Recently, I posted a series of photos and a recap of the St. Louis Cardinals Legends Camp, held in Jupiter, Fla. two weeks ago. One of the 21 former Cardinals who came back together for fun with each other and with the fans who paid for the opportunity to take the field with them was LaPoint.

The now-52-year-old pitched for the Cards from 1981-1984 and again for a half-season in 1987. LaPoint first arrived from Milwaukee in the Ted Simmons deal and departed for San Francisco as part of the cost of acquiring Jack Clark, both mega-trades engineered by Whitey Herzog.

In between, at the age of 22, the left-hander threw 8 1/3 innings in the 1982 World Series, allowing just three runs. Overall, LaPoint went 35-23 with a 3.90 ERA in his five years with St. Louis and pitched a dozen seasons in the majors with nine different clubs.

Back in 2006-2007, Rodriguez, a mysterious Cuban, passed through Argentina, Nicaragua and then the Dominican Republic before signing with the Cardinals. His bonus of $460,000 was the highest paid by the organization for an international signing to that date and is still the fifth-largest in team history (link to subscriber-only article with details).

At 6-foot-3 and 232 pounds, the outfielder has the chiseled look of an athlete, but could not put it together on the diamond. Rodriguez advanced only as far as A-Advanced Palm Beach before his release last May. He played in 259 games over four seasons as a Cardinal with a line of .276/.317/.374/.691. His long awaited power never developed.

Last July, Rodriguez signed a contract and joined LaPoint, manager of the Rockland (County NY) Boulders of the independent CanAm League. The right-handed hitter, now 24 years of age, batted .267 in 56 games and slugged .393. Rodriguez is on the club’s 2012 roster as well.

LaPoint, a native of Glens Falls, NY, is entering his 11^th season coaching or managing in independent ball. From 2002-2005, he served the pitching coach for the Long Island Ducks, and then went on to manage the Bridgeport Bluefish, both in the Atlantic League. LaPoint returned to Long Island in 2007 as manager and also served in that role in 2009-2010. In between, he was the club’s pitching coach in 2008.

Last season, LaPoint became the Boulders’ first manager, leading them to a 40-52 seventh-place finish in their inaugural campaign. The club recently announced he is coming back for 2012.

Here is hoping both LaPoint and Rodriguez find what they are looking for while in a place far from St. Louis and Cuba.

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That led to a discussion among some of the readers here as to the best Cardinal ever born in the land up North. Though the players competed in many different eras and of course played different positions, the Wins Above Replacement (WAR) stat gives us a comparison point to identify the best Canadian Cardinal of all time.

While many past and present members of the Cardinals system have played (and coached) in Canada – the Cardinals once had a minor league team in Hamilton, Ontario in fact – they will not be included here since they were not born in Canada. That group includes such luminaries as Tony La Russa and Dave Duncan (teammates with the Triple-A Vancouver Mounties in the Oakland system in 1968) , Chris Carpenter and Kyle Lohse.

New Cardinals bullpen catcher Jamie Pogue is a Canadian by birth (Guelph, Ontario), but not having reached the majors, he and his peers are also eliminated from consideration. (Interestingly, no Canadian has been a full-time manager in the majors since George Gibson of the 1934 Pittsburgh Pirates. Pogue has something to shoot for.)

In the table below, I listed all the native-born Canadian Hall of Famers that played for the Cardinals as well as all other Canadians to appear in the majors for the organization since 1925. The tables are sorted by the highest single-season WAR as a Cardinal.

As the data indicates, an old-time player, outfielder Tip O’Neill, had both the best single-season and total stint with St. Louis of any of the Canadians. With the Browns of the American Association in 1884-1889 and again in 1891, the Ontario native amassed 28.9 WAR, including 8.1 in 1887. However, since the Cardinals sadly disavow records set prior to the National League years beginning in 1892, we will place an asterisk next to O’Neill’s name and move down the list.

Pitcher Reggie Cleveland is hereby proclaimed the Cardinals MVCP, or Most Valuable Canadian Player of the modern era, though his total was just 4.7 WAR over five seasons with St. Louis. The right-hander’s best season was a 3.6 WAR 1973, his last with the club, also the best single year by a Canadian Cardinal in the modern era. (As a point of comparison, non-Canadian Carpenter’s best individual season was 5.9 WAR in 2009.)

As Cleveland’s excellent and in-depth SABR biography relates, Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst was unhappy to see the pitcher go. Red said the following when Cleveland was dealt to the Red Sox following the 1973 season, “He’s the best I have.”

Of course, Larry Walker was the finest player of this group, hands down, but was slowed by chronic injuries by the time he joined St. Louis at the end of a fine career. Walker’s best year with St. Louis was his only full season with the club and his last as a player, as he produced 2.9 WAR in 2005.

Alas, Cormier’s best St. Louis season is only fifth on the list, fourth among modern players, behind O’Neill, Cleveland, Walker and Ron Taylor.

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Other members of the Class of 2012 are former Montreal Expos star Rusty Staub, known as “Le Grande Orange” due to his red (orange) hair, former MLB pitcher and current Milwaukee Brewers general manager Doug Melvin, and the entire 2011 Canadian National Team, which won the nation’s first gold medal in international competition at the Pan-American Games.

Cormier, known as “Frenchy,” is a native of Moncton, New Brunswick. He was drafted in the sixth round in 1988 by the Cardinals and made his MLB debut in August 1991. He pitched for St. Louis through 1994 and was traded to Boston for the 1995 season. With the Cardinals, Cormier had primarily been a starter, logging a 24-23 record with a 4.12 ERA in 85 games, including 68 starts.

He went on to pitch 16 years and 683 games in the major leagues for St. Louis, Boston, Montreal, Philadelphia and Cincinnati. Cormier finished in 2007 with a career 71-64 record and 4.03 ERA. He also pitched for Team Canada on numerous occasions, including the 2006 World Baseball Classic as well as in the Olympics in 1988 and in 2008. In the latter case, Cormier came back from retirement to participate.

Other individuals with Cardinals ties already in the Canadian Baseball Hall include Larry Walker, Dave McKay, Tom Henke and Reggie Cleveland as well as earlier players Tip O’Neill, Larry McLean, Rocky Nelson, Tom Burgess, Oscar Judd, Ron Taylor and Ron Piche.

The 2012 inductees will be honored on June 23 during ceremonies at the Hall, which is located in St. Marys, Ontario.

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Though there are no documented reports of the 42nd President of the United States attending a Cardinals contest while in office from 1993-2001, he listened to the St. Louis Cardinals on the radio while growing up in Arkansas and has remained a strong supporter of the national pastime.

As documented in the attached photo, Clinton attended a Cardinals-New York Mets game at Shea Stadium on August 22, 2006, visiting the St. Louis clubhouse. “I’m so old, I remember Harry Caray calling the Cardinal games,” Clinton cracked. Earlier, in February 1993, the President was presented with a Cardinals jacket during an appearance at St. Louis’ Union Station.

His wife Hillary grew up as a Chicago Cubs fan. An Illinois native, Ms. Clinton is the current Secretary of State. She added American League allegiance to the Yankees in 1999 when preparing for her successful run for one of the New York seats in the US Senate.

Opened in 2004, the Clinton Library and Museum is located in Little Rock, Arkansas within the Clinton Presidential Center and Park, along with the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, and the Little Rock offices of the Clinton Foundation.

In addition to Clinton’s archival collection and research facilities, the Clinton Presidential Library and Museum features exhibits, special events and educational programs. The museum includes replicas of the Oval Office and the Cabinet Room.

A Cardinals Exhibit Season Pass is now available for purchase from the museum’s online store. Its $10 price includes admission to the museum and the Cardinals exhibit for the entire time it will be on display.

More information will be provided on the Cardinals-themed exhibit when it is announced.

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Johnson City town officials continue to struggle with what to do about the growing list of repair items to the home of the Cardinals, Howard Johnson Field. The five-acre sports area, called Cardinal Park, is primarily used by the Appalachian League farm team, as well as for Eastern Tennessee State University (ETSU) and local high school baseball games.

The existing problems at Cardinal Park are considerable. A survey forwarded to Major League Baseball officials last summer indicated the facility is not in compliance with a number of Professional Baseball Agreement standards. Items flagged include inadequate seating capacity, lighting, playing surface quality, security, toilets, concessions and bullpen and dugout amenities.

Nearly $1 million of repairs are on the most immediate requirements list, which include a new playing surface, left field wall as well as lighting and electrical improvements. With little funds, City Manager Pete Peterson dismissed the study results as a “wish list.”

Rather than repair the facility, built in 1950 and the continuous home of the Cardinals since 1975, some officials suggested the Cardinals move their home to ETSU’s new stadium. Others note the new ballpark, already under construction, is not a solution as it does not meet minor league facility standards, either. Upgrade costs involved for additional locker rooms, bathrooms and seating may be significant and the source of those funds has not been identified.

In the meantime, the situation at Cardinal Park remains a challenge for local officials. The city is looking for an increase in user fees from the Johnson City Sports Foundation, which operates the team for the parent St. Louis Cardinals. The contention is the current fees do not even cover maintenance expenses.

More facility band aids will be applied in the interim. A $163,000 bid to remove and replace the left-field fence only was deemed too high but a $96,000 offer was accepted on Thursday. The city also has proceeded with a $17,000 contract to re-grade the uneven infield and replace its sod.

Even that work was not approved until the Cardinals “made a verbal commitment” to remain in Johnson City. Local officials apparently wanted that assurance before spending any money on even the most-pressing items on the long list of problems identified in the survey.

One positive change was made to Cardinal Park last off-season. The 15-foot-high berm in right field that ascended at an angle of 55 to 60 degrees was removed. Once the adjoining football field was razed, the berm could be taken out. Also gone is the injury-protection rule implemented by the Cardinals that the right fielder could not take more than two steps up the berm.

Still, no long-term solution appears in sight for the facility situation overall, about which one city official likened this past fall to “trying to hug Jello.”

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You can read the details, but suffice it to say that Quade, basically a one-year-and-out skipper, is painted as the anti-Robin Ventura and Mike Matheny. The new on-field leaders of the Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Cardinals, respectively, have yet to manage a game at any level professionally. Though both are former long-time Major League players, their media engagement level will now increase exponentially.

I have to wonder how Matheny will evolve in this area. By all indications, including my first up-close opportunity with him in his new role during the recent Winter Warm-Up, the former catcher is open and at-ease with the scribes. A man of faith, Matheny appears balanced with his priorities seemingly where they should be.

On the other hand, no games have yet been played. No losing streaks have been encountered. As has already been well documented, the Cardinals no longer employ the man generally considered the best player in baseball as well as perhaps the top pitching coach of all time. Coming off a World Series victory with a stacked roster, there seemingly could be no more pressure than already exists on the rookie manager to keep his club on the winning path.

When times were tough, Matheny’s predecessor Tony La Russa could be notoriously prickly with the media. This became evident to any and all observers via the manager’s required televised post-game interviews. At Busch Stadium, they are held in a spacious media room in which cameras are pre-set. On the road, the print and broadcast media cram into the visiting manager’s office.

Often, La Russa was either just heading into or coming out of the shower with almost no time to decompress. Having to answer some uncomfortable or perhaps ridiculous questions even a first time, let alone hearing them re-asked in a slightly re-worded manner over and over, led to frustrations boiling over on occasion.

The difference with La Russa is that long ago, his future Hall of Fame portfolio of accomplishments had been cemented. He had established such a solid track record of results that his rough edges were accepted almost without question. After all, what choice was there?

Though St. Louis is hardly a tough media town, Matheny’s reservoir of good will is nowhere near the level of his predecessor’s. When the chips are down – and at some point they surely will be – it will be interesting to see how both sides react.

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Making his St. Louis debut in 1945, the switch-hitting second baseman played 15 seasons with the Cardinals, including in the 1946 World Series. The 10-time National League All-Star also appeared in two more Series while with Milwaukee.

Red coached in St. Louis from 1961-64 and in 1965 began a 12-year run as Cardinals manager, exceeded in duration by only Tony La Russa. His clubs won the 1967 World Series and the NL pennant the following season. Red also served as interim manager in 1980 and 1990.

He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989 and his uniform was retired by the Cardinals in 1996. Red remains a special assistant to the general manager. When reporting to spring training next month, I am expecting to see number 2 in uniform with fungo bat in hand or heading between fields in a golf cart.

Today, February 2, Schoendienst celebrates his 89^th birthday. In recognition of a great Cardinals hero, I am sharing a dozen photographs of Red provided by the Cardinals Media Relations department. If you are interested, join in the discussion below to help identify and date some of the photos.

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St. Louis Cardinals pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to Jupiter, Fla. on February 18 and conduct their first workout on February 19. The remainder of the players are expected to report by February 23 with their first workout on February 24.

In the meantime, I thought I would post a short survey to gauge your opinion on which recent St. Louis Cardinals-related topic has been beaten most to death in recent months, not just here, but by the media and fans in general.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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One was the subject of the expansion of post-season play. For the first time since 1995, a change will be made to the playoff format. Starting no later than 2013, a second Wild Card will be added in each league, increasing the post-season pool to 10 of the 30 clubs.

The new format does not appreciably increase the length of the post-season since it consists of a simple one-game playoff between the two Wild Cards in each league. The winner of that game will advance to the regular Division Series.

Though this seems like a no-brainer in terms of implementation, the November announcement stated the question of whether it will go into effect in 2012 would be decided no later than March 1. With one month to go before the self-imposed deadline, the two sides have yet to concur.

Not surprisingly, MLB commissioner Bud Selig wants to get it done immediately.

“It’s pretty definite in my mind,” Selig told USA TODAY. “Teams are anxious. Clubs really want it.”

Michael Weiner, executive director of the Major League Players Association, is unsure it is feasible this year.

“The 2012 season was not designed to accommodate an extra round of playoffs,” Weiner told USA TODAY. “We’re having discussions to see if it can work. We’ll decide in the next month or so if we’re able to do it.”

Though Weiner was not specific, the concern seems to be the travel involved in the expanded post-season schedule. In addition to this one-game Wild Card play-in game, any division ties will reportedly also be decided on the field going forward. The potential scheduling impact of this change also has to be considered. Though not stated, revenue-sharing issues could also be present.

Given the considerable regular-season benefit of an additional team in the playoff hunt in each league, having fewer off-days during the post-season to fit in an extra game or two should not present a significant challenge. Nor should money be an insurmountable problem.

Here’s hoping the two sides resolve their differences, whatever they may be, and MLB begins the new playoff format this coming fall.

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The new website, www.cardinals.com/museum, has been launched today, January 30, with the goal of highlighting some of the team’s extensive collection of baseball memorabilia. The full collection includes 15,000 items and 80,000 photographs, which makes it the largest team-held collection in baseball and second in the game, only behind the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

The new online exposition includes hundreds of historical photographs, virtual exhibits and educational videos that highlight great individuals and events in Cardinals history.

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After five seasons of trying, the former Baylor star, taken 46^th overall in 2005, was released by the Cardinals in December 2009. The right-hander had spent most of the interim period either injured or rehabbing. The Texan had missed all of the 2009 season after his fifth surgery, intended to relieve arthritis in his pitching shoulder.

McCormick is now attempting a comeback by undergoing a controversial and unproven stem cell procedure in the Grand Cayman Islands. The treatment, illegal in the USA, involves the replanting of a person’s own stem cells to enhance the body’s healing.

This procedure received considerable attention this last season when Bartolo Colon revived his MLB career to the point he could throw 95 MPH. At age 38, Colon pitched 164 innings for the Yankees with a 4.00 ERA after having sat out all of the 2010 season.

McCormick was featured in a recent feature of ESPN’s Outside the Lines. It follows. Then, weigh in on the poll below.

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If rumors that the 36-year-old is on the verge of signing with the St. Louis Cardinals for 2012 come to reality, the question will arise as to whether his favored uniform jersey number is available.

Fortunately, the answer appears to be “yes.”

New Cardinals and former Oswalt teammates Carlos Beltran (#3) and J.C. Romero (#16) have settled on different digits. And frankly, having Oswalt, a three-time All-Star and winner of 159 career games sporting those number 44 threads would represent a considerable upgrade from its deployment in recent years.

Last season, the Cardinals broke spring camp with non-roster invitee Miguel Batista donning the number 44. After the 40-year-old pitched himself off the team, the uni was passed on to another high-mileage veteran, outfielder Corey Patterson, one of the throw-ins in the Colby Rasmus deal. Patterson was so unimpressive that he was left off the post-season roster and is unsigned for 2012.

The year before, another outfielder in the twilight days of his playing career, Randy Winn, was assigned 44.

The most famous Cardinal to wear number 44 in recent years is also looking for a place to play in 2012. Of course, that is former closer Jason Isringhausen. The 39-year-old returned to MLB last season with the New York Mets after a year away but is again a free agent. Izzy pitched for St. Louis from 2002-2008 and is the club’s all-time leader in saves with 217.

When I think of number 44, however, my mind goes to “The Zamboni Machine,” Ken Reitz. The defensive specialist manned third base for the Cards while wearing the digits for two stints totaling eight years from 1972 through 1980.

For nine years during the 1960’s, pitcher Ray Washburn, winner of 68 games with St. Louis, donned number 44. Even current manager Mike Matheny wore 44 for a brief time in 2000 (see photo) before returning to his familiar 22.

Of course, until Oswalt’s deal is done, it isn’t, but it appears one minor potential problem will not occur.

Then, there is that issue of six starters for five jobs. That may become a job for number 22 to sort out in Jupiter, Fla. starting in just three weeks…

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pujols defended the short courtship.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

At the time of this posting, the St. Louis Cardinals had 266 players under contract from top to bottom, including 39 players on the 40-man roster. The matrix places each one at his assigned level in the system at the conclusion of 2011 and by position. Spring training camp invitees are shown separately. This matrix is updated daily or whenever transactions occur.

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

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

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

The short-season pitchers are broken out into returnees and summer 2011 signees.

Full team rosters and player profiles at The Cardinal Nation

Remember that to get detailed profile information on every single one of these 266 Cardinals players, simply check out their free player profiles updated at The Cardinal Nation.com / Scout.com. You can see bios, photos, videos, articles, news items, links to current season and career stats and much more – everything you need to know about a player in one place.

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

Full-season clubs
St. Louis Cardinals
Memphis Redbirds
Springfield Cardinals
Palm Beach Cardinals
Quad Cities River Bandits

Short-season clubs
Batavia Muckdogs
Johnson City Cardinals
Gulf Coast League Cardinals
Dominican Summer League Cardinals

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

Looking ahead and back

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

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

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

Related resources

St. Louis Cardinals 2012 major league spring training schedule
St. Louis Cardinals 2012 minor league spring training schedule (subscriber article)

Transactions

01/24: New matrix. Organization total: 266 players.

02/06: SS Alex Cora signed to a minors deal with MLB spring camp invite. New total: 267 players.

02/08: Dominican RHP Andres Serrano signed (in October). New total: 268 players.

The St. Louis Cardinals Organization Roster Matrix (effective 02/08/12)

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

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

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

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

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(In one artificial measure, Pujols is the only person to appear on the cover of  the Cardinals Media Guide in each of the last three years. Stan Musial was also pictured twice.)

I want to be clear that I have never heard anyone even remotely connected to the team mention the phrase “face of the franchise,” even in jest. Yet some writers obviously came in with this idea firmly planted in their heads and sure enough, they followed through.

Do a Google search on the term and you will find half a dozen articles from the last few days about this very subject. I am not listing them here, as I don’t want to single one out. They are all pretty much the same other than drawing different conclusions as to the eventual winner, perhaps.

It does provide a safe vehicle to create a laundry list of “candidates” and string some quotes together during a very dry period for real news, but that is about it. No, here is how I really feel. I thought the concept was stupid then and actually felt a bit uncomfortable for the players when the questions were being asked. After reading a few of the articles, I feel even more strongly now.

If there is such a thing as a face of any franchise, it has to be earned on the field, and hopefully off as well. Leadership isn’t something that is proclaimed by a teammate or worse, a writer.

After all, this isn’t the Pittsburgh Pirates we are talking about here, a team that hasn’t had a winning record in 19 years. This is a proven, consistent winner. If you want a face, how about using the 2011 World Championship trophy?

If a true leader of the St. Louis Cardinals emerges down the road, it happens. If it doesn’t, as long as the team continues to win, who really cares?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Here is the link to the full spring schedule. The Cardinals will play a total of 17 of their 29 Florida games at Roger Dean this spring, including three games as the “visiting” team against their co-habitants, the Miami Marlins. The first game and home game of 2012 will be held between the two clubs on Monday, March 5.

There is nothing like seeing the major leaguers under the Florida sun and in the more intimate setting in Jupiter, Florida. While you are there, catch morning workouts and the minor leaguers on the back quad, too.

I go every spring and hope to see you there.

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

Here are a few data points to consider.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Another one rides the bus (not)

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

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

How can I find… ?

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

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

The end for TLR

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

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

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

The Writers’ Dinner went extra innings

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

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

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

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

Pujols: Wash, rinse, repeat

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Included in row order below are Matt Adams, Brandon Dickson, Daniel Descalso, J.C. Romero, Shelby Miller, Jon Jay,  Jason Motte and Shane Robinson, with more to come throughout the day.

The Cardinal Nation subscribers should check out on the main site where I loaded the comments from each of the above Sunday speakers. I did the same Saturday and expect do so for Monday as well.

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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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Pitchers (10): Shelby Miller, John Gast, Joe Kelly, Jordan Swagerty, Trevor Rosenthal, Victor Marte, R.J. Swindle, Kevin Siegrist, Nick Greenwood, Tyrell Jenkins

Catchers: (5): Steven Hill, Koyie Hill, Robert Stock, Cody Stanley, Luis De La Cruz

Infielders (4): Matt Adams, Kolten Wong, Ryan Jackson, Eugenio Velez

Cardinals Major League pitchers and catchers report to Jupiter, Fla. on February 18 with their first workout set for February 19.  The Cardinals full squad reports on February 23 and begins workouts on February 24.

You can view the entire 2012 Cardinals spring training schedule here.

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The first show will include interviews with players, a look at the Warm-Up and video from the Cardinals Caravan, held this weekend. Episode two is expected to include player interviews and behind-the-scenes footage from the St. Louis Cardinals visit to the White House on Tuesday, January 17.

Cardinals Winter Warm-Up specials on FOX Sports Midwest (times Central)

Monday, Jan. 16 at 6 p.m. (episode 1)
Wednesday, Jan. 18 at 10 p.m. (episode 1)
Sunday, Jan. 22 at 1 p.m. (episode 1)
Monday, Jan. 23 at 6 p.m. (episode 2)
Wednesday, Jan. 25 at 9:30 p.m. (episode 2)
Friday, Jan. 27 at 6 p.m. (episode 2)
Thursday, Feb. 2 at 7 and 7:30 p.m. (episode 1 and 2)
Friday, Feb. 10 at 6 p.m. (episode 2)

I will be at the event this weekend as well, and will be posting content primarily on the main site, TheCardinalNation.com.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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