballpark finances

New Busch Stadium cost $411 million, including some first season expenses.

A $100 million assistance proposal from the state did not pass. Meant they needed city help or they could not have financed the stadium.

There is a five percent city admission (or amusement) tax on entertainment tickets (including Rams, Blues, etc. – unique in MLB.) above the sales tax that was abated by the city for 29 years.

Prior to the new stadium, the five-year average (through 2002) the Cardinals paid the city was $7.7 million in admission, revenue taxes etc. It is now up to an average of $10.3 million in the last five years because of increased revenue and a higher payroll tax. City did the right thing.

State was active, too. MODOT moved up the schedule to relocate a highway exit to make room for the park and the state gave them tax credits for environmental cleanup from old gas stations. Same credits were available to any MO business. $50 million in state investment. Revenues from Cardinals to state up from $9 million average before new stadium to $18 million average since it opened.

Other than San Francisco, financed like St. Louis, the cost of most stadiums were at least 90 percent public assisted. St. Louis was about 10 percent.

The Cardinals borrowed about $300 million to build the stadium. They are able to service the debt annually, but carry a larger burden than other clubs.

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As the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline approached, the St. Louis Cardinals were still in the National League Central Division hunt, holding a slim half-game lead over eventual winner Cincinnati. Their 15-11 July was their best month since having gone 15-8 to open the season.

With third baseman David Freese apparently nearing his return from injury, the organization placed a major bet, trading offense for pitching. The view was that Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright and Jaime Garcia did not offer enough in the rotation to carry them down the stretch. Brad Penny’s return seemed increasingly unlikely, Kyle Lohse was still out following a first-of-a-kind surgery and the minor league hurlers given trials had not impressed.

On July 31, with 58 games remaining, general manager John Mozeliak pulled the trigger on surprise trade, a move that would define his club’s 2010 season. Popular right fielder Ryan Ludwick was sent to San Diego in a three-team deal that netted the Cardinals starting pitcher Jake Westbrook from Cleveland and Class A left-hander Nick Greenwood from the Padres. Mozeliak had received a three-year contract extension just two weeks prior.

Along with the addition of starting pitching in Westbrook, at least three other potential contributing factors to the trade were discussed in the media and among fans. The relative importance of each remains open to debate.

1) Opening up time for youngsters. One by-product of dealing Ludwick was the creation of more playing opportunity for outfield prospects. Jon Jay became the primary beneficiary. First called up in late April, the 25-year-old had not stood out in his Major League debut and was soon returned to Triple-A.

Jay not only was back in July, but he stuck in the majors. During the month, he was absolutely red-hot, with a .431/.500/.667 line. To suggest he would adequately fill Ludwick’s void in right field seemed true – but only for awhile.

Though collectively he batted .300 in 105 games overall in 2010, Jay hit just .244 following the trade, putting his starting mettle into question.

2) Ludwick’s salary. In his second of three arbitration-eligible years, Ludwick made $5.45 million in 2010. Some felt the Cardinals did not want to pay that much money for a right fielder, let alone adding to that a likely raise for Ludwick that could net him several million additional for 2011.

That line of thinking might have held water until the club signed Lance Berkman in December for $8 million to play Ludwick’s old right field post next season. The move returns Jay and potential platoon partner Allen Craig to reserve roles.

While Berkman is considered a more accomplished player than Ludwick, he is older and his salary is higher. Further, Berkman has been injury-prone and is on the downside of his career. Several projection systems have suggested the two’s home run and RBI production in 2011 may not be dramatically different.

3) Ludwick’s desire for regular playing time. It was reported that just prior to the trade, the outfielder had approached manager Tony La Russa to express dissatisfaction with not being in the lineup every day. Ludwick previously had a groin injury which led to caution in deploying him. Yet even after he was cleared by the medical staff, Jay had continued to cut into his playing time.

Some wondered whether Ludwick’s ongoing concern was a contributing factor in the trade.

Westbrook cements spot

Upon donning the Cardinals uniform, Westbrook did his part to justify the transaction, exceeding expectations on the mound. With St. Louis, he tossed nine quality starts in 12 outings with a 3.48 ERA. The already-struggling offense did not rebound from the loss of Ludwick, however. One indication is that the team went just 5-7 in Westbrook’s 12 starts.

Still, Westbrook was impressed with the club and they were happy with him as well. Though the 33-year-old right-hander reached free agency, in mid-November he agreed to terms on a new, two-year contract with a mutual option for 2013.

The first two guaranteed years of the deal are worth $16.5 million in total with an additional $1 million if Westbrook wants to return for the third season but the Cardinals instead choose to buy their way out. The annual salaries are $8 million in 2011, and $8.5 million in both 2012 and 2013. Westbrook also received full no-trade protection.

After the trade, Ludwick struggled mightily in a San Diego uniform, posting a line of .211/.301/.330 in 59 games. He was offered arbitration following the season and is expected to be the Padres’ left fielder in 2011.

Impact on the team

While there were likely many factors in the Cardinals disappointing finish beyond this trade, the bottom line is that the club played far better prior to the deal than afterward. In fact, the team logged a sub-.500 record during the final two months while losing 5.5 games in the standings.

With Westbrook on the staff and Ludwick gone, you might suspect that the offense declined while the pitching improved. It turns out that is only partially the case – at best.

The offense actually improved their run scoring by a quarter of a run per game, yet the Cardinals hitters’ collective average, on-base and slugging all declined post-trade. That may indicate the higher scoring rate would not be sustainable.

The Cardinals’ post-trade pitching was substantially poorer in key measures. Opposing offenses scored three-quarters of a run more per game compared to the first 104 contests. Enemy hitters also had more robust batting averages, on-base percentage and slugging against Cardinals pitching following the trade.

One might wonder if the post-trade numbers would have been even worse without the swap, but the bottom line is that while the Ludwick-Westbrook move was bold, Mozeliak’s big gamble did not pay off in 2010.

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Though he is not the headline of either my number 19 or 20 stories of the year for the St. Louis Cardinals, team vice president Jeff Luhnow is a common thread between the two.

After a winter in which the Cardinals farm system was ranked at or near the bottom of several prominent national prospect watchers’ lists due a perceived dearth of high-ceiling talent, the summer of 2010 brought solid team play up and down the organization.

Five of the Cardinals’ seven US-based affiliates made the post-season, with one league champion crowned, the Appalachian League’s Johnson City Cardinals.

Yet almost to a man, staffers remind anyone within earshot that their primary mission is player development, one of three leadership roles Luhnow previously held. The Cardinals felt that asking one man to manage the entire minor league system, lead scouting – a hands-on role, as well as run the draft, was asking too much.

On September 16, John Vuch, a member of the organization since the late 1970s, was promoted to farm director. He now oversees all aspects of player development under the direction of Luhnow. Vuch, formerly director of minor league operations, is well-prepared for the job. He is assisted by long-time MLB executive Gary LaRocque who serves as senior advisor to player development, reporting to Mozeliak.

Vuch’s first hires include a pair of internal promotions, filling key jobs that had been vacant in recent years.

Two-time George Kissell Award winner for player development excellence, former Cardinals bullpen coach and minor league manager Mark DeJohn was named minor league field coordinator. In addition to hands-on coaching, DeJohn’s new mission includes supervision of all the Cardinals minor league teams during the season as well as running minor league spring training and extended spring training plus the fall instructional league, if held.  The field coordinator job had been open the past three years since the departure of Jim Riggleman following the 2007 season.

Derrick May has taken the role of roving hitting coordinator after serving as the hitting coach of Double-A Springfield for the past four years, and the two before that with Palm Beach (A-Advanced). Dan Radison, now on the major league staff of Riggleman’s Washington Nationals, last held the Cardinals hitting coordinator assignment. The job was unfilled during the 2010 season.

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Better late than never, I decided to salute Rigoli now, which I did first and foremost in my weekly column at the Globe-Democrat. Due to space limitations and the need to be net, I didn’t include everything, hence, this post. So read that article first and then come back here for the rest of the story.

The base criterion for induction in the PBSHOF is a minimum of 20 years of professional scouting experience. Selection is based on a combination of quantifiable success in the field, contributions to the game in other areas, professional or amateur, and involvement and dedication to the local community.

The PBSHOF is the brainchild of The Goldklang Group, operators of four minor league franchises located in Charleston, SC, Ft. Myers, FL, Hudson Valley, NY and St. Paul, MN. Plaques of the inductees are proudly displayed at the appropriate park, with annual ceremonies at each to honor the new inductees nearest that area of the country.

I highly commend The Goldklang Group’s now-three year effort to draw attention to scouts’ invaluable contributions at the very foundation of the game of professional baseball, often overlooked by others. Vice President Tyler Tumminia spearheads the efforts.

The 2010 honorees will be as follows: At Charleston, Jax Robertson (Pittsburgh Pirates); at Fort Myers, Terry Ryan (Minnesota) and Dave Yoakum (Chicago White Sox); at Hudson Valley: Bob Miske (New York Yankees) and at St. Paul: Ken Stauffer (Tampa Bay).

2009’s inductees were Tom Greenwade (New York Yankees), Marti Wolever (Philadelphia), Joe McIlvaine (Minnesota), Rigoli, Rene Mons (Milwaukee), Roland Johnson (New York Mets), Al Goldis (long time scout), John Barr (San Francisco), Bob Fontaine (Toronto), Gary Hughes (Chicago Cubs), Tom Burns (Toronto) and Howard McCullough (Arizona).

The inaugural class of 12, inducted in 2008, are John Tumminia (Chicago White Sox), Tom Giordano (Texas Rangers), Tom Kotchman (Los Angeles Angels), Rudy Santin (San Francisco Giants), Lennie Merullo (MLSB), Buzz Bowers (Boston Red Sox), Lon Joyce (LA Dodgers), Donny Rowland (New York Yankees), Brad Sloan (Los Angeles Angels), Art Stewart (Kansas City Royals), Phil Rizzo (LA Dodgers) and Hep Cronin (Atlanta Braves).

Congratulations to all these scouts, especially Joe Rigoli. Last summer, I ran into him at Citi Field in New York. Though we chatted briefly, I didn’t know to congratulate him. Sorry, Joe, and belated best wishes on becoming a Hall of Famer!

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It takes a lot of guts to write an article ranking Major League Baseball’s general managers. Tim Marchman at Sports Illustrated apparently is not afraid of the inevitable criticism as he has undertaken such an endeavor.

Unfortunately without much of a defined process to seemingly guide him, what we get is Marchman’s assessment of potential more than anything that can be truly analyzed. Yet because of what it is and where it is, the article is bound to get a lot of attention as people like me all over cyberspace write about their concerns over ‘So-and-so GM being only ranked xxth.’

As a St. Louis Cardinals watcher, I am actually less concerned about where the club’s leader stacks up numerically as I am about some of those ahead of him.

Still, I have to admit that I was initially a bit surprised that John Mozeliak is considered a second-division player, sitting at #18 of 30. Mo seems to be shrugged off as riding the coattails of some combination of Albert Pujols, Tony La Russa and Walt Jocketty’s leftovers. No mention was made of the moves to lock up young talent like Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina cheaply, for example.

Then again, realizing Mo has only two years in the job, one of which was a playoff miss and the other a quick exit, I guess I could see it. That seemingly obvious point was not made in the article, however.

That is, I thought I could accept it until I noticed Marchman placed Mo two spots lower than Jim Hendry of the Cubs! I guess Mo needs to make a boatload of bad signings like Alfonso Soriano, Kosuke Fukudome, Milton Bradley, etc. while blowing millions so he can move up the list.

There seems to be a major difference between us in how we gauge a top general manager. I am a believer in recognizing results, though Marchman seems more enamored with improving bad situations, giving credit for perceived progress.

He mentions his criteria include “success”, though not necessarily winning. Go figure. Other factors include “not doing stupid things”, “efficiency”, and “tenure”. He “spares” us by not sharing his formula, though he apparently at least has one for efficiency. Further, the period of time considered is not divulged.

I buy that progress is good, but no one should care if a team improves from last place to second to last, for example. Boatloads of prospects are only beneficial if they eventually deliver championships. After all, this isn’t a sport where style points are awarded for good form.

So many baseball wonks these days are in love with Jack Zduriencik in Seattle, including Marchman ranking him #5. Yet that team still hasn’t won anything. I guess they value paper improvement because one Jack Z. move never mentioned, the simple addition of the well-known hothead Bradley, could single-handedly destroy the Mariners this season before they break their eight-year playoff drought.

Whiz kids Jon Daniels of Texas (#7) and Arizona’s Josh Byrnes (#11) score points for talent collection and for supposedly showing progress. Daniels has neither won a division nor even made the playoffs as a wild card. The Diamondbacks struggled to a total of just 70 victories last season, a slide of a dozen wins from the year prior and 20 fewer than two years ago, while finishing in last place in the NL West in 2009. Now that’s success! (Edit: Count Baseball Prospectus among those unimpressed by the supposed level of talent assembled by Byrnes, as Arizona’s farm system was just ranked #29, only ahead of the Cardinals.)

Then there is Doug Melvin in Milwaukee at #6. #6? The guy is running a franchise that most recently finished in first place 27 years ago and has won a grand total of one playoff game in their only appearance since. His 2009 Brewers finished below .500 in a soft NL Central.

Saying Theo Epstein and the Red Sox (#2) “deserve more hype than they get” sounds like something read straight off an ESPN studio cue card. The Cardinals have made hay picking up a number of Theo’s mistakes in recent years, though I can’t argue with his pair of titles. At least he made much of the money spent pay off.

There are also what I think are good, underrated choices in the top ten like Larry Beinfest of Florida (#4) and Dan O’Dowd of Colorado (#7), GMs who have done quite a bit with less to work with.

Between #10 and #14, Marchman gives curtain calls to GMs that once were hot, but now are not. These rankings seem to be lifetime achievement awards for the likes of Oakland’s Billy Beane (#10), Andy MacPhail of Baltimore (#12), Dave Dombrowski of Detroit (#13) and our old friend, Cincinnati’s Jocketty (#14).

Other than the Tigers’ World Series run in 2006, the moves these teams have been making in recent years have yet to translate into anything tangible. Even Detroit has fallen on harder times since. Then we have Beane, with one playoff team in his last six and a last-place finish in 2009. I guess because he is a genius, he gets to stay in the top ten for old-times sake, because he sure hasn’t done anything lately to justify it.

I realize that spring is the time for baseball optimism, but I will take a winning GM every time over one living off past successes or a supposed up-and-comer who has yet to achieve anything but looks stylish in trying.

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The two men with the highest-profile jobs running the St. Louis Cardinals on the field and off come from very different backgrounds.

One is a 65-year-old who has worn the uniform of a major league manager for over 30 years and is a future Hall of Famer. He has a pair of World Championships and over 2,500 career wins in the dugout, approaching half with St. Louis.

The other is a quarter century younger, a man who worked his way up through the system to become the general manager of one of the most storied franchises in the history of Major League Baseball.

It now seems longer ago than just two years when the former boss of both Tony La Russa and John Mozeliak was summarily fired. Then-general manager Walt Jocketty was responsible for bringing both men to St. Louis. La Russa arrived as field manager prior to the 1996 season, having worked with Jocketty in Oakland. Mozeliak served under Jocketty in Colorado and traveled with him when he joined the Cardinals the year prior to La Russa’s arrival.

After internal political pressure over investment and protection of the player development pipeline hastened Jocketty’s departure following the 2007 season, an external GM search was fruitless. In-house candidate Mozeliak was charged with bringing all parties together while keeping the organization moving forward.

Though the club missed the playoffs for a second consecutive season in 2008, Mozeliak made great headway in laying the groundwork for the future. He signed co-ace Adam Wainwright and catcher Yadier Molina to smart long-term contracts and resolved a very challenging situation with Scott Rolen by swapping him to Toronto for Troy Glaus.

No one can make perfect moves every time as Mozeliak gambled and lost on troubled shortstop Khalil Greene and seems to have overpaid for Kyle Lohse. Yet he also diffused two other potential clubhouse situations by moving Adam Kennedy and Chris Duncan.

In 2009, Mozeliak’s in-season adjustments helped the Cardinals take their first division crown since 2006. He acquired Matt Holliday, Mark DeRosa and Julio Lugo via trade, added John Smoltz and signed relievers Ryan Franklin and Trever Miller to contract extensions.

While the organizational tension could have crushed their relationship, instead Mozeliak offers a calming influence behind the fiery La Russa. Sometimes it requires tact to diffuse La Russa dreams like signing Barry Bonds or having 46-year-old Mark McGwire appear as a pinch-hitter, yet Mo seems up for the job.

Because La Russa has the decorated career and works for a perennial contender, it is more difficult for him to contend for game-wide recognition. Yet he was close to receiving the Manager of the Year Award in a sixth career season in 2009.

Though Colorado’s Jim Tracy received the 2009 NL nod, La Russa came in second. He took a club that most experts placed second or third in its division prior to the season and brought it in with 91 wins and a 7-1/2 game cushion in the NL Central. In the process, he coaxed career years from stars as well as the unlikely before falling uncharacteristically early in the post-season.

Starting his 32^nd season in a job that many can’t hold for more than a couple means La Russa is a true survivor. As with anyone in such a public role for so long, the manager has his detractors. Yet his players are the first to defend him as always having their backs.

While La Russa remains one of the premier managers in the game, he is hinting his time in the role is nearing its end. He took several weeks following the conclusion of the 2009 season deciding whether or not to return for 2010 and when he did, it was only via a one-year contract, his first since joining the Cardinals.

Perhaps La Russa has even a little more fire in his belly to try to bring the 11^th World Championship to St. Louis in 2010. It would be his third crown as an MLB manager and Mozeliak’s first in the head role.

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

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Those who read this blog regularly may think I am making a major flip-flop here.

After having been a consistent critic of Boston general manager Theo Epstein for his long history of paying off bad contracts (see photo for one example), why would I now be encouraging his St. Louis Cardinals counterpart John Mozeliak to model his behavior after the Red Sox leader?

Here’s why.

Both GMs were in a similar situation this off-season, having acquired high-profile but impending free agent outfielders via trade. The Sox picked up Jason Bay in the summer of 2008 while the Cardinals added Matt Holliday this July.

Each club wanted their player back for 2010 and beyond, but their approaches have differed.

Epstein made what appears to be a fair, early offer to Bay, which was turned down. He reportedly came back with a second proposal, but when it seemed clear it would not be accepted, Boston moved on.

The Sox have since signed a lesser replacement outfielder in Mike Cameron, but also added free agent pitcher John Lackey, are trying to dump another bad contract in Mike Lowell and are rumored to be after first baseman Adrian Gonzalez in trade.

Mozeliak waited to make his initial offer to agent Scott Boras for Holliday. He then reportedly “tweaked” his bid.

Unlike Epstein, Mo has been unclear on his strategy following his second offer. Beyond the one-year deal with Brad Penny, the Cardinals have not moved to fill other needs, given the need to settle the Holliday situation first. But how long can St. Louis wait?

Comments directly attributed to Mozeliak in recent days are contradictory. One report had him setting a hard deadline with Boras mid-week this week while others indicate he is shying away from drawing a line in the sand.

Boras may not have any other clubs deeply interested in his client and as such, given his way, he would string the Cardinals along as long as it takes to unearth a second, higher bidder – but only if they let him.

There are differing rumors as to the depth of the Mets’ interest in Holliday. Sports Illustrated reports New York may be speaking with Boras on Wednesday, but it could be only a ploy to try to get Bay committed. ESPN’s Buster Olney has the Mets taking a more passive stance, noting they are “monitoring the Holliday negotiations, but are not actively involved”, and suggesting Holliday is out of the price range of the New Yorkers.

If the Cardinals have made a pair of fair bids and Boras won’t accept, it may very soon be time to move on, as Epstein did rather than continue to indefinitely chase after Bay.

But there is the issue of exactly what the Cardinals bid is. Is it fair? Is it aggressive? Is it five years or eight years?

On Tuesday, Olney wrote this about the Cardinals plans: “the intention is to stand on a five-year offer”. At the end of his article, Olney acknowledges the bid reported by Joe Strauss of the Post-Dispatch “worth about $16 million for as much as eight years” without even attempting to rationalize the two seemingly-conflicting rumors.

Some possibilities for the mismatch:

• The rumors were captured at different times. What was the Cardinals’ offer “pre-tweaking”?

• The rumors could have been sourced from different camps. If one had to guess, one might expect that the P-D may be getting their information from St. Louis while ESPN may be closer to Boras’ lips.

• The two may have a different interpretation of how variations like escape clauses, options and buyouts are reflected.

Not all contracts are the same, even when supposedly for the same duration. Here are some examples from what could be an almost infinite number of possibilities:

• An eight-year contract with a player escape clause after five years is an eight-year contract, but obviously one with a huge hole in it.

• A five-year contract with three subsequent option years is generally not considered an eight-year contract until the options are picked up or vested through incentives like appearances, innings pitched or at-bats.

• An eight-year contract with only five years guaranteed is not an eight-year contract. It is nothing more than misleading wording for a five-year contract with three option years.

• An eight-year contract with five years guaranteed, three option years and a buyout for the final three years is still just a five-year contract. Its minimum, quoted value is higher – the total of years one through five, plus the buyout amount.

For example, Albert Pujols signed a seven-year, $100 million contract in 2003. Year eight, covering 2011, is an option at $16 million or the Cardinals can decline, paying Albert a $5 million buyout. The $5 million was added to the $95 million in salary for years one through seven to reach the $100 million minimum commitment. Once the year eight option is formally picked up by the Cardinals, the deal will become eight years, $111 million.

Another example is Adam Wainwright’s contract, signed prior to the 2008 season. It covers four years for a total of $15 million. That is the quoted amount. In addition there are club options for years five and six that will total either $21 million or $22 million. The higher amount is based on winning the Cy Young Award in either of the next two seasons. Just one top five placement in the vote in either upcoming season guarantees the final two option years for Wainwright. That would upgrade his deal to six years, $36 million or $37 million.

Whether any of these possibilities are among what is being discussed between Boras and Mozeliak remains to be seen. But whatever Mo does, it is just about time to channel his inner Theo. Here is hoping he is up to it.

The Veterans Committee for Executives and Pioneers was unable to agree on a single name from their candidate list of ten. In the process, they left behind another most deserving man along with Miller, the late owner of the Cardinals, Sam Breadon.

Being named on nine of 12 (75 percent) of the ballots was necessary. Voters were instructed to vote for up to four names.

Here are the results:

• John Fetzer, Detroit (eight votes, 66.7%)
• Marvin Miller, players union (seven votes, 58.3%)
• Jacob Ruppert, Yankees (seven votes, 58.3%)
• Ewing Kauffman, Royals (six votes, 50%)
• Fewer than three votes, less than 25%: Gene Autry, Breadon, Bob Howsam, John McHale, Gabe Paul and Bill White.

Breadon’s showing was especially disappointing since the 12 voters included two with deep Cardinals knowledge – Rick Hummel of the Post-Dispatch and club chairman Bill DeWitt.

The other committee members included Hall of Fame players Robin Roberts and Tom Seaver; former executive John Harrington (Red Sox); current executives Jerry Bell (Twins), Bill Giles (Phillies), David Glass (Royals), Andy MacPhail (Orioles) and John Schuerholz (Braves); and media veterans Hal McCoy (Dayton Daily News) and Phil Pepe (New York Daily News).

Breadon and others may receive another chance in two years. The two Veterans Committees that vote on managers and umpires as well as executives and pioneers will consider candidates again in 2011 for 2012 induction. The bar is high, with fewer than a dozen owners currently enshrined.

Perhaps it is because I just wrote about retired numbers and still disagree over the related decision to honor Gussie Busch in that manner, but I decided to make a quick comparison of the owners, Breadon and Busch, along with the current group under DeWitt. They make up the longest-tenured and most dominant of the seven different Cardinals owners in the club’s recognized history starting in 1892.

I recognize that the Hall of Fame is different from retired number recognition, but that backdrop seems an interesting introduction to their respective legacies.

(Three losing years are included under Breadon during which he was a minority investor and there was no majority owner. Busch’s years include the six following Augie’s death when the brewery ran the team.)

As the above table indicates, Breadon’s Cardinals teams not only had the highest regular season winning percentage, they also collected the most National League pennants and World Championships. Not only that, but when Breadon’s club made the Series, they won 2/3 of the time as opposed to half the time for the others.

I added percentage columns as an equalizer. Breadon’s clubs took the NL crown twice as frequently as during the other two ownership tenures and the ultimate prize almost three times as often. (For more information about Breadon, check out this article, “Breadon among deserving Hall of Fame candidates”.)

As an aside, note the striking post-season similarities between the Busch and DeWitt regimes, though the current owners have a better regular season mark.

Bottom line, Sam Breadon appears to have solid Hall of Fame credentials, and based on results is more deserving of special recognition from the game of baseball than Busch.

I included both quantities signed as well as noting the top pick that remained unsigned. The lowest-yield year was 2006, but even then, the Cards signed their top ten picks and 20 of their first 22.

The failed Kyle Russell (pictured) negotiations in 2007 kept the fourth-rounder from Texas in school. Though there was disappointment at the time, at least the player himself seems to have been overrated. Still, with the benefit of clear hindsight, having been able to use that selection on another quality player would have been preferred.

The 2008 record of top 30 picks signed is admirable, but there is a necessary asterisk applied. 13th rounder Mitchell Harris‘ Navy commitment keeps him off the mound for a considerable period. He is technically signed, but obviously unable to contribute.

The Cardinals have a good start in 2009, with as many as 38 already committed at the time this post was made. While picks number one, three, four, seven and ten are among the unsigned, there remains plenty of runway to get their deals done. If so, a take of 43 would be very consistent with recent years.

Of course, signing is but one measure. Though a necessary step, it is a very early one. More important is the quantity and quality of major leaguers that evolve from these drafts, a final verdict for which the jury will remain out for some time.

Draft	Signed	Picks	% Signed	Top Signed	1st Unsigned	Name
2009	TBD	52
2008	43	51	84.3%	1st 30*	30th round*	RHP Brett Bruening
2007	45	52	86.5%	1st four	4th round	OF Kyle Russell
2006	38	53	71.7%	1st 12	10th round	RHP Blair Erickson
2005	43	51	84.3%	1st 15	12th round	RHP Daniel McCutchen

One important area where I struggle with their perspective is the apparent lack of consistency and specifics in their evaluation of the system.

At times, the contention seems to be that the Cardinals overvalue their prospects. Upon occasion, they have referred to unnamed scouts from other organizations that are not high on the Cards’ top minor league players.

At other times, the Cardinals take hits over their supposed refusal to trade away prospects. The implication is that the organization is walking away from good trade offers based on principle. This could be independent of any potential overvaluation of these players by the Cardinals.

In his most recent article on the subject, columnist Bernie Miklasz asserts the following:

“Vice president of player development Jeff Luhnow will object to any deal that requires the bartering of his precious Faberge Eggs, which is the name I’ve given to the Cardinals’ long list of breathlessly hyped prospects. Why? Track record. They haven’t traded a Faberge Egg yet.”

Putting aside how anyone knows what Luhnow will or will not object to 100% of the time, I want to focus on the phrase, “the Cardinals’ long list of breathlessly hyped prospects.”

Which is it? Do the players on this extensive list of prospects have little value because they are overrated or do they have considerable value and the Cardinals just refuse to trade them? Can one have it both ways?

I am the first to admit that I didn’t buy the party line implication that Jason Motte for Will Ohman was the only possible trade that the Cardinals could have made last summer to help their floundering bullpen from the left side.

But which argument does this support?

Was not trading the organization’s seventh-ranked prospect (according to our off-season ranking at Scout.com) for two months worth of services of a left-handed relief specialist an indication of the Cards overvaluing Motte or were they foolish not to accept the Braves’ offer?

In other words, was Motte a precious Faberge Egg?

I suggest most Cardinals watchers would agree that this particular trade was best unmade. Yet none of us have any idea as to the specifics of some very high percentage of trades under consideration. As a result, it is pretty much impossible to gauge which Eggs are being inspected and bartered.

Yet I keep seeing these vague references to “precious Faberge Eggs” without any indication of exactly who they are. Let’s consider other recent trade talks that did become public.

The Cardinals dealt two prospects over the winter to acquire Khalil Greene. Were relievers Mark Worrell and Luke Gregerson Faberge Eggs? Apparently not, though both are products of the Cards’ farm system and are now major leaguers.

In our Cardinals prospect ranking, linked to above, Worrell came in at number 31 and Gregerson was listed at 37.

Mitchell Boggs (pictured), our eighth-ranked prospect, was reportedly part of the nixed deal to Colorado for Matt Holliday. I have seen no indications that Boggs’ inclusion was the deal-breaker, so I guess the number eight prospect isn’t an Egg either.

So exactly what defines these Eggs? Are they only the top twenty, ten or five prospects? Are they the recent first or second-round picks? Are they high school draftees or collegians? Are they at higher or lower levels in the system? Are they players currently performing well or underperforming?

Or is it a non-existent list that makes it easier for self-admitted skeptics to take potshots at every deal, real or imagined?

What do you think?

1) Exactly who are the Cardinals’ “precious Faberge Eggs”?

2) Should any of them be considered completely untouchable in terms of trade consideration, no matter the proposed deal?

Dear Sir,

A reader of my website sent me a copies of your articles “Joe Williams: Not Your Normal Prospect” posted on May 18, 2009 and “Does the Cardinals’ signing of Joe Williams have a deeper meaning?”, May 21, 2009.

After fourteen years of pitching major league baseball, I know that writers do not verify everything that they write and I am too old to care. Nevertheless, I have to take exception to something that Mr. Strauss said.

Mr. Strauss wrote,

“Marshall has been seeking audiences with numerous major-league organizations trying to regain a toe-hold in the industry.”

I am working as hard as I can to teach those in professional baseball how to eliminate all pitching injuries. However, I am not trying to regain a toe-hold in the industry, as though I ever had a toe-hold in professional baseball.

However, in your May 18, 2009 article, you got it right.

You wrote,

“Apparently not every organization is constrained by tradition, which has a direct relation to how Williams became a Cardinal. St. Louis Vice President of Scouting and Player Development Jeff Luhnow recently asked Marshall to come down to Extended Spring Training (EST) in Jupiter, FL to meet with his staff.”

The Cardinals invited me to explain how to eliminate pitching injuries. Actually, before spring training 2006, to learn how I train baseball pitchers, the Cardinals sent someone to my Baseball Pitching Research/Training Center. At the end of that session, I had convinced this young man that I knew how to eliminate pitching injuries.

Unfortunately, they decided to go another way.

Then, this spring, Mr. Luhnow invited me to Jupiter, FL and, after my presentation, as you wrote,

“Shortly after, Williams was invited to participate in the Cardinals’ camp, where he must have shown enough to the coaches to snag a contract.”

Joe’s mission was to prove that baseball pitchers I train can pitch every day without discomfort.

That Joe successfully pitched in eight of the thirteen games available apparently convinced the Cardinals that Joe had sufficient talent to invite Joe back into professional baseball.

I believe that, considering the circumstances, Joe did exceptionally well.

That they terminated Joe’s opportunity is unfortunate, nevertheless, it showed Joe that, with a real opportunity, he could become a major league pitcher. Where we go from here is the question.

Lastly, I want to thank you for writing,

“Even that may seem threatening to some, but I wonder what harm could be caused in being open-minded about new and different ways to teach and learn. Still, in a tradition-laden environment like baseball or journalism for that matter, old ways die hard and new ones are notoriously slow to take root.”

Sincerely,

Dr. Mike Marshall

Marshall seems to be a popular subject in the media recently. On Wednesday, The Discovery Channel – Canada ran a seven-minute feature that provides a glimpse of Marshall’s modest Florida facilities and stars Williams in his usual demonstration role. As opposed to the video I ran on Scout which shows Williams throwing various offerings, these clips illustrate a number of the exercises Marshall prescribes.

Marshall is a polarizing figure in organized ball as his methodologies are in conflict with traditional pitching teaching methods. Yet other than the low-risk signing of the 28-year-old Williams, I have seen no indication that the Cardinals are doing anything other than looking into what Marshall has to say.

Even that may seem threatening to some, but I wonder what harm could be caused in being open-minded about new and different ways to teach and learn. Still, in a tradition-laden environment like baseball or journalism for that matter, old ways die hard and new ones are notoriously slow to take root.

This Marshall-Williams situation seems to have resurfaced ongoing problems within the Cardinals organization. In the midst of sharing always-interesting details in his weekly chat on Wednesday, the Post-Dispatch’s Joe Strauss said this in response to a question about Williams:

“Your information is correct and represents an obvious split between player development and the major-league staff. Marshall has been seeking audiences with numerous major-league organizations trying to regain a toe-hold in the industry. A former colleague at the P-D has been working on a tome with Marshall. The Williams signing caught the attention of many in the system and served as a reminder that pitching philosophies are becoming increasingly factionalized. The “classic mechanics” was tested on Adam Ottavino last year with less than positive results. Others in the system believe the concept has value. Minor league pitching instructor Brent Strom also has ideas considered unconventional by many. To the Kool-Aid drinkers, this has little meaning. But to those with eyes wide open, it’s an example of an organization operating on different pages writing different chapters.”

The first and last sentences really make it clear. Strauss, who has as frequent access to the major league staff as anyone not employed by the Cardinals, is clearly pointing out a continuing rift between the Tony La Russa – Dave Duncan staff and the administration of Luhnow.

Later, in response to another question, Strauss came back to the subject, pointing out there are dissenters in other places than just St. Louis.

“Some organizations install a vertical flow chart where major league philosophy is implemented throughout the system. That does not apply with the Cardinals. The defection and firing of a number of instructors since Walt Jocketty’s ouster underscores “new” organizational thinking. The Cardinals retain a number of solid instructors and coaches, especially on the pitching side. However, those instructors are not consulted in crafting philosophy.”

There is no reason to believe that this is an exception to the old line, “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire”. The most relevant question may be to wonder “What will be done about it?”

As many Cardinals fans know, La Russa is in his 14^th season managing in St. Louis and he and his coaches are not under contract for 2010 and beyond.

Luhnow has been with the organization for 5 ½ years with his first draft considered to be the Class of 2005. Of that group, five players have made the majors to date, including the top two picks reaching this season, Colby Rasmus and Tyler Greene. The others are Mitchell Boggs, Nick Stavinoha and Jaime Garcia, all first called up in 2008.

2006 has delivered Chris Perez, Shane Robinson and P.J. Walters to the majors so far. No players from 2007 or 2008 have arrived in St. Louis, though Jess Todd from the former year and Brett Wallace from last June may be closest. None are yet impact players, with Rasmus generally considered to have the best chance.

In a related vein, I must admit that I have received several notes from readers and bloggers alike in recent weeks questioning negative language from certain P-D writers that at times borders on condescending when referring to the farm system and those who cover it. For example, during Strauss’ Wednesday chat, he said the following in addition to the quote above:

“Depth is an issue here, despite what you may have heard about the burgeoning farm system from various media outlets and team mouthpieces.”

“It’s dangerous to drink Kool-Aid while reading your Baseball America.”

“There is NO support within the dugout for promoting Wallace any time soon. It probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to give the kid more than 50 at-bats at Memphis before pulling that trigger. To Wallace’s credit, he has no problem insisting his bat is major league-ready. Apparently he’s been reading a number of Cardinal-related Teen Beat-type blogs.”

At first blush, I admit it was disappointing to read such comments from a pro like Strauss. On the other hand, the “JSL (Live)” format allows Strauss to express himself in a more direct, new-school manner than his traditional articles can likely allow – not unlike a blogger blogging.

Perhaps most importantly, I come back to a point I made above about organizational contacts and orientation. Are these Strauss’ personal feelings, is he reporting the kinds of things he is hearing from the major league staff or some indistinguishable blend of the two?

I’ve discussed minor league coverage with Joe as recently as earlier this month, but didn’t come away with a definitive reading. In hindsight, does it really matter?

It is clear that the Post-Dispatch writers do not speak with one voice, which is certainly good. I still felt it necessary to point out to Joe that Baseball America’s Cardinals writer is one of his P-D peers and one of the fluffiest articles I can recall reading about the Cardinals farm system in the last few years recently ran in his own very newspaper.

Again, I want to be clear that this isn’t about Joe Strauss or any other writer personally. Look at their words and consider where they’re coming from. Everyone has an angle and a perspective.

As Strauss noted on Wednesday in response to another question about the 2010 Cardinals:

“Some of what happens will be dependent on who is managing the club.”

Certainly food for thought.

The only National League club represented on the “best” list is the St. Louis Cardinals. Chairman Bill DeWitt, Jr. (pictured) was singled out as the third-best owner in MLB, after John Henry/Tom Lerner/Larry Lucchino of the Boston Red Sox and Arte Moreno of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

The NL has two owners among the “worst” five, though neither is from the Central Division. They are Ted Lerner of the Washington Nationals at five and Jeffrey Loria of the Florida Marlins as fourth-worst.

The method used took into account both objective and subjective measures. Among the criteria:

• Willingness to spend money to improve the team
• Stability and capabilities of the front office and management
• Amenities at the team’s venue
• The club’s culture and interactivity with fans
• The team’s success or failure on the field

In recent years, several local media personalities and a vocal segment of Cardinals followers have hounded DeWitt for his alleged cheapness in matters of player payroll to the point of childish and unprofessional name-calling and worse.

They will be the last to accept the fact that team ownership is being recognized nationally as one of the best. Chances are the critics haven’t followed the club long enough to remember the Cardinals of the early 1990s, underfunded and non-competitive on the field.

Worse than that, how would they like to Cards to change owners with the cross-state Kansas City Royals, for example? (Hint: The Royals’ David Glass is number three on SI’s “worst” list.)

Some folks just don’t know when they have it good. Sadly by the time they realize it, it will be too late. The rest of us should continue to enjoy and appreciate the consistent competitive, winning baseball this ownership group has enabled over the last decade and a half.

In doing so, Cards fans do not have to stop yearning for improvement. I bet ownership would be the first to agree that they want the same. Yet expectations need to remain realistic, as in each season, 29 of 30 teams are destined to fall short.

Those who try to paint all Cardinals fans into one of two polarized corners – either “Kool-Aid drinkers” or “nay-sayers” – are as clueless as Baltimore’s Peter Angelos, baseball’s worst owner.

It reflects the reality of the changes needed to remain competitive in baseball today as accurately acknowledged in this statement:

“Unless you’re demographically matched to have a New York, Boston, Chicago or Los Angeles payroll, smart baseball people have little choice but to prioritize the player-development system,” says the article.

The column then points out that it is now time for that Cardinals’ player development system to come through in terms of results, observing the arrival of top prospect Colby Rasmus, but properly noting the jury is still out on a number of others, including relievers Chris Perez and Jason Motte.

Makes sense to me, as every organization needs to rely on their minor leaguers to plug the inevitable gaps that present themselves during the long season, but then the tone turned personal, which I was less comfortable with.

“Rather than invest in more expensive starting pitching to reinforce the rotation’s depth, (Cardinals chairman Bill) DeWitt chose to invest in Luhnow,” the column concludes.

Vice President of Scouting and Player Development Jeff Luhnow is clearly the man in charge of the draft and the farm system and therefore is accountable. Yet, I don’t see this as being as much of a black-and-white, one-man issue as the column seems to paint it.

I can understand how the performance of first-time major league starter P.J. Walters in Chicago on Friday will reflect on the player development function, but is Luhnow really the one responsible for the Cardinals not re-signing then-free agent starter Braden Looper or comparable as a veteran sixth starter and safety net for Carpenter (putting aside whether that move would have even made sense for the organization)?

That point feels out of sync with an evaluation of the farm system – unless one doubts it is ready to produce. Though it is never said directly, it feels to me like that is the message being delivered.

The ongoing concern over the level of spending the Cardinals have made or not made for veteran players seems too often to permeate and polarize these kinds of discussions. In doing so, one can be left with the feeling it is believed there can be only one possible approach, rather than the more realistic blend of the two.

As it is, the Cardinals have committed 40 percent of their 2009 25-man player payroll to the five members of the rotation – $36.5 million of roughly $90 million. Carpenter represents the biggest slice at $14 million, followed by Kyle Lohse, re-signed for four-years, $41 million last fall and Joel Pineiro, making $7.5 million in the final year of his current contract.

Since it was acknowledged that the player development direction is the right route for the Cardinals to have followed, then why question the lack of signing of a free agent veteran, especially a sixth starting pitcher to cover what is currently expected to be a six-to-eight week outage for Carpenter?

And is that really one to pin on the farm director personally, anyway?

Apparently so. The column makes this assertion:

“DeWitt was assured by (GM John) Mozeliak and Luhnow that the Cardinals had attractive options at the minor-league level.”

That is the only time the responsibility of the club’s general manager, to whom Luhnow reports, is even hinted at.

The choice of words used to reference the farm system and its products were not positive. Three different times, variants of the same term – “hyped”, “hyperventilate” and “hype” – were used, not to mention “Luhnow’s precious Fabergé Eggs”.

This can reinforce the ongoing undercurrent of a lack of confidence, perhaps echoing from somewhere within the organization. Since the general approach is agreed with, the rub would seem to be in its implementation and maybe in those implementing it.

Isn’t the real issue whether or not the right players were drafted and groomed to contribute rather than wondering whether it might be better to have Braden Looper starting instead of P.J. Walters this weekend?

The success or failure of the Cardinals farm system will reflect the efforts of the players themselves supported by several hundred hard-working professionals, scouts, coaches, instructors and the like, all pulling together to try to identify the right prospects and mold them into legitimate major leaguers.

They are the ones who deserve whatever credit might be due, yet as always, if there is heat to be taken, it will be applied to the bosses.

So be it, but why should DeWitt, Mozeliak and Luhnow be separated in their treatment? I imagine they would be the first to say the organization’s directional commitment was made as one.

Of course, it is up to the reader to interpret what was intended, but based on the emails and message board posts, I would say that many have leapt to the conclusion that Cardinals management was either again asleep at the switch with a “too little, too late offer” or concocted another K-Rod “we made an offer, honest” thinly-designed fantasy in an ill-fated attempt to placate the mobs of angry “fans”.

Nothing could be farther from the truth.

It was widely reported that second baseman Hudson, 31, signed a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers for a base salary of just $3 million, with a $380,000 signing bonus.

At first blush, that represents a significant bargain as well as a drop from the $6.25 million he earned last year with the Arizona Diamondbacks. It is light years away from the $10 million per year, multi-year contract he was reportedly seeking during the winter.

Not so fast.

Hudson’s contract includes a lot more, incentives which max out at $4.62 million, making his total 2009 earning opportunity $8 million. For the Cardinals, already forking over $4 million to released Adam Kennedy, dropping as much as $8 million more on an over-30, often-injured second baseman seems most improbable.

Despite being a three-time Gold Glove Award winner, Hudson’s defense is said by some to be in decline. The switch-hitter batted a career-high .305 last season, but only played in 107 games due to various injuries.

But wait! There’s more.

Because Hudson is a Type A free agent, the Cardinals would have been required to surrender their first-round selection in June’s First-Year Player Draft to the D-backs.

The P-D article notes that once he realized that Hudson’s asking price had returned to Earth, Cards GM John Mozeliak inquired with Arizona as to their willingness to consider an alternative – re-sign Hudson and immediately trade him to St. Louis. In that scenario, the D-backs would have received a prospect from the Cardinals, but a lesser one than a first-rounder.

Instead, the Dodgers stepped in with the above contract to Hudson and apparently no concern over forfeiting their top draft pick, 17th overall, to Arizona. Even if the D-backs wanted to cooperate with the Cardinals, they had no control over Hudson signing elsewhere instead.

Look at it this way. Should the Cardinals have matched or tried to top the Dodgers – guaranteeing Hudson $3.4 million, giving up their 2009 version of Brett Wallace plus potentially paying an additional $4.6 million or more on top of it?

I am not a big fan of the Cardinals’ “keeping their powder dry” analogy, but until I see a lot more of Chris Carpenter in real live games, I am hoping any $3.4 million, or $8 million for that matter, would be spent on more pitching instead.

If the Skip Schumaker at second base experiment fails and the club is uncomfortable with Brendan Ryan or Joe Thurston at the position, then make a trade from the outfield surplus during or at the conclusion of spring training.

For the seemingly increasing number of angry Cardinals fans, at least take the time to consider all angles before leaping to assume the worst, despite what the headlines might suggest.

Albert Pujols arrived in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on Wednesday, according to ESPN Deportes. His primary mission is to deliver over a thousand beds and other supplies aimed at benefiting disadvantaged people in his homeland. The linked to report also notes Albert will train with those World Baseball Classic players present in the country and will play as long as his elbow is ok. No mention was made of the earlier insurance problem that threatened to keep him sidelined.

Albert heats up his “Sign Manny” initiative

Meeting with the press while in the Dominican, Pujols returned to a subject that is obviously close to his heart – the Cardinals signing free agent outfielder Manny Ramirez. Albert broached the same subject earlier in the winter as well, back in November.

This time, Albert said he is speaking with Manny every three days and passed the phone number of the Scott Boras client on to manager Tony La Russa. Pujols addressed the inherent budgetary challenges by suggesting the support of St. Louis fans could be worth a discount.

Hold onto that thought for a minute.

Mo says “no Manny”

It was only Wednesday when the LA Times published a very short conversation with Cards GM John Mozeliak. Mo was asked if the Cardinals are a mystery bidder for ManRam.

“The answer is no,” Mozeliak told the paper.

Not a lot of wiggle room in that.

Déjà vu, Albert

Please read the following excerpt.

Albert Pujols wants a long-term contract from the St. Louis Cardinals, and he doesn’t plan to give them a bargain.

“What do you mean?” Pujols said Sunday at the team’s annual winter fanfest. “This is business. There’s no break here.

“You try to get what you deserve and that’s what I want. I’ve taken care of my business in the field the last three years and hopefully I get treated respectfully, that’s all I ask for.”

You read about that already, right? If the resulting message board anxiety could have been measured, a large segment of the Cardinal Nation has already been hospitalized and Albert is in the midst of looking for new houses in New York or Los Angeles, or maybe both!

The problem is that the above quote, while 100% real, is NOT from this Winter Warm-up. It is from January, 2004, prior to Albert’s current seven-year deal.

My advice to those with their undies in a bunch over the prospect of a Pujols free agency in three years, is to calm down, please!

Now, back to Manny. Albert seems to have the same disease that strikes fans all over baseball – the tendency to want to spend other peoples’ money.

If Albert says he won’t take a hometown discount with his own team, how can he expect someone that has never even played there to do so?

Right. It’s all just talk, so take it for what it is worth.

Bissinger on Pujols

Article from ESPN the Magazine on El Hombre with a 2005 perspective, yet a good reminder of the greatness of Albert.

Amaury the Hunter

Even as the outfielder was not among those invited to major league spring training this year after scoring an invite in 2008, Amaury Marti is having a solid winter playing for Licey in the Dominican Republic. He and his Tiger teammates should be on the tube starting next Monday as the MLB Network covers the Caribbean Series from Mexico. (Check out daily reports on the Series on Cardinals Best News Links.)

A recent article from the Dominican paper Listin Diario does not beat around the bush about Marti’s age, calling him the same 34 years old at which he was listed in Cuba. The Cardinals, at least publicly, still have their collective heads in the sand, asserting Marti is 30.

One other tidbit is that the well-traveled outfielder acquired a nickname this past summer while playing in Mexico – “El Cazador” or “The Hunter”.

So it shall be!

La Russa booking

In news of the weird, Tony La Russa will be autographing phone books this Saturday afternoon in Concord, CA. Turns out, TLR and one of his daughters are featured on the cover of the local phone directory, honest!

Try framing that!

The good news is that La Russa is working cheaply, with signatures just $10 a pop, all for charity of course. That is just a third of what it took for his autograph at Winter Warm-up.

Benson only “so-so”

The “most consistent interest” in 34-year-old Kris Benson is from the Dodgers, Rangers and Cardinals, says Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal’s sources. Benson is trying to come back from rotator cuff surgery two years ago. According to the report, Benson looks only “so-so” in his throwing sessions. “Better than expected,” an MLB exec said, “but not great.”

Pass. Please.

Springer signs for perhaps a small raise

Former Cardinals reliever Russ Springer signed a one-year deal with the Oakland A’s for $3.3 million with another $0.3 million in incentives. That could take his 2009 take just slightly over his $3.5 million salary with the Cards in 2008. The 40-year-old moved to his eighth team in his 16^th season because St. Louis had no room for him in 2009.

Best of luck to Springer, a genuine nice guy.

Izzy still waiting

With the signing of former Arizona closer Brandon Lyon by the Detroit Tigers, ex-Cards closer Jason Isringhausen may have lost his ideal landing location for 2009. The Detroit Free Press had been actively campaigning for Izzy, obviously to no avail.

Few if any other clubs have open closer jobs without candidates already in house. Early in the month, there were supposedly six teams interested in Izzy, but as of now, he is still unemployed.

Looper back on O’s plate

With Baltimore already having signed ex-Cards shortstop Cesar Izturis, they are getting back around to considering starting pitcher Braden Looper. They were linked with the free agent earlier in the winter, but that time, interest was not confirmed.

Looks to me like it could be a good fit. (The Dodgers are also said to have interest.)

A Giant Thrill

Former Cardinals first baseman Will Clark has returned to his old club, the San Francisco Giants, as a special assistant. After coaching with the Cardinals in spring training three years ago, Clark spent the last two with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

A Mac Holliday

Almost Cardinal and now Oakland A’s outfielder Matt Holliday not only credits disgraced ex-Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire for helping him develop his power, but he actually moved to Southern California this off-season specifically to work out with Big Mac.

How’s that for tight?

Boras comes up in ‘roids talk

Admitted steroids supplier to baseball players Kirk Radomski spoke to ESPN. Among his comments is one that money for PEDs on behalf of Kevin Brown allegedly arrived in an envelope from agent Scott Boras’ office. Boras denied involvement, of course.

Boras unethical to clients

A very interesting lawyerly-focused treatise on Boras’ ethics with the conclusion that his clients are the ones that suffer.

The Cardinals announced Thursday that third baseman Troy Glaus underwent arthroscopic surgery on Wednesday, January 21 for the debridement of his right shoulder.  The surgery was performed by Dr. Lewis Yocum in Los Angeles, California.  Glaus will begin physical therapy next week and his recovery is estimated by the club to be 12 weeks.

The late timing of the surgery in the off-season means Glaus will miss at least the first two weeks of the regular season. That opens the door for a pair of third base prospects, David Freese and Brett Wallace, to compete for a first-time ever MLB roster spot. Outfielder Joe Mather is also scheduled to see time at third base during spring training and though primarily a middle infielder, Brendan Ryan can also play there.

GM John Mozeliak will meet with the press this afternoon to answer the obvious question, “Why now?” Glaus just returned from last weekend’s Winter Warm-up, where there was no indication of injury or impending surgery.

Update: The Post-Dispatch reports Glaus had been troubled by the shoulder since last season and rest was prescribed. His discomfort returned as he began preparations for 2009 and he informed the club several weeks ago. A recent injection did not help, so surgery was set.

Templeton Golden again

The Long Beach (CA) Armada of the independent Golden Baseball League announced that former Cardinals shortstop Garry Templeton will return to the league as manager of their team for the 2009 season. A former skipper in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League (2001-02), Templeton also managed in the GBL from 2005-2007.

Laying down the prospect Law

In a Wednesday ESPN Insider article, baseball analyst Keith Law ranks the Cardinals’ system number six of the 30 MLB organizations. Comments are positive about three top “star” prospects, which include Colby Rasmus (#12), Brett Wallace (#19 – pictured) and Daryl Jones (#50). Chris Perez also made the list at #80. System depth and impact are complemented.

I did see one other thing worth noting. Law seems very excited about the (#1) Rangers’ integration of amateur, professional and international scouting along with their baseball operations staffs. He notes the Red Sox (#7) and Rays (#2) have also gone down this path. In what seems an oversight, Jeff Luhnow and the Cardinals are not mentioned, however.

Law’s remaining top 100 prospects have now been posted, with prospects #1-25 free and the remainder subscriber-only content, providing a welcome diversion during an increasingly-tedious off-season.

I’ll update this section later if I have anything more to say after seeing Law’s full descriptions.

Jay McGwire squeals for cash

I had already posted this link on the La Russa/Mc Gwire thread, but wanted to call it out here, as well.

I’m not a fan of Deadspin’s brand of internet “journalism”, especially after they had to recant their slanderous steroid accusations against Albert Pujols’ trainer that therefore indirectly implicated Albert.

Now they have another Cards-related ‘roids story – this one about Mark McGwire’s brother Jay’s proposed new book. The estranged little brother and body builder seems to be in a debate with Jose Canseco over who injected Big Mac first.

It’s really sad what people will do for money…

Legends camp tightening security

Although I can’t imagine why other than the possibility of autograph hound control perhaps, the annual Cardinals Legends Camp being held this weekend in Jupiter, is being closed to the public. Family members will still be allowed, but that is it, according to the TC Palm.

The Mets’ nearby camp, running in parallel to the Cards’, is open to all, although I would imagine the over-30 fantasy campers themselves are not the attraction. Instead it would be the former major leaguers invited to coach.

For the Cardinals, the invitees included Lou Brock, Whitey Herzog, Jack Clark, Danny Cox, Ken Dayley, Bob Forsch, Tom Herr, Rick Horton, Al Hrabosky, Mike LaValliere, Dave LaPoint, Tom Lawless, John Mabry, Ted Savage, Scott Terry, and Todd Worrell. Of course, since camp is closed, we may not know which ones showed up!

For those considering this splurge next year, the prices this time around ranged from $4,295-$7,495 for five days of action. More info here.

Crusin’ again?

Another annual event that occurs after Winter Warm-up and Spring Training is the Cardinals Cruise. This year, the sold-out event departs from Ft. Lauderdale on February 1 and returns on the 8^th. 2010 information is not yet available but I am told by the folks at Altair Travel and Cruises that their brochures will be available in one month.

Wainwright/Pence win Darryl Kile Awards

Over at Scout.com, I saluted Adam Wainwright, this year’s winner of a rarely-noted, but most important piece of recognition voted upon by Cardinals players and run by the local Baseball Writers of Association Chapter, the Darryl Kile Award.

The Astros also initiated a similar “Good Guy” Award upon Kile’s passing with their first winner being his former Houston teammate Jeff Bagwell. This past weekend, outfielder Hunter Pence took their 2009 honor.

Vuch picks up award

Speaking of good guys, MLB.com’s recap of Monday’s St. Louis Baseball Writers Dinner mentioned another award winner, Cardinals Director of Minor League Operations John Vuch. He was given the Harry Mitauer Good Guy Award – a most appropriate choice.

“I would have been flattered if they just told me my name came up in the conversation, let alone being the recipient,” Matthew Leach reported the humble and talented Vuch as saying.

Congratulations, John!

Liga Paralela results

For those interested in the how the Cardinals recruits fared this winter in the Liga Paralela in Venezuela, check out Josh Jones’ series of detailed reports over at Cardinals Best News Links. He has covered the hitters so far, with the pitchers up next. This is information you can’t get anywhere else.

According to FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, the Cardinals have failed in their push to sign free agent infielder-outfielder Jerry Hairston, Jr. to replace lost utilityman Aaron Miles. Instead, the 32-year-old right-handed hitter spurned St. Louis’ offer to re-sign with ex-Cards GM Walt Jocketty’s Cincinnati Reds.

Skip Schumaker tries to take out Hairston at second base (AP/Bill Boyce)

Numerous St. Louis misses this winter include a failed trade for outfielder Matt Holliday, rumored losing bids for free agent closers Francisco Rodriguez and Brian Fuentes, a second-best, too-late offer for Miles after they non-tendered him in a questionable move and more.

Rosenthal says Hairston’s decision was more about the chance to start regularly at shortstop for the Reds than it apparently was about money. He signed a one-year deal for $2 million with a chance at another $2 million in incentives.

Thr former Baltimore Oriole (1998-2004), Chicago Cub (2005-06) and Texas Ranger (2006-07) is a decent top-of-the lineup alternative, something the Cardinals are lacking. Leading off for the Reds last season in 177 at-bats, Hairston’s line was an impressive .362/.427/.537. In 273 games leading off over his 11-year MLB career, his on-base percentage is .339. Defensively, he can play virtually all over the diamond, though he originally came up as a second baseman.


Walton’s take: In a continuation of a familiar theme this winter, the Cardinals continue to bargain shop and miss out. Hairston would have been a nice step up from Miles, but it isn’t going to be. Back to his Baltimore days as the Cards employed a revolving-door policy at second base, I had always felt Hairston would have been a good fit in St. Louis.

Apparently Hairston isn’t familiar with the recent histories of Adam Kennedy and Khalil Greene or Tony La Russa’s ample use of infielders in the outfield or he shouldn’t have had fear about playing time with St. Louis in 2009. Let’s hope it really wasn’t about the money.

The good news, if there is any, is that the Cardinals still seem to be trying to improve, though the size and therefore competitiveness of the Cards’ rumored bid to Hairston is unknown. Recent comments by Mozeliak have instead suggested the Cardinals may be content to stand pat until spring training.

Chalk Hairston up as another missed opportunity, albeit not a major one. Yet in a winter seemingly full of them, it provides one more data point.

Right up front, I will set aside the easiest and most logical entry – the results of the 2009 team on the field. The nature of that story has yet to be determined, shaped by the five items discussed here and many more.

Without further ado, here are my projected top five St. Louis Cardinals stories of 2009.

1. Lame duck La Russa

Are those car keys in his hand or a detonator?

I am conflicted about this choice. I don’t really believe this will turn out to deserve recognition as the true top story of the year. Instead, like the right elbow of Albert Pujols, it will become such big news only because some people will make it out to be.

As has been the case several times before, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa heads into the final year of his current contract in 2009.

Cardinals Chairman and CEO Bill DeWitt, Jr. has stated many times on the record that La Russa can manage the Cardinals as long as he likes, yet La Russa’s contract status often seems to be made into an issue by those looking for a reason to make noise or a place to hang blame.

This situation presented itself most recently in 2007, two years ago. Even with the Cardinals coming off a World Series win, when that next year’s club started slowly, those who love to stir the pot latched onto the silly idea that La Russa’s contract status was a detriment to his team.

Case in point. Though the St. Louis Post-Dispatch conveniently removes their old articles from the internet, I kept a copy of a May 17, 2007 column entitled “La Russa’s uncertain status only hurts Cards” because I found it as incredible then as I do today.

Here is the link, though as I mentioned, you can’t access it.

Among the amazing assertions offered (my comments outside the quotes):

“Just about everyone assumes La Russa is moving on after the season, and that lame-duck status only damages his ability to lead,” said the article in its third paragraph.

As a result, there was no fear of La Russa among the players, negatively impacting their motivation. With a contract, supposedly everything would be different.

“The fear factor was in place. Players don’t want to get on La Russa’s bad side. And staying motivated to maintain La Russa’s respect and keep their jobs will only help players’ performance,” was the exact quote.

DeWitt in particular, was challenged to step up and “make a new commitment to La Russa,” this despite the clear open offer from the lead owner to the manager sitting on the table as noted above.

The column closed with the worn and tired line, “the fans deserve to know”. This was apparently designed to incite the torches and pitchforks mob who can’t think for themselves to take to the streets.

The reality is that all anyone from DeWitt on down deserves is a “hard nine”, an honest effort, from La Russa every day. In my opinion, they have received that since the day the manager arrived in St. Louis in 1996. Even his harshest critics cannot argue about La Russa’s commitment to his job.

Still, look for these same old “lame duck La Russa” storylines to be recycled once again during the 2009 season as the drama writers look for an easy target.

Sadly, even La Russa has come to expect it.

During a Friday radio interview, Post-Dispatch sports staffers Bernie Miklasz and Joe Strauss quizzed La Russa about his contract status. Tony sidestepped the question several times, saying he was only focused on spring training and the 2009 season.

La Russa even joked about it. “I just know that if the club is playing reasonably well and nobody is arguing then Joe is going to find something I am doing wrong to agitate and get some controversy going. You know, it’s part of the deal. I almost enjoy it. Almost,” La Russa jibed.

As in the case most of the time with humor, there was more than a hint of reality likely being presented. The good news is since the 2007 articles can’t be accessed anymore, the scribes can just dust off their two-year old La Russa contract distraction columns – especially if the 2009 Cardinals don’t get out of the gate quickly.

A new twist may grow in importance as some are already trying to create the storyline that would link an Albert Pujols contract extension to La Russa’s status as manager. As big of a stretch as that seems, expect it to be hashed and re-hashed over the upcoming season.

To his defense, two years ago, La Russa ignored all the noise and waited until after the season to make his decision, as he always does. More familiar with the heavy office politics at the time than any of us reading this, La Russa’s inactivity proved to be smart as his boss, then-GM Walt Jocketty, was sacked after that 2007 season.

The manager had every right and reason to step back and see how the search for the new man to whom he would report would be carried out before making his personal decision as to whether or not to remain. In my opinion, La Russa played it right. Despite the incessant badgering guaranteed to be coming in the months ahead, I bet he will do the same in 2009.


2. Chris Carpenter’s health

The ace of the St. Louis staff hasn’t contributed since signing a huge contract extension prior to the 2007 season, one that covered five years with a team option for year six, worth a minimum of $63.5 million.

In my opinion, the 2008 Cardinals were kept in limbo much of the season waiting for a Carpenter return. When the long-awaited time finally arrived, it lasted just three starts. Then Carp went back into a holding pattern for the remainder of the year.

The same questions were asked over and over again, despite there being no ready answers.

• When will he return?
• Will he start or relieve?
• Will he be the one-game-per-series closer?
• Will he have surgery?

For 2009, none of these questions have changed.

While the front office seems interested in adding another starter to their 2009 mix, there is no way it would be a pitcher of Carpenter’s caliber (former 20-game winner, Cy Young Award recipient, etc.).

As recently as that Friday radio interview with Miklasz and Strauss, La Russa seems to be waiting like the rest of us to see what use Carpenter can be in the spring.

The manager expressed the thoughts of many when he seemed to wish out loud for some way to determine whether it would be best for Carpenter (and therefore for the Cardinals) for him to pitch every fifth day and throw 100-110 pitches as a starter or come out every second or third day and throw 20-30 pitches as a reliever.

La Russa, who admitted he purposely chooses to be optimistic this time of year, did not mention the third option for Carpenter, a return to his home away from home, the disabled list.

Following the 2008 season, Carpenter received at least three different opinions before deciding to forgo another surgery, instead taking a rehab approach to prepare for the upcoming campaign.

No matter what is said by whom, the only valid proof will be offered when Carpenter actually takes the mound again. A full return would be a huge lift for the 2009 Cardinals. Instead, if he is once more unable to contribute, the club may again have trouble reaching the first division of the National League Central.

He is that important – the Cardinals’ pitching Pujols, so to speak.


3. Calm or chaos at the closer position?

When ranking the 2008 top stories, at number four I documented in detail the chronology of the Cardinals closer hot potato. It began with Jason Isringhausen, passed to Ryan Franklin, shuffled to Kyle McClellan for a few games, tossed back to Izzy, then flipped to rookie Chris Perez (left) and finally landed right back in the lap of Franklin. And that doesn’t count proposals for both Adam Wainwright and Carpenter taking the role at various points during the year.

All we know heading into 2009 is that the Cardinals don’t believe that either Perez or hard-throwing rookie Jason Motte are ready for that important ninth-inning lead role.

They tried to grab Californian Brian Fuentes, but the free agent lefty closer turned his back on St. Louis in favor of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

It is not yet clear if the club will sign a lesser former fireman, such as Isringhausen or Trevor Hoffman, trade for one, or install as closer another pitcher who has never previously performed in that role (see Chris Carpenter above). It is worth noting that Franklin had never closed prior to 2008, either.

Whatever the combination chosen, La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan must find a better way to deploy them in 2009 to avoid the ugly record of blown saves and bullpen losses that played a major role in the failure of the 2008 Cardinals.


4. The future of Rick Ankiel

It could be that 2009, only Rick Ankiel’s second full year as a major league outfielder, will also represent his final season in a Cardinals uniform.

Amazingly, though he was drafted as a left-handed pitching phenom all the way back in 1997, it will have taken Ankiel 13 calendar years to accumulate the six years of major league service time that is a prerequisite for free agency.

Ankiel is the most intriguing of a class of several high-profile Cardinals to be eligible for free agency following next season (Troy Glaus, Todd Wellemeyer, Khalil Greene, Adam Kennedy, Ryan Franklin).

The widely-despised and feared Scott Boras serves as Ankiel’s representation. The super-agent is well-known for working the market to his clients’ advantage while fully exploiting the leverage free agency offers.

While Ankiel’s well-documented history includes strong emotional ties to the Cardinals, that alone will likely not be enough to overcome what could be a major difference financially between what the Cardinals would feel comfortable in spending to keep him and what the market demand for a long-term contract may be.

La Russa may have put it best last month when he said the following.

“Well, the Giants just signed a guy that I had an affinity for, (Edgar) Renteria, right? We lost him. You develop a respect and a relationship with players and sometimes it’s free agency that they move or sometimes it’s a trade because that’s the business of baseball.

“So, yeah, I have a strong personal relationship and respect and affection for Rick Ankiel, but this will be the last year of his contract, so he goes out and hits 40 balls, he may not play for us next year. There’s that business. I mean, I’ll always feel the same way about him.”

With top prospect Colby Rasmus in the wings, there is a true centerfielder almost ready to replace Ankiel. Other options exist in the corners with Ryan Ludwick and Chris Duncan, if the latter is healthy.

With a glut of other left-handed outfielders in Skip Schumaker, Duncan and Rasmus on the roster, General Manager John Mozeliak publicly floated Ankiel’s availability in the trade market this off-season. To date, there have been a few rumors of mild interest, but nothing that seemed serious.

Coming off a nagging sports hernia injury that cut short his initial campaign as an outfielder, perhaps other clubs want to see more from Ankiel in 2009 before becoming sold on him.

Yet if Rasmus finally realizes his potential during 2009 and “shoves” others aside and makes his way into the lineup, using La Russa’s recent words, could Ankiel be a mid-season trade option?

With Rasmus’ already carrying his own share of intrigue, how intertwined will his story become with that of the 13-year Cardinal Ankiel and will it be resolved painlessly or become a big distraction for the 2009 club?


5. When will Colby arrive and where will all the outfielders play?

As already mentioned, the Cardinals have too many outfielders, especially from the left side with Ankiel, Duncan, Schumaker and Rasmus. Primary right-handed hitters are Ludwick and Joe Mather with Brian Barton and Nick Stavinoha likely Memphis-bound.

Earlier in the off-season, Mozeliak made a very blatant announcement that Ankiel and Ludwick could be made available in the right deal. Ludwick, the more interesting of the two to many clubs, was linked to aborted deals with Atlanta and Colorado.

The latter trade, for Matt Holliday, would have sent both Ludwick and Schumaker west, helping to at least alleviate some of the outfield logjam. In the remainder of this off-season, the Cardinals may continue to try to swap that depth for needed pitching, though there are a number of free agent outfielders still out there as competition.

Current course and speed, Rasmus will be blocked to start the 2009 season. With only a partial year of experience at Triple-A, that would not be a terrible injustice, despite how Rasmus performs in spring training. There is also a strong financial incentive for the Cardinals not to add Rasmus to their roster until the season is underway. (That is due to his accrued service time prior to free agency.)

Schumaker has no options remaining so should begin 2009 in St. Louis with Ankiel, Duncan, Ludwick and Mather as the other four outfielders. Ankiel’s status was covered above, while Duncan has to re-prove himself after major neck surgery before his market value can be re-established.

In the aforementioned 1380 AM interview, La Russa said the following about Rasmus:

“In Colby’s case, he has the talent that when he is ready, he is going to shove somebody aside. I remember last year, there was some kind of… I got a question or two that there was some inkling that I didn’t like Colby. That was ridiculous. I love the kid’s talent but in spring training, he had a nice spring, but he didn’t have a better spring than Rick or Skip for example or Ludwick. So he went to Triple-A for his first full year in Triple-A.

“This year, he’ll be a year older, he’ll come to camp and he is getting in the middle of a competition. He is on my list to call here at the first of the year. Here is one of the things I am going to tell him. If he was a middle infielder, and with less of a competition, with his talent, you might play him before he’s quite ready because we are a little thin there. But that is not the case in the outfield and that’s just one of the realities.

“In Colby’s case, we’re just going to play him and the thing that you recognize – and I am going to repeat it again because I want our fans to remember this – he has the talent that when he is ready, he will move somebody aside. He is that good,” La Russa said.

What will happen if/when Rasmus forces his way into St. Louis? Injuries or ineffectiveness by others could happen, but are impossible to predict. La Russa often says that these kinds of problems have a way of working themselves out. We shall have to see about that.

(Dis)honorable mentions

There are at least two other topics that could easily vault onto this list if the right (or maybe more appropriately, wrong) conditions present themselves during 2009. Like so many of these stories, the two that follow are related to each other.

Albert Pujols’ contract extension. Though noted briefly above in the “La Russa Lame Duck” section, this could easily step out from the shadows to even eclipse the level of questions about the manager’s future. It shouldn’t, but it could.

Despite the fact that the first baseman is under contract for three more seasons, through 2011, the noise about his long-term status is already increasing. Some fans want it resolved now as a measure of ownership’s long-term commitment to the team, nervous that the price goes up with each passing day.

Others, like me, think the organization should wait another year or more before getting deeply into discussions, giving time for Pujols’ elbow as well as the economic situation to heal.

Speaking of…

The economy. Bill DeWitt’s now-infamous battle cry to “keep the powder dry” is being felt all over the organization – from the ticket windows to free agent signings to re-using minor leaguers’ uniforms, to the aborted purchase of the Triple-A Memphis franchise.

While hardly a Cardinals-only theme, the financial status of the organization will be under increasing scrutiny, both behind the closed doors of ownership meetings as well as among fans all over The Cardinal Nation.

Already posted:

Top 20 Cardinals Stories of 2008: #16-20

Top 20 Cardinals Stories of 2008: #11-15

Top 20 Cardinals Stories of 2008: #6-10

Top 20 Cardinals Stories of 2008: #1-5

10. Kyle Lohse: From Jobless to Four-Year Contract

After having been traded at the deadline in two consecutive seasons, right-hander Kyle Lohse arrived in Philadelphia in time for the 2007 stretch drive. Though the Phils fell in the playoffs to the National League champion Colorado Rockies, Lohse wanted to stay in the City of Brotherly Love.

Despite the then-29-year-old’s career record of 11 games under .500 and an ERA pushing five, Philly reportedly floated a reasonable three-year, $21 million offer past agent Scott Boras early last off-season. Rejected then withdrawn, it would be the last bid Boras and Lohse would see until spring.

Meanwhile, the St. Louis Cardinals were patching together their 2008 rotation, hoping Matt Clement, then Mark Mulder and Chris Carpenter could return from injury and lead them into the playoffs.

Even as spring camp began, it became clear that Clement could not contribute and the others may not be able to be relied upon, either. When Joel Pineiro added to the woes with shoulder problems in March, Cards GM John Mozeliak quickly dialed up Boras.

The resulting deal was a bargain – one year at a base of $4.25 million, reaching $4.75 million with innings-pitched incentives. Lohse would go on to lead the 2008 Cardinals in victories with a career-best 15 and post the lowest ERA of his eight years in MLB at 3.78.

Lohse was the first Cards pitcher since Matt Morris in 2004 to start both Opening Day and the initial post-All-Star break game. He cracked off a nine-game win streak that ended in late July which was the longest on the team since Carpenter’s 13-game run in 2005. Lohse’s .714 win mark (15-6) was fifth-best in the NL.

Lohse didn’t want to be homeless again this off-season, so in September, he ordered Boras (against the agent’s better judgment) to negotiate an extension to enable the pitcher to remain in St, Louis. A four-year, $41 million deal ensued, announced as the season ended.

It remains to be seen whether the extension will prove to be a wise business move for the club, but where would the 2008 Cardinals have been without Kyle Lohse?

I prefer not to think about it.

9. The Drafting and Success of Brett Wallace

The 2008 First-Year Player Draft was an important one for the St. Louis Cardinals. While the overall reputation of their farm system has been steadily improving in recent years, it seemed more a measure of quantity than top quality.

Other than top prospect Colby Rasmus, few if any Cardinals farmhands were being mentioned by industry watchers as among the best in the game. With the 13th overall pick this June, their best position since prior to the Jeff Luhnow years, the organization had a chance for a big move.

They passed with flying colors by taking third baseman Brett Wallace of Arizona State University, recognized by many as the most polished hitter in the entire draft. The two-time Pac-10 Player of the Year and the only hitter in ASU history to hit over .400 in two consecutive seasons, the California native received a signing bonus estimated at $1.84 million.

The rap on the 22-year-old is his defense, though he is still learning, with only a couple of years of experience at the hot corner. Some critics can’t get past Wallace’s 6-foot-1, 245 pound frame and assume he is a statue defensively.

While at least one writer derisively asserted that Wallace has “falling down range”, others, including yours truly, have seen him play and believe he can be a credible major league third sacker. Wallace hears the negatives and told me he uses them as motivation.

This fall, I asked Wallace where his defensive efforts are being focused.

“The angles for me are a big thing and reading the ball off the bat. I think there are sometimes balls that I am not used to because I haven’t been playing there that long. A ball is hit and it takes me a second… It’s a constant adjustment, reading different hops and reading the angles are some of the main things I am trying to work on.”

There is no doubt about the bat. Between Quad Cities and his season-ending skip-level promotion to Double-A Springfield, Wallace’s line was a solid .337/.427/.530 (BA/OBP/SLG).

He was asked to participate in the prestigious Arizona Fall League and though he started slowly, he then came on strongly. Against the higher-quality arms in the AFL, Wallace improved his slugging while keeping his OPS constant (.309/.381/.585).

With Troy Glaus in his final season contractually in St. Louis, the only remaining question is whether Wallace will execute another leapfrog manuever, this time over David Freese. The latter, acquired from San Diego for Jim Edmonds one year ago, excelled with the bat at Triple-A Memphis last season and currently seems to be Glaus’ heir apparent, though that is a most tenuous title.

If he continues at his current pace, established in less than six months as a professional, Wallace could make his first appearance in the majors before the conclusion of the 2009 season, with 2010 still anyone’s guess.

Mark DeJohn

8. Minor League Success: 60 Games over .500

For some years the laughingstock of those who rank farm systems, the St. Louis Cardinals’ investment in rebuilding their minor leagues is finally getting noticed. Just this past week, it became known that Baseball America plans to rank the Cards as the number eight system among the 30 across MLB.

One measure of success is minor leaguers joining the big league team. As I noted here, eleven different players made their major league debuts for the Cardinals in 2008, nine of whom were products of the farm system. At least three of them became major contributors to the club – Kyle McClellan, Joe Mather and Chris Perez, while Mitchell Boggs, Jaime Garcia and late addition Jason Motte all showed promise.

Two players were invited to join Team USA for the Olympics and five were selected to play in the Futures Game. While Memphis had just one All-Star, Springfield had eight, Palm Beach seven, Quad Cities three and Batavia six. Johnson City and the Gulf Coast League Cardinals had one All-Star each, with the former’s representative, Curt Smith, was named the Appalachian League’s Player of the Year.

In addition to individual success, there were positive results on the field in 2008, too. The Cardinals top six minor league affiliates all had winning records and combined to win 60 more games than lost (376-316, .543).

Chris Maloney’s Triple-A Memphis Redbirds reversed several losing seasons, finishing in second place in the Pacific Coast League American North Division.

The Springfield Cardinals of the Double-A Texas League just missed the second-half North Division crown. Pop Warner’s team actually had the division’s best first half-second half record combined, but did not make the post-season.

The Palm Beach Cardinals won the first-half East Division crown in the Florida State League, but lost in the playoffs to the eventual league champion.

Steve Dillard’s Quad Cities River Bandits ended the season two games over .500 in Midwest League play.

Not only did the Batavia Muckdogs win the Pinckney Division of the New York-Penn League, they took the league crown. It was the first title in the 51-year history of the franchise. Mark DeJohn was named our Scout.com Cardinals Minor League Manager of the Year.

The Johnson City Cardinals of the Appalachian League finished six games over .500, their first winning season since all the way back to 1996!

Only the Gulf Coast League Cardinals struggled, as they were a feeder for other clubs while relying on high school draftees and Caribbean academy players making their US debuts. One of the league’s youngest clubs finished 17-38.

In addition, a vast majority of the managers and coaches will be returning in 2009, offering continuity and the potential for further improvement next season.

7. Long-Term Extensions for Young Stars Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright

Some may be surprised to see this topic rate so highly. On the other hand, I feel so strongly about it that I can’t help but wish I could have scored it higher.

While many fans focus on the bottom line of payroll spent and agonize over high-priced free agents, the key to be able to afford such luxuries is to grow and protect top talent.

Such was the case early in the year when the Cardinals locked up two important parts of their future, catcher Yadier Molina and pitcher Adam Wainwright, long before they had to. Each player signed a long-term deal that carry into his free agent years, assuring him of remaining with the Cardinals for some time.

Molina was first. In January, he agreed to a four-year contract extension worth $15.5 million with a club option for a fifth season. With the agreement, the Cardinals and Molina avoided salary arbitration and keep one of the game’s best young catchers in the organization through at least 2011. The deal includes the first and potentially second of Molina’s free-agent eligibility years.

The catcher rewarded the club with his trademark defense, recognized as the NL’s Gold Glove backstop for 2008. It was Molina’s first award. He also batted a career-high .304.

Wainwright followed. In March, he inked a deal that covered 2008 plus Wainwright’s three arbitration-eligible seasons, 2009, 2010 and 2011, along with a pair of team option years that would eclipse his first two seasons of free agency. As a result, the now-27-year-old could remain in a Cardinals uniform through the 2013 campaign.

Financially, the contract can be four years, $15 million, five years, $24 million or six years, $36 million. No matter how you slice it, the deal looks to be a bargain for the club, while giving the player earlier financial security than he would achieve otherwise.

6. Troy Glaus for Scott Rolen Trade

Two birds with one stone. Addition though both subtraction and addition.

Characterize it how you want, but make sure you recognize this deal for the masterful stroke it was.

On January 14, Mozeliak and the Cardinals traded disgruntled third baseman Scott Rolen to the Toronto Blue Jays for their third sacker, Troy Glaus. Rolen’s once powerful offensive game had declined after three shoulder surgeries and his dissatisfaction with team management deteriorated to such a level that something needed to be done.

All over baseball, it was known the Cardinals had to move Rolen. Not a great bargaining position to be in. To that time, the best (and perhaps only) public offer for Rolen was made by the division-rival Milwaukee Brewers, who anted up injured left-hander Chris Capuano. Mo wisely passed.

Glaus, while a solid player since coming up with the Angels in 1998, had struggled with foot injuries recently, possibly aggravated by the artificial turf in Toronto. In addition, Glaus’ name was among the many that had come up in the Mitchell Report.

Following the trade, the newest Cardinals third baseman did everything that was asked of him and more. Though lacking the range of Rolen, Glaus was very dependable, with a league-high fielding percentage at the position of .982 against just seven errors all season long, the latter setting a new club record.

Offensively, Glaus answered the bell for 544 at-bats over 151 games, with the former his highest count since 2002. He delivered results, too, with 27 home runs and 99 RBIs that were both third-best on the club as was his OPS+ of 124. Glaus typically batted in the number five spot in the lineup, behind Albert Pujols and either Ryan Ludwick or Rick Ankiel.

As noted above, Glaus is under contract with the Cardinals for 2009. He has the right to test free agency following the upcoming season. On a Cardinals team that was labeled by many as being “in transition” in 2008, the addition of Glaus was huge, though it was generally unheralded.

Already posted:

Top 20 Cardinals Stories of 2008: #16-20

Top 20 Cardinals Stories of 2008: #11-15

Coming soon:

Top 20 Cardinals Stories of 2008: #1-5

Projected Top St. Louis Cardinals Stories of 2009

Such is the case for two young men, one from Colombia, the other from Venezuela.

One is getting his first chance, while the other has found a new home.

Both are being given the opportunity to come to Extended Spring Training in the hope of making a short-season club in 2009.

Luis Orozco (Sincelejo Toros)

The St. Louis Cardinals have signed 18-year-old Colombian right-handed reliever Luis Orozco to his first professional contract with any MLB organization.

The signing is not all that surprising since Orozco is currently playing winter ball for Sincelejo in Colombia. His manager is Cardinals minor league catching coordinator Dann Bilardello and pitching coach is Tim Leveque, who will be playing the same role with Batavia in 2009. Of course, the two recommended the contract.

This winter, Orozco has pitched in 16 games, 19 1/3 innings for the Toros, all in relief. The good news is that he’s yielded just six earned runs (2.79 ERA) on only five hits and has collected four saves. Unfortunately, Orozco has issued ten walks and served up two long balls. He has 20 strikeouts, just better than one per inning.

Cardinals Director of International Operations Moises Rodriguez offers this report on the 5-foot-11, 160-pounder. “Orozco is competing against players with professional experience, showing lots of mental toughness and is not afraid of any game situation. He is being used as a reliever and occasionally closes games. When his changeup is on, it’s an excellent pitch,” observed Rodriguez.

Despite his youth, because of his success in Colombia, the 2009 plan for Orozco is to bypass the academies entirely and allow him to compete for a short-season job right out of Extended Spring Training.

“Based on what we’ve seen this winter, we envision him playing at a low US minor league level in 2009,” forecasts Rodriguez.

In the Venezuelan winter minor league, the Liga Paralela or Parallel League, the Cardinals sponsored one entire team and supplied additional players to another.

That provided them the opportunity to bring in a number of young men who may or may not have what it takes to become Cardinals. The league allows tryout players, ones that are not signed to a regular contract, to participate.

Eight to ten prospective Cardinals were given look-sees from between one and 13 games in duration during the just-completed Liga Paralela season.

One of them scored a contract, though he does have previous professional experience.

Left-handed pitcher Julio Castellano has come to terms with the Cardinals and has also been invited to travel to the US in the spring for Extended Spring Training.

While that is a bit unusual for a new signing, Rodriguez’ explanation is clear. “Castellano has exhausted all his Venezuelan Summer League years, so he’ll have to make the Gulf Coast League squad to remain under our control.”

Castellano was recently released by Houston after playing in the VSL for the Astros the past four summers. In 2008, he went 2-4 with two saves and a 5.26 ERA in 15 games. In what seems to be a common thread among minor league free agent signings, Castellano has troubles with walks. He issued 20 free passes in his 37 2/3 innings, though he also fanned 24.

In aggregate, as a professional, the 6-foot-2, 170-pounder has a 4.69 ERA in 128.2 career innings over 54 games, 46 in relief. Castellano registered 86 strikeouts and 67 walks.

Rodriguez explains why the 21-year-old native of Puerto Cabello, Venezuela caught the Cardinals’ attention. “Castellano is lefty with a live arm who in our estimation will benefit from our pitching instruction in Jupiter,” he explained.

Castellano career stats:

YEAR	CLUB	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SV	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
2005	VSL Astros	0	1	5.03	14	0	0	0	19.2	22	18	11	16	12
2006	VSL Astros	3	0	6.00	17	0	0	0	33	42	26	22	14	26
2007	VSL Astros	3	1	2.82	8	7	0	0	38.1	37	14	12	17	24
2008	VSL Astros	2	4	5.26	15	1	0	2	37.2	44	26	22	20	24
Total		8	6	4.69	54	8	0	2	128.2	145	84	67	67	86

First up was the next chapter in the continuing and heartwarming Mark Mulder feel-good story, clearly designed to try to drum up a market for a pitcher that hasn’t been able to pitch effectively for at least the last two years.

More details were “leaked” about the current nature of Mulder’s infamous arm slot – not as high as when he was dominant, but allegedly higher than with St. Louis this past season. The spices were emotional comments from Mulder himself, relayed by his helpful agent Gregg Clifton and new Brewers mamager Ken Macha.

While this is at least the third “Mulder is doing great” piece in recent weeks, no one has apparently seen him actually throw a baseball. At this point, the only team rumored to potentially have interest is Walt Jocketty’s Cincinnati Reds, which on one hand would be a curious destination, but on the other, quite fitting in a perverse sort of way. Yet, no teams have been named that actually admit tendering Mulder an offer.

As a result, there is more work for Clifton ahead. Expect the next installment of the Mulder propaganda in a couple of weeks. Feel free to ignore it, if you are so inclined.

Jim Edmonds, who is not being asked back to the Chicago Cubs for 2009, could become a target of the Red Sox, suggests Cafardo. The club is in the market for a fourth outfielder and Jimmy Ballgame’s 19 home runs for the Cubs have apparently generated attention.

To put that into perspective, if you add the 2008 home run counts of Cardinals outfielders Chris Duncan, Brian Barton, Joe Mather, Skip Schumaker and Nick Stavinoha, your total would be only 24 long balls. It took them 1105 at-bats to collectively achieve that.

Edmonds delivered his 19 in just 250 ABs.

While there was no doubt that then-GM Jocketty erred in giving Edmonds two years prior to the 2007 season, it is a shame that the outfielder could not have remained a Cardinal last year. In hindsight, perhaps it took his humbling failure with the San Diego Padres for Edmonds to accept he might be better deployed as a platoon player in the latter stage of his fine career.

A mercurial type, he might have never been able to bow to that reality in St. Louis. Too bad, but best of luck to Edmonds in wherever he lands in 2009.

(We’ll have to forgive Cafardo for not knowing JimEd flamed out to start the 2008 season with the Padres rather than the Cardinals. At least he understands there is baseball played outside the Northeast Corridor.)

Last but not least is underappreciated Braden Looper, who Cafardo fingers as being “close” to signing with the Milwaukee Brewers. It seems an ideal spot for the right-handed starter to land. Too bad it is a National League Central rival of St. Louis.

The Brew Crew’s 2008 playoff rotation took a major hit this off-season with the loss of C.C. Sabathia and the almost certain departure of Ben Sheets. They still have exciting youngster Yovani Gallardo and holdover Jeff Suppan, but clearly need outside help.

As an aside, Looper has Suppan partially to thank for receiving the opportunity to convert from relieving to starting in 2007. The two were teammates in St. Louis in 2006, with Suppan in the rotation and Looper in the bullpen. Once Suppan and Jeff Weaver departed after the World Championship season, Looper was drafted to help fill the starting gap the past two years. Now it is his turn to cash in.

Soup, a great guy if there ever was one, priced himself out of the Cardinals comfort range as he headed toward free agency. Suppan ended up signing with Milwaukee for four years, $42 million, a deal quite comparable to what the Cardinals and Kyle Lohse agreed to at season’s end. (Seems longer than 90 days ago, doesn’t it?)

While there is one parallel between Suppan and Looper in that they were cut loose, there is one huge difference.

The Jocketty-led Cardinals of the 2006-2007 off-season were quite comfortable that Suppan would not accept an offer of arbitration. As a result, they offered, Suppan declined as expected and the Cardinals collected a compensation-round draft pick plus the Brewers’ second-rounder when he signed with Milwaukee.

That comp round pick was turned into Clayton Mortensen, who has already reached Triple-A, and is indisputably a top 15 prospect in the system. (Milwaukee’s forfeited second rounder was used by the Cards to take Clemson’s David Kopp, currently our number 34 prospect in the Cardinals system.)

While the take for losing Looper this time around would have only been the sandwich pick, the Cardinals were overly cautious in deciding not to offer him arbitration. I still believe John Mozeliak and the Cards were unnecessarily worried that Looper would accept a one-year deal with them.

The decision not to make the offer to Looper left a valuable comp pick sitting on the table, never to be used. If the Cards go one step further and sign a Type A free agent such as reliever Brian Fuentes, their first 2009 draft pick would be in the 65-70 range. No talent anywhere near a Brett Wallace or Colby Rasmus level will still be left on the board.

Once Looper signs a nice, big two or three-year deal with Milwaukee (or elsewhere), it will become even more obvious that the Cardinals blew their chance to add another premium draft pick in a year when they could really use it.

Since then, I have communicated with Jeff Luhnow, Cardinals Vice President of Amateur Scouting and Player Development and his leader in the Caribbean, Director of International Operations Moises Rodriguez regarding the signing.

Between the two executives and some additional research, we now can fill in more of the details of the Maekawa story.

Past interest

Luhnow notes this was at least the Cardinals’ second look at the pitcher. “We knew about him last year but we did not pursue him. He did sign a contract with another club (ed: the Washington Nationals) but his visa was held up and by the time he finally got that cleared up, it was too late,” he explained.

Returned to the Dominican

While I had noted in my first article that Maekawa had been pitching in Venezuela for Caribes, I missed the fact he had started this off-season in the Dominican. He returned there in 2008 after putting together a very nice 2-1 record with a 1.82 ERA in seven starts for the Gigantes del Cibao in 2007.

Back in Cibao this winter, Maekawa apparently hadn’t built up much goodwill from the previous winter. Rodriguez explains. “He had been pitching in the Dominican Republic this winter but was released after a few appearances.” Specifically, it was at the end of October after pitching in just two games.

Perhaps rusty from the long layoff, Maekawa only lasted 3 1/3 innings in two starts and was charged with nine earned runs. After his release, he came across Luhnow and the Cardinals contingent while they were on a scouting mission.

Asked the Cardinals for a job

Luhnow explains how it came about. “About a month ago I took a large group of scouts and player development people to the DR. While we were there, we ran into Maekawa and he said he was looking for a place to pitch. We had him come to our academy and face hitters.”

The Cardinals brain trust liked what they saw in Maekawa.

“His stuff was very good for a guy who hadn’t been pitching in a while. His fastball was 90 plus, he showed a sharp curve and a splitty with tumble. He has some deception in his delivery (the ball just seems to appear out of nowhere). The biggest issue with him has always been his control, but he put up some decent numbers in Japan,” Luhnow offered.

Note that over his 10-year career in Japan, Maekawa walked over five batters per nine innings. This winter, it has been almost 12 free passes per nine, so there is a lot of work to be done here.

Moved to Venezuela

Luhnow and the Cardinals signed Maekawa and sent him to work under Enrique Brito with Caribes in the Venezuelan League in late November.

“We decided to get him into some games in Venezuela for a month or so until it was time to head home and get his visa. We are hopeful there will be no hangups this year and he will be in Jupiter in time for minor league spring training,” Luhnow said.

Rodriguez is responsible for making that happen. “I’ve been involved on the administrative side (visa, contract signing, etc.). Maekawa just returned home to Japan to attend his visa appointment this week and will not return to Venezuela,” Rodriguez explained.

Back to Japan

Hopefully for the Cardinals, Maekawa’s visa hearing will go better than it did last off-season. Though he signed a deal with the Washington Nationals for the 2008 season, he was not allowed to fulfill the contract.

The Japan Times confirmed that Maekawa was fired by the Orix Blue Wave in 2007 as the result of the pitcher’s arrest in Osaka in 2006. He allegedly fled the scene of a car-bicycle accident when the police arrived and asked for his license. It had been suspended since another incident in 2002.

Maekawa originally joined the then-Kintetsu Buffaloes in 1997 as their first-round draft pick. In his ten years in Japan playing in both the Pacific and Central Leagues, he had a 31-45 career record with a 5.26 ERA in 149 games. During his final season there, 2006, Maekawa was 1-7 with a 4.37 ERA in 24 games.

Career stats

Following are Maekawa’s stats while in Japan and since.

	LG	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	GO/AO	AVG
1997-2006	Jpn	31	45	5.26	149	95	16	1	9	609	628	385	356	48	345	417
2007 Winter
Gigantes	Dom	2	1	1.82	7	7				29.2	19		6		10	19
2008 Winter
Gigantes	Dom	0	2	24.30	2	2	0	0	0	3.1	6	9	9	1	6	3	2.00	0.400
Caribes	Ven	0	2	6.39	4	4	0	0	0	12.2	12	9	9	2	15	12	2.57	0.255

Opening or closing doors?

What with all the Cardinals-related excitement generated over Japan in the last few weeks simply because the general manager met with the agents of a couple of free agents from that country, some overly-optimistic fans look to Maekawa’s signing as a door-opener for the organization overseas.

I recall the same types of comments when the Cards signed their first Japanese player, So Taguchi, back in 2002. Of course, it didn’t happen. At least in that situation, the player was a model citizen and became a favorite in St. Louis.

A Japanese-American friend of mine familiar with the Maekawa situation made it clear that due to his off-field problems, public sentiment against Maekawa in Japan is very strong. In fact, while perhaps only rumors, at least one Washington Post writer believes Maekawa has unofficially been banned from the Japanese major leagues.

As a result, it is hard to believe any attention the Cardinals will receive in Japan as a result of the signing will be positive.

The future

Consider this move comparable to the signing of a six-year minor league veteran free agent to provide depth to the upper levels of the Cardinals’ system.

Maekawa’s past record indicates that he is the type of pitcher flexible enough to serve in most any role, whether as a starter, long reliever or left-handed specialist.

Luhnow basically confirmed that when he said, “We see Maekawa as competing for a rotation spot or bullpen spot in Memphis.”

Though under the ownership of Drayton McLane, the Astros have reportedly cut back on scouting and player development, this news was still a surprise to me. Houston was the first MLB organization to enter that market 20 years ago and as a result mined premier talent such as Bobby Abreu and Johan Santana.

That initiative was started under the leadership of the well-respected scouting and development executive Andres Reiner, who is now planning a similar long-term investment initiative in Brazil on behalf of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Speaking to MLB.com, Houston officials seemed to go out of their way to explain that the changes have nothing to do with the on-going political unrest in Venezuela, or the economy. Instead, they want to deploy their resources to try to get players to the majors sooner.

The Astros will continue to scout players in the country going forward. As did the Cardinals two years ago, the Astros are adding a Gulf Coast League club, but in their case, it is trading one off for the other, not an incremental addition.

The Astros aren’t alone. In 2008, the 12-year-old Venezuelan Summer League ran with just eight teams, including Houston. Other organizations that had previously participated but no longer field VSL teams include Boston, Cincinnati, Florida, San Diego and Baltimore.

The Cardinals are heading in the opposite direction, increasing their commitment in and to Venezuela. Not two weeks ago, I was trying to reach Cardinals Director of International Operations Moises Rodriguez only to find he was out investigating an untapped territory in the country.

Rodriguez explains. “It’s a very large country so you need more than one scout there as the regions you need to cover are so vast. You can’t just do it with one or two guys.”

The Cardinals deploy three scouts in the country along with the assistance of Latin American cross-checker Juan Mercado.

Rodriguez is clearly bullish on the country. “Venezuela has really made some strides in the last ten years in the area of player production. The last time I checked, Venezuela had over 1000 players in the minor leagues under contract to major league clubs. That is a pretty significant number. They are really producing players,” he explained recently in an October subscriber-only interview I ran on Scout.com.

Rodriguez went on to note that the corresponding number of players under contract from the Dominican Republic is only about 1600-1800, making the difference much smaller than most, including me, would have guessed.

The Cardinals are planning to move their Venezuelan academy into a new leased facility with a target opening date of mid-2009.

“Our plan is to build an academy in Venezuela, operate in the same manner as we do in the Dominican Republic and our goal is to produce players. We feel there is talent to be had there,” Rodriguez said.

The Cardinals believe that having in-country facilities should at least give them “a slight edge” when trying to sign 16-year-olds. Some players or their parents might have concerns about youngsters having to head overseas to Dominican academies instead of being able to train in Venezuela.

“Venezuela is not a country you can ignore, in my opinion,” Rodriguez summarized.

Links to the October Rodriguez interviews on Scout.com (subscriber-only):

- Rodriguez on Cards’ International Operations

- Cards Director of Int’l Ops, Moisés Rodriguez

Recently, FOXSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal apparently had a nice chat with Gregg Clifton, the agent for former St. Louis Cardinals left-handed starting pitcher Mark Mulder.

Guess what news Clifton relayed about his currently unemployed and therefore non-commission-generating client?

Of course! Mulder is “making significant progress in his recovery”. He’s been working with a pair of celebrity personal trainers in Arizona.

“Dr.” Clifton assured Rosenthal that Mulder’s shoulder is “fine, but that he is just now starting to build ‘functional strength’ — in other words, the muscles that will enable him to pitch successfully again.”

Let me translate that. Mulder is probably looking very buff these days, but no one still knows if he can pitch a baseball worth a darn.

Rosenthal dutifully reported that the 31-year-old Mulder “will not begin throwing until December”. His article was posted all of nine days before the month began.

The writer closed his probing interview with a sales pitch suggesting that the lefty “could prove a reasonable one-year risk for a team in need of starting pitching”.

I have a suggestion for Clifton. Dial 1-800-Walt-Jocketty. Call now!

They say that lightning does not strike in the same place twice, but it clearly did in St. Louis. And now fortunately, Walt has since moved up river to Cincinnati.

Some think that internal friction over the building of the farm system versus the trading of prospects for established minor leaguers was the spark that burnt down Jocketty’s comfy 13-year-old St. Louis mansion.

If so, Mulder lit the match.

Fooled once

In what is unquestionably the most disastrous trade in Jocketty’s St. Louis reign, he dealt Dan Haren, Kiko Calero and Daric Barton to Billy Beane’s Oakland A’s for Mulder in December, 2004. At the time, much of the fan fury was over losing top prospect Barton, who has been a washout so far, while Haren has become one of the best young starters in the game.

Though Mulder had been the American League’s starting pitcher in the 2004 All-Star Game, there were whispers all over baseball as he went in the tank big-time after the break that season. His second-half ERA was an alarming 6.13 with a 1.59 WHIP and he posted a below-.500 record. That compared to 3.21, 1.19 and a 12-2 record prior to the break.

Was that screaming “buyer beware” or what?

Still, the post-trade Mulder started ok, bagging his fifth straight 15-game winning season in his St. Louis debut in 2005. But the next year, his troubles more than returned. The lefty logged 85 days on the disabled list in 2006 due to left shoulder impingement. That culminated with surgery on his rotator cuff and labrum in September of that year.

Any time “rotator cuff” is mentioned in conjunction with a pitcher, be concerned. Be very concerned.

Fooled twice

Walt could have walked away from the whole mess as Mulder was a free agent following the 2006 season, but he didn’t. Presumably with the support of the Cardinals medical staff, Jocketty doubled down on his Mulder gambit, laying a fat, juicy, two-year, $11.5 million offer chock full of incremental incentives on the table.

What a surprise! Mulder took it, though he probably had to sign with his right hand.

Not surprisingly, Mulder made none of his over $10 million in additional performance bonuses in that albatross of a contract over the next two seasons. In fact, the Cards got 12 2/3 innings total of over-ten ERA pitching in 2007 and 2008 combined for their increased investment.

Mulder missed 135 games in 2007 and for the second consecutive year, had surgery in September. The labrum was now fine but the rotator cuff had only partially healed. He actually managed to top that in 2008, as he missed a total of 149 games.

I was there in the Philadelphia clubhouse before Mulder’s Waterloo, his one and only 2008 start as a major league pitcher, on July 9. I remember vividly Mulder’s excitement as he told us the day before that he had finally located a new, comfortable arm slot and he couldn’t wait to try it out in the game.

After throwing just 16 pitches in live action, the big lefty trudged off the mound with more shoulder discomfort. After the contest, a disappointed, frustrated and bewildered Mulder simply said he felt pain and was unable to throw the way he wanted.

The next day, Mulder said he had absolutely no idea what the next steps would be. Back onto the DL he went, never to be seen on the mound again. This time, everyone seemed to agree that more surgery would likely not accomplish anything.

To add insult to injury, in the January, 2007 deal, Walt gave Mulder an $11 million option for 2009 that cost the Cardinals another $1.5 million to extract themselves from. That made Mulder’s meter run up to $13 million for the two washed out seasons. His stint with the Cardinals officially ended in October when this last buyout check was tendered.

Fooled thrice?

Part two of the agent’s current awareness campaign seemed to focus on the Winter Meetings and was delivered through the Boston Globe, who on Sunday quoted Clifton saying this: “He’s ready to go for any team right out of the chute.” There had been some talk that teams would have to wait until May or June (before Mulder would be ready to pitch in 2009). “Not true,” said Clifton.

It is most assuring to learn that the agent has recently added fortune-telling to his medical credentials.

At least the Globe writer had the common sense to include the Mulder blurb in an article entitled “Beware of warning signs”.

So all in all, you’ll have to excuse me if I don’t start doing backflips over Mulder’s exciting “progress”.

Don’t get me wrong. I bet Mulder wants nothing more than to be an effective major league pitcher again. It’s just that he may not be able to do it. I imagine his agent wants to score another big contract for Mulder. It probably isn’t going to happen.

The reaction of many Cardinals fans when Mulder is mentioned is very similar to how those rabid Boston Red Sox fans feel about Matt Clement. Go to any BoSox board and look up Clement or ask about him. A vast majority of the posters’ remarks I viewed were from fans sick of the years of injuries and ineffectiveness. They just wanted him to go away.

The Cardinals obliged last winter. Do you remember how well that worked out?

Maybe GM John Mozeliak, who was with the Cardinals throughout the entire Mulder saga, will have the guile to immediately forward any calls from Clifton over to his old boss Walt.

Let’s see. There’s “fooled me once”. There’s “fooled me twice”. Let’s just hope the Cardinals never write the definition of “fooled me thrice”!

To wit, I read with interest this news item: The Mets’ new Triple-A affiliate, the Buffalo Bisons, will formally name Ken Oberkfell as their 2009 manager this coming Tuesday, December 16.

Being old enough to have remembered the great era of the 1960’s when the St. Louis Cardinals played in three World Series, winning two, then suffering through the 1970’s positioned me as one of millions of Cardinals fans excited when Whitey Herzog’s 1982 Cardinals finally made the playoffs after a 14-year drought.

Along with Keith Hernandez, my favorite Cardinal at the time, another of the most prominent of the players that bridged the gap from the awful 1970’s to the fantastic 1980’s was their second/third baseman Oberkfell.

Who can ever forget Ernie Hayes cranking out the “Star Wars” theme on the Busch Stadium organ every time “Obie” came to bat?

Oberkfell as a Cardinal

Oberkfell was a free agent signing by the Cards in 1975 and remained in the organization for almost the next ten years. He made his major league debut via a brief cup of coffee at the age of 21 in 1977. In two more seasons, the Highland, IL native had taken over at second base before moving over to third in 1981 when Tommy Herr came onto the scene.

Probably my favorite Obie moment was in Game Two of the 1982 National League Championship Series. (In those days, there was no Divisional Series, as there were still just two divisions. In an alignment that only MLB is capable of devising, the Cards were the Eastern Division Champions, while the Braves represented the West.)

Always difficult to strike out, the Cards third sacker came up in a crucial situation with one out in the bottom of the ninth in a tie game. Obie promptly singled to center off Braves closer Gene Garber. That scored David Green, who had singled and was sacrificed to second, with the winning run as the Cardinals defeated the Atlanta Braves, 4-3.

What could be more exciting than a home walk-off win in the playoffs?

That put St. Louis on the way to a sweet three-game sweep of “America’s Team” and silenced annoying Skip Caray for yet another winter. (Realize this was in the early days of cable television, when the Braves, Cubs and Mets were pretty much the only teams on.)

More importantly, it helped get the thirsty Cardinals to the World Series, where they topped the then-American League champion Milwaukee Brewers.

Obie, who never hit more than three home runs nor drove in as many as 50 in a single season during his time with the Cardinals, was known most for his solid fundamental play and especially, his glove. He led the NL in fielding percentage as a second baseman in 1979 and at third both in 1982 and 1983.

Post-St. Louis playing days

In June, 1984, Herzog/GM Joe McDonald traded Oberkfell to the hated Braves. The return was lefty reliever Ken Dayley (I wonder if he is available today?), who would become a key contributor to Whitey’s 1985 and 1987 champs, along with first baseman Mike Jorgensen.

“Jorgy” was near the end of the line as a player but stayed around. He later managed in the Cardinals farm system, reaching Triple-A, then becoming the director of player development. He temporarily added the role of major league skipper for part of the 1995 season. Jorgensen remains with the Cardinals organization to this day with the current title of Special Assistant to the General Manager.

In addition to the Cardinals and Braves, Oberkfell played for the Pirates, Giants, Astros and Angels. Oberkfell was a member of the 1989 NL champions from San Francisco that fell to Tony La Russa’s Oakland A’s in the infamous “Earthquake Series”. He ended his playing days with the then-California Angels at the conclusion of the 1992 season.

Always in charge

In 2009, the 52-year old will be entering his 13th season as a minor league manager in affiliated ball and his fifth at leading the Mets’ Triple-A team, first in Norfolk, most recently in New Orleans and now settling in Buffalo.

Coming into the season, Oberkfell is 812-803 (.503) as a manager.

He began his managing career in the independent Northern League in 1995 and 1996 before joining the Philadelphia Phillies the next season. Obie skippered Phils farmhands in the Sally and Florida State Leagues from 1997 through 2000.

Obie the Met

Though Obie never donned the New York Mets uniform as a player, he has been a most loyal employee since 2001.

Oberkfell moved over to the Mets organization that season, where he first led the Capitol City Bombers of the Sally League. In the second of his two seasons with St. Lucie club of the FSL, his 2003 team was the league champion. An assignment up the ladder to Double-A Binghamton for the 2004 season ensued.

Oberkfell was recognized as Baseball America’s Minor League Manager of the Year in 2005 when he was leading the Norfolk Tides, but he has never received the call to manage in the big leagues.

He was most recently the Mets’ first base coach under Jerry Manuel, who became the team’s interim manager upon the firing of Willie Randolph in June. Oberkfell received a promotion to the bigs from the New Orleans’ managerial role that would last only half a season as he was reassigned following the 2008 campaign. Coincidentally, in moving to New York, Oberkfell had replaced another ex-Cardinal, Tom Nieto.

Obie interviewed for the top job with the Mets several times, including when Randolph was hired prior to the 2005 season. Previously, he had also been passed over for at least two other coaching spots on the big league club in Flushing.

Future Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson was brought in to be first base coach in the summer of 2007 instead of him and the prior off-season, Obie interviewed for, but did not win a spot on the Major League staff when Manny Acta moved to become the Nationals’ skipper. Howard Johnson got that job.

Interestingly, Oberkfell’s reputation with the tough New York press seems to be that of a low-key, nice guy who prefers to remain in the background. As such, he does not seem to be considered to be the next in line to manage the Mets.

On a personal note, Obie was sidelined for a considerable time in 2006 with serious leg circulatory problems and complications from surgery. Hopefully, those health issues are totally behind him now.

Yet, through all the twists and turns, ups and downs, Oberkfell clearly remains loyal to the Mets organization.

Despite that, Cardinals fans from the 1980’s surely still hold a soft spot in their hearts for the former second/third baseman.

Best of luck to Obie with his 2009 Buffalo Bisons!