Seeing a very legitimate chance of going deep into the playoffs and perhaps taking their second World Series in four years, the St. Louis Cardinals took a major risk on July 24 by trading for outfielder Matt Holliday. One month earlier, the club had added Mark DeRosa, who offered the promise of stability at third base and some immediate long ball pop.

In acquiring the two veterans, both impending free agents, the organization paid a high price, giving up in return five players taken in the first two rounds of the 2006 through 2008 drafts. All were considered top organizational prospects, with three having made their MLB debuts, one in Triple-A and the other in Double-A at the time.

They included relievers Chris Perez and Jess Todd, sent to Cleveland for DeRosa plus starting pitcher Clayton Mortensen, outfielder Shane Peterson and the Cardinals’ first-round pick in 2008, third baseman Brett Wallace, who went to Oakland in return for Holliday.

The return was immediate and noticeable.

When the former Cubs fan favorite DeRosa was added on June 27, the Cardinals had lost their first place status and were trending south. Though the third baseman contributed, he hit the disabled list by July 1 due to a wrist injury that required post-season surgery. Despite slamming eight home runs in his first 22 games with the club, DeRosa skidded to a .228 average by season’s end.

By the time the Holliday deal was announced on July 24, the team had a precarious lead of just 1 ½ games. The Cards would go on to win 39 and lose 25 over the remainder of the regular season for a post-Holliday winning percentage of .609. They were the first to clinch and their final divisional cushion was a comfortable 7 ½ games after having reached a high-water mark of 11 1/2 games out front in early September.

Holliday offered what the Cardinals had been lacking and what caused manager Tony La Russa to campaign for his addition for several years, a legitimate clean-up hitter behind Albert Pujols.

Pujols’ rate of intentional walks had been an increasing problem as more and more National League managers decided to avoid giving Pujols a chance to beat them. That changed once Holliday arrived. The rate of Pujols’ intentional walks was more than cut in half once Holliday was batting behind him.

Pujols could not be pitched around as Holliday was on fire, batting .357 with 13 home runs and 57 RBI in just 63 games with St. Louis. Holliday’s total of 12 game-winning RBI was second-highest on the team. Pujols had 19, but it took him all season to accumulate them. At his new home, Busch Stadium, Holliday was even better, batting .385 (50-for-130) with nine home runs and 35 RBI in 34 games.

The success did not continue in the post-season, however. With Los Angeles manager Joe Torre avoiding Pujols, Holliday didn’t make the Dodgers pay. He batted just 2-for-12 (.167) in the three NLDS defeats, and did not immediately atone for his game 2 fielding error that turned a sure win into a loss. In the season-ending game 3 at home, Holliday went 0-for-4 with three left on base.

On the other hand, DeRosa, still dealing with the wrist problem, went 5-for-13 (.385) against the Dodgers, second to Colby Rasmus among the Cardinals starters.

Following the season, St. Louis offered both free agents arbitration, but they declined as expected. The Cardinals never seemed serious about re-signing DeRosa, instead likely using him as part of a fallback plan had they been unable to lure Holliday back.

Perhaps seeing the writing on the wall, DeRosa signed a two-year contract with San Francisco prior to Holliday’s decision to remain a Cardinal for the next seven or eight years.

The Cardinals receive a compensatory pick in the 2010 draft for DeRosa’s departure, softening a bit of the blow of having yielded Perez and Todd. Yet the aggregate impact of the trades clearly weakened the Cardinals farm system with several years likely required to reload.

The acts of the trades as well as the subsequent financial commitment made to Holliday should have settled the lingering questions of some over Cardinals ownership’s commitment to win.

All in all, in my view, these bold trades and their subplots became the top story across the Cardinal Nation in 2009.

Next up: A look back at how my prediction from 12 months ago of the top five Cardinals stories of 2009 came to pass, followed by my look ahead to the top five Cardinals stories of 2010.

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.229/.292/.369/.661.

That was the aggregate batting line of the gaggle of individuals who attempted to play third base for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2009. Each (BA/OBP/SLG/OPS) was the lowest of any of the eight non-pitching positions on the team and the ugly numbers above weren’t close to the next-worst spot. It is clear to say that the 91-win club excelled in spite of third base, not because of it.

What a difference a year makes.

In 2008, veteran Troy Glaus was a rock on the left side of the Cardinals infield. The veteran third baseman played in 151 games and his 544 at-bats represented his personal highest single-season total since 2002. He contributed 27 home runs and drove in 99. His line was .270/.372/.483/.856.

Yet late in the season, a shoulder ailment was reported. Originally thought to be minor in nature, it wasn’t. Just a few days after stating he was fine at the team’s January 2009 Winter Warm-Up fan event, Glaus underwent surgery. Original estimates of an early season return were questioned from the start and later proven to be wildly optimistic.

From that point on, the third base job became as unstable in 2009 as it was steady the previous season. Following Glaus’ surgery, at least seven others either held the job or was considered the front-runner. The position had as much turnover as the drummer in Spinal Tap, though none of the players actually exploded on the field, at least not literally.

By February, another surprise in a long list of them ensued as rookie David Freese, the new leader coming into camp, reported soreness in his Achilles tendon that was later disclosed to have been related to a January auto accident in which his automobile was totalled. Freese would be among the first cuts of the spring as he was unable to play.

Joe Mather, primarily an outfielder as a professional, was instilled as the new spring training favorite to take the interim starting third base job. However, an illness coincided with a long hitting slump that soon relegated Mather to competing for a reserve outfield spot. He lost out and was optioned to Triple-A Memphis before ongoing wrist problems effectively scuttled his season.

In another unexpected and unusual move, Freese was recalled from minor league camp in late March and made the major league club to start the season. With Mather cut, a pair of long-time minor leaguers, journeyman Joe Thurston and Brian Barden, also both joined the 25-man roster out of spring training.

As the regular season got underway, time at third base was split between the left-handed hitting Thurston and the righty Barden as Freese was not right and was sent down by the third week of April. Barden, the opening day starter, went on to enjoy his 30 days of fame, actually earning the National League Rookie of the Month Award for April. After a .132 May, Barden was back in Memphis by early June. Thurston also began fairly well in April, posting his best period of the season. He quickly became exposed, with his OPS dropping each subsequent month.

In long-rumored move, but still a bold stroke, Mark DeRosa was acquired on June 27 from Cleveland for two relievers who had seen major league duty, Chris Perez and Jess Todd. The excitement was short-lived, however. By July 1, DeRosa was on the disabled list with a wrist problem, a torn tendon sheath that would require post-season surgery.

DeRosa returned in the later half of July, but despite having slammed eight home runs in his first 22 games with the club, DeRosa would bat a career-low .228 in his first and only partial season with St. Louis and add just two home runs the rest of the way.

During one of his numerous rehab outings, troubled shortstop Khalil Greene was converted to third base, but he was clearly not the answer, either. Rookie Tyler Greene had seven starts at the hot corner though Brendan Ryan did not appear there after having made 29 appearances at the position in 2007 and 2008.

The eight named third basemen did not even include the man some had expected to step in and take over by mid-season. Top prospect Brett Wallace had barely been given a look-see in spring camp and after a partial-season with Springfield and Memphis, was dealt to Oakland in late July as the centerpiece of the Matt Holliday trade.

Following a long minor league rehab and several setbacks, Glaus was finally reactivated on September 1, but was clearly not ready for starting duty. Freese returned to St. Louis once Memphis’ season was complete and hit well in limited action, but could not be added to the post-season roster since Glaus was deemed to be “healthy”. Despite Glaus missing more time with a September oblique injury, he made the NLDS roster as a reserve.

Amazingly, Thurston was the only one of the eight third basemen who spent the entire season active in the majors, including the post-season. After having posted a dismal .225/.316/.330/.646 line over an amazing 307 plate appearances, Thurston was removed from the 40-man roster following the season.

Ironically, both Thurston (minor league deal) and Glaus have signed with Atlanta for 2010. Barden inked a minor league contract with Florida. DeRosa is a new member of the San Francisco Giants. Khalil Greene is a free agent whose career seems in jeopardy.

Currently, it is as difficult to forecast how third base will evolve in 2010 as it was to predict at this time one year ago when Glaus’ surprise surgery set in motion a season of complete turmoil at the position.

Freese, Mather and Tyler Greene all remain on the 40-man roster and should return in 2010. Rookie Allen Craig is also expected to compete for a job, though among the four, only Freese is considered a full-time, major league-quality defensive third baseman. The latter’s reputation has been sullied by a December drunken driving incident, his third alcohol-related arrest.

It remains to be seen whether this band of survivors will be augmented by another veteran third baseman from outside the organization. My guess is yes.

Regular season starts, third base, 2009 St. Louis Cardinals

DeRosa 58, Thurston 55, Barden 20, K. Greene 13, T. Greene 7, Freese 5, Glaus 4, Mather 0.

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Many St. Louis Cardinals watchers are distressed to learn that free agent infielder Mark DeRosa will be signing with the San Francisco Giants for two years, $12 million.

Their concerns are in a couple of major areas:

• Is the Cardinals’ Plan “B” for 2010 slipping away? The versatile 34-year-old was considered by many to be part of St. Louis’ back up plan in case they are unable to sign Matt Holliday.
• DeRosa dropped his price to a reasonable range. The average amount of his Giants contract, $6 million per year, is in contrast to the three years, $27 million deal that DeRosa was reportedly seeking earlier in the off-season. Yet the new deal is a slight raise from his career-high $5.5 million earned in 2009.

Conclusions Cardinals fans can draw from their club’s apparent lack of action with DeRosa are one or some combination of these three:

• St. Louis either believes they are close with Holliday or have gone “all in” at least emotionally to try to outwait agent Scott Boras to get him.
• They had no serious intention of bringing DeRosa back despite offering him arbitration and a contract for an undisclosed amount and duration early in the off-season.
• DeRosa was interested in playing elsewhere.

As much as anyone, I would love to know the clear answer to the above, but we don’t.

So the area I want to investigate is whether or not it appears that DeRosa gave the Giants a sweetheart deal financially. To do that, I looked at both third basemen and second basemen that signed new contracts so far this winter.

Listed below are the players’ ages next season, their years and dollar amounts of their new deals and the average annual value (AAV). I added their OPS+ scores for the last two seasons as well as their most recent Elias scores and classification, which also cover the last two seasons.

As the data shows, a younger Chone Figgins received the largest contract in AAV terms, despite having a lower Elias ranking than Placido Polanco. The latter received a three-year deal with the same AAV as DeRosa.

Marco Scutaro received only a slightly higher contract from Boston than DeRosa but like Figgins, also cost a first-round draft pick in compensation. Though not a free agent, Freddy Sanchez signed a two-year extension that is identical in value to his new Giants teammate DeRosa. It is also interesting that Sanchez’ Elias score is almost the same as DeRosa’s.

Two lesser third basemen, Garrett Atkins and Pedro Feliz, each settled for $4.5 million for 2010.

Further, I went back a year to last winter and pulled the same kind of data, though I could locate fewer comparable free agents in 2008-2009.

Casey Blake received three years from the Dodgers with an AAV near $6 million. His age and OPS+ numbers were comparable to DeRosa’s and his Elias ranking last year was slightly higher. Like DeRosa, Scutaro, Figgins and Polanco, Blake can play multiple positions defensively.

Other comps from last year settled for lower dollar amounts.

My conclusion from this quick review of the data is that DeRosa seems to be paid about right. He might have been able to argue for $7 million per season, but not much more, in my opinion.

At this point, one can only speculate why the Cardinals didn’t make that kind of offer or if so, why it wasn’t accepted and DeRosa is now a Giant instead.

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Despite some Cardinals fans pining for a benching or even leaving him off the playoff roster entirely, third baseman Mark DeRosa was one of the few bright spots for the club in their 5-3 NLDS game one loss Wednesday night in Los Angeles.

With three hits, DeRosa became the 16th Cardinals player to do so in an Division Series game. Fernando Vina is the only one with four hits, accomplished in game two of the 2002 NLDS. Jim Edmonds’ four three-hit NLDS games is tops on the Cardinals and second to Andruw Jones’ five such games in MLB history.

DeRosa has been consistently great in the first round. His all-time LDS average of .415 is second-best all-time, with only Hall of Famer Cal Ripken’s .441 better.

Stand by me

Posters here already know my opinion that leaving the 14 Cardinals runners on base was the single biggest factor in Wednesday night’s loss.

Not once in their long post-season history had the Cardinals left 14 runners on base in one game. Their previous playoff record was 13 stranded in game seven of the 1982 World Series, a game which they still won by a 6-3 score.

Other post-season games with high runners stranded counts include 12 in game five of the same 1982 World Series (a 6-4 loss), while they left 11 on base ten different times. The most recent was in game three of the 2006 World Series (a 5-0 win over Detroit).

Walk on by

Albert Pujols tied Barry Bonds for the MLB record of three post-season games with two intentional walks. Albert still has something to strive for as Bonds had three intentional free passes in one of those games.

It was the sixth time a Cardinals player has been intentionally walked twice in a post-season game. Along with Albert’s three, Jack Clark in 1985, Harry Walker in 1946 and Marty Marion in 1944 are the others.

Double down again

As if Cardinals fans didn’t suspect it already, catcher Yadier Molina officially owns MLB’s highest rate of grounding into double plays this season. He added another to finish off the first inning threat on Wednesday night, not included here, when he was inexplicably batting sixth in the order.

Listed below are all MLB players with at least 20 GIDP during the 2009 regular season, ranked by highest rate of GIDP. Pujols finished tenth.

Player	GIDP	AB	Team	AB/GIDP
Yadier Molina	27	481	STL	17.81
Mike Lowell	24	445	BOS	18.54
Kevin Kouzmanoff	25	529	SDP	21.16
Ivan Rodriguez	20	425	TOT	21.25
Evan Longoria	27	584	TBR	21.63
Miguel Tejada	29	635	HOU	21.90
Hunter Pence	25	585	HOU	23.40
Adrian Gonzalez	23	552	SDP	24.00
Jose Lopez	25	613	SEA	24.52
Albert Pujols	23	568	STL	24.70
Yunel Escobar	21	528	ATL	25.14
Michael Cuddyer	22	588	MIN	26.73
Troy Tulowitzki	20	543	COL	27.15
Alexis Rios	21	582	TOT	27.71
Ryan Zimmerman	22	610	WSN	27.73
Miguel Cabrera	22	611	DET	27.77
Brandon Phillips	21	584	CIN	27.81
Robinson Cano	22	637	NYY	28.95
Carlos Lee	21	610	HOU	29.05
Jhonny Peralta	20	582	CLE	29.10
Orlando Cabrera	22	656	TOT	29.82
Billy Butler	20	608	KCR	30.40

As always, thanks to Tom Orf for sending along these factoids.

St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Mark DeRosa did not have a Three Dog Night on Monday in Houston, though he did have a three extra-base hit night. Just as with seven of his previous eight homers with the club, both of DeRosa’s Monday Minute Maid home run shots were struck with the bases empty.

It marked the end of a long, dry spell for Mark. After cranking eight home runs in his first two weeks with the club, the 34-year-old’s long-ball bat went silent for six weeks as he continues to deal with a torn tendon sheath in his wrist. DeRosa’s Monday performance included his first home runs of any kind since August 7.

With nine of his ten Cardinals home runs having been solo shots, or 90 percent, let’s put that inauspicious rate into perspective.

DeRosa’s first five and most recent four Cardinals home runs were of the bases-empty variety. In between, his initial streak was broken when he connected for a three-run blast against the Dodgers at Busch Stadium on July 28. As recently as last season, Albert Pujols had a nine home run streak of solo shots, from April 27 through May 9.

Over his career prior to joining St. Louis, DeRosa hit 82 home runs, of which 44 were with the bases empty. That works out to 53.7 percent, a far stretch from his 90 percent mark through his initial 205 at-bats with the Cardinals. As a team, 64.1 percent of the home runs hit by the 2009 Cards to date have been solo shots.

The table that follows lists the eight Cardinals with at least five home runs in 2009. Ten other players have gone deep this season. In addition to total home runs, also listed are solo home runs, percentage of home runs that were solo, number at-bats as well as number of at-bats between any home runs and solo shots. Players are listed in order of number of solo home runs hit.

2009 Cardinals	Total HRs	Solo HRs	% HRs Solo	At-Bats	AB/HR	AB/Solo HR
Albert Pujols	47	30	63.8%	526	11.2	17.5
Rick Ankiel	11	9	81.8%	351	31.9	39.0
Mark DeRosa	10	9	90.0%	205	20.5	22.8
Ryan Ludwick	20	8	40.0%	454	22.7	56.8
Colby Rasmus	15	7	46.7%	434	28.9	62.0
Matt Holliday	13	7	53.8%	201	15.5	28.7
Khalil Greene	6	5	83.3%	166	27.7	33.2
Yadier Molina	5	5	100.0%	461	92.2	92.2
Ten others	26	18	69.2%	2277	87.6	126.5
Team	153	98	64.1%	5075	33.2	51.8

Among 2009 Cardinals with at least five homers, Yadier Molina actually trumps DeRosa for frequency of bases-empty homers. All five of the catcher’s long balls were of that type. DeRosa’s 90 percent comes in second on the team. Pujols’ rate of solo shots, 63.8 percent, helps drive the team mark of 64.1 mentioned previously.

Not surprisingly, Pujols hits generic home runs most frequently, with one departing the field of play each 11.2 at-bats. DeRosa is third at 20.5, also trailing Matt Holliday at 15.5.

But even in bases empty home runs, Pujols collects them more often than DeRosa. Albert’s rate of one solo shot per 17.5 at-bats trumps DeRosa’s second-highest rate on the team of one per every 22.8 at-bats.

Of course, that could change if DeRosa is entering another hot streak like he had from July 21 through August 7, when his first eight left the yard.

From a historical perspective, since 1954, DeRosa ranks in a tie for third in highest percentage of solo home runs among Cardinals with at least ten homers in a season. Using that criterion, only ten players had over 75% of their home runs as solo shots during any season over those 55 years.

Hall of Famer Lou Brock is the leader. In the 1964 World Series-winning regular season, Brock hit 13 of his 14 long balls with the bases empty for a 92.9 percent solo rate.

No doubt Cardinals fans would be delighted with similar results from both DeRosa and his 2009 club.

Highest percentage of solo home runs, ten or more homers, season, Cardinals (1954-2009)

Rank	Hitter	Year	Total HRs	Solo HRs	Solo HR %
1	Lou Brock	1964	14	13	92.9%
2	Edgar Renteria	1999	11	10	90.9%
T3	Orlando Cepeda	1966	10	9	90.0%
T3	Mark DeRosa	2009	10	9	90.0%
T5	Curt Flood	1958	11	9	81.8%
T5	Todd Zeile	1991	11	9	81.8%
7	Ray Lankford	2000	26	21	80.8%
T8	Ken Boyer	1957	19	15	78.9%
T8	Reggie Smith	1975	19	15	78.9%
10	Bernard Gilkey	1995	17	13	76.5%

Thanks to Tom Orf for supplying the base stats used above.

It is unknown the extent that DeRosa’s swing is being hampered by his bad left wrist that will require off-season surgery to repair a torn tendon sheath. The right-handed hitter is currently batting just .212 as a Cardinal, but is making his hits count. Half of his 18 safeties have gone for extra bases.

Friday marked DeRosa’s 22^nd game wearing the Birds on the Bat. His eight homers in that span put him in a three-way tie for the fastest home run start for a new Cardinal since at least 1954. The others are Dick Allen (1970) and Reggie Sanders (2004).

It was DeRosa’s first home run in five contests after he earlier set the team mark for fastest to seven long balls (in 17 games).

DeRosa, a free agent-to-be, would need to hit another long ball on Saturday to capture a share of the mark for fastest Cardinal to nine home runs in at least the last 55 years. That record is owned by re-born outfielder Rick Ankiel in 2007. Allen was also the fastest to ten homers, in his first 26 games, followed by Mark McGwire in 27 contests (1997).

The table below, courtesy of Tom Orf, is sorted by the fastest to eight home runs.

New Cardinals fastest to one through ten home runs in games (1954-2009)

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Allen	1	5	7	8	15	16	18	22	25	26
Sanders	5	5	11	11	14	15	18	22	32	49
DeRosa	7	7	8	12	13	14	17	22
Ankiel-2	1	3	3	9	17	19	22	23	23	39
Pujols	4	7	9	11	18	18	20	23	29	30
McGwire	8	11	12	12	14	20	20	24	25	27
Edmonds	2	6	8	9	10	13	21	25	26	28
W.Clark	2	3	4	5	20	22	22	26	32	45
Walker	5	6	9	14	21	22	27	27	32	35
P.Wilson	1	5	9	12	17	21	30	31	48
Spencer	7	8	10	12	14	27	32	33	50	72
J.Clark	1	5	15	21	26	29	32	33	44	45
Paquette	1	8	11	13	17	26	33	34	35	36
Brunansky	4	5	5	11	26	30	35	38	60	64
Drew	2	7	7	12	12	24	27	41	47	50
Gant	2	4	9	13	29	31	34	42	44	46
R.Smith	10	10	18	19	25	26	32	42	43	45
Cepeda	1	6	10	11	18	34	36	44	47	47
Boyer	1	16	24	27	31	38	38	44	44	55
Cunningham	1	2	2	7	14	23	45	46	54	55
Torre	4	7	12	21	29	43	45	46	50	56
Rolen	12	13	25	26	35	37	40	46	47	47
Duncan	9	10	15	25	33	39	40	49	53	55
Moryn	11	21	29	30	34	40	43	49	50	57
Guerrero	13	19	38	41	43	45	49	50	68	82
Mather	7	20	26	28	30	36	39	54
Gaetti	6	11	17	24	39	47	47	55	69	69
Encarnacion	20	24	25	26	34	48	50	55	65	65
Tatis	10	12	22	27	35	38	48	55	56	57
Jeffries	3	4	4	21	22	28	48	56	58	64
Hendrick	3	17	26	30	35	36	41	56	57	64
Whiten	3	11	12	15	21	28	57	59	66	76
T.Martinez	27	27	38	42	43	50	57	61	76	78
Glaus	25	40	56	57	60	61	63	67	70	75
Ludwick	24	27	31	33	41	41	50	69	70	76
B.White	10	13	14	24	27	57	63	71	106	112
Rasmus	20	30	33	34	41	46	54	71	74	75
Ankiel	13	14	54	56	56	62	70	72	75	76
Dunston	2	19	21	32	39	63	67	75	95	104
Van Slyke	6	7	9	15	44	54	60	77	103	137
Lindeman	2	23	23	25	43	44	70	79	93	102
Brock	7	25	26	64	66	67	79	80	83	84
Jordan	19	21	23	28	29	75	79	84	89	89
Spiezio	7	14	22	58	62	81	83	84	98	99
Galarraga	39	40	53	55	58	73	79	86	91	94
Hague	2	33	39	49	62	64	84	87	108	108
Zeile	3	32	44	54	68	81	84	88	92	108
Flood	11	22	38	44	49	69	88	89	96	97
M.Anderson	6	10	11	13	49	66	96	103
T.Howard	2	19	85	86	88	89	103	104	107	133
Freed	3	23	30	36	48	56	57	108	119
Shannon	32	57	64	70	83	111	112	115	117	121
Grudzielanek	17	24	32	66	83	97	105	117
Lankford	15	22	24	69	90	112	119	119	120	131
E.Perez	16	24	30	31	81	91	93	127	128	129
Molina	45	51	83	91	114	115	116	127	139	149
Marrero	9	10	18	44	57	82	111	128	129	140
Renteria	34	47	47	54	68	118	129	134	135	139
Jose	7	9	16	31	39	119	148	148	159	168
Eckstein	37	45	99	102	107	126	130	149	173	275
Simmons	14	54	76	129	140	147	195	202	210	213
Luna	1	12	75	125	151	166	176	207
Schumaker	29	98	108	158	172	208	210	214	218	254
Gibson	80	122	133	152	177	180	233	243	256	260
O.Smith	7	15	226	229	268	307	429	453	492	504
Holliday	7	9	9	13
Cedeno	1	6	10	14	16	27
Laga	3	6	18	19	38
Nunez	3	15	18	22	76
Plantier	1	5	18	25	40
Musial	8	15	19	26	26	42
Ryan	8	12	26	31	197
J.Rodriquez	3	5	10	34	50	118	123
McNertney	4	10	13	34
Bonilla	4	8	21	38	48
K.Greene	11	13	40	41	42
LaRue	19	25	29	42	68
Lopez	19	20	29	42
Groat	2	3	37	46	70	113	306
Bennett	41	43	45	46	80	117
Hart	6	40	41	48
Belliard	15	42	45	49	49
Barden	31	34	35	61
Wise	17	57	58	61
Wainwright	17	84	100	136
Lugo	1
T.Greene	5	12
Stavinoha	41	61
Thurston	21
McDonald	1	2	5
Simpson	3	5	23

The ugly 11-6 loss dropped the still-hanging-onto-first-place Cards to 51-45 on the season. Their National League Central Division lead remains at two games though their six games over .500 (.539) mark is the poorest division-leading record in MLB.

The minor league system didn’t do much better on Tuesday. One has to drop all the way down to the New York-Penn League to find a victorious Cardinals club. In fact, Batavia was the only US-based affiliate to earn a win.

Leave it to Tom Orf to find a small nugget of positiveness to come out of a most forgettable day.

In the St. Louis game, Mark DeRosa’s bat awakened with a pair of home runs, his first as a Cardinal. The player brought in to help jumpstart the offense still has a lot of ground to make up after having spent most of the last month on the disabled list.

DeRosa joined some very select company in collecting his first two St. Louis home runs in the same game. It was only the seventh time this occurred in team history. The list includes one Hall of Famer, Frankie Frisch, and a pair of Reggies – Smith and Sanders.

First two Cardinals home runs in the same game – team history

Mark DeRosa	7-21-2009
Reggie Sanders	4-9-2004
Tino Martinez	5-1-2002
Darren Bragg	4-14-1999
Buddy Bradford	7-3-1975
Reggie Smith	4-15-1974
Frankie Frisch	4-30-1927

Thursday’s official confirmation that the St. Louis Cardinals organization has formally signed 16-year-old Dominican outfielder Wagner Mateo (pictured) for a reported $3.1 million signing bonus comes on top of last Saturday’s trade for Major League infielder/outfielder Mark DeRosa.

Mateo’s deal is almost three times the organization’s largest previous bonus paid to a Latin American amateur, the $1.1 million reportedly given to last July 2^nd’s big signing, third baseman Roberto De La Cruz, also from the Dominican Republic.

Putting aside the risks of doling out that much money to kid of just 16 years of age, one cannot dispute the Cardinals’ willingness to make such a significant financial commitment to someone they believe can grow into being an impact Major Leaguer down the road.

In securing the services of DeRosa, a free agent following this season, the Cardinals took on a half-season’s worth of his salary, approximately $2.8 million. The aggressive move was made a month earlier than the trade deadline and put the Cardinals’ National League Central opponents on the defensive – a marked change from 2008, when the shoe was on the other foot.

This total of about $6 million ($3.1 for Mateo and $2.8 for DeRosa) does not represent expenditures that the organization was required to make. They were clearly carried out with a balanced view toward the present (DeRosa) and the future (Mateo).

In the DeRosa deal, the Cardinals also gave up two of their “precious Faberge eggs”, reliever Chris Perez and a player to be named later, rumored to be among a list of players that include pitchers Jess Todd (our Scout.com fourth-ranked Cardinals prospect) and Francisco Samuel (19^th on the same list).

So, I have read all the criticism and the childish name-calling for months. Where are the columns now that give credit where credit is due to the ownership group for dealing and spending to improve and invest?

Here is one.

I admit that I was among the skeptics when club officials said over the winter that they would be keeping some of their powder dry – in other words, not immediately spending all of their expense budget in this tough economy while holding back until during the season.

It was easy to assume this was a hollow promise designed to soften the blow of a reduced Major League player budget compared to 2008. Some critics chose to ignore both the eroding economy as well as a significant trend all across MLB to cut player expenditures, as if the Cardinals were isolated and insulated from the rest of the world.

So far, the organization has lived up to its word.

Yet if the club continues to flail on the field, these expenditures will quickly be forgotten amid the pleas to spend more via acquiring other Major Leaguers for the final two or three months.

Though in an ideal world, we would all probably like to see the Cardinals commit more and more, it is time to admit that they have followed through in a tangible manner and not let their positive moves this week be taken for granted.

I find myself wondering exactly who is viewed to be the one putting Mo on that hot seat. Is it the dugout, the press, the fans, himself?

Just a few months ago, the upper levels of the organization were awash with third base prospects, with no place to play Brett Wallace (pictured) at Memphis with David Freese and Allen Craig ahead of him.

Now, everything has changed. The rest of the world has finally figured out that Troy Glaus isn’t going to be much of any good this season and the April shine has worn off the rookie replacements, Joe Thurston and Brian Barden.

Freese required surgery this month, Craig isn’t viewed as a major league third baseman and Joe Mather, thought to be good enough to play at the hot corner at the major league level this spring, is out with a recurring wrist problem.

Wallace has just 11 games and 47 at-bats with Memphis to date. Mozeliak and manager Tony La Russa both agree that Wallace isn’t ready. To help put that into perspective, I ran major league equivalencies (MLEs) for Wallace’s limited Triple-A sample and compare them to the incumbents’ season results.

Wallace doesn’t stack up well here. One reason is that he has taken just one walk with Memphis after showing a good eye in the past.

Now, let’s compare Wallace at Memphis to Thurston and Barden this month only. The picture changes. Still, Wallace’s .626 MLE OPS is nothing to get excited over.

One challenge the Cardinals face is that it is early in the trade season. We are barely one quarter of the way into the regular season, a full two months ahead of the July 31 deadline, a date that many clubs still find too early. The advent of the wild card keeps more teams in the hunt longer.

Following are the year-to-date lines for the three names that have been mentioned as possibilities for the Cardinals in various reports. They are Garrett Atkins of Colorado, Mark DeRosa of Cleveland and Melvin Mora of Baltimore.

Clearly in the case of two of the three, Atkins and Mora, the reason they may be available now is that they are having subpar seasons. In acquiring them, one would have to believe a rapid rebound is likely.

Just for grins, I included the line from the Cardinals’ most recent reclamation project, Khalil Greene. Notice how closely his stats this season mirror Atkins’.

Keeping money aside, each has significant warts. Mora is 37 years old and Atkins’ career nums were impacted by the reality that he plays 81 games a year in Colorado. DeRosa is playing at an above-average level for him this season, but will he maintain that pace after another move? (DeRosa was traded from the Cubs to the Indians over the winter.)

So, are any of these three going to be better than what the Cardinals already have?

What are the possible reasons to not call up Wallace?

1) There’s a better option on the trade market.

2) Wallace is not ready offensively.

3) Wallace is not ready defensively.

4) He is out of shape – reportedly 23% body fat this spring.

5) The 40-man roster is going to be tight this winter and Wallace would not need to be added.

6) His arbitration and free agency clock will begin prematurely.

7) The major league coaching staff is against the idea.

We will take these one at a time.

1) A better option may exist on the market. Can’t argue with that if it means someone other than the three names already mentioned. How long will it take for such individuals to become available, however, and what would it take to get them?

2) Wallace isn’t ready with the bat. Can’t argue with that either. More time at the plate in Memphis would be ideal. But, isn’t Wallace probably better offensively than Barden and Thurston today?

On an aside, but parallel bent to Wallace, I just read that the first-place NL West Dodgers, dealing with outfield injuries and one very high profile suspension, just called up Jamie Hoffman. He was a Double-A All-Star last season, was raking back in Double-A this season (.952 OPS), but only has 35 Triple- A at-bats.

3) Wallace isn’t ready with the glove. If range is truly the issue and I am not doubting that, how much can it improve by more reps in the minors? Once he is positioned properly, his range is what it is, right? One argument is that his range will only erode as he ages, so…

4) Wallace is out of shape. Let’s face it; his body type is not that of a weight-lifter. Yet, there are others in the majors today who are much worse. Chances are that physically, Wallace is what he is. I suggest basing any decision on results, not physique.

5) 40-man roster issues. This is not an immediate problem, but will become one this winter as the Cardinals have to make decisions on a number of players or risk losing them in the Rule 5 Draft.

Having been drafted last June, Wallace would not need to be protected this winter unless he is called up during this season.

For me, the real question is whether or not it is believed that Wallace can contribute at the major league level in 2009. If so, then the future roster issue has to be secondary to improvement in St. Louis now.

6) Arbitration and free agent clocks would begin prematurely. Not a major issue. It is late enough into this season that the Cardinals would not be forced into early arbitration in just under three years. Same with free agency at six.

If he isn’t good enough to stick, he won’t accrue MLB service time back in Memphis. Even those most pessimistic about Wallace think he will make his major league debut in 2010, anyway.

7) Political issues. This is a very thorny one, as based on remarks by Post-Dispatch beat writer Joe Strauss, La Russa is very much against a Wallace promotion. Despite the glaring need at the position, Wallace barely received a sniff in major league camp before being cut.

While Mozeliak is in public agreement at least that Wallace isn’t ready, would his opinion change if the third baseman puts in a good month with Memphis and a fair trade cannot yet be found?

Is there any scenario under which La Russa embrace a Wallace promotion this season? The signals say “no”.

In summary

I am not sure why there is such a negative vibe about Wallace, but it seems other organizations are not reluctant to promote players who excelled at Double-A.

If nothing else is cooking, why not give Wallace a try soon? If he stumbles, it will be a lot closer to the trade deadline when more teams may be in the mood to deal.

Remember that other rumors have the Cardinals looking for a right-handed hitting outfielder, too. What are the odds Mozeliak could land both an impact outfielder and a third baseman and do it within the club’s current financial constraints? What is a higher priority for the club? What may be easier to find?

Considering all, it is more realistic to assume the Cardinals will move to bring in an Atkins-like player in hopes he can pick up the slack at third. If another Khalil Greene-like failure occurs, there could still be time for Wallace later this summer – if the Cardinals can remain in contention that long with their sputtering offense.